Verstaen Alice, Rau Holly K, Trittschuh Emily H
is a Clinical Psychologist in Mental Health Services; is a Neuropsychologist at the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center; is a Research Health Scientist Specialist in Research and Development; all at VA Puget Sound Health Care System Seattle Division. Emily Trittschuh is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.
Fed Pract. 2020 Jul;37(7):309-315.
Positive health behaviors can promote brain health with age. Although healthy lifestyle factors are often encouraged by health care providers, many older adults experience difficulty incorporating these into their daily life.
To address this gap, we developed a novel health education and implementation group for older veterans (aged > 50 years). The primary objectives of this group were to provide psychoeducation about the link between behaviors and brain health, increase personal awareness of specific health behaviors, and promote behavior change through individualized goal setting, monitoring, and support. Based on input from medical providers, group content targeted behaviors known to support cognitive functioning: physical activity, sleep, cognitive stimulation, and social engagement.
Thirty-one veterans participated in six 90-minute weekly classes and attended 5 of the 6 groups on average. The average age for the predominantly male (90%) and white (70%) group was 71 years. Qualitative feedback indicated high satisfaction and increased awareness of health behaviors. Results of paired samples tests comparing baseline to posttreatment self-report measures revealed a significant decline in depressive symptoms ( = .01) and increases in satisfaction with life ( = .003) and self-efficacy ( = .008).
This development project showed evidence of increased awareness of health behaviors and improved mood. Expanded data collection will strengthen power and generalizability of results (increase sample diversity). It will also allow us to examine moderating factors, such as perceived self-efficacy, on outcomes.
积极的健康行为能够随着年龄增长促进大脑健康。尽管医疗保健提供者经常鼓励健康的生活方式因素，但许多老年人在将这些因素融入日常生活中仍面临困难。
为了填补这一空白，我们为老年退伍军人（年龄>50岁）开发了一个新颖的健康教育与实施小组。该小组的主要目标是提供关于行为与大脑健康之间联系的心理教育，提高对特定健康行为的个人意识，并通过个性化的目标设定、监测和支持来促进行为改变。根据医疗提供者的意见，小组内容针对已知有助于认知功能的行为：体育活动、睡眠、认知刺激和社交参与。
31名退伍军人参加了每周六节90分钟的课程，平均参加了6组中的5组。这个以男性为主（90%）且白人占多数（70%）的小组的平均年龄为71岁。定性反馈表明满意度很高，对健康行为的认识有所提高。配对样本检验比较治疗前与治疗后自我报告测量结果显示，抑郁症状显著下降（P=.01），生活满意度（P=.003）和自我效能感（P=.008）有所提高。
这个开发项目显示出健康行为意识增强和情绪改善的证据。扩大数据收集将增强结果的说服力和普遍性（增加样本多样性）。这也将使我们能够研究调节因素，如感知到的自我效能感，对结果的影响。
