Seventy percent of older adults in King County have one or more chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, or hypertension. Significant disparities exist in the prevalence of these conditions based on race, ethnicity, and geography.
The Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy (VSHSL), from 2018-2023, funded 14 community partners serving diverse and multi-ethnic populations to offer culturally specific health and wellness programs that are backed by research and community-developed to address identified needs. Health interventions helped seniors, especially those from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) communities, to improve their physical and mental health.
Programs included chronic disease health management strategies, fall prevention and exercise classes, health education, and mental health counseling, and were provided in over 19 languages at senior centers, low-income housing sites, assisted living facilities, and home visits.
The health promotion programs reached more than 4,600 older adults, with 84% of surveyed participants stating they experienced improvements in health and wellness.
Health promotion programs backed by research
VSHSL partners implemented evidence-based and evidence-informed programs. Evidence-based programs are federally designated programs that have been rigorously tested in controlled settings, proven effective, and translated into practical models. Evidence-informed programs don’t have a federal designation, but they incorporate practices that have been proven effective through both traditional research methods and community expertise, and they are designed to align with specific community contexts and needs.
As part of the Senior Health Promotion investment, the VSHSL funded Sound Generations and the University of Washington’s (UW) Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC) to support funded providers in implementing evidence-based or -informed programs in their communities, as well as help make connections between providers, and to infrastructure and resources. These two organizations have partnered for three decades in developing, implementing, and scaling multiple interventions proven to improve older adult health and well-being.
Sound Generations and UW’s HPRC created the VSHSL Senior Health Promotion Investment Technical Support Team Final Report, to share the impact of and learnings from the 14 Senior Health Promotion programs that served King County’s seniors from 2018-2023.
Impact of Senior Health Promotion programs
Senior health promotion programs served a broad diversity of older adult participants throughout King County, especially older adults from communities that disproportionately experience health challenges and that have historically had less access to health promotion programming. Some examples of programs included:
- Somali health professionals led Somali Health Board’s holistic health program, which offered Somali seniors health education sessions, exercise classes, and home visits.
- Kin On offered a range of different evidence-based programs targeting Chinese-speaking seniors, which addressed health issues ranging from hypertension and diabetes to falls prevention.
- At various King County public housing sites, Neighborhood House offered evidence-based and evidence-informed programs in multiple languages that provided opportunities for seniors to participate in physical activity, learn how to age well, engage in health education, and receive support around depression.
VSHSL partners reported improvements in participant health, both in the specific areas being targeted by the programs and in decreased isolation/improved socialization and mental health. Participants reported high satisfaction across the programs and interest in continuing to engage in programming offered by our partners including 79% of surveyed participants would recommend programs to friends and family.
“We find that it’s really important to get to know our seniors individually, especially understanding their barriers and what they’re hoping for as they come to attend our classes in being in this social space. And that also they can feel safe in this space and that they’re welcome and they’re respected so that they can really thrive when they come and enjoy the time they spend at our senior center,” shared Asian Counseling and Referral Services’ Club Bamboo.
Most organizations were able to deliver the Senior Health Promotion programs in participants’ own languages, which bridged a substantial gap in health promotion programming for underserved communities.
“Being able to go into those classes and see our [instructors] being able to speak in their native languages, being able to interact with the clients, seeing just the level of comfort and safety that they feel and just being able to express themselves freely,…being able to feel understood and feel acknowledged,.[…] I saw one of the clients needed a break, and she didn’t feel pressured to keep going even though everyone else around her was going, she said, ‘I need a break’ and just sat down, took her break, drank her water, and got right back into it. I don’t think she would’ve felt that comfortable if it wasn’t a class that was being offered in her language,” said Global 2 Local.
Community learnings
The report highlights how flexibility and taking time to build trust with participants is critical for successful program delivery, participant experience, and participant outcomes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, partners learned to pivot quickly and deliver programs remotely even to participants facing complex barriers; and some introduced additional services in response to community needs such as food support, social check-in calls, and educational content about COVID-19 safety and vaccination.
“When the day center closed [because of the pandemic] we had to […] start exploring alternative and new ways of delivering [this program]. So, we’ve branched out from just facility-based to telehealth and to reaching out and going into elderly communities as guests and visitors and bringing the service to people instead of having them come to us,” shared International Community Health Services (ICHS).
Beyond the pandemic, partners recognized the importance of ongoing conversations with participants to continually improve their health promotion programs and ensure they were responsive to their communities’ needs. Partners emphasized that it was crucial to get to know their participants as individuals, their needs, hopes, and barriers to participation. Adjustments could be as small as offering culturally specific lunch options, but these responsive changes were seen as key to ensuring organizations were offering programming that met participants’ needs and created a welcoming environment that made people feel heard, safe, and respected.
“We send out regular community response surveys where we’re asking folks ‘What are you looking for? What do you need? What would make it easier?’” said African American Reach and Teach Health Ministries (AARTH).
Looking ahead
The VSHSL is continuing to invest in healthy aging programs for older adults in King County. A funding opportunity, Senior Health Promotion, is expected to open for applications in July 2024. To view a funding opportunity timeline visit the VSHSL website.
On Friday, June 21, 2024, at 10:30am-12pm the Department of Community and Human Services co-hosted, along with Sound Generations and the University of Washington’s Health Promotion Research Center, a virtual presentation: “Senior Health Promotion – Selecting the Right Program for Your Organization.” The presentation aims to help support social service organizations to understand the range of senior health promotion programs that are available and provide tips on selecting programs.
Watch the recorded presentation here.
View and download the presentation slides: