Several partners will work to develop a toolkit to help aging services organizations eradicate ageism.
The LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston is participating in a 2-year project to develop a toolkit that senior living providers can use to identify and eradicate ageism and ableism in their organizations.
The project, supported by the RRF Foundation for Aging, is a partnership between LeadingAge, Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology, The Eden Alternative, and the Pioneer Network.
The Age-Inclusive Toolkit for Senior Living project builds on previous work, also supported by the RRF Foundation for Aging, to create and validate a formalized, evidence-based video training program that addresses behavior and attitude change related to ageism for individuals working in senior living.
DEVELOPING AN AGEISM TOOLKIT
LeadingAge staff and LTSS Center researchers working on the current project will seek guidance on the toolkit’s design and content directly from senior living providers who are likely to use the new resource.
Before work on the toolkit begins, researchers will use an action-based, participatory framework to discuss the toolkit’s potential content and design with a representative sampling of 20 senior living providers. The research team will follow up with the same providers to gather feedback after work on the final toolkit is completed.
The Age-Inclusive Toolkit, designed to be used in all settings and organizations within the aging services continuum, is expected to include the following components:
- An organizational culture change assessment tool relating to ageism and ableism.
- Ageism self-assessment tools for individuals.
- Best practice guidance, tools, and resources related to non-ageist and non-ableist staff recruitment, onboarding, and retention.
- The evidence-based ageism video training, which was designed to improve awareness of ageism, and address attitudes and behaviors related to ageism, at the individual level.
During the final stage of the project, a website will be created where senior living providers and any other organizations in the aging network can access the Age-Inclusive Toolkit and download all of its tools and resources at no charge.