Age-friendly public health showcased in NRHA magazine

A recent issue of Rural Horizons, NRHA’s quarterly magazine, draws attention to the National Rural Age-Friendly Initiative (NRAFI) and its leadership in building age-friendly public health systems (AFPHS) in rural America. Sponsored by The John. A Hartford Foundation, NRAFI works to strengthen rural communities by leveraging national and local partnerships and leadership, multi-sector collaboration, and locally driven strategies that support healthy aging in place. 

Kina L. White, DrPHDeveloped through the NRAFI, the article promotes the integration of AFPHS within rural contexts and features perspectives from Kina L. White, DrPH, a member of the NRAFI Interest Group.

Dr. White, who formerly served as director of the Office of State Health Planning and Research at the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) and is currently a health care strategy and transformation consultant at KLW Consulting, LLC, reflected on Mississippi’s efforts during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to reframe aging beyond the end-of-life narrative and promote age-friendly public health initiatives in rural communities.

She draws attention to a fundamental shift in perspective: "What age-friendly public health and policy work has done is look at the continuum of life instead of just the beginning and the end." Dr. White also emphasizes the importance of leadership and advocacy in sustaining momentum, highlighting that identifying and empowering committed champions is key to advancing AFPHS initiatives and related policy efforts forward.

Karon Phillips, PhDKaron Phillips, PhD, Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) policy development manager and NRAFI Advisory Committee and Interest Group member, also shared insights from TFAH, a proud NRAFI partner in advancing AFPHS.

Drawing from TFAH’s AFPHS Framework, Dr. Phillips outlined lessons learned on how public health can better support healthy rural aging. She also emphasized the value of cross-sector partnerships at the state and local levels and the inclusion of rural priorities in the AFPHS space. Dr. Phillips praised TFAH's partnership with NRHA’s NRAFI and noted that the collaboration informed TFAH's work with MSDH and demonstrated the broader impact of AFPHS efforts in rural communities. 

Read the full article in NRHA’s Rural Horizons Magazine.

Explore the National Rural Age-Friendly Initiative Resource Hub to learn more about NRHA’s rural age-friendly work.

For more information about the initiative, contact Laura Hudson or Rebecca Yeboah.