New toolkit helps rural communities plan for aging together
A comprehensive new toolkit will help rural communities across the U.S. improve quality of life, health outcomes and well-being of older adults, adults with disabilities and their caregivers.
The effort was led and funded by The SCAN Foundation with support from the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. It assists rural communities in developing local Multisector Plans for Aging (MPA). An MPA is a comprehensive strategy that addresses the needs and opportunities of an aging population.
The toolkit and its corresponding webinar provide valuable resources to guide local leaders in addressing the unique needs of aging populations in rural areas.
“Older adults in rural communities face unique challenges when it comes to ensuring equitable, timely and accessible home and community care and supports,” said Narda Ipakchi, vice president of policy at the foundation. “By listening to those with lived experience, we can develop local-based plans on aging that reflect what older adults living in rural areas say they need and build the supports necessary to ensure they are given the opportunity to age well, with purpose in their community.”
To address this gap, from January 2022 through December 2023, The SCAN Foundation launched a Rural MPA Initiative, supporting three coalitions to develop local MPAs. For two years, the regions shared processes, templates, tools and lessons learned with one another, facilitating progress in each region.
The SCAN Foundation funded Pauline DeLange Martinez, a researcher in the School of Nursing’s Family Caregiving Institute, to serve as a bridge among the three regions, coordinating shared learning and advocacy opportunities. She said rural communities can really benefit from developing local, multisector plans for aging because they have a larger proportion of older adults and higher rates of disability.
“Residents in these areas experience greater financial insecurity, with racial and ethnic disparities further exacerbated by geographic inequities. Rural communities also rely more heavily on informal caregivers and face critical challenges such as inadequate transportation infrastructure and a persistent digital divide,” DeLange Martinez explained. “Developing tailored, multisector plans for aging can address these disparities and enhance the quality of life for rural residents.”
The goals of an MPA
An MPA encourages collaboration across different sectors to fill gaps in services and infrastructure. These can include health care, transportation, housing and care coordination. MPAs aim to create age-friendly communities by promoting equity, inclusion, dignity, independence and the overall well-being — physical, emotional and financial — of older adults and their caregivers.
The California Master Plan for Aging launched in January 2021, brought together state agencies, community leaders, and stakeholders from diverse sectors to craft a comprehensive, 10-year blueprint focused on promoting healthy aging. A key realization from this initiative was that change also needs to happen locally. This new toolkit, which draws upon experiences from the master plan and the initiative, is intended to help rural areas meet that challenge.
Toolkit overview
The new toolkit outlines ten key steps for rural leaders and communities to develop their own MPAs. These steps are designed to be adaptable, allowing each community to use the parts most relevant to them based on their specific needs. It also incorporates real-life lessons from the Rural MPA Initiative, where three coalitions worked together to share processes, templates and tools.
In addition, a webinar from Dec. 13 focuses on the steps three regional coalitions are taking to develop their local MPAs, which include:
- Identifying MPA leadership and staffing
- Forming a local advisory committee
- Building public awareness and support
- Conducting a landscape analysis of local data and aging services
- Facilitating inclusive community engagement
- Synthesizing findings and identifying recommendations
- Soliciting additional input to solidify MPA goals
- Building out the implementation plan
- Evaluating MPA progress
- Ensuring accountability and sustainability
“Each community is unique and starting from a different place,” explained DeLange Martinez. “We encourage leaders to follow the steps that suit their community’s process.”
The toolkit is designed to assist rural communities at all stages of planning. While the steps are laid out sequentially, they are not meant to be followed in a strict order.
Key features of the toolkit:
- Flexibility: The toolkit is adaptable for any rural community, from plains to deserts to mountain areas. It considers that communities are starting from different places in terms of resources and readiness.
- Practicality: The toolkit can be used to facilitate partnerships between local governments, health care systems, community-based organizations and other stakeholders.
- Comprehensive guidance: Though the toolkit follows a structured approach, the steps are flexible, allowing communities to work on multiple stages simultaneously and revisit certain steps as needed.
- Adaptability: Designed with the unique challenges of rural communities in mind, the toolkit can be tailored to meet local needs.
By using the toolkit, rural communities nationwide can create sustainable plans to help improve the quality of life for older adults, adults with disabilities and caregivers.
A new $200,000 grant from The SCAN Foundation in 2025 allows Delange Martinez to continue her collaborative work. She’ll develop policy briefs highlighting housing, long-term services and supports and health care needs among rural older adults and caregivers. This work complements other initiatives in the Family Caregiving Institute, including collaborations with the California Department on Aging to evaluate and advance programs to support family caregivers.