The American Society on Aging (ASA) is involved with new three health-promotion initiatives that focus on physical activity for older adults:
The National Roundtable on Increasing Physical Activity Among Adults of Color Age 50 and Older. ASA partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create a forum for exploring effective cultural approaches to promoting physical activity. Discussion by a racially diverse group of participants -- academic and public health researchers, community practitioners and professionals in aging -- explored barriers and solutions to elders' participation in physical activity in African American, Latino and American Indian communities. Overarching themes centered around engaging with the community, recognizing local strengths, offering a customizable menu of activities and grounding interventions in a community's key cultural aspects.
This illustration by Tyler Cohen is from Exercises for Keeping the Keys Longer: A Workbook for Older Drivers.
Live Well, Live Long: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention for Older Adults. ASA developed this free, Web-based module on physical activity in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The module will be found on the ASA website this spring at www.asaging.org/cdc. The website is targeted to service providers and includes several learning modules. "Blueprint for Health Promotion" covers behavioral and environmental change, community capacity-building, culturally sensitive materials, health literacy and working with the mass media. Other modules focus on cognitive vitality and optimal medication use for elders. Modules on diabetes and older-driver wellness are being prepared.
Because physical activity plays a significant role in health promotion, a module on physical activity was designed as a comprehensive source of information to complement and expand the other wellness modules. Scheduled to be available in 2004, this module will examine a range of subjects, including physical activity, aging and ageism, working with elders who have chronic conditions, screening and assessment, and creating programs. It also will include such ready-to-use materials as resources for use in culturally and ethnically diverse communities. Those wishing to be notified as new health-promotion modules go online can contact ASA's Nancy Bui at nbui@asaging.org or (800) 537-9728, ext. 618.
Exercises for Keeping the Keys Longer: A Workbook for Older Drivers. This home-based exercise program, to be available this spring in print and online versions, is aimed at boosting the physical functioning of older drivers. Part of the "Roadmap to Driving Wellness Module," the illustrated workbook features an exercise program to strengthen and stretch the upper and lower body focusing on functional application for driving. In addition, it contains suggestions for building endurance.
For more information on these projects, contact ASA research manager Chaya Gordon at (415) 974-9604 or chayag@asaging.org.
