Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Social Model For Health Promotion For An Aging Population: Initial Evidence On The Experience Corps Model, Linda P. Fried, Michelle C. Carlson, Marc Freedman, Kevin D. Frick, Thomas A. Glass, Joel Hill, Sylvia Mcgill, George W. Rebok, Teresa Seeman, James Tielsch, Barbara A. Wasik, Scott Zeger

Intergenerational

This report evaluates whether a program for older volunteers, designed for both generativity and health promotion, leads to short-term improvements in multiple behavioral risk factors and positive effects on intermediary risk factors for disability and other morbidities. The Experience Corps® places older volunteers in public elementary schools in roles designed to meet schools' needs and increase the social, physical, and cognitive activity of the volunteers. This article reports on a pilot randomized trial in Baltimore, Maryland. The 128 volunteers were 60-86 years old; 95% were African American. At follow-up of 4-8 months, physical activity, strength, people one could turn to …