Introduction
The WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities has grown consistently in the last few years, particularly in the Region of the Americas, which comprises more than half of the active members of the Network. Within this framework, the cities and communities interested in joining the Network and the members require specific tools to strengthen their local programs and participation in the Network. This course addresses healthy aging and the importance of environments to promote it, especially through the creation of age-friendly environments, considering their characteristics and through concrete actions that seek to transform the local context where people live and age. This encourages cities and communities to develop age-friendly strategies and promotes knowledge exchange among Network members.
Purpose
This course aims to provide people and organizations with the tools to develop and implement initiatives to create age-friendly environments.
Goals
- Gaining knowledge on healthy aging and the most relevant conceptual frameworks.
- Increasing awareness of the importance of environments to promote healthy aging.
- Acquiring specific skills to engage in the city/community: designing strategies to create age-friendly environments.
Target Group
This course is aimed at people who are working on an initiative to create age-friendly environments and promote healthy aging; focal points from cities and communities that are part of the WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (current or potential members), and organizations or people who seek to create/adapt cities or communities to become more age-friendly.
Hours on Certificate
It takes approximately 40 hours to complete the course and read all of the additional materials.
Course Modality
This course is available for free on the PAHO/WHO Virtual Campus for Public Health (VCPH). Since it is self-paced, participants can manage their time and access it whenever they wish. Considering the estimated time to complete each module and assessment, the course takes 40 hours to complete.
Skills Developed Through the Course
This course allows participants to:
- Understand the conceptual framework for healthy aging and how to apply it to create age-friendly environments.
- Identify the most relevant action frameworks and indicators of the local context to promote action in age-friendly environments.
- Understand the importance of developing an age-friendly strategy to promote healthy aging.
- Identify opportunities and the project’s viability in age-friendly cities and communities at a local level.
- Plan the engagement of strategic partners.
- Develop and implement an age-friendly strategy by:
- Determining a baseline, action plan, and indicators to measure results;
- Suggesting and implementing cross-sectoral strategies that enhance the sustainability of age-friendly initiatives; and
- Implementing the strategies included in the action plan of an age-friendly city or community.
- Identify indicators and assess the age-friendliness of environments.
- Develop and implement effective communication strategies to raise awareness, inform, and promote the participation of different sectors in the age-friendly strategy.
Course Structure
- M1: ¿Where are we? The Decade of Healthy Aging and the challenges towards 2030
- M2: ¿How to make a change? Local Action and the Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Program
- M3: ¿What to measure and why? Developing a participatory assessment and evaluating local competencies
- M4: ¿How to implement the project? Designing the action plan according to the assessment results
- M5: Feedback and next steps. Compare and communicate
Exam and Certificate
After exploring the five modules, participants will take an exam comprising 35 multiple-choice and true/false questions.
This assessment allows participants to answer the questions repeatedly until they get the minimum score (70%).
To obtain the certificate, the participant has to:
- Understand the content of the modules.
- Complete activities with success.
- Pass the final exam.
Participants who meet these requirements and answer the quality survey on the Virtual Campus for Public Health (VCPH) can download their certificate of completion issued by the Pan American Health Organization.