FAIR Health unveils campaign on financial health literacy among older adults and their caregivers
American independent nonprofit FAIR Health, with support from The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF), has launched Healthy Decisions for Healthy Aging, a campaign to promote and disseminate FAIR Health's healthcare educational tools and resources for older adults and their caregivers on FAIRHealthOlderAdults.org.
The campaign features inviting messaging and visuals designed to empower a diverse audience of older adults and their caregivers to make educated healthcare decisions. Campaign messaging positions FAIR Health for Older Adults as an online resource that helps older adults make "healthy decisions for healthy aging" and recognizes that for older adults, healthcare decisions are "family decisions, life-changing decisions and shared decisions."
Through a prior planning grant generously funded by JAHF, FAIR Health launched tools and resources for older adults and family caregivers last year. FAIR Health for Older Adults features shared decision-making tools that combine clinical and cost information for different treatment options associated with conditions that affect older adults, including early-stage breast cancer, hip osteoarthritis, hip replacement, spinal stenosis and fast-growing prostate cancer.
Shared decision making, which involves patient-clinician discussions to decide on options for treatment and care, and balances clinical evidence with patients' preferences and values, has shown promise for improving patient satisfaction and reducing healthcare costs. The website also offers FH® Total Treatment Cost tools highlighting a range of costs for conditions that are particularly relevant to older adults, such as Alzheimer's disease/dementia, heart failure and major depression.
In addition, FAIR Health for Older Adults features educational content about diverse healthcare topics, such as how to prepare for and manage healthcare costs, what questions to ask providers and where to find other helpful resources.
Feedback from older patients, their caregivers and providers underscored the utility of the tools and resources, with 67 percent of consumers indicating that FAIR Heath for Older Adults increased their knowledge and understanding of shared decision making and 65 percent agreeing that it helped them to better understand how to manage their healthcare costs.
Owing to the successful uptake of the tools, FAIR Health received a second grant from JAHF to build upon the earlier initiative and disseminate a broader set of tools and resources to a national audience.
Throughout the year, FAIR Health will disseminate the Healthy Decisions for Healthy Aging campaign through a robust, multilevel effort to reach older patients, family caregivers and care partners, and providers in various major markets nationwide.
The campaign utilizes diverse channels, including audio, radio, podcast and television ads, and interviews. Relevant stakeholder organizations, such as clinical institutions and community organizations, can also download and share the campaign and related physical and digital materials with those they care for and serve.
As part of the national dissemination campaign, FAIR Health—with guidance from a national Project Advisory Board of experts in geriatrics and gerontology—will also distribute the tools to older patients and family caregivers and care partners at the point of care through collaborations with four Age-Friendly Health Systems located across the United States. The four collaborating sites, which will be announced later this year, will share a set of educational tools and resources with older patients and their family caregivers and care partners at the point of care.
Robin Gelburd, President, FAIR Health: "FAIR Health is proud to launch the Healthy Decisions for Healthy Aging campaign to educate and empower older adults and family caregivers on tools and resources that can help improve their financial health literacy and support informed healthcare decision making. We thank The John A. Hartford Foundation for its continued support of our efforts to advance healthcare engagement through tools, education and resources relevant to older adults, family caregivers and care partners."
Rani E. Snyder, Vice President, Program, The John A. Hartford Foundation: "The Healthy Decisions for Healthy Aging campaign promotes tools and resources to empower older adults and family caregivers to make decisions based on what matters to them. The John A. Hartford Foundation is proud to support FAIR Health's robust efforts to advance education on shared decision making and healthcare engagement. Older adults and family caregivers will benefit greatly from accessing these tools and resources."
