Communication and Information

Introduction

Over the next 20 years, the proportion of adults aged 65 and above is projected to grow from 14% (in 2016) to 23% in 2036. (California Department of Finance, 2017) To adjust to the needs of the population, services for older adults provided by local public and private institutions, such as caregiving services, home-delivered meals, social activities, and transportation, are crucial as they enable older adults to age in place while maintaining quality of life. Equally important to the availability of such services is the awareness within the community that such services exist. Hence, promotion and access to information about available community services are critical to the success of aging in place efforts. Understanding community members’ preferred sources of information provides the insights needed optimize the promotion of community information and, thereby, services. It also helps to identify opportunities for the development and implementation of technological solutions in the delivery of important community services.

Conclusion

To gather information about services for older adults, the majority of community members and LA County and City employees would turn to not-for-profit or faith-based organizations, family members or friends, or the Internet. These patterns are consistent across racial/ethnic groups. However, there is a knowledge gap with regards to the availability of community information, demonstrated by the large proportion of respondents who were unsure whether specific types of community information existed in their city or town. Members of the African American and Hispanic populations tend to be better informed. A better understanding of these differences can inform and improve the dissemination of important information about services for older adults

Recommendation

Develop and implement a technology plan for older adults

Technology, from e-learning to healthcare solutions, offer significant potential to support older adults in successfully aging in place. WDACS, LADOA, CIO and ITA will develop and implement a broad-based technology plan that addresses the unique needs of older adults. This plan will include deployment of resources to train older adults on use of technology, as well as efforts to promote the local and regional development of technologies targeted to older adults.

Promote senior centers, parks, libraries and other public assets as focal points for information, education and social engagement of older adults.

City and County Parks and Libraries seek to establish their facilities as critical community resources/ spaces for delivering a wide-range of information, services and activities, to meet the needs of residents of all generations. LADOA and WDACS will partner with County and City Parks and Libraries, as well as community organizations, to expand access to information, assistance, technology, and social engagement opportunities for older adults and their caregivers.

Expand engagement of private for-profit and non-profit agencies to provide new opportunities for older adults.

There are countless private agencies throughout the County and City of Los Angeles that deliver services to older adults and provide products tailored to their unique needs. The County and City contract with many of these agencies to deliver various services to older adults. However, there are opportunities to expand partnerships and engagement opportunities, especially with businesses and business associations.

There is currently no regular forum in the County or City of Los Angeles that unites public agencies that deliver aging services and the myriad private agencies that provide health, social, community and other services to older adults. We will convene these private agencies in the County and City to identify opportunities and strategies for partnerships, including but not limited to: grant partnerships to secure resources for the Los Angeles Region; integrated service delivery models and programmatic collaborations; colocation opportunities; and multi-agency training efforts.

In addition, we will capitalize on specific opportunities, such as the 2028 Olympics and Olympic Arts Festival, to expand collaboration with private agencies to provide new opportunities for older adults.