Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults (CASOA)

From Survey to Strategy

Shape the Future of Aging Logo

Fairfax County, together with the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, collected input to learn more about the aging experience in our area to plan for a more aging-friendly community. 

The survey information is being used to inform the SHAPE the Future of Aging Plan, a strategic plan for aging services, which will be presented to the Board of Supervisors for adoption in Spring 2023.

More Information on SHAPE

2022 CASOA Survey Results

  • Very few differences were noted by gender.
  • Older adults in their 70’s and 80‘s had greater needs, but they were also more likely to rate the community positively as a place to live and retire.
Survey Results by Age and Gender
  • Lower ratings of community quality were most often provided by respondents who identified (per survey language) as: Asian, a Race Not Listed, or More than One Race.
  • Greater needs were experienced by respondents identifying (per survey language) as: Asian, a Race Not Listed or Hispanic/LatinX/Spanish.
  • More differences between 2019 and 2022 were seen in the responses of respondents identifying per survey language as: Asian or Hispanic/LatinX/Spanish.
Survey Results by Race & Ethnicity

Note: Numbers in red and green indicate a change of more than 10 percentage points higher (green) or lower (red) than when the same question was asked in 2019. Whether that is a positive or a negative change depends on the type of question being asked:

  • For questions that ask for a rating of excellent or good, more positive response are higher numbers.
  • For questions that ask if the characteristic is a minor problem, moderate problem or major problem, more positive responses are lower numbers.
  • Questions that ask about the frequency of events vary depending on the topic (e.g., fewer hospital stays are more positive as are a greater number of visits with friends and family).

History

The Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults (CASOA) was sent to a scientifically random sample of adults ages 50 and older in early 2022. Additional input from the community was collected at more than a dozen community forums and focus groups.

The survey was available in Arabic, English, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese. The community survey asked for information about the lifestyles of older adults, including opportunities to work, socialize and volunteer, as well as issues they face, such as retirement, housing and caregiving, and their use of community services like public transportation and senior centers.

The Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults (CASOA) was developed and administered for Fairfax County by the National Research Center at Polco (NRC). The CASOA™ survey instrument (and the way it is administered) are standardized to ensure high quality survey methods and to make sure the results are comparable across CASOA communities.

In March 2022, 22,000 surveys were mailed to a random sample of households with a high likelihood of containing someone over 50. The sample size was chosen so that the results would have a 95% confidence interval and be accurate within +/-2 percentage points. 2,919 surveys were returned for a 13% response rate.

Weighting was applied to the results to ensure that the survey data is representative of the population of Fairfax County. The characteristics used for weighting were age, sex, race, ethnicity, and housing type (rent or own home). See tables below for additional data.

In June 2021, the Board of Supervisors Older Adult Committee determined that the pandemic had impacted older adults and requested another COSOA survey be issued in 2022 to have more informed and current data to identify next steps. The survey was completed in Spring 2022. Additional feedback was collected from the community in Fall 2022 through town halls, community gatherings, focus groups, and key informant interviews.

On Sept. 20, 2022, an initial assessment of the survey data was presented to the Older Adults Committee.

  • February 2022: Randomly-selected adults – age 50 and over – were selected to participate in the CASOA survey. 
  • Spring/Summer 2022: Staff reviewed and analyzed survey results. 
  • September 20, 2022: Staff presented the survey report to the Board of Supervisors Older Adults Committee.
  • September 21, 2022: Staff presented results to the Commission on Aging. 
  • October/November 2022: Additional community input collected at town hall meetings.
  • Spring 2023: Board of Supervisors scheduled to vote to approve SHAPE the Future of Aging Plan.

Note: the previous CASOA was distributed in 2019 but further action was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plan included collecting additional input from the community.

Monday, Oct. 31, 2022 - Register
10 to 11:30 a.m. 
Reston Community Center - Rooms 1, 2, 3 & 4
2310 Colts Neck Road
Reston, VA 20191

Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022 - Register
10 to 11:30 a.m. 
Hybla Valley Community Center - Gymnasium 
7950 Audubon Avenue
Alexandria, VA, 22306

Friday, Nov. 4, 2022 - Register
1:30 to 3 p.m. 
Fairfax County Government Center - Room 120-C
12000 Government Center Pkwy
Fairfax, VA 22035

Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022 - Register
1:30 to 3 p.m. 
Annandale Heritage Center – Rooms A & B
7611 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003

Your input from the town hall meetings was used to help inform the SHAPE the Future of Aging Plan.

In 2019, a Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults (CASOA) was issued to collect baseline data to better understand the experiences, lifestyle, perceptions and challenges faced by those who are aging in our community. The data was used to develop strategies that will serve our aging community in the future.

The development of the SHAPE the Future of Aging plan and the community input forums that were going to be helpful were put on hold during the pandemic in order to address supports and resources needed by older adults during the height of the pandemic.

SHAPE the Future of Aging grew out of the 50+ Community Action Plan launched in 2014. The plan included 31 initiatives regarding housing, transportation, community engagement, services, safety and health and long-range planning.

The 50+ plan was a five-year plan that successfully addressed services for older adults and family caregivers, safe and healthy communities, community engagement, transportation and housing.

The final report of that survey was presented to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2019.

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