The Research and Development of a Mental Fitness Program for Older Adults
by Sandra A. Cusack
During the past decade, my colleague Wendy Thompson and I have developed a program of research at Simon Fraser University that focuses on promoting older adult education and facilitating the productive engagement of older adults as leaders in community programs and services. Our approach to research and development in older adult education is supported by a philosophy of "research as emancipatory education." To help the reader better understand the philosophy and the approach, this brief overview will define the term; locate it within a newly emerging paradigm of inquiry--"critical gerontology"--and describe the research and development of a mental fitness program in the context of a seniors recreation center in western Canada that embodies the philosophy and the approach.
The concept of research as emancipatory education explicitly identifies the conduct of research as an educational process purposefully designed to liberate people from old attitudes and assumptions that limit potential and open them up to exploring and creating more positive possibilities for growth and productivity in later life. Central to emancipatory education is the potential for personal transformation. For example, a research and development project that involves older adults in exploring the problem of isolated elders and how to overcome it includes a volunteer training component designed to "empower" elder volunteers. A participant, experiencing severe depression following forced retirement at age 50, finds a new role and new meaning:
When this project began I had no idea the impact it would have on me. I started for something to do and it has done so much for me. I am hooked and I have to continue. It's made me look further, deeper into people, and understand them better. It always makes me feel good to help others, but this project has given me more. The project has given me back a purpose in life that I had lost.
(Isolated Elders Project, 1996)
With respect to research on populations of older people, emancipatory learning can occur when elders are engaged in any form of "participatory research." That is to say, they may participate as partners in the conduct of inquiry, at times asking the questions, at times conducting the interviews and/or distributing surveys, sometimes helping to interpret the results, or developing strategies for sustainability. Research is seen not only as a process of creating knowledge, but simultaneously as education, development of consciousness, and mobilization for action. While personal emancipation or transformation can occur as the result of participating in any research project, the emancipation of older people is rarely the primary focus for a population research study; it may be a secondary goal or an unintended benefit. Whereas an approach to research as emancipatory education explicitly identifies the primary goal of the research project as personal and social transformation.
Notions of research as emancipatory education are consistent with the spirit of a relatively new movement, critical gerontology, embodied in the works of American scholars such as Estes, Minkler and Moody. As Moody (1993) defines it:
Above all critical gerontology is concerned with the problem of emancipation of older people from all forms of domination. Hence, critical gerontology is concerned with identifying possibilities for emancipatory social change, including positive ideals for the last stage of life.
A critical perspective sheds light on the extent to which elders within a given context (group, organization, institution) are oppressed, lack power, do not have a voice, and/or do not participate fully or legitimately in decision-making processes. The first step is to recognize and give voice to the various manifestations of discrimination or oppression, such as the feeling of being invisible that many older people experience.
As children we were taught to be seen and not heard. When we retire, the message society gives is the same. Furthermore, we are told we aren't needed any more. It's deja vu! We are back to where we started. Once again, the message is to be seen and not heard, and often our families reinforce that message.
(Leadership for the '90s, 1995)
And the loss of self-esteem:
I experience loss of respect when shopping and a clerk passes me by to wait on someone who is younger. If people don't ask my opinion, I eventually withdraw and feel negative.
(Mental Fitness, 1995)
Simply put, critical gerontology is concerned with exposing the forces that promote inequality in later life, identifying and exploring possibilities for change, and creating the conditions under which people can continue to develop and thrive during the final stages of life. Research as emancipatory education is a method with attitude for making it happen. In many cases, the conduct of research in the spirit of critical gerontology lays the foundation for and generates the commitment to educational interventions that are both emancipatory and transformative. The research and development of a mental fitness program for older adults is presented here as an illustrative case study. The story begins with a critical perspective and a recognition of the belief many people hold of inevitable decline in mental abilities with age. The greatest fear most people have, regardless of age, is the fear of "losing it"--and it is this fear that a mental fitness program is designed to address.
In 1993, Wendy Thompson and I were hired to assist elders in conducting a lifelong learning needs assessment of the membership of Century House. Results of that study suggested that mental fitness was just as important as physical fitness: the brain needs to be exercised and developed just as the body does. But what is mental fitness, and how does one exercise and develop it? With funding from the Vancouver Foundation, we embarked on a second research study to explore and define the concept of mental fitness and the components of a mental fitness program.
Mental Fitness Research Project
Mental fitness is a state of mind in which we are open to enjoying our environment and the people in it, having the capacity to be creative and imaginative and to use our mental abilities to the fullest extent. It's a willingness to risk, to inquire and to question; and an attitude of acceptance of other points of view, and a willingness to learn and grow and change.
(Mental Fitness, 1995)
Mental Fitness is vital to healthy aging and it encompasses a number of abilities/skills that can be developed. Like physical fitness, it is a condition of optimal functioning that is achieved through regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Mental fitness includes creative thinking, clear thinking, problem-solving, memory skills, learning new things, expressing ideas clearly, setting personal goals and developing positive mental attitudes such as: optimism, mental flexibility, self-esteem and confidence, willingness to risk.
Mental Fitness Pilot Program
Based on the findings of the research project, a Mental Fitness Program was developed and implemented at Century House. The first group of people (between the ages of 63 and 83) completed the Mental Fitness Pilot Program in December 1996. The program consisted of a series of eight all-day intensive workshops that included the following themes: goal-setting, critical thinking, creative thinking, positive mental attitudes, speaking your mind, learning and memory, and how to keep mentally fit for life. In the course, seniors learned how old attitudes and beliefs about declining mental abilities restricted their options for a productive old age. They learned how to change limiting beliefs to positive beliefs that reflected their potential for growth in later life, and they learned to speak the language of limitless possibility.
Everyone who completed the pilot program has benefited--all reported dramatic increases in their level of mental fitness, many had improved memory. One said,
I used to believe that as one got older, one's importance in the world diminished, one's opinions were no longer sought, and one's thoughts no longer respected. Now I know it isn't true.
Another said,
I have a newfound energy that is enabling me to think more clearly. I am doing things I never thought I could because of this excitement I have. I am striving for things I never thought I could achieve. Perhaps it was the limiting beliefs that held me back.
Graduates of the Mental Fitness Program are continuing to work as mental fitness advocates speaking to groups and individuals, as participants in mental fitness seminars, and as community leaders. Both older adults and professionals across the province of British Columbia have been inspired by their example and are eager to get involved and reap the many benefits.
Future directions in the research and development of mental fitness include the following:
(1) Strategic planning for ongoing programs in mental fitness at Century House;
(2) Replicating the research, exploring the concept of mental fitness in other contexts and other cultures (e.g., How would a group of elders in a Learning-in-Retirement program define mental fitness?)
(3) Adapting and implementing the pilot program in other contexts, based on further context-specific research; and
(4) Experimental/intervention research that provides solid evidence of the effect of a mental fitness program on measures of health.
Mental fitness is a way of life that promotes a healthy mind, body and spirit, and it is the key to a healthy and productive aging society. Based on mental fitness research, Century House has received the National Council on the Aging's National Institute of Seniors Centers (nisc) 1997 Research Award for research that contributes to innovations in senior centers. We are deeply honored by the nisc award and we hope that it will promote further sharing and exchange of resources across the border in the true spirit of "free trade."
For more information about mental fitness programs and research, contact Sandra Cusack at the Gerontology Research Centre, Simon Fraser University, (604) 291-5062; fax (604) 291-5066.
Sandra A. Cusack is a research associate in educational gerontology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
