Exploring the Effects of an "Everyday" Activity Program on Executive Function and Memory in Older Adults: Experience Corps[R]

Fuente: ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
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Autori principali: Carlson, Michelle C., Saczynski, Jane S., Rebok, George W., Seeman, Teresa, Glass, Thomas A., McGill, Sylvia, Tielsch, James, Frick, Kevin D., Hill, Joel, Fried, Linda P.
Natura: Recurso educativo Open Access
Lingua:en
Pubblicazione: 2008
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author Carlson, Michelle C.
Saczynski, Jane S.
Rebok, George W.
Seeman, Teresa
Glass, Thomas A.
McGill, Sylvia
Tielsch, James
Frick, Kevin D.
Hill, Joel
Fried, Linda P.
author_facet Carlson, Michelle C.
Saczynski, Jane S.
Rebok, George W.
Seeman, Teresa
Glass, Thomas A.
McGill, Sylvia
Tielsch, James
Frick, Kevin D.
Hill, Joel
Fried, Linda P.
Carlson, Michelle C.
Saczynski, Jane S.
Rebok, George W.
Seeman, Teresa
Glass, Thomas A.
McGill, Sylvia
Tielsch, James
Frick, Kevin D.
Hill, Joel
Fried, Linda P.
collection Education Resources Information Center
contents Exploring the Effects of an "Everyday" Activity Program on Executive Function and Memory in Older Adults: Experience Corps[R] Carlson, Michelle C. Saczynski, Jane S. Rebok, George W. Seeman, Teresa Glass, Thomas A. McGill, Sylvia Tielsch, James Frick, Kevin D. Hill, Joel Fried, Linda P. Elementary School Students Physical Activities Reading Achievement Older Adults Memory Cognitive Processes Risk Comparative Analysis Libraries Student Behavior Psychomotor Skills Intervention Control Groups Community Programs Program Descriptions Cognitive Ability Purpose: There is little empirical translation of multimodal cognitive activity programs in "real-world" community-based settings. This study sought to demonstrate in a short-term pilot randomized trial that such an activity program improves components of cognition critical to independent function among sedentary older adults at greatest risk. Design and Methods: We randomized 149 older adults to Experience Corps[R] (EC) or a wait-list control arm. Participants randomized to EC trained in teams to help elementary school children with reading achievement, library support, and classroom behavior for 15 hr/week during an academic year. We compared baseline and follow-up assessments of memory, executive function (EF), and psychomotor speed at 4 to 8 months by intervention arm, adjusting for exposure duration. We observed a range of EF abilities at baseline and stratified analyses according to the presence of baseline impairment using established norms. Results: Overall, EC participants tended to show improvements in EF and memory relative to matched controls (ps less than 0.10). EC participants with impaired baseline EF showed the greatest improvements, between 44% and 51% in EF and memory at follow-up, compared to declines among impaired-EF controls (ps less than 0.05). Implications: Short-term participation in this community-based program designed to increase cognitive and physical activity in a social, real-world setting may train memory and, particularly, executive functions important to functional independence. This community-based program represents one potentially effective model to bring high doses of sustainable cognitive exercise to the greatest proportion of older adults, particularly those sedentary individuals at elevated risk for health disparities.
format Recurso educativo Open Access
id eric_EJ824389
institution ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
language en
publishDate 2008
record_format eric
spellingShingle Exploring the Effects of an "Everyday" Activity Program on Executive Function and Memory in Older Adults: Experience Corps[R]
Carlson, Michelle C.
Saczynski, Jane S.
Rebok, George W.
Seeman, Teresa
Glass, Thomas A.
McGill, Sylvia
Tielsch, James
Frick, Kevin D.
Hill, Joel
Fried, Linda P.
Elementary School Students
Physical Activities
Reading Achievement
Older Adults
Memory
Cognitive Processes
Risk
Comparative Analysis
Libraries
Student Behavior
Psychomotor Skills
Intervention
Control Groups
Community Programs
Program Descriptions
Cognitive Ability
Exploring the Effects of an "Everyday" Activity Program on Executive Function and Memory in Older Adults: Experience Corps[R] Carlson, Michelle C. Saczynski, Jane S. Rebok, George W. Seeman, Teresa Glass, Thomas A. McGill, Sylvia Tielsch, James Frick, Kevin D. Hill, Joel Fried, Linda P. Elementary School Students Physical Activities Reading Achievement Older Adults Memory Cognitive Processes Risk Comparative Analysis Libraries Student Behavior Psychomotor Skills Intervention Control Groups Community Programs Program Descriptions Cognitive Ability Purpose: There is little empirical translation of multimodal cognitive activity programs in "real-world" community-based settings. This study sought to demonstrate in a short-term pilot randomized trial that such an activity program improves components of cognition critical to independent function among sedentary older adults at greatest risk. Design and Methods: We randomized 149 older adults to Experience Corps[R] (EC) or a wait-list control arm. Participants randomized to EC trained in teams to help elementary school children with reading achievement, library support, and classroom behavior for 15 hr/week during an academic year. We compared baseline and follow-up assessments of memory, executive function (EF), and psychomotor speed at 4 to 8 months by intervention arm, adjusting for exposure duration. We observed a range of EF abilities at baseline and stratified analyses according to the presence of baseline impairment using established norms. Results: Overall, EC participants tended to show improvements in EF and memory relative to matched controls (ps less than 0.10). EC participants with impaired baseline EF showed the greatest improvements, between 44% and 51% in EF and memory at follow-up, compared to declines among impaired-EF controls (ps less than 0.05). Implications: Short-term participation in this community-based program designed to increase cognitive and physical activity in a social, real-world setting may train memory and, particularly, executive functions important to functional independence. This community-based program represents one potentially effective model to bring high doses of sustainable cognitive exercise to the greatest proportion of older adults, particularly those sedentary individuals at elevated risk for health disparities.
title Exploring the Effects of an "Everyday" Activity Program on Executive Function and Memory in Older Adults: Experience Corps[R]
topic Elementary School Students
Physical Activities
Reading Achievement
Older Adults
Memory
Cognitive Processes
Risk
Comparative Analysis
Libraries
Student Behavior
Psychomotor Skills
Intervention
Control Groups
Community Programs
Program Descriptions
Cognitive Ability
url https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ824389