Articles
The Journal on Active Aging brings articles of value to professionals dedicated to older-adult quality of life. Content sweeps across the active-aging landscape to focus on education and practice. Find articles of interest by searching the article archives in three ways: Enter a keyword in the articles search bar; click on search by topic; or type a keyword or phrase in the general search bar at the top of the page.
Topic- Community design
Creating "next gen" memory care: Thoughtful design to help people live better longer by Andrew Carle, BS, MHSA
At The Virginian life-plan community, an award-winning memory care renovation promotes resident wellness with a "Safe-Directional-Therapeutic" environment. Family members and staff also benefit.
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Community environments link to cognitive aging
People are living longer than ever before, but cognitive decline threatens the quality of those later years. Now, new evidence suggests that where older adults live may help protect against dementia and Alzheimer's disease. A trio of studies from the University of Michigan (U-M) found that urban and suburban neighborhoods with opportunities for socialization, physical activity and intellectual stimulation may help preserve older adults' cognitive health. "Neighborhoods matter," says lead author Jessica Finlay, PhD. "They are important spaces for older adults, and they really impact opportunities or barriers to age well in place." A research fellow at the U-M Institute for Social Research [ISR] Survey Research Center in Ann Arbor, Finlay comments that the papers "think through how neighborhoods might encourage healthy behaviors that could in turn benefit the brain, and for Alzheimer's and dementia risks, which are among the greatest fears and greatest burdens that our aging population faces."
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Embracing nature, parks and outdoor spaces to age well: COVID-19 and beyond by Pazit Levinger, PhD, and Keith Hill, PhD
As the United Nation's Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030) commences, active-aging advocates may look back on 2020 as a year that illuminated the real-world importance of healthy aging. Older people have been adversely impacted by the current coronavirus pandemic, with a high proportion of deaths reported in those ages 65 and over. A new study from Kaiser Permanente, a California-based integrated healthcare system, suggests that physical activity levels are a significant factor in COVID-19 outcomes. Physical activity is a key lifestyle factor that positively impacts health and well-being across the life span, including in older age. Further, being physically active in the outdoors offers mental, physical and social health benefits for all age groups. In light of the pandemic, being outdoors also offers a safer option to engage in physical activity due to the lower transmission risk for the virus. Parks and outdoor leisure spaces are often designed...with little focus on the older demographic. It is timely to make sure the needs of older people are catered for in any future park refurbishments or new outdoor design. Seniors centers, retirement communities and other organizations that serve this population may also increase use of their outdoor spaces for activity through improvements.
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Enhancing wellness: Maximize use of indoor/outdoor environments by Marilynn Larkin, MA
A card table that sits vacant most of the day... long empty corridors ...a patch of land lying fallow outside a residence ... These are common sights in settings that serve older adults - yet, those unused and often unsightly indoor and outdoor spaces can be transformed into inviting venues that motivate members or residents to increase physical activity, socialization, and emotional and spiritual wellness. ... For industry professionals who seek to enhance older-adult wellness, exploring use of space is an avenue that can yield results.
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Communities for people: How Willow Valley Communities meets the 'I'm not ready' challenge by Colin Milner
At Willow Valley Communities (WVC) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the average resident age is 75.6 years—years younger than the industry average. WVC encompasses two life-plan campuses, featuring a range of townhomes, single-family and duplex villas, apartments and skilled nursing suites. Its newest neighborhood, Providence Park, has an average entry age of 69.8 years. On a recent trip to WVC, I sat down with CEO John G. Swanson to learn more about the organization’s latest development—an intergenerational clubhouse—and how it and other elements of WVC’s properties and programming contribute to a lower resident age.
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Connecting people and places
The two seniors housing developments couldn’t be more different. One project, in Arizona, will offer apartment homes in a resort-style community boasting plenty of amenities and services for sophisticated individuals. The second project, in London, will provide charitable housing, with some communal spaces and health support, for low-income individuals to age-in-place independently in their community. These developments share a vision, however, to connect residents with their environments and their neighbors through design.
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