March 2004
Previous
Newsletters
From
the Active for Life Program Office
Upcoming
Events
Tips,
Tactics and Tools
In
the News
Funding
Opportunities
From the
Active for Life® National Program Office
Active for Life in Washington
On March 8th and 9th, 22 representatives
from Active for Life grantee sites joined NPO and The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) staff in visits
on Capitol Hill with legislators and legislative staff
in Washington, D.C. The Hill visits were part of the
Connect Project, a RWJF initiative designed to help
RWJF grantees educate policymakers about key prevention
issues. As a result of the meetings in Washington, plans
are underway to have congressional representatives attend
several events at Active for Life centers during the
next several months. In addition, the NPO will be working
with staff from the Senate Special Committee on Aging
and the Congressional Fitness Caucus to provide background
information to legislators regarding the importance
of increasing physical activity among the 50 and older
population.
National Public Health Week
is April 4-10
National Public Health Week (NPHW)
2005 will focus on empowering Americans to live stronger,
longer. During NPHW, the American Public Health Association
and its partners will promote the three Ps in adding
more healthy years to life: Prevent, Protect and Plan.
A series of fact sheets including Live Stronger Longer:
Older Adults are available at http://www.apha.org/nphw/05-facts.htm.
The Administration on Aging has joined with the APHA
as a partner in National Public Health Week. AOA invites
and encourages members of the National Aging Services
Network to promote the week as a way to reach older
adults and family caregivers about opportunities to
take the preventive actions necessary to keep aging
Americans strong and healthy throughout their later
years.
Plan for Older Americans Month
May is Older American’s
Month. The theme for 2005 is “Celebrate Long Term
Living.” For materials, including posters, logos,
and census bureau news go to the Administration of Aging
Web site http://www.aoa.gov/press/oam/May_2005/Materials_Downloads.asp
Upcoming Meetings
of Interest
April 12 – 16, 2005. American Alliance for Health,
Physical Education, Recreation & Dance National
Convention and Exposition. Chicago, IL. For more information
see http://www.aahperd.org.
April 13 – 16, 2005. The Society for Behavioral
Medicine Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions will
be held at the Marriott Copley Place Hotel, Boston,
MA.
June 1-4, 2005. The American College of Sports Medicine
Annual Meeting will take place in Nashville, TN. The
program includes research presentations, current issues,
tutorials, clinical lectures and clinical workshops.
Outcome data for the Active for Life program will be
debuted during the meeting. http://www.acsm.org/meetings/annualmeeting.htm.
Sept. 7-9, 2005 (tentative). Active
for Life Annual Grantee meeting. Location TBD. AFL grantees
will receive confirmation information later in the spring.
October 13-15, 2005. ACSM and the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign Walking for Health: Measurement and
Research Issues and Challenges. Walking is the most
simple and effective mode of physical activity but critical
research and measurement questions remain. For more
information see http://www.acsm.org/meetings/walkingconference2005.htm.
Tips, Tools
and Tactics
Achieving Cultural Competence:
A Guidebook for Providers of Services to Older Americans
and Their Families
This guidebook, developed by the
Administration on Aging, is designed for use by providers
of services to racially and ethnically diverse older
populations. There is growing interest in learning how
effective, culturally appropriate services can be provided
by professionals who have mastered culturally sensitive
attitudes, skills, and behaviors. To download a PDF
go to http://www.aoa.gov/prof/adddiv/cultural/addiv_cult.asp.
New NCOA Center for Healthy
Aging Web site
NCOA launched a new Web site designed
to provide aging-service providers with easy access
to resources, such as manuals, assessment tools, toolkits,
and model programs. The four healthy aging topic areas
include health promotion, disease prevention, falls
prevention, and chronic disease self-management. The
site is a National Resource Center for the AOA initiative
"Evidence-based Prevention Program for the Elderly."
The site is available at: http://www.healthyagingprograms.org.
National Plan for Falls
Prevention
In response to escalating concerns
related to falls and fall-related injuries among the
aging population, top health and safety organizations
led by the National Council on the Aging (NCOA), the
Archstone Foundation and the Home Safety Council, have
collaborated in an initiative entitled Falls Free: Promoting
a National Falls Prevention Action Plan. The National
Action Plan is a one of its kind monograph that addresses
the challenges and barriers related to a national falls
prevention initiative and outlines key strategies and
action steps to help reduce fall dangers for older adults.
For a copy of the National Plan and background materials
including an environmental scan related to current falls
initiatives and research papers go to http://www.healthyagingprograms.org/content.asp?sectionid=9.
Tool Kit to Help Prevent
Falls
The Tool Kit to Prevent Senior
Falls, a CDC product, has technical information and
materials about falls and fall-related injuries. It
can be used on an individual basis or incorporated into
health promotion activities aimed at reducing falls
among older adults. Fact sheets, graphs, and brochures
about falls and fall prevention for older adults are
included. http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/toolkit/toolkit.htm.
Teaching Old Dogs New
Tricks
Aging beagles supplied with a
diet rich in nutrients found in fruits and vegetables,
given exercise, and social and environmental stimulation
remained more youthful and smarter than canines given
run-of-the-mill treatment, a new study from the National
Institute of Aging (NIA) reports. The report, published
in the scientific journal Neurobiology of Aging, offers
new insights into a range of factors that may keep the
brain in peak condition into old age in humans as well.
For more information see http://todaysseniorsnetwork.com/New_tricks_Old_Dogs.htm
Search ASA Publications
with ArticleSearch
The ArticleSearch is a feature
on the American Society on Aging’s Web site that
provides both ASA members and non-members access to
an array of useful information from the organization’s
periodical publications including Generations, Aging
Today and ASA’s eight constituent newsletters.
To access ASA ArticleSearch visit http://www.asaging.org/articlesearch.
Nutrition Screening
Initiative
The Nutrition Screening Initiative
(NSI) is a broad, multi-disciplinary effort led by the
American Academy of Family Physicians, the American
Dietetic Association and a coalition of more than 25
national health, aging and medical organizations. The
goal of NSI is to promote the integration of nutrition
screening and intervention into health care for older
adults. To get more information, including an order
form for NSI materials, go to http://www.aafp.org/x16081.xml.
Checklist helps older
adults select age-friendly fitness facilities
The International Council on Active
Aging (ICAA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians
have jointly developed a national, age-appropriate fitness
and wellness facility locator and patient referral program.
The Web site utilizes a comprehensive checklist to help
compare and rate local fitness facilities. See http://www.icaa.cc/facilitylocator.htm
for more information.
Racing Against the Clock
Racing Against the Clock is an
80-minute documentary that profiles five women between
the ages of 50 and 82 who sprint, jump, and pole vault
through track and field competitions on their quest
to make it to the Masters World Championships, and in
so doing, demonstrate that growing older is no obstacle
to leading an active and athletic life. The film will
be released theatrically this spring followed by broadcast
on public television. Uncommon Productions is interested
in incorporating it into a larger outreach campaign
to bring the awareness of active older people to senior
and fitness organizations across the country. Producer
Debra Longo would welcome the opportunity to send organizations
a copy of the film and full proposal for consideration.
Additional information about the film can be found at
http://www.uncommonproductions.com.
In the News
White House Conference on Aging Events
For the next year, HEALTHWORD
will post Web sites listing White House Conference on
Aging (WHCoA) events and draft resolutions affecting
health promotion. This month, we focus on transportation-related
Listening Sessions for the WHCoA Policy Committee, as
well as WHCoA-related sessions at the ASA-NCOA Joint
Conference. To read more about the importance of participating
in the planning process, read the December 2004 issue
of HEALTHWORD (posted at http://www.asaging.org/cdc/HealthWord.cfm).
Benefits of Power Training
Weight-bearing exercise is frequently
recommended for women to improve bone strength and protect
against osteoporosis. But little information has been
available on the most effective resistance training
methods. Fifty-three post-menopausal women exercised
for one year following a progressive resistance training
protocol along with a gymnastics session and home training.
About half were assigned to a strength training group
using slower speed and the rest followed the same program
using fast movements (power training). Other than speed
of movement, there were no training differences. After
12 months, the power training group maintained bone
mineral density (BMD) at the spine and hip sites while
the strength training group lost BMD at both sites.
No differences were seen between the groups for anthropometric
data, strength or frequency/grade of pain. The researchers
concluded that the faster power training was more effective
in reducing bone loss. SOURCE: Journal of Applied Physiology,
2005;doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01260.2004.
Funding
Opportunities
Community Participation in Research (PAR)
Deadline for Applications: May 17, 2005, 2006, 2007.
The goal of PAR is to support research on health promotion,
disease prevention, and health disparities conducted
jointly by communities and researchers. Community-based
participatory research (CBPR) is defined as scientific
inquiry conducted in communities and in partnership
with researchers. The process of scientific inquiry
is such that community members, persons affected by
the health condition, disability or issue under study,
or other key stakeholders in the community's health
have the opportunity to be full participants in each
phase of the work (from conception - design - conduct
- analysis - interpretation - conclusions - communication
of results). CBPR is characterized by substantial community
input in the development of the grant application. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-05-026.html#SectionIV.
Aetna Foundation Regional Community Health Grants Program
The Aetna Foundation, a philanthropic program of Hartford-based
Aetna, is inviting proposals for its Regional Community
Health Grants Program. The program provides funding
focused on reducing disparities in health care among
racial and ethnic populations in eligible geographic
areas. In 2005, Aetna will devote up to $2.6 million
to regional initiatives to address this issue. Grant
requests, ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, should address
diabetes initiatives targeting individuals and families
with prevention and healthy behavior modification messages
to help combat the growing incidence of type 2 diabetes
in children and adults and provide screening and education.
Only programs serving eligible geographic areas are
eligible to apply. Applicants must be non-profit organizations
with evidence of IRS 501(c)(3) designation or de facto
tax-exempt status. Proposals are accepted only through
the Aetna Foundation's online system. See the foundation's
Web site for complete program guidelines, eligible geographic
areas, regional deadlines and application procedures.
http://www.aetna.com/foundation/communitygrants/2004_rfp.htm
Bikes Belong Coalition Grants
The Bikes Belong Coalition welcomes grant applications
from organizations and agencies within the United States
that are committed to putting more people on bicycles
more often. The Bikes Belong Grants Program funds projects
in three categories: facility, education or capacity
building. For the education and facility categories,
Bikes Belong will accept applications from non-profit
organizations and from public agencies and departments
at the national, state, regional, and local level. For
the capacity building category, Bikes Belong will only
fund organizations whose mission is expressly related
to bicycle advocacy. For more information see http://bikesbelong.org/site/page.cfm?PageID=21.
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