Research in Service of Community: CHHS Faculty implement “Systematic Innovations for Meeting the Needs of Older Adults” at the American Gold Star Manor.

The Systematic Innovations for Meeting the Needs of Older Adults is part of a broader vision and commitment of the California State University’s College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) is committed to serving the needs of an aging population by going beyond the traditional academic arena to engage communities in identifying issues and solutions.  AGSM is home to 420 low-income seniors that are mostly Gold Star families and veterans. Our original project goals were as follows:

• To establish a strong collaborative and interdisciplinary effort to enhance the quality of life of older adults at AGSM by supporting faculty projects that addressed the priority needs established by residents. Key priorities addressed include: 1) Establishing friendships and social connectivity among AGSM residents, as well as with the students; 2) implementing an innovative walking and transportation program; 3) Increased physical activity, healthy eating, and prevention of falls; 4) Improved overall well-being of residents
• To build a vibrant, multidisciplinary network of researchers and community partners working in a cohesive manner.  To that end, all projects were implemented by interdisciplinary faculty and student teams from disciplines across CHHS and beyond, including kinesiology, public health, gerontology, physical therapy, health care administration, and psychology.  Project Director meetings were coordinated by the Center for Successful Aging, which also established a monthly Colloquium speaker series for faculty and community partners to share the innovative collaborative work they are doing to improve the lives of older adults.
• To support projects that will positively affect AGSM residents six (6) distinct projects led by multidisciplinary faculty from CHHS were funded through a collaboration between the Archstone Foundation, AGSM, SCAN, and CHSS. 

A Purposeful Design for Older Adults: Connecting Seniors to their Community through Walking (CSCW) led by Dr. Kellie Walters in Kinesiology created 8 unique walks for seniors and in the process provided feedback to the City on the positive and negative aspects of the walking experience as an older adult using photos taken by the seniors themselves. Residents have been trained to continue the program through a recreational walking club. A thematic analysis of CSCW data collected through focus groups held after each walk and after the program, highlighted the benefits of the walking groups, including making new friends and enhanced social connections to other residents and staff, as well as feeling more connected to their community.

Multicomponent Dual-Task Intervention to Reduce Risk of Falling in Community-Dwelling Older Adults led by Dr. Venilla Krishnan in Physical Therapy implemented an eight-week exercise class focusing on cognitive and physical performance for fall risk reduction. The program successfully improved dual-task walking performance for older adults as compared to the control group. Classes continue to be offered through OLLI.

The Navigator Link pilot project led by Drs. Grace Reynolds and Sandhya Shimoga from Health Care Administration identified the social and health services needs of manor residents, and trained residents to access some of these services via computer training.

Creating a Culture of Health led by Drs. Gail Farmer and Theodora Papachristou from Health Sciences implemented a series of 15-week workshops integrating health literacy and nutritional cooking demonstrations to address social isolation and promote social connectivity.

Through this initiative, we have shown that through a coordinated set of activities in an independent-living older adult community we can successfully address: (1) enhance intergenerational interaction and appreciation, (2) reduce the isolation of older adults and improving their quality of life, and (3) filling the need for workforce development of students who desire to work with older adults. Projects engaged faculty and students from diverse disciplines, including gerontology, kinesiology, health sciences, health care administration, physical therapy, nutrition, and recreational therapy.  One hundred and fifteen (115) of students across the college of health and human services have gained the positive experience of working with older adults, preparing them to be more effective in their future service roles.  Over 150 residents participated in these programs with overall positive outcomes and reception. Participants also reported increased knowledge about transit and enhanced health.  Furthermore, over 11 presentations have come out of these projects to date.  Several publications are in the works.  While 2 projects – one on hearing and social isolation (The Effects of Mild to Moderate Untreated Hearing Loss on Quality of Life of Seniors, led by Dr. Edward Garcia Aud. from the Department of Speech and Communication Disorders) and another an exercise program (A Multi-Modal Exercise Intervention to Enhance Walking Ability, Physical Function, Cardiometabolic Health, and Quality of Life led by Dr. Scott Ducharme in Kinesiology) were put on hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Activities will resume post-COVID as soon as it is deemed safe by AGSM management and university administration. As illustrated above, CHHS continues and plans to continue to work collaboratively with AGSM to improve the lives of older adults.

The Systematic Innovations project has had some important and lasting benefits for improving the lives of older adults.  We have established a greater communication and understanding between AGSM and CHHS on the collective impact that we can have if we work together.  The sustained partnership between CHHS and AGSM is a win-win for both organizations.  Our sustained presence at AGSM has led to the expansion of CHHS programs at AGSM, including OLLI, Life Fit, Nursing, beyond the funded project.  It has also opened up opportunities to train our students, and the future health and human services workforce to work with older adults.  Moreover, the AGSM Board recently approved a social mission for the residential community in September 2019.  Beyond meeting the housing needs of low-income seniors, they now recognize and support their role in improving the quality of life and offering programming that supports the social engagement needs of residents.  Furthermore, the AGSM Board approved a new position of Residential Services Coordinator in April 2020 to facilitate continued programming at the Manor.