Age-Friendly Care:
It's About What Matters to You

We all deserve health care that meets our needs as we get older.

En español || For clinicians

What Is Age-Friendly Care?

Age-friendly care is health care that addresses your unique needs and wants. It can help you enjoy a better quality of life.

It is care that is safe and based on what research shows are the most important things to pay attention to as we get older - the 4Ms: what Matters, Medication, Mentation and Mobility.

A growing number of hospitals, practices, clinics and nursing homes are delivering 4Ms care through the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative.

Learn more about how you can ask for age-friendly care below. Más información está aquí en español.



The 4Ms of Age-Friendly Care

Ask for 4Ms Age-Friendly Care

Use this guide to talk to your health care providers about the essential elements of age-friendly care known as the 4Ms.

And read below to learn about each of the 4Ms of age-friendly care:

  • What Matters
  • Medication
  • Mentation (Mind)
  • Mobility

The 4Ms

What Matters

As you age, your needs might change. It’s important for you to share your concerns, goals, wishes, needs and experiences with all of your health care providers.

What You Can Do

  • Tell your care team about the things that matter to you
  • Make a list of questions to ask at each health care visit
  • Talk with your family and providers about your wishes for care at the end of life

Resources

Medication

You might take many medicines now, which can mean more side effects. Some drugs affect us in new ways as we age, too.

What You Can Do

  • Talk with your medical provider about any side effects that you experience
  • Ask your care team to assess how your medicines interact with each other
  • Tell your providers about any over-the-counter medicine or natural remedies you take

Resources

Mentation

Older adults are at risk for dementia (problems with thinking, memory, and reasoning), depression (ongoing sadness or loss of interest) and delirium (sudden confusion), but there are steps you can take to lower your risk.

What You Can Do

  • Tell your medical provider if you notice any changes in your memory or mood
  • Get screened for dementia and depression each year
  • If you become confused suddenly, get help right away. Sudden confusion (delirium) is a medical emergency

Resources

Mobility

It’s important to think about how to get around safely as we get older. Staying active helps you maintain your health and independence.

What You Can Do

  • Talk with your care providers about how you get around at home or go from place to place. Tell them about what’s working and what’s not.
  • Ask about how you can improve strength, flexibility, and balance.
  • Check your home for objects you can trip on or missing handrails that can cause falls.

Resources

Watch our Segment about the 4Ms of Age-Friendly Care

On NBC's NY Live! Joelle Garguilo chats with JAHF to learn all about age-friendly care: health care focused on patient goals and preferences, to help us enjoy a better quality of life as we get older.

WebMD Video: See Age-Friendly Care in Action


A retail pharmacy clinic

When providers ask about a patient’s goals, medications, memory and mobility, they feel heard, says nurse practitioner Sidney Hunt of MinuteClinic at CVS.

Watch more WebMD videos of age-friendly care in action.

Find Age-Friendly Care

The John A. Hartford Foundation wants to make sure that age-friendly care reaches as many people as possible.

PACEFinder: Find a PACE Program in Your Neighborhood

Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) programs coordinate and provide all needed preventive, primary, acute and long-term care services so older individuals can continue living in the community.

Learn more about PACE and use the PACEFinder to find a PACE program in your neighborhood.

Find a PACE Program Near You

Age-Friendly Resources for Family Caregivers

Grantees and partners of The John A. Hartford Foundation offer an array of support to family caregivers of older adults. Here are four key resources:

Get Online Help Navigating Caregiving
CareNav is a simple online tool from the Family Caregiver Alliance, which also has 14 fact sheets translated into Spanish, Chinese and other languages.

News Articles on Caregiver Support and Resources
A range of topics are explored on Next Avenue, public media’s news outlet for older adults. Read additional stories reflecting the diversity of family caregivers.

How-To Videos on Preparing for a Hospital Stay
AARP provides guidance on going to or leaving the hospital, and on medical/nursing tasks like managing medications; more tools can be found in their resource center.

Call for Help to Get Support
WeCare provides telephone support to family caregivers from the Benjamin Institute Rose on Aging, which also has a searchable library of resources.

PBS documentary about age-friendly care:
FAST-FORWARD

The film follows four millennials and their parents as they travel through time to meet their future selves.

Stream it: Watch it here. FAST-FORWARD is available on Prime Video, Apple TV and Google Play.

Related Tools

Tools and resources to help you prepare for aging are on Next Avenue's FAST-FORWARD webpage.

Email courses, guides, and a master checklist will help you build your health care team, create an advance care plan and more.

For Clinicians and Health Systems:

Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the​ Catholic Health Association of the United States.

For more information and to join the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement, visit www.ihi.org/AgeFriendly.

To access resources, including The Business Case for Becoming an Age-Friendly Health System, click here.

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