Journal of Applied Gerontology

This article describes the types of complementary therapies used by older adults for health promotion, and delineates the predisposing, enabling, and need factors associated with their use. One-hundred ninety-five African American and White participants (age 65+) completed a baseline interview and up to six sets of three daily follow-up interviews at monthly intervals. Complementary therapies for health promotion included home remedies, specific foods or beverages, herbs, supplements, vitamins, over-the-counter (OTC) medicine, prayer, exercise, and being active. Although gender, ethnicity, education, and trust in doctors were associated with the use of complementary therapies for health promotion, health information seeking was the predisposing factor most often associated. The enabling factors were also associated with their use. Health information seeking, which reflects a wellness lifestyle, had the most consistent associations with complementary therapy use for health promotion. This health self-management for health promotion may have positive effects on future medical expenditures.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an 8-week Tai Chi Chih exercise program on physical functional performance (PFP) among women aged 45 to 65 years. A quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent comparison group was used. Forty-one healthy inactive women were assigned to either an intervention group (n = 19) or a comparison group (n = 19). A 60-min Tai Chi Chih exercise class was conducted twice a week for 8 weeks. PFP was measured at baseline and postintervention using the Continuous Scale Physical Functional Performance–10 (CS-PFP 10). Between-group differences were analyzed using one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). After participating in the 8-week program, intervention group participants showed greater improvement in the CS-PFP measures (p < .05, η² > .06). However, the comparison group had little changes. The findings from this study suggest that participation in an 8-week Tai Chi Chih exercise program can improve PFP in healthy, community-dwelling middle-aged women.

The primary goal of the current study was to examine the impact of a caregiving support program on caregivers’ perceived health at 6 months following baseline assessment in the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregiver Health II (REACH II) intervention. A composite measure of perceived health was established and incorporated self-rated health, change in self-rated health, and improvement in physical health. A total of 494 participants receiving the REACH II intervention or an education-only intervention were included in this study. Mixed effect linear regression analysis was performed to examine the effect of the intervention and the factors that mediate this relationship. Findings suggest that the enhanced supportive intervention led to significant improvement in caregivers’ overall perceived health at 6 months. This effect remains significant after controlling for positive satisfaction with caregiving. Improving caregivers’ stress and burden while fostering positive rewards and appraisals may provide indirect health benefits and maintain overall health in dementia caregivers.

Communities nationwide have formed cross-sector partnerships to face the needs of an aging population, particularly for the purpose of improving long-term supportive service systems. Research is limited on how evaluation strategies are incorporated into partnership work, especially in the field of aging. This retrospective qualitative study reviewed administrative and key informant interview data to examine how 15 community partnerships (CPs) within the Community Partnerships for Older Adults (CPFOA) national program incorporated evaluation into their work. The four overarching lessons drawn from our inquiry suggest that effective CPs: (a) incorporate both formative and summative methods into evaluation, (b) use and develop the knowledge and skills of its members, (c) support flexible and creative evaluation methods and strategies, and (d) use internal and external resources to support evaluation efforts, particularly with nontraditional partners. There is a need for continued research to capture the methodological complexity of partnership evaluation.

This mixed-methods study developed and evaluated an online program to improve older adults’ skills in identifying high-quality web-based health information. We conducted focus groups and individual interviews to collect data on older adults’ preferences for online instruction and information. We used the findings to develop, pilot test, and evaluate an interactive website which was grounded in health behavior change models, adult education, and website construction. Sixty four participants were randomly assigned to Your Health Online: Guiding eSearches or to an analogous slide-based-tutorial and compared in their knowledge, self-efficacy, and program assessment. Experimental participants assigned significantly higher ratings of usability and learning to the new site than controls did to their tutorial although no differences were found in self-efficacy or knowledge. Experimental participants reported that participation was likely to improve future searches. Information is now needed to examine if such programs actually improve health searches, ehealth literacy, and health outcomes.

With a growing number of evidence-based programs, it is necessary to understand the translation activities, experiences, and challenges of program replication in a community setting. This article reviews the implementation tasks necessary for agencies to implement the Reducing Disability in Alzheimer’s Disease (RDAD) intervention. It presents the importance of using original evidence-based program protocols and enhancing them to best fit service settings by reviewing the translation and implementation activities of (a) selecting and training program and supervisory staff; (b) recruiting, screening, and consenting participants to enroll in the program; and (c) developing a manual to guide community-based program replication. Furthermore, the process revealed that the replication of an evidence-based program can take place within the realities of a community setting with input from program oversight, implementation, and evaluation staff and the original researcher.