FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Participants are being sought for focus groups to explore perceptions of Fayetteville’s status as welcoming and accommodating throughout the lifespan. Participants should be 45 years of age or older, and identify with Fayetteville as the place where they live, work, or play. One focus group will be held on the University of Arkansas campus, to facilitate participation by U of A community members. However, participation in any group is welcome. The full schedule is at the bottom of the page.

U of A Age-Friendly Fayetteville Focus Group:

5:30-7:00 p.m.Thursday, March 5,   HPER Rm 315

Contact us at: aff@uark.edu or 479-316-5677 to sign up, or for more information

By the year 2020, it is expected that 1 in 4 people will be over 65 years old. The majority of older adults prefer to remain in their homes and maintain an independent lifestyle, but this is not possible without creating social, political, and economic environments and structures that are supportive of aging in a community. An age-friendly city encourages active ageing by optimizing opportunities for health, participation, and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. In practical terms, an age-friendly city adapts its structures and services to be accessible to and inclusive of older people with varying needs and capacities.

Age-Friendly Fayetteville is a collaborative effort between the University of Arkansas, the City of Fayetteville, and the Chamber of Commerce to earn the World Health Organization Age Friendly Community designation. Spearheaded by Dr. Jean Henry, Community Health Promotion, and Dr. Alishia Ferguson, Social Work, the initiative is a 5-year process that starts with a community-wide needs assessment to find out present status, then asks the residents, themselves, what is currently being doing well, what their ideal Age-Friendly city would look like, and what needs to be done to get to an optimum level.

The WHO goal is to provide guidance to communities in creating sustainable environments that promote healthy, active aging. The WHO model focuses on eight domains for consideration:  housing, transportation, outdoor spaces and buildings, community support and health services, communication and information, civic participation and employment, respect and social inclusion, and social participation.

The focus groups are a key part of the needs assessment phase of the initiative. Following the focus groups, in April 2015, the project team will initiate community-wide distribution of surveys to provide more opportunity for Fayetteville-ians to be heard. Using information collected from focus groups and surveys, as well as secondary data, working groups of seniors, experts, and city leaders will be convened in Fall 2015. The working groups will develop a Blue Print within each of the eight WHO domains. These Blue Prints will be action plans that contain recommendations to residents, service providers, businesses, and city leaders, alike, for improving policy, practice, and culture in Fayetteville.

Participants are still being sought for all focus groups.  Six more focus groups are scheduled in February and March; 10-12 participants are needed for each group. Groups last about 1½ hours, and are held in various locations around the city, all with convenient parking. The full schedule appears below. As seating is limited, an RSVP is necessary for participation.

Thursday March 5, 2015,  5:30 p.m.    HPER 315

Saturday March 7, 2015,  10:00 a.m.  Location TBD

Friday March 13, 2015,  9:30 a.m.  Fayetteville Library Leverince Room

Monday March 16, 2015,  3:00 p.m.  Fayetteville Senior Center

 

Contact  aff@uark.edu or 479-316-5677 to sign up, or for more information.