Aging in Alignment: Assessing the consistency between Tennessee’s Health Priority Areas and AFPHS Action Plans
Abstract
The older adult population in the U.S. is projected to increase to 95 million by 2060, with the fastest growth occurring among individuals 85 and older. This demographic shift will necessitate that federal, state and local health departments (LHDs) prioritize preventive strategies, chronic disease surveillance, and community-based interventions designed to support healthy aging. Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) launched the Age Friendly Public Health Systems (AFPHS) initiative to serve as a guide to embed healthy aging as a core function of their work, using its 6Cs (Creating, Connecting, Coordinating, Collecting, Communicating, and Complementing) for age-friendly practice. Tennessee has received national distinction as the first state where all LHDs (n=89) have become AFPHS certified. To meet this standard, LHDs developed Action Plans to guide their age-friendly efforts. Three graduate students conducted an analysis to compare alignment between the Action Plans and designated Health Priority Areas using a structured coding framework. General-purpose AI was used to further explore differences in priority areas and partnership characteristics. This presentation describes the findings from the analysis of the AFPHS Action Plans and their alignment with local Health Priority Areas, which were developed by county-level Health Councils to guide local health improvement efforts. Anticipated outcomes include identifying county-to-county variations in alignment scores, potentially attributable to factors such as existing infrastructure, LHD partnership networks, and rurality. The evaluation is expected to support the Tennessee Department of Health in enhancing statewide support for LHDs to expand age-friendly initiatives. At the county level, LHDs can leverage these insights to inform ongoing age-friendly activities, amplify local health initiatives underway, and deepen cross-sector partnerships.
Start Time
15-4-2026 11:00 AM
End Time
15-4-2026 12:00 PM
Room Number
304
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Presentation Subtype
Grad/Comp Orals
Presentation Category
Health
Student Type
Graduate
Faculty Mentor
Jodi Southerland
Aging in Alignment: Assessing the consistency between Tennessee’s Health Priority Areas and AFPHS Action Plans
304
The older adult population in the U.S. is projected to increase to 95 million by 2060, with the fastest growth occurring among individuals 85 and older. This demographic shift will necessitate that federal, state and local health departments (LHDs) prioritize preventive strategies, chronic disease surveillance, and community-based interventions designed to support healthy aging. Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) launched the Age Friendly Public Health Systems (AFPHS) initiative to serve as a guide to embed healthy aging as a core function of their work, using its 6Cs (Creating, Connecting, Coordinating, Collecting, Communicating, and Complementing) for age-friendly practice. Tennessee has received national distinction as the first state where all LHDs (n=89) have become AFPHS certified. To meet this standard, LHDs developed Action Plans to guide their age-friendly efforts. Three graduate students conducted an analysis to compare alignment between the Action Plans and designated Health Priority Areas using a structured coding framework. General-purpose AI was used to further explore differences in priority areas and partnership characteristics. This presentation describes the findings from the analysis of the AFPHS Action Plans and their alignment with local Health Priority Areas, which were developed by county-level Health Councils to guide local health improvement efforts. Anticipated outcomes include identifying county-to-county variations in alignment scores, potentially attributable to factors such as existing infrastructure, LHD partnership networks, and rurality. The evaluation is expected to support the Tennessee Department of Health in enhancing statewide support for LHDs to expand age-friendly initiatives. At the county level, LHDs can leverage these insights to inform ongoing age-friendly activities, amplify local health initiatives underway, and deepen cross-sector partnerships.
