2023 Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging Summit

How we think and talk about aging has never mattered more.  On April 25 & 27, 2023, Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging hosted their annual Spring Summit: Age Positive Culture: A Public Health Imperative.  The event brought together public health and aging network leaders to explore how our often unconscious age bias impacts quality of life and health outcomes, the role public health messaging and initiatives can play in changing the narrative around aging positively, and how we can be each others champions and collaborators to catalyze meaningful culture change.

The research is clear: people who live with age-positive views and in age-positive cultures live 7.5 years longer than those who don’t, with fewer chronic conditions and less anxiety.  People who live with purpose – a reason to get up in the morning – live longer and have fewer cognition problems than those who don’t.

Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, respectively are the 3 oldest states by median age in the country.  Over the last century, the average lifespan in the U.S has increased about 30 years, thanks in large part to advances in public health initiatives like sanitation, vaccination campaigns, better prenatal care, smoking cessation, vehicle seat belt programs, and more.  As people continue to live longer, it’s time to evolve our narrative about what it means to grow older, and take bold steps to create an age positive culture that values, supports and includes each of us through our full lifespan.

The Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging wishes to thank our funders for their support of the Age Positive Culture Summit.