2009 Conference

Conference Overview

Participant Contact List

A growing body of research points to the influence of the environment on the health and health behaviors of older adults. The conference is intended to spark increased activity in environmental and policy change by stimulating discussion among attendees and equipping them with the background and tools to facilitate environmental and policy changes to support healthy aging.

Conference presentations featured the challenges amenable to environmental and policy change, the evidence that supports specific approaches and their outcomes, and promising strategies for practice. Speaker presentations available

Conference Background

Objectives

Structured activities during the conference will enable participants to increase their familiarity with the contributions of disciplines or service sectors other than their own, and develop an environmental and policy change action plan to implement in their own communities.

By the end of the conference, attendees should be able to:

1. Describe the rationale and conceptual framework for environmental and policy change that supports healthy aging.
2. Identify strategies for engagement of stakeholders and potential partners who are important in environmental and policy change.
3. Apply lessons learned from exemplary environmental and policy-oriented programs to one or more specific topics in healthy aging, such as, increasing physical activity and preventing falls.
4. Locate and evaluate tools, manuals, and resources for assessment, implementation, and evaluation of environmental and policy change.
5. Define environmental and policy issues pertinent to social and environmental disparities and examine the role of advocacy in addressing disparities and facilitating policy change.
6. Outline a nine- to twelve-month action plan for their specific environmental or policy change for healthy aging.