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
Using research to build a wellness program by Denise Heimlich, MS
All of us in the wellness industry like to believe that our programs increase fitness, improve health and benefit the well-being of our participants. We use this reasoning to encourage people to join our programs. What we also should be doing is clearly demonstrating these benefits by producing hard data.
When planning a program, research relevant published guidelines so that you understand what criteria will produce the results you intend. Established bodies of research provide clear pathways to success. Keeping abreast of evolving science and avoiding the hype surrounding trendy ideas establishes your personal and program credibility with residents and administration, helps keep your participating residents safe, and sets your program above many others.
Program design
FIT Activity IN! by Mary Sanders, PhD, FACSM
Physical activity slows physiological changes associated with aging, improves exercise capacity, optimizes healthy weight and body composition, promotes psychological and cognitive well-being, helps to manage chronic diseases, reduces the risk of disability and increases longevity (ACSM, 2010). Positive improvements can occur at any age.
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Exploring the "so what" of function by Pamela E. Toto, MS, OTR/L
When you hear the word “function,” what image comes to mind?
Is it a runner on a treadmill or a bodybuilder lifting weights? Is it an image of increased range of motion in the shoulder joint or independence for a sit-to-stand transfer? Is it the ability of a person to climb out of the bathtub, plant a garden or change the curtains in the living room?
Program design
Express~O workouts: creating quick dips for clients by Mary E. Sanders, PhD, FACSM
As health and wellness professionals, we know that people of all ages lead busy lives and many individuals consider time a barrier to exercise. Fortunately, water is a time-efficient exercise modality because cardio and muscular power training occur together. But you have to know how to squeeze the overload out of the water to maximize training time for improvement.
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Living well with dementia: a framework for programs by Bob Laventure, MEd, and Claudine Aherne, MA
The role of physical activity in the prevention of dementia has been previously outlined in the Journal on Active Aging®. In his 2005 article on strategies for keeping the brain healthy, neurologist William Rodman Shankle, MD, cited a study showing that regular exercise reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias by about 50%. Our understanding is also increasing about the links between regular physical activity, the prevention of dementia and related risk factors. However, less is known about the potential of physical activity and exercise to impact upon the lives of people with dementia.
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Circuit play in the pool by Mary E. Sanders, PhD, FACSM
Seventy-six-year-old Stuart Brown is a fit, lighthearted physician and psychiatrist who works out of a tree house in his Carmel Valley, California, backyard. After 40 years of research where he conducted over 6,000 play studies, Brown is hooked on the power of play to maintain a resilient, healthy and joyous life. In his book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul,1 he helps people find the style of play that makes them feel happy, even when faced with difficulties.
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