Empowering Older People to Take More Control of Their Health Through Evidence-Based Prevention Programs

The Illinois Department of Public Health, in partnership with the Illinois Department on Aging, support the Administration on Aging application, “Empowering Older People to Take More Control of Their Health Through Evidence-Based Prevention Programs.” The goal of the project is to provide the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) and the Strong for Life (SFL) exercise program to persons over age 60 through community-level, non-profit aging services provider organizations. The objectives are: 1) to begin implementing the CDSMP in three, and the SFL program in one, Planning and Service Area (PSA)as defined by the Older Americans Act; 2) to begin developing infrastructure and partnerships necessary to effectively embed these programs for the elderly within statewide systems of health and long term care; 3) to promote, and refer to, clinical preventive services via these evidence-based programs; 4) to evaluate the efforts and monitor the fidelity of each evidence-based program; and 5) to disseminate results and findings. The expected outcomes of the project are: the potential for improving the quality of life for seniors; reducing older people’s risk of disease, disability and injury; helping older people to make lifestyle and behavioral changes; reducing the use and cost of health care over time; and the increased availability and accessibility of evidence-based programs for older persons at the community-level. The products from this project will be: a final report, including client-tracking and program evaluation and results of monitoring program fidelity; articles for publications; abstracts for national conferences; educational opportunities for practitioners and health and aging professionals in academic settings; an infrastructure for cross communication between program developers and practitioners in public health and aging; and materials from the program useful for practitioners considering adopting the program in their own setting.