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- Social wellness
The Pear: A beautiful day in this "Neighbourhood" by Beth Witrogen, MJ
A purposeful cafe "hub" model in South Australia helps build community connectivity, benefitting all ages and abilities. Supporters include a leading provider of retirement living and aging care services, as well as local, state and federal governments.
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Force for good: Older adults and the impact of intergenerational programs by Terry Kaelber, MPA, and Trent Stamp, MPP
Winner of the prestigious Eisner Prize, this initiative supports, mobilizes and empowers older adults in self-directed project teams to "address important issues and strengthen community life."
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Navigating estrangement through the caregiving journey by Beth Witrogen, MJ
Difficult family dynamics can impact support of loved ones, but quality of care--and life--is possible with professional guidance.
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Death by design by Colin Milner
Life is finite. For many of us, this fact goes unrecognized until later in life. But, for Dr. Stephanie Ludwig, PhD, MA, MDiv, this was not so. At a young age Ludwig experienced the death of a sibling. This catastrophic event caused her to ask questions that many people wait until later life to explore--questions such as: Why do these things happen? Why do we live? And why do we die? In search of answers to these and other questions, Ludwig found herself on a journey of self-reflection. At 19 she declared a theology major in college, hoping to find absolute answers to her questions. She did not. Yet, this did not deter her as she sought to come to terms with her own mortality--something she says many don't do until faced with a loss. Ludwig is still exploring life, and ultimately its end, all these years later, including most recently as the former Director of Spiritual Wellness for Canyon Ranch, a global leader in the wellness movement. ... It is due to Ludwig's unique journey and training that I interviewed her for the second season of my podcast, Colin Milner Rethinks Aging With .... I reached out to her to learn how we -- as individuals and as active-aging professionals - can ensure, as best possible, that we and our residents and members, family members and friends not only live well, but die well, too. As someone who has spent decades focused on quality of life for adults ages 50+, I found the discussion profoundly meaningful. And as International Council on Active Aging CEO, I wanted to share that conversation with you. Let's dive in!
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Interdependence: Balancing autonomy with connection as we age by Colin Milner
What is the difference between dependence and interdependence as we age? What happens when we don't have family support? And what kinds of models and policies for successful aging and care can be built on these distinctions? The importance of interdependence caught my attention during my participation in the WHO Global Network on Long-Term Care, which first met in September 2020 and again this fall. As a response to changing world demographics and more people living longer, this World Health Organization network advises the agency on ways to create equitable and sustainable long-term care models for older adults. The focus is to optimize functional ability and achieve healthy aging. Interdependence came up as part of network discussions and opened my eyes to its significance, especially for an aging population. In my view, even with all the goals and mandates in the WHO's endorsement of a new "Decade of Healthy Ageing" (2021 - 2030), all the progress towards more integrated and person-centered models of long-term care, and all the efforts by myriad organizations and agencies to foster wellness among older populations, interdependence is the unrecognized umbrella under which so many issues fall. So, I reached out to Karl Pillemer, PhD, the Hazel E. Reed Professor in Cornell University's Department of Human Development and a professor of gerontology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. His decades of research have advanced our understanding of the complicated web of relationships.
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Casa Dorinda's "Meet Your Neighbor" initiative introduces residents to each other via video by Marilynn Larkin, MA
When the pandemic struck and effectively isolated Casa Dorinda's on- and off-campus residents from the surrounding communities and from each other, the entertainment committee cochairs of the Montecito, California-based life-care community sprang into action. They came up with an innovative and compelling video project, Meet Your Casa Dorinda Neighbor, which has had a positive impact on residents, staff and sales, and will be part of the organization's array of services going forward, according to Director of Life Enrichment Melissa Gill Hausz. Pre-pandemic, the community's entertainment committee members were in part responsible for greeting new residents, inviting them to dinners and social events, and introducing them to current residents. As it became clear in March 2020 that social activities would effectively shut down, the committee's cochairs proposed the video initiative. "The Life Enrichment team felt it would be a wonderful way for residents to not only see each other, but to learn about each other at a time when they couldn't meet in person and have conversations face-to-face," Hausz says. "The plan was approved, and everyone got to work!"
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