Community Engagement to Inform the Building of a Comprehensive Plan for Aging in Oregon

Oregon’s population of people 65 years or older is likely to increase from about 18 percent of people to nearly 22 percent by 2040.  In addition, there is growing diversity among the future aging populations.  During the fall and winter of 2021–2022, nonprofit AGE+ worked with Oregon’s Kitchen Table (OKT), to conduct a public engagement process to hear from people throughout Oregon about their thoughts and hopes for aging well. AGE+ recognized that there was a lot of disparate information representing the concerns of older people.  In initiating a statewide community engagement process, AGE+ sought to ensure that existing information was accurate, complete, and represented the broad range of older adults in Oregon. They sought a process to reach every geographic area of the state (all counties) and ensure that responses reflected communities that are not often heard from, including communities that have traditionally been excluded from public decision-making and those who care for and about older adults. Approximately 1,500 people participated in the various engagement opportunities from October 2021 to January 2022.  The summary report provides an overview of the common themes that emerged.  It also describes the policy areas that people in Oregon are interested in for groups building a comprehensive plan for aging in Oregon to consider.