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Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Blog: Prof. Bronwyn Keefe Shows How Age-Friendly Communities Can Improve Behavioral Health in Older Adults
As the United States’ aging population continues to grow, many cities are embracing the “Age-Friendly” initiative to make communities a better place for older adults. These efforts include designing more walkable streets, better public transportation, and improved housing, however few of these communities focus on the mental wellbeing of their aging population.
In a recent blog post from the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at BU’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Services, Prof. Bronwyn Keefe, director of the Center for Aging & Disability Education & Research (CADER) at Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW), shares how CADER is bridging this gap with a three-tier initiative. The program, which has been delivered in New Bedford and Salem, Mass., addresses the stigma around behavioral health in older adults and the need for more training for the community professionals who work with this growing population.
Excerpt from “Strengthening Age-Friendly Communities by Addressing Behavioral Health Concerns Among Older Adults” by Prof. Bronwyn Keefe, originally published in the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Blog:
“In 2018, the Center for Aging & Disability Education & Research (CADER) at Boston University School of Social Work, along with Age-Friendly New Bedford in Massachusetts, designed a program to increase attention to behavioral health issues among older adults in the context of an existing Age-Friendly initiative.
Without a community-wide capacity-building effort, behavioral health issues among older adults often fade into the background. Our findings show that a three-tiered approach to incorporating mental health and wellness into Age-Friendly initiatives is a successful model that could be replicated across the country.”