Maintaing health and well-being: A longitudinal examination of older adults at a community-based wellness center

As the number of adults over age 65 in the United States continues to grow, identifying community-based programs that are successful in helping older adults maintain health becomes increasingly important. In one wellness center serving low-income older adults in San Mateo County, California, longitudinal surveys conducted every four to six months since December 2008 have tracked changes over time in the eating and nutrition, physical activity levels, social connectedness, and physical and mental health of 94 wellness center participants. Analyses comparing participants' initial versus later survey responses suggest that participation in the set of wellness programs is most strongly associated with improvements in the emotional well-being of older adults. There was additional evidence of increased engagement in physical activities outside of the wellness center and enhanced knowledge of community resources for assistance with commonly reported needs of older adults. Few improvements were observed in participants' eating and nutrition, however; the percentage of participants who were eating recommended servings of various food groups remained fairly low across time. Initially high levels of autonomy, self-care, and health monitoring behaviors were maintained over time as well. Patterns among different subgroups of older adults participating in the center are currently being explored to determine whether some types of participants are particularly likely to show improvements over time.