Conducting a baseline assessment in cities, towns, or rural areas working to become age-friendly communities is essential for monitoring national age-friendly initiatives. It provides a starting point to evaluate current conditions and identify improvement areas. This baseline allows for tracking progress, measuring the impact of interventions, and adjusting strategies to support older persons' needs better. Regular assessments ensure accountability, inform resource allocation, and engage communities in creating environments that promote healthy ageing and inclusivity.
Definition:
A baseline assessment conducted by cities, towns, or rural areas working to become age-friendly communities is a systematic evaluation of current conditions affecting older people in the community. The assessment identifies existing strengths, challenges, and gaps in the physical, social, and service environments that influence healthy ageing and quality of life for older residents. It typically examines areas such as accessibility of public spaces and transportation, housing, health and social services, opportunities for social participation, safety and security, and community engagement. The findings provide a starting point for planning and prioritizing actions to improve community environments and support healthy ageing.
Disaggregation:
Country, Cities, Towns or Rural areas
Method of measurement
This indicator is calculated by identifying all cities, towns, or rural areas within a country that are formally committed to becoming age-friendly communities, including those participating in the WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities or similar national age-friendly initiatives. Among these communities, the number that have completed a baseline assessment during their current age-friendly implementation cycle is identified. A baseline assessment refers to a structured evaluation of community conditions affecting older people, including the identification of assets, needs, and barriers across relevant domains of age-friendly environments. The indicator is calculated as the percentage of participating communities that have completed such an assessment out of the total number of communities committed to becoming age-friendly.
Other possible data sources:
None recommended
Preferred data sources:
WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities portal
This indicator measures whether a baseline assessment has been completed but does not assess the quality, scope, or methodological rigor of the assessment. It also does not capture whether the results are used to inform planning or whether recommended actions are implemented. In addition, variations in how baseline assessments are conducted across communities, including differences in methods, stakeholder engagement, and domains assessed, may affect consistency and limit comparability across countries or subnational areas.
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