Innovation Showcases
A Compass to Navigating Health and Physical Literacy throughout the Lifespan: On the Road to Lifelong Health and Wellness - the Mind, Body Connection
Innovation Showcase Carol M Ciotto, Marybeth Fede
Being healthy and physically active is important in combating hypokinetic diseases and certain types of cancer (United States Department of Health and Human Services USDHHS, 1996-present). We can now add to the long list of benefits of physical activity; increased cognition, focus, and overall readiness to learn. According to Ratey, (2008) exercise is like “Miracle Grow” for the brain. Researchers suggest that what we now call thinking is really, evolutionary internalization of movement and that play helps shape the brain, opens imagination, and invigorates the spirit (Blaydes, 2000; Jensen, 2000; Lengel & Kuczala, 2010). This information is old news that is being revisited by leaders in the field of education and neuroscience, and rightfully so. The purpose of the Compass initiative is to navigate Health and Physical Literacy throughout the Lifespan in order to help children, adults, and seniors understand and be able to feel comfortable using the powerful tool of movement to enhance their overall health and physical literacy.
Active Aging Assessment: A New Tool - Healthy Aging Asset Index
Innovation Showcase Tammy O Rourke, Anne H. Summach
Active Aging is a global challenge. The world population is increasing at an exponential rate and a significant number of this population are over the age of 55. Medical discoveries have increased longevity, but social innovations are lagging, leading to significant issues for seniors who want to age well at home. Community-based social service agencies for seniors lack the resources to support the needs of this important group and change is slow. One of the first steps in supporting active aging in different contexts is assessment. Assessment can support seniors and agencies to identify areas of resilience and opportunities for social prescriptions. The Healthy Aging Asset Index (HAAI) was developed specifically for this purpose. The HAAI includes seven assessment areas: physical health, personal well-being, mental health, social support, physical environment, safety & security, and social engagement. Each of these areas includes three questions to assess the senior’s resilience. If the senior’s resilience is found to be low in one or more of these areas, social prescriptions are provided to the senior to support active aging using a targeted approach. The HAAI has been well received in Canada, and its spread is progressing. Content validity and inter-rater reliability will be reported in this session in addition to sharing the HAAI tool with the audience to support further spread of the tool to support active aging in different contexts.
