Improving the quality and length of life

Dr. Pauline DeLange Martinez is a public health researcher and gerontologist at the UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing's Family Caregiving Institute, where she serves as Research and Community Engagement Manager.

What happens when California's fastest-growing older population lives in communities where housing is scarce, healthcare can be hours away, and essential support services are difficult to find? In this episode, Dr. DeLange Martinez brings together research, community engagement, and policy expertise to examine how California can better support older adults and family caregivers in rural communities. Nearly one in eleven Californians age 65 and older lives in a rural community, and California's population age 85 and older is projected to increase by 158% between 2025 and 2040.

Drawing on a two-year Rural Master Plan for Aging initiative involving three California regions and 227 community participants, the conversation examines housing instability, long-term services and supports, and healthcare access, along with practical policy recommendations: expanding home- and community-based services, strengthening the rural direct care workforce, improving transportation, increasing telehealth and community paramedicine, and ensuring older adults are meaningfully included in California's Rural Health Transformation Plan.