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- Research
Wellness staff members extend their sphere of influence by Patricia Ryan, MS
Senior managers responding to an ICAA survey in 2014 said that lifestyle and wellness offerings were an extremely or very important strategy for growing their business. Implementing those offerings is the responsibility of the wellness workforce. To better understand how job descriptions are being written, the International Council on Active Aging conducted Salary & Benefits Surveys in 2011 and 2015. Collecting the work responsibilities of these professionals is important to define their positions and add context to compensation levels. It is also informative to compare positions in 2011 and 2015 to examine if, and how, responsibilities are changing.
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Inside the buildings: Research highlights wellness opportunities by Patricia Ryan, MS
The buildings are in place, the grass is cut, and a person at the front door greets arrivals. The structures provide the settings, but what will an older adult find when she or he walks through the front door? ... To answer this question, the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) gathered information from its members and associated network through two recent surveys.
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Brain training: Views diverge in the scientific community
In October 2014, 69 leading neurologists and cognitive psychologists signaled a consensus from the scientific community on the brain training industry. The consensus statement was skeptical of claims made about "computer-based brain games" - particularly that they offer "consumers a scientifically grounded avenue to reduce or reverse cognitive decline" - and cited a lack of scientific evidence to support them. A group of more than 125 medical doctors and scientists responded in December with an open letter expressing "significant reservations" about the statement.
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Steven Blair: a renowned researcher inspires the active-aging industry
In 2012, when considering who to recognize with the second annual ICAA INSPIRE Award, CEO Colin Milner chose a researcher whose studies have had a tremendous impact, whose service as an ICAA Advisory Board Member has helped advance the industry, and whose support for the association predates its launch: Steven N. Blair, PED.
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Higher-intensity interval training moves to the pool by Mary E. Sanders, PhD, FACSM, RCEP
Are your participants short on time? Recommend a quick, low-impact run in the pool to squeeze out the health benefits of higher-intensity interval training (HIIT). Interval training alternates bursts of high energy with low-energy recovery cycles. Research suggests this kind of approach offers a viable, shorter alternative to higher volume, continuous aerobic exercise. Depending on a person’s fitness level and objective, the intermittent work and recovery bouts in HIIT may last seconds to minutes. Pool training provides opportunities to gear up, or down, intensity on demand by capturing water’s natural resistance. And a simple walk, jog or run can be performed with vigor in cool liquid comfort.
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Access to nature boosts physical activity among older adults, saves staff time by Susan Rodiek, Ph.D., NCARB
On September 13, 2010, my colleagues and I were gratified to receive a professional award from the American Society of Landscape Architects at the society’s annual meeting in Washington, DC. That award, and the recognition our team has received from numerous organizations that provide long-term care to older adults, reinforced the value of the time and effort we put into developing an instrument that makes environmental evaluations of assisted living communities more quantifiable and reliable, and enables providers to compare satisfaction-related outcomes associated with physical environments.
We developed the instrument based on seven key principles that evaluate specific environmental qualities in assisted living communities (For more information, see Principles for outdoor areas that encourage resident participation on page XX). We then identified up to 10 ratable items that appeared to be the main components of each principle, resulting in a total of 63 individual items, which we used in the evaluation tool. After evaluating 68 randomly selected communities in various parts of the United States, and surveying 1,560 residents and staff, we identified a number of landscape features that were strongly associated with outdoor usage.
