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.
'Happiness and health, part two: What you can do to boost happiness by Shirley Archer, JD, MA
I'm a happy person. An ex-boyfriend once told me, "You're happy because you don't have any problems." I told him, "You're unhappy because you don't know what a real problem is." That relationship didn't work out. But our conversation illustrates typical perceptions. Many people think happiness is something that comes to them, rather than something to create for themselves. Science now reveals that your efforts, including your mindset, exert a significant influence over your happiness. Researchers have broken down three distinct paths to happiness: positive emotions and pleasure, engagement, and meaning. Practices that boost happiness, therefore, increase experiencing and savoring pleasures, losing the self in engaging activities and participating in meaningful activities.
moreEmotional wellness
Diabetes in older adults: Should we worry? by Veronica Brady, PhD, MSN, FNP-BC, BC-ADM, CDE
Diabetes has plagued us for centuries. Today, however, we are experiencing a diabetes epidemic. ... Among Americans ages 65 and older, 12 million people--25.2% of this age group--have been diagnosed with diabetes. That number might appear high, but keep in mind that in 2015 an estimated 23.1 million adults ages 65+ had prediabetes, or 48.3% of this population, while only 14.1% were aware of the diagnosis. In fact, every year hundreds of thousands of new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in older Americans. And the risk of diabetes rises as we age.
moreDiabetes
AGE-WELL: Harnessing technologies to boost health, wellness and quality of life by Marilynn Larkin, MA
Despite frequent announcements of new offerings, it's difficult at times to come up with meaningful technologies targeting older-adult wellness to showcase in this column. So, I was pleased to learn that AGE-WELL--officially, Aging Gracefully across Environments using Technology to Support Wellness, Engagement and Long Life Network of Centres of Excellence, Inc.--supports the development and commercialization of such technologies. AGE-WELL launched in March 2015 with CAD$36.6 million in funding for 2015-2020 from the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program. Through NCE, the Canadian government promotes a collaborative approach to social, health and economic issues, including aging.
moreIndustry development
Watermark University: An initiative that fosters community and wellness
A desire to foster authentic community and engaged living has long driven Watermark Retirement Communities and its founders. "Watermark was founded over 30 years ago in Tucson, Arizona, with its flagship community, The Fountains at La Cholla," says Managing Director Rich Howell. From the beginning, the goal was for each of its communities to be the kind of place that founders David Freshwater and David Barnes would want their parents to live. After the sale of the Fountains portfolio in 2005, the men teamed up again the next year with the goal "to create a new kind of senior living community," continues Howell, "one that meets the expanded expectations of a new generation of aging Americans who want to lead engaged, fulfilling and health-filled lives." Launched over a decade ago when the company shifted its philosophy on lifestyle and recreation programming from entertainment to engagement, Watermark University is "grounded in research showing that an engaged life brings a remarkable range of benefits in aging adults," Howell states ....
moreInnovator awards
'Telehealth program promotes older-adult health and well-being by Marilynn Larkin, MA
In 2013, while working with MetLife's Mature Market Institute as assistant vice-president and director of Gerontology and Research, John Migliaccio, PhD, consulted informally for Westchester County, New York, laying the groundwork for what would become the Telehealth Intervention Program for Seniors (TIPS). When MetLife decided to close the Institute, Migliaccio was hired by the County to help put the TIPS proposal together. And he was later named project director once the program started. "There was no program like [TIPS] in existence, which was part of the challenge and the excitement," Migliaccio recalls of those early days. "We knew we wanted to deliver health services to older adults in need, but we had to create all the policies, procedures, and operational protocols from scratch, and they had to be continually expanded and updated." Simply put, TIPS provides remote patient monitoring of vital signs as a preventive strategy to enable adults ages 60+ to remain in the community. The program also offers a range of "wraparound services" .... The Journal on Active Aging recently talked to Migliaccio to learn more about TIPS, the benefits to participants, and the outcomes achieved.
moreHealth promotion
Making business sense of wellness programs (with "The business case for wellness programs in senior living" by Patricia Ryan, MS)
In a time of increasing competition for senior living communities, comprehensive wellness programs can help organizations remain financially fit by enhancing resident health and happiness, reducing turnover and healthcare costs, and strengthening staff satisfaction. Those takeaways are among 11 points made in "The Business Case for Wellness Programs in Senior Living," an International Council on Active Aging white paper published earlier this year. The "Business Case" contains data and analysis that demonstrate the positive return on investment, or ROI, that communities can achieve when they develop and maintain high-quality wellness programs. "Everybody needs to lay the foundation for business in solid data," says Colin Milner, ICAA founder and CEO. "This white paper provides the data that active-aging professionals can use to justify wellness to staff, residents, owners and business partners."
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