Carmel commission hears pilot results for AARP age‑friendly community survey

The Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Senior Living met Jan. 22 and received a presentation on a pilot survey intended to support the city’s application for AARP’s Age‑Friendly Community designation.

Dr. Fairley, a researcher working with Indiana University-affiliated health data, told commissioners the pilot distributed about 250 paper surveys at a December “Age Friendly BRAIN” conference and received 82 usable returns (one respondent listed a Zionsville address and was excluded), a return rate the presenter described as roughly 32 percent. Respondents ranged in age from 50 to 94; the sample’s mean age was 73.8 years. Respondents were 59.5 percent female and 96 percent white, and 61 percent reported owning their homes.

The pilot found most respondents want to remain in their current homes as they age, and that driving remains the dominant mode of transportation: 96 percent reported driving themselves as a primary means of getting around. Respondents gave relatively high ratings to parks and sidewalks but lower ratings to the affordability and awareness of home‑care and low‑income housing options; the presenter said 24–36 percent of respondents answered “unsure” on several questions, suggesting gaps in awareness as well as potential…