Skip to main content

Past Event

Towards a value proposition for Ageing Friendly Communities



People are living longer. Yet for many, the opportunities afforded by a longer life – to themselves and society – are lost due to poor health and difficulty remaining involved in society. This is exacerbated by socioeconomic disadvantage, and associated with increasing social and economic costs. The balance between the ‘burden’ and the benefits of an ageing population can thus be tipped either way. One promising approach is to design enabling ‘ageing-friendly’ environments that support people to live well. 

While the global trend to create Age-Friendly Communities (AFCs) continues, major gaps remain in our understanding of their effect on health-related outcomes, the resources needed to sustain them, and their social value. This evidence gap reflects a lack of capacity to evaluate these complex interventions, and challenges measuring resources and outcomes. Still, substantial investment in age-friendly initiatives makes it imperative to understand whether they are effective, and what value they can generate.

The presentation will give a timely update on a research programme that aims to develop a sound evidence base and a robust methodology for assessing the social value of age-friendly work at different geographical scales.

This is a hybrid event (Zoom/In-person) with virtual speaker. People are welcome to attend in person at the Oxford Martin School or participate  on-line via Zoom. You will need to register and indicate whether you wish to attend in person or online. Please register here 12 hours before the seminar.

Seminar Registration 

If you attend in person please comply with Oxford University COVID-19 policy in place at OMS.  Use the sanitizing station and wear a mask on arrival, and maintain a 1 metre distance from your colleagues during the seminar.


About the Speaker 

Dr Louise Lafortune is a Principal Research Associate at Cambridge Public Health, and co-leads of its Lifecourse and Ageing research pillar. 

She believes older people should be able to live full, engaged lives in their chosen communities. Her work targets systems, interventions and technologies that help people maintain their independence and quality of life as they age. She also focuses on the prevention and mitigation of frailty in older adults.

Louise is currently funded by NIHR as Principal Investigator (PI) for both the School for Public Health Research (SPHR) and the Social Return on Investment of Age Friendly Communities research programme. She is also Principal researcher in the Population Evidence and Data Science theme for the Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) East of England.

She currently chairs the Aging Longevity and Health (ALH) initiative at the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and has served on research and policy advisory boards including NICE, the Alzheimer’s Society and Public Health England. Her work in health economics, outcomes research, and evidence synthesis is published in such journals as The Lancet, the BMJ and Nature Neurology. 

She holds a Master of Neurosciences (McGill) and a dual PhD in Public Health (Université de Montreal and Université de Paris).


This event is part of a seminar series:

Michaelmas 2021 Seminar Series - Future Perspectives on Ageing


Event Details

28 October 2021 14:00 - 15:00


Location

Oxford Martin School

34 Broad Street (corner of Holywell and Catte Streets) Oxford OX1 3BD