EXPERIENCE CORPS TRIAL: IMPACT DISABILITY, FALLS MEMORY

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

With the proportion of people 65 and older expected to rise to 22% by 2020, it is critical to develop and test[unreadable] population-based approaches for large scale, effective health promotion for our aging society. This will[unreadable] permit evidence-based decisions as to how to deploy resources in order to have optimal impact on the health[unreadable] of older adults. This project seeks to contribute toward this goal, within a broader program project, by[unreadable] conducting a randomized, controlled trial of the effectiveness of the Experience Corps program in preventing[unreadable] or delaying physical disability, falls and cognitive decline in older volunteers. This program is a senior[unreadable] volunteer program which places people 60 and older in meaningful roles in public elementary schools[unreadable] designed to have high impact on childrens' outcomes; the program attracts and retains older adults, 15 hours[unreadable] per week, for its opportunity to give back. However, designed into the program is a health promotion[unreadable] program, intended to increase social, cognitive and physical activity. Building on a successful pilot in[unreadable] Baltimore, MD, the Mayor supports scaling the program up across the city. This proposal will, in a[unreadable] University-community collaboration, conduct a rigorous evaluation of the impact of the scaled-up program[unreadable] through an evaluation of older volunteers randomized to the Experience Corps or a control group (low[unreadable] commitment volunteering) for 2 years. Secondary aims are to determine if Experience Corps participation[unreadable] preserves or slows loss of strength, balance, cortical plasticity and executive function and prevents frailty[unreadable] and declines in IADL performance. All adults randomized to Experience Corps or controls will be followed[unreadable] for 2 years; those enrolled in the first year will be followed for 3 years. Given the demonstrated diversity of[unreadable] older adults attracted to Experience Corps service, this will provide insight into the potential of this social[unreadable] model for health promotion through generativity to help resolve health disparities for older adults. The work[unreadable] of this project will be mutually interconnected and synergistic with the other 4 projects in this Program[unreadable] Project, interconnecting through a Steering Committee in Core A. A Recruitment and Retention Core (Core[unreadable] B), a Data Collection and Management Core (Core C) and a Design, Randomization and Analysis Core[unreadable] (Core D) will support the conduct of the project. Overall, this program project is designed to evaluate the[unreadable] utility and effectiveness of Experience Corps as a social model for health promotion for an aging society.[unreadable]