Tan Erwin J, Xue Qian-Li, Li Tao, Carlson Michelle C, Fried Linda P
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
J Urban Health. 2006 Sep;83(5):954-69. doi: 10.1007/s11524-006-9060-7.
There is compelling evidence supporting the benefits of increased regular physical activity in older adults. The Experience Corps program in Baltimore MD was designed in part as a community based approach to increasing physical activity that would also appeal to older adults who have historically not utilized health promotion programs. The Baltimore Experience Corps program places older volunteers in public elementary schools for 15 h a week in roles designed to improve the academic outcomes of children and, simultaneously, increase the physical, cognitive and social activity of volunteers. This paper reports on the change in physical activity levels among older adults associated with participation in the Baltimore Experience Corps. In a pilot randomized controlled evaluation, older adults were randomly assigned to Experience Corps (EC participants) or a waiting list control group. Ages ranged from 59-86 years, 96% were African American, 94% were women, and 84% had annual incomes less than $15,000. EC participants were required to serve >/=15 h a week. At follow-up after 4-8 months, an analysis of 113 randomized volunteers revealed 53% of the EC participants were more active than the previous year by self-report, as compared to 23% of the controls (p<0.01). When adjusted for age, gender and education, there was a trend toward increased physical activity in the EC participants as calculated by a kilocalorie per week increase of 40%, versus a 16% decrease in the controls (p=0.49). EC participants who reported "low activity" at baseline experienced an average 110% increase in their physical activity at follow-up. Among the controls who were in the "low activity" group at baseline, there was, on average, only a 12% increase in physical activity (p=0.03). Among those who were previously active, there was no significant difference (p=0.30). The pilot results suggest that a high intensity volunteer program that is designed as a health promotion intervention can lead, in the short-term, to significant improvements in the level of physical activity of previously inactive older adult volunteers.
有令人信服的证据支持增加老年人定期体育活动的益处。马里兰州巴尔的摩市的“体验团”项目部分设计为一种基于社区的增加体育活动的方法，这种方法也会吸引那些历来未参与健康促进项目的老年人。巴尔的摩“体验团”项目让老年志愿者每周在公立小学工作15小时，其角色旨在提高儿童的学业成绩，同时增加志愿者的身体、认知和社交活动。本文报告了参与巴尔的摩“体验团”项目的老年人身体活动水平的变化。在一项试点随机对照评估中，老年人被随机分配到“体验团”（“体验团”参与者）或候补对照组。年龄范围为59至86岁，96%为非裔美国人，94%为女性，84%的年收入低于15000美元。“体验团”参与者每周需服务≥15小时。在4至8个月后的随访中，对113名随机志愿者的分析显示，据自我报告，53%的“体验团”参与者比上一年更活跃，而对照组这一比例为23%（p<0.01）。在对年龄、性别和教育程度进行调整后，“体验团”参与者的身体活动有增加的趋势，按每周千卡增加量计算为40%，而对照组减少了16%（p=0.49）。在基线时报告“低活动量”的“体验团”参与者在随访时身体活动平均增加了110%。在基线时属于“低活动量”组的对照组中，身体活动平均仅增加了12%（p=0.03）。在那些之前活跃的人群中，没有显著差异（p=0.30）。试点结果表明，作为一种健康促进干预措施设计的高强度志愿者项目，在短期内可使之前不活跃的老年志愿者的身体活动水平得到显著改善。
