Effectiveness of the Vital Aging program to promote active aging in Mexican older adults

Abstract

Introduction

Aging is not only a population phenomenon but also an experience and an individual reality. Vital Aging^® is a program that considers active aging as the lifelong adaptation process of maximizing health and independence, physical and cognitive functioning, positive affect regulation and control, and social engagement. Through its different versions and editions, it has demonstrated being an effective program to promote active aging. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the “face-to-face” and “combined” versions of the program to promote active aging in Mexican older adults trial.

Methods

Seventy-six older adults aged 60 years and over participated in a quasi-experimental study and were recruited in a senior center to participate in the two experimental conditions: Vital Aging face-to-face (VA-FF) (n=35) and Vital Aging combined (VA-C; multimedia/face-to-face) (n=15), and the remaining 26 adults were assigned to a control group. Pretest and posttest assessments were performed after the theoretical–practical intervention. Mean differences and size effects were calculated for estimating the effect of the program.

Results

At the end of the study, participants showed improvements in the active aging outcome measures. Positive effects were observed in the frequency of intellectual, cultural – artistic, and social activities, perceptions of aging, satisfaction with social relationships, and self-efficacy for aging. Additionally, those who participated in VA-FF showed better memory performance, meta-memory, and a trend to report less memory problems, while older persons in VA-C showed a trend to have better life satisfaction. No effects were observed in physical activity, frequency of social relationships, and subjective health.

Conclusion

Findings show that the Vital Aging program in face-to-face and combined versions encourages active aging in Mexican older persons. These results are in general similar to those found in editions performed in Spain, revealing its consistency as a cross-cultural practical initiative for promoting active aging.

Keywords:

• Vital Aging
• active aging
• intervention program
• successful aging

Supplementary materials

Regarding the multimedia version, it has been tested with consistent outcomes. In a first study, its efficacy was compared in different contexts, including community-dwelling older persons (n=44), living in residential context (n=13), and a control group (n=31); results showed an increased frequency of cultural, intellectual, and social activities and a more positive view about aging in community and residential participants compared to those in the control group.^1,2 Besides, those in community setting improved their nutrition habits, physical activity, and had better life satisfaction. Results remained in a 6-months follow-up with positive changes in health in the community group. No effects were reported in social relationships. A later study confirmed the impact of VA-M; it was implemented during 3 months. Seventy-three older adults participated in a 35-hour video lesson. Pretest and post-test were conducted comparing intervention and control groups. Results showed that participants in VA-M program improved in subjective health, general activities, frequency of physical exercise, and diet quality; in addition to improvements found in the previous editions, better subjective memory, use of mnemonic strategies, hedonic balance, frequency of social relationships, and fewer negative emotions (measures included only in this study) were reported.^3,4

A separate study compares VA-FF (n=28) and VA-M (n=25) and a control group (n=37) in community-dwelling older persons. Once again, improvements in the frequency of cultural, intellectual, and social activities and a more positive view about aging were reported. In addition, participants in the multimedia version reported more physical activity, better nutrition habits, and life satisfaction, compared to those in the face-to-face version. No effects were reported in social relationships and health.^5,6

Regarding VA-eL, it was implemented between 2010 and 2012 through the learning management system, Learning Management System Moodle Platform. After several changes with the purpose to have an adapted cross-cultural program, it was launched at four participating universities: Autonomous University of Madrid, Catholic University of Chile, La Habana University, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Preliminary results obtained in the Spain subsample indicate that participants reported greater emotional balance and higher leisure and productive activities; the report has not been completed yet.⁷

Table S1 Previous editions and outcomes of different versions of the Vital Aging program

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Acknowledgments

Project PSI2014-52464-P from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) in Spain supported this work.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.