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 profiles
GO! Green: an outdoor walking challenge by Bill Clifford
What began in 2004 as a desire on the part of a group of residents to create an extensive series of walking and hiking trails around Seabury, a life care community in Bloomfield, Connecticut, has since blossomed into a full-blown environmental wellness initiative. Events such as birding outings, nature walks and a Nordic Walking program increased activity and awareness of the trails among the residents. All this activity eventually led to “GO! Green: Moving Outdoors Towards 26.2,” a challenge program that encouraged participants to complete a marathon distance of 26.2 miles (42 K) over a six-month period of time with one rule: the mileage had to be outdoors.
With more than 200 participants, the initiative exemplifies the commitment of Seabury’s residents and staff to the environmental dimension of wellness.
Program profiles
Building a music program
What do you do when a new program doesn’t take off? When Shelly Chapman, senior services event coordinator for The City of Auburn Hills in Michigan started the Exploring Music Series, there were only a few participants. However, encouraged by a motivated supporter, Chapman grew the program from a start of only six people to over 50 participants.
Once a month, the Exploring Music Series features a presenter who teaches about music or entertains. Examples are a college professor who explained the differences among instruments and a session on identifying sounds while listening to music played on a tape recorder. A goal was to explore music using all the senses, plus relate music to feelings and memories.
Program profiles
Team Ironman . . . for every age and ability! by Linda Schmidt
It is understandable why the Ford Ironman World Championship is held every year in beautiful Kona, Hawaii. After visiting that tropical paradise, I starting thinking about how wonderful it would be to recreate such an event where people of any age and ability could have the enjoyment of participating in an Ironman—and spend a week in paradise.
What better place than a life care community to have an Ironman? The people who live there have participated in challenging careers and sports during their lives. And, there is no better way to get people involved in health and fitness than to set a goal that includes having fun, working together with friends and associates, and encouraging each other to succeed. The idea of producing an Ironman at La Loma Village, a life care community of approximately 150 independent residents with a staff of approximately 57, began to take shape.
Program profiles
20in10: how Touchmark's wellness tips campaign expanded awareness
In 2009, with Touchmark about to enter its 30th year, the company decided on a 2010 goal of expanding wellness awareness and emphasizing all the dimensions of wellness. A key way to increase understanding “was to seek people’s input about how they could ‘experience wellness in less than 10 minutes’ several times a day,” Coalman says. So Touchmark created a campaign, called 20in10: 20 Tips to Wellness You Can Do in 10 Minutes. To learn more, the Journal on Active Aging® recently asked Coalman, a longtime contributor and a member of the ICAA Advisory Board, what was involved in this multifaceted, yearlong campaign.
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NuStep spotlights two programs at the 'Pinnacle' of wellness
"NuStep is pleased to recognize these two organizations for their exceptional efforts," comments Sarns. "Westminster Canterbury Richmond--under the leadership of Robert Adkins and his team--has created a truly inclusive wellness environment. Wellness permeates the community and connects everyone," he notes. "Wellness opportunities are available, and participation encouraged, for the valued residents and the equally valued staff, helping to transform the lives of all." According to Sarns, this striking support for "whole-person/whole-community wellness" was a key reason for Westminster Canterbury's selection in the Senior Living division.
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Fit and Strong! an evidence-based program for older adults with osteoarthritis by Susan Hughes, DSW, Pankaja Desai, PhD, Rachel Seymour, PhD, and Gail Huber, PhD
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common condition affecting older people today. It is also the leading cause of disability among them. OA is associated with aging and affects the joints of the body, which become stiff and painful on motion as the cartilage between bone surfaces wears down. Although OA can affect all joints in the body, its presence in lower extremity joints is particularly problematic.
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