Village Impact Project (VIP)

&

Engaging Villages as Key Partners in Healthy Aging Research

National Village Gathering 2023

A Twofer Presentation!

Village Movement

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A patch work

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Quo Vadis?

Population Pyramid 1950-2100…America Ages…A Growing Public Policy Issue

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-0sIQiLNeQ

Share of population 65 and older in the total U.S. Population

1950 to 2050

https://www.statista.com/statistics/457822/share-of-old-age-population-in-the-total-us-population/

< 1/10

1/6

<1/4

The 21^st Century Age Wave: �Social Change is Possible!

https://www.asaging.org/ageism-awareness

https://www.ncoa.org/page/our-equity-promise

Villages as an Engine for Social Change

National

State

Regional

Local

Advocacy

What Fuels the Engine for the Village Movement?

Media Coverage

Communities of Practice, Coaches, Mentors

Grants, Contracts, Gifts, Donations, Fees

Evidence, Data, Research, Evaluation

Policy

Digital Technologies

Leadership, Staff, Volunteers, Members, Consultants

Historical Trends and Circumstances

Political Will

Public Will

Conferences and Webinars

Advocacy

What Fuels the Engine for the Village Movement?

Media Coverage

Communities of Practice, Coaches, Mentors

Grants, Contracts, Gifts, Donations, Fees

Evidence, Data, Research, Evaluation

Policy

Digital Technologies

Historical Trends and Circumstances

Political Will

Public Will

Conferences and Webinars

Leadership, Staff, Volunteers, Members, Consultants

Two Projects

• Village Impact Project (VIP)
• Engaging Villages in Healthy Aging Research

Similarities

• Leadership of Village to Village Network
• Cross-sectoral partnership
• National scope
• Both depend on the engagement and coordination of Villages across the United States

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Village Impact Project

Project (VIP)

William L. Kincaid, MD, MPH

Board President, VTVNetwork,

October 4, 2023

National Village Gathering 2023

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Village Impact

Project:

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Moving Toward

Measuring

our Mission

What are we doing – and why?

What is the impact of belonging to a Village?

What do Villages do? What can be documented?�----�Can we collect national data?

• Services –

transportation, yard work, tech support, social support, transitions, etc.

• Programs –

hearing, vision, exercise, art tour, current events discussion, etc.

• Social events –

coffee, wine + cheese, lunch, gala, fund raisers, etc.

Village Impact

Project:

​

Moving Toward

Measuring

our Mission

National Virtual Village Gathering 2022

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Village Impact

Project:

​

Moving Toward

Measuring

our Mission

Barriers to collecting data on village performance

How could data be assembled on an ongoing basis??

First approach was to use surveys

• Asking each village to cull their data monthly, quarterly, or even once a year would places an enormous burden on village administration (or volunteers)

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• Do villages name the services using the same words? Needed: A Taxonomy

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Are there other less cumbersome ways to approach this process?

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Village Impact

Project:

​

Moving Toward

Measuring

our Mission

• There is no national data available to understand the efficacy and benefits of the Village model.

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• We have only guesstimates to answer queries such as
• How many members Villages serve?
• What are their demographics? [Age, sex, race]
• How many volunteers are there? [Villagers & outside]
• Scope of services? What services are offered?

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What is the Village Impact Project?

The VTVN is collaborating with Villages across the country and with the two large web-based data services to gather data that can help tell the story of villages for the purpose of national recognition, funding opportunities, and evaluation.

This is your data—help us assemble it!!

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Village Impact

Project:

​

Moving Toward Measuring

our Mission

Summary of Taxonomy for Volunteer Services

Proof of Concept:October 2022

Wellness Support

- Emergency support

- Isolation intervention

- Family support

- Nutrition / delivered meals

- Support medical context

- Caregiver respite

- Well-being

- Neighborhood contact

- Service not specified

Independence Support

- Financial / legal counseling

- Nutrition / medical errands

- Other errands

- Tech support

- Disability support

- Light housekeeping

- Service not specified

House & Home Support

- Disposal pickup

- Downsizing + organizing

- Maintenance – indoor

- Maintenance – outdoor

- Pet care

- Heavy lifting

- Absent owner assistance

- Lend tools and equipment

- Safety / accessibility

- Service not specified

Transportation

- Driving for nutrition / groceries

- Driving for health / medicine

- Driving Other

- Consultation / education

- Service not specified

Professional Services

- Referral to vetted vendor

- Referral for health /

medical services

- Service not specified

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

- Language translation

- Outreach to a targeted population

- Service not specified

Volunteer Engagement

- Advocacy

- Communication

- Direct service

- Event support

- Leadership

- Office support

- Community engagement

- Village governance

- Service not specified

47%

19%

11%

12%

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Village Impact

Project:

​

Moving Toward Measuring

our Mission

The data from the VIP is what Villages do.

It is the output of Village activities.

It is not outcome data.

We need to begin asking questions about OUTCOMES:

• Do Villagers stay in their homes longer than non-Villagers?
• What is the average length of time a member belongs to a Village?
• Are we healthier?
• Are we more active physically?
• Do we spend less time in hospitals?
• Do we live longer?
• Are we less socially isolated and what effect does that have on our longevity?
• Is the Village model a “best practice”?

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The Difference between Output and Outcomes

V i l l a g e

I m p a c t

P r o j e c t

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Data Acquisition

&

Comparison Plan

Three Methods of Viewing Village Service Information

Comparison of Single Village �to �Aggregate of All Village Data

Method 1

Anonymous Process for Comparison of Village Services

Method 2

Listing all villages without names and showing the percentages of services for each

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Comparison of �Single Village to Cluster of Similar Villages

Method 3

Urban

Or

Rural

A

Urban / Rural / Same State / Region

Comparison of Village A To Cluster of Similar Village’s Data

i.e., urban, rural, large, small, inner city, suburban, staffed, all volunteer

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• By partnering with the Villages and the two large web-based data systems we hope to aggregate better descriptive data on the services, programs, and events that villages offer.

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• These descriptive data are the outputs of Villages; they describe what Villages do.

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• They are not outcomes!

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• To prepare for the task of understanding the impact that belonging to a Village has on its members, we need additional partners and a better understanding of how outcome research is done.

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• That is why the Network has begun a partnership with Rutgers School of Social Work and the RAND Corporation on the Engaging Villages as Key Partners for Healthy Aging Research.

Village Impact

Project:

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Moving Toward Measuring

our Mission

Summary

Engaging Villages as Key Partners for Healthy Aging Research

Emily A. Greenfield, PhD | Professor of Social Work

Althea Pestine-Stevens, PhD | Research Project Coordinator

Village to Village Network National Gathering

October 4, 2023

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Presentation Goals

• Explain a multi-organizational, national effort to plan and design future healthy aging research projects that center the voices of Villages

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• Describe how Villages—as organizations, individuals, and regional networks—can get involved now and in the coming months

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Long-Standing Research Questions

• https://www.villagesresearch.org/post/the-village-to-village-network-s-interest-in-research

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2021 �Informal National �Working Group

2023

Funded Project

Team

https://www.villagesresearch.org/post/how-this-project-came-to-be

More About the Funding Context

• This project is funded through a Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award (#EACB-26583). The statements presented in this presentation are solely the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®), its Board of Governors or Methodology Committee.

https://www.villagesresearch.org/post/decoding-pcori-pcor-and-cer-as-part-of-villages-healthy-aging-research

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Focus on…

Four Project Components

Component #1: Project Website

www.villagesresearch.org

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Component #2: Zoom Discussion Groups

• Five Zoom Discussion Groups with Village members, leaders, and officers starting in October
• For more information:
• Visit webpage
• Sign up by emailing VillagesResearch@rand.org
• Stipend provided
• Spread the word!

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https://www.villagesresearch.org/focus-groups

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Component #3: The Villages Healthy Aging Research Ambassadors Group

• Learn together…and
• Do together!
• Stipend provided
• Informational session forthcoming: Thursday, November 16, 2PM ET/11AM PT
• Email agingcollab@ssw.rutgers.edu to express interest or nominate somebody

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Component #4: Attend a Virtual Summit

• Virtual summits will be held in summer 2024
• Organized regionally
• Purpose: facilitate conversation about how research can benefit both Villages and the science of healthy aging, and “next step” strategies to engage members in learning more about Villages healthy aging research

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Summary

Anticipated Outcomes

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• Greater understanding of healthy aging outcomes and interventions that matter most to Villages

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• Insights on how to design collaborative research projects that are both feasible and poised for impact

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• Relational infrastructure for continued planning, dialoguing, and doing

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Calls to Action

• Sign up for project updates: https://bit.ly/3F3HznW
• Raise your hand for a Zoom discussion group: villagesresearch@rand.org
• Save the date for an informational session about the Ambassadors Group: November 16, 2 PM ET/10AM PT
• Read more about the project: www.villagesresearch.org/blog
• Share back with your Village: www.villagesresearch.org

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Village Impact Project (VIP)

&

Engaging Villages as Key Partners in Healthy Aging Research

National Village Gathering 2023