Centre for Studies in Aging and Health, Providence Care Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Health Quality Programs, School of Nursing, Queen's University, Kington, Ontario, Canada.
Gerontologist. 2024 Dec 1;64(12). doi: 10.1093/geront/gnae146.
Age-friendly community initiatives (AFCIs) have gained recognition as essential responses to the needs of aging populations. Despite their growing significance, there is a notable lack of effective measurement tools to assess the planning, implementation, and sustainability of AFCIs. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a survey tool for evaluating AFCIs.
A sequential exploratory mixed-method design was used in 2 phases. First, we identified key themes from interviews with AFCI leads to generate AFCI survey items and regional workshops. Then, we conducted a pilot of the survey and assessed its measurement properties.
Thematic analysis of interviews with 68 key informants from 58 AFCIs revealed 4 main themes: AFCI priorities, enablers, challenges, and benefits. These themes, combined with feedback from AFCI stakeholders at the regional workshops and an AFCI conference, informed the development and refinement of a reliable and valid AFCI survey in 2019, supported by a high Cronbach's alpha value (α = 0.881). Steps were identified to maintain and sustain the AFCI survey over time.
The survey accommodates AFCIs' diverse demographics, governance structures, and priorities with a standardized and flexible approach for effective measurement. This research contributes to the academic understanding of AFCIs and aids community leaders and policy-makers in planning, implementing, and evaluating AFCIs.
老年友好社区倡议（AFCIs）已被视为满足人口老龄化需求的重要对策而受到认可。尽管它们的重要性日益增加，但缺乏有效的衡量工具来评估 AFCIs 的规划、实施和可持续性。本研究旨在开发和验证一种用于评估 AFCIs 的调查工具。
采用序贯探索性混合方法设计，分两个阶段进行。首先，我们从对 58 个 AFCIs 的领导的访谈中确定了关键主题，以生成 AFCIs 调查项目和区域研讨会。然后，我们进行了调查试点，并评估了其测量特性。
对来自 58 个 AFCIs 的 68 名关键信息提供者的访谈进行的主题分析揭示了 4 个主要主题：AFCIs 的优先事项、促成因素、挑战和收益。这些主题，结合来自区域研讨会和 AFCIs 会议的 AFCIs 利益相关者的反馈，为 2019 年开发和完善可靠且有效的 AFCIs 调查提供了信息，该调查得到了较高的克朗巴赫α值（α=0.881）的支持。确定了维持和维持 AFCIs 调查随时间推移的步骤。
该调查以标准化和灵活的方法适应 AFCIs 的多样化人口统计学、治理结构和优先事项，实现了有效的测量。这项研究有助于对 AFCIs 的学术理解，并为社区领导人和政策制定者规划、实施和评估 AFCIs 提供帮助。
