91原创

The percentage increase in Delaware鈥檚 older adult population continues to be relatively high compared to other states. According to the U.S. Administration on Community Living鈥檚 2020 Profile of Older Americans, between 2009 and 2019, the First State experienced a 49% increase in its 65 and older population. In addition, older adults in Delaware are still flocking to the First State and are one of the state鈥檚 fastest growing demographics.

Yet this population is largely underserved in terms of planning for their needs into the future. To help inform planning, outreach and services for this population, professionals from the 91原创 and  (DESG) have come up with the . 

DE-PLANS is a hub to aid the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA), other state agencies, local governments and service organizations with incorporating key pieces of information to assist and guide emergency planning and aging in place efforts throughout the state. 

The site combines Delaware-specific information from the U.S. Census, American Community Survey, PolicyMap and others with geographic information system (GIS) tools and resources to support opportunities for state and local capacity building and help shape the state鈥檚 policy landscape. The development of the site was funded by DEMA.

The three leads on the project were Nicole Minni, associate policy scientist and a GIS and graphics specialist with the  (IPA) and the ; Julia O鈥橦anlon, a policy scientist for the Biden School; and Danielle Swallow, a coastal hazards specialist for DESG.

Swallow said that many older adults in Delaware are aging in place or retiring in areas near the coast, whether it be the Delaware beaches or Delaware River. This creates a problem as it increases their exposure to flooding, which is the number one hazard in the state. 

In addition, some of those locations do not have adequate evacuation options or social and healthcare services required by an older population. 

鈥淎s people get older, they鈥檙e going to need more services, in terms of health care and social supports,鈥� Swallow said. 鈥淲e started looking around at the different communities where these folks are moving, and in some cases there鈥檚 not a lot of proximity to those services. Plus, older adults are moving to higher risk areas at a time in their life where they鈥檙e potentially more vulnerable to severe weather and flooding and needing more services and sometimes, not always, those services aren鈥檛 right there.鈥� 

The DE-PLANS site allows users the opportunity to explore a Delaware demographics and emergency planning map which shows a map of Delaware with the estimated percent of people 65 and older in locations throughout the state. It also shows areas of the state that have experienced coastal inundation during storms as well as the evacuation routes that are available to different communities. 

In addition, users can click on a series of layers to see where the closest senior centers, assisted living facilities, police stations, hospitals, pharmacies and shelters, among others, are located. 

The site has case studies such as 鈥淒elaware鈥檚 Aging Population and Flood Risks鈥� and the 鈥淒elaware Food System Map,鈥� which curate information to help inform planning and the services available to various populations throughout the state. 

Minni said the benefit of having a hub site is that it brings together a geographic approach to problem solving and allows the integration and organization of information all in one spot. 

鈥淲e were able to integrate websites, videos, photos, publications and mapping all within one location,鈥� Minni said. 鈥淭he information on the site can be shared easily, and there is a translate feature on the site that will translate the site into different languages.鈥� 

All these aspects will help with their goal to help policy makers better understand their communities. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to provide a way for people to understand their communities, understand the demography within them and hopefully be able to take that information and utilize it to help this vulnerable population in an emergency,鈥� Minni said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really what it comes down to: taking this data, understanding where the vulnerable populations are, and then utilizing that data to help integrate solutions on how to help these people in an emergency.鈥� 

The idea for DE-PLANS came out of a series of workshops that the three hosted for older adults on emergency preparedness in 2018-2019, which were funded by Delaware Sea Grant鈥檚 Sustainable Coastal Communities Initiative and allowed the three to better understand the needs of older adults in Delaware. 

O鈥橦anlon said that she, Minni and Swallow work well together when it comes to issues surrounding emergency preparedness for older adults because they each bring their own expertise to the topic. O鈥橦anlon focuses on how residents can best age-in-place healthily, Swallow offers the coastal hazards specialist perspective and expertise, and Minni brings all of it to life on the site through her GIS expertise and applications. 

Using publicly available data, they were able to curate that information and put it into the tool with the aim of helping state agencies, local governments and decision makers understand a little bit more about their community. 

鈥淲e wanted them to know what it looks like demographically and otherwise, as well as provide some geographic and environmental risks or hazards that, together, may be something they need to be thinking about in terms of comprehensive planning and hazard mitigation planning,鈥� O鈥橦anlon said. 

Because the site can be used to help communities understand their demographics, it could also aid them in the grant writing process. 

The three were able to present the tool to different towns and municipalities as well as to members of the  (GAP). 

鈥淲e see a lot of potential for the tool to not only inform planning decisions at the state and county, local level but also, we think that the information in the tool can help different towns and agencies apply for grants,鈥� Swallow said. 鈥淏y knowing where their vulnerable populations are and being able to express some of the particular needs of that community, it can be really helpful in these different grant applications.鈥� 

Overall, O鈥橦anlon said the creation of the tool is a great example of the interdisciplinary work at 91原创 and the outreach 91原创 provides within the state and for local partners. 

鈥淐ollaborating with these different groups throughout the state is really what our centers are all about,鈥� O鈥橦anlon said. 鈥淏oth IPA, the Delaware Sea Grant program and the University as a whole look to bridge these different areas in a very interdisciplinary nature. I think it鈥檚 a really good project for 91原创 to be involved with, working at the community level.鈥�