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Article
Theories of Community Collaboration to Advance Age-Friendly Community Change
The Gerontologist
  • Emily A Greenfield, The State University of New Jersey
  • Kathy Black, University of South Florida
  • Patricia Oh, University of Maine
  • Althea Pestine-Stevens, The State University of New Jersey
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2022
Keywords
  • Age in place,
  • Community development,
  • Evaluation,
  • Healthy aging,
  • Public policy
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab136
Abstract

The age-friendly communities movement has grown rapidly in global prominence over the past 2 decades. However, theories to guide multisectoral action toward age-friendly community change have been slower to develop. We demonstrate the value of drawing on theories of community collaboration to inform age-friendly community efforts across engagement, planning, implementation, and measurement. We introduce 3 theories—Asset-Based Community Development, Strategic Doing, and Collective Impact—each with principles and strategies for guiding multisectoral group processes toward long-term and systematic community change. While distinct from each other, these theories collectively suggest the importance of incorporating a more explicit community-building approach within the age-friendly communities movement. We describe the implications of this integrative theory development for bolstering sustainable and comprehensive practices and policies to improve environments for aging across diverse communities.

Citation / Publisher Attribution

The Gerontologist, v. 62, issue 1, p. 36-45

Citation Information
Emily A Greenfield, Kathy Black, Patricia Oh and Althea Pestine-Stevens. "Theories of Community Collaboration to Advance Age-Friendly Community Change" The Gerontologist Vol. 62 Iss. 1 (2022) p. 36 - 45
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kathy-black/41/