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.
Digital health privacy in active-aging settings: Will the law let you age well? by Tara Sklar, JD, MPH; Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS; Kathie Insel, PhD, RN; and Christopher Robertson, JD, PhD
What is privacy and how are our interpretations of it changing with advances in technology? This question, and concerns around potentially violating a person's right to privacy, have been emerging across industries around the world. Senior living providers have increased their exposure to privacy risks with the shift to implementing sensors throughout their communities. Typically located in digital health devices that can be worn on the body or placed in the environment, these sensors are capable of collecting and tracking data relevant to a person's health and well-being on a continuous monitoring basis. There are privacy laws and a growing public awareness that this type of 24/7 surveillance-and the unprecedented detailed level of data it generates-should be accompanied by measures that support personal data protection. It is important to note that these privacy risks also apply outside the housing context. This article describes the current legal landscape around digital health privacy and proposes possible solutions for organizations to be forward-looking with the evolving laws and consent practices
moreManagement
Shining examples: ICAA and NuStep name 25 "Best in Wellness"
Twenty-five communities have been recognized with the 2019 ICAA NuStep Beacon Award honoring their "Best in Wellness" achievements. The Beacon Award was created as a joint venture between the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) and NuStep, LLC, a longtime partner of ICAA and a manufacturer of recumbent cross-trainers used in healthcare, senior living and fitness settings. Launched in 2019, the ICAA NuStep Beacon Award program is awarded to communities that successfully foster a wellness culture and an environment that supports wellness for all who live and work there. Among the Beacon Award winners, the top five communities have also received the ICAA NuStep Pinnacle Award for their particularly exceptional contributions. "It is a pleasure to honor the top 25 wellness communities," says Jane Benskey, marketing communications specialist at NuStep, LLC. "Their recognition of the value and importance of creating cultures where wellness is not a program in a room, but rather a way of life, is having a lasting and positive impact on many lives."
moreWellness
Meet Moorings Park: The #1 wellness-based community in North America by Sally Abrahms
Creating an outstanding wellness culture in senior living takes a lot of heavy lifting, vision and commitment. And, as industry experts see it, it is something critical to cultivate. The International Council on Active Aging's 2019 ICAA State of Wellness Survey queried 305 senior living communities about the value of having services, programs and environments that support a wellness culture. They say it improves the well-being of residents, keeps their community relevant in a changing industry, differentiates them from competitors, attracts younger adults and garners extra income through wellness programs. Another ICAA survey, conducted in 2018, reveals that 59% of senior living communities plan to have a wellness lifestyle-with-options-for-care model (versus a healthcare-first-with-wellness-features) within the next five years. Currently, 64% of industry leaders believe wellness is a "must have." In its first year, ICAA and NuStep, LLC, a leading manufacturer of recumbent cross-trainers, have given the ICAA NuStep Beacon Award to those that best foster, and imbue, wellness into their senior communities. And the number one wellness-based community in North America went to Moorings Park, a life-plan community in Naples, Florida.
moreWellness
What is wellness? Defining and acting upon a clear and comprehensive vision (with accompanying guidelines "Creating your blueprint for a wellness-based community," based on ICAA Forum 2019 recommendat
What is wellness? How you answer this question has a direct impact on everything your organization does--from your mission statement, to programming, to the built environment, to staffing, to educating your team. Perhaps you are among the nearly 60% of senior living staff and management who said in a 2018 International Council on Active Aging survey that they expect their community to transition to a wellness-based model with care by 2023. Whether you intend to change your business model or to create or evolve a wellness culture, everything you develop will reflect your view of wellness. ... Clarity in what wellness means to your organization bolsters everything you do to create, implement or evolve a business model whose primary focus is wellness. ICAA's new definition of wellness offers you a starting point. The accompanying guidelines ["Creating your blueprint for a wellness-based community"] will help you implement it.
moreICAA initiatives
Hearing care for aging well: How and why to address hearing loss by Marilynn Larkin, MA
On February 28, 2019, to coincide with World Hearing Day, one of the world's leading medical journals introduced a commission to address the global burden of hearing loss. This Lancet commission launch followed a 2017 review on the topic, which noted that, globally, hearing loss is the fourth leading cause of years lived with disability. Perhaps even more significant for the active-aging industry, the review stated that hearing loss "reaches far beyond the sensory impairment...and is strongly associated with dementia and other health conditions among people in the sixth decade of life and older." Therefore, constituents and in some cases management and staff may be affected, with impacts to overall wellness and quality of life as well as health. ..."Everyone is complaining about healthcare costs and talking about what they want to do to keep people healthy longer," says Charlotte Yeh, MD, chief medical officer for AARP Services, Inc. "Hearing is the one thing all of us can and should address right now." The Journal on Active Aging talked with Yeh about how the active-aging industry can mobilize to promote hearing care and address hearing loss, plus why it's important to take action now.
moreGerontology
"Thriving with dementia": Innovative efforts to support quality of life by Sally Abrahms
Older adults are getting even older. Thanks to better health, science and technology, many more people are living into their 80s and 90s. Because advancing age is a risk for dementia (a syndrome that includes symptoms such as memory loss and impaired thinking), the World Health Organization predicts that people with dementia will triple in number worldwide within three decades-from about 50 million today to 152 million by 2050. Currently, up to 70% of dementia cases may involve Alzheimer's disease. While there is no cure for Alzheimer's, senior living providers, adult day centers, and Alzheimer's and dementia experts are increasingly approaching the disease (and other dementias) differently. "Dementia is about thriving, not just surviving" is the new mantra. ... From supportive environments to creative programs, innovative efforts help individuals thrive as they navigate this life passage.
more
