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- Program design
Piggyback programs to national observances
•A resource-friendly approach to building a diverse wellness program is to piggyback onto a national or regional “observance.” Well-known examples are Heart Month in February and Active Aging Week, held over the last week of September. An observance is a day, week or month that publicizes a special interest or group of people, such as health (stop smoking or high blood pressure awareness week), physical activity (yoga day) or older adults (Older Americans Month). Some events might combine all of these, as in Active Aging Week.
There are a number of advantages to personalizing observances to fit into your programs. The designated days, weeks or months fit into the dimensions of wellness. Often the sponsoring organizations provide support materials that can be downloaded for free, or ordered for free or at a nominal rate. You can use these resources to jump start the program planning with themes, handouts and images ready to use.
Program design
You got rhythm and your clients do, too! by Kat Fulton, MM
We truly are born to make music. Music is in our footsteps, in the rhythm of our language and heartbeats, in our breath, and all over nature. Music makes life fun, social and expressive. Music enriches life and creates meaningful moments for older adults.
Music experiences can benefit people with all levels of function. Research has shown that recreational music-making fortifies the immune system of older adults (Koyama, et al, 2009) and improves quality of life (Sole, et al, 2010). Music therapy can reduce agitation in older adults with dementia, with the greatest benefit occurring when people listen to or sing music they prefer (LaGasse, 2010).
Program design
Minutes to motivate exercise by Patricia Ryan, MS
For people who are reluctant or casual exercisers, the messages surrounding physical activity can be confusing—and intimidating. Or, if they find they are still gaining weight despite walking around the block or to a nearby store, it may seem that physical activity isn’t living up to the promises.
As a professional, you know there are several ways of translating the familiar formula for planning an exercise program:
Program design
Happiness-enhancing activities for older adults by Annette Henricksen and Christine Stephens, PhD
People generally agree that happiness is desirable. In addition to being a popular goal, researchers have found that happiness is associated with other good things in life, like health, friendship, income, work performance and marriage.
Happiness usually comes along with desirable behaviors and attributes, such as sociability, likeability, pro-social behavior, positive views of self and others, coping and creativity (Lyubomirsky, King & Diener, 2005). Happiness has been suggested to cause many of these outcomes. Thus, happiness can be beneficial in numerous ways, which has positive implications for individuals and society and suggests that promoting happiness is a wise investment in social and public health (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2007).
Program design
Plan programs for healthy eating
Nutrition is an important component of the physical dimension of wellness. After all, good nutrition in concert with physical activity helps older adults maintain a healthy weight, reduce their risk of chronic disease and enjoy overall health (Dietary Guidelines for American, 2010).
March is National Nutrition Month in Canada and the United States. Both the Dietitians of Canada and the American Dietetic Association promote this month by providing educational materials for consumers and health professionals to use. These materials provide a rich store of information for hosting healthy eating events during March.
Program design
Plan programs that reflect Baby Boomer values by Lynda J. Sperazza, PhD, CPRP
As of January 1, 2011, the first of 76 million Baby Boomers turned 65 years of age. Over the next 19 years, our facilities, programs and services will be flooded as Boomers mature into retirement. Keep in mind that at every life stage, Boomers have rewritten the rules. They are going to do it again.
The Baby Boomer cohort (born between 1946 and 1964) has a unique set of values and characteristics, vastly different from previous generations. Their values encompass all aspects of life, affecting their beliefs about self, career, home and leisure. Baby Boomers are an individualistic, self-focused generation that is economically optimistic (Gillon, 2004). They are highly educated, comfortable with technology, healthier and more affluent than any generation before them (Cochran, 2005).
