Active Living Program News
Innovation in Prevention Award Includes Active Living Every Day
The OASIS Institute, an Active Living Partners provider, has been selected to receive one of only nine national Innovation in Prevention Awards from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The award honors businesses and organizations that are leading efforts in promoting healthy lifestyles in their communities. The OASIS Institute’s Active Start program, which includes Active Living Every Day, increases physical activity levels among sedentary older adults through neighborhood senior centers.
“Active Start is an example of how health education tailored to seniors can be interesting, sustainable, and effective at creating lasting behavior change,” said HHS secretary Michael O. Leavitt. “A program focusing on a citizen’s comfort as well as health is truly innovative.”
OASIS began the program in Los Angeles in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Aging. It has since expanded to St. Louis and Indianapolis with support from BJC HealthCare, the Missouri Foundation for Health, and Anthem Foundation. The program trains senior center staff and older adult volunteers to facilitate the classes at the centers. This provides a setting where the participants have the support of their peers. Participants have increased their weekly minutes of physical activity and shown overall improvements in mental and physical wellness.
Irene Lira, a peer leader for Active Start classes at the International Institute in Los Angeles, says she has seen a transformation in many of the people in her class. “They had all sorts of reasons why they couldn’t do this or that,” she recalls. “Some have had strokes or arthritis or just hadn’t moved in a while. I try to be positive and upbeat. In the beginning, some of the people came in dragging their feet,” she recalls. “Now they march right in!”
Active Living Every Day’s lifestyle approach helps people ease into physical activity at their own pace. “Active Living Every Day offers a kinder, gentler approach to exercise that appeals to many inactive adults,” says Steven N. Blair, PED, professor at the University of South Carolina and an author of the book Active Living Every Day. A focus on behavior change strategies concentrates the participants’ efforts on finding physical activities they like and that they want to continue in the long term. The program has been funded for research through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and several other university-based research bodies.
For more information about Active Living Every Day, please visit the Active Living Partners Web site at www.ActiveLiving.info, call 800-747-4457 ext 2286, or send an e-mail to kristinem@hkusa.com. To learn more about the OASIS Institute, visit their Web site at www.oasisnet.org.
Sources
The OASIS Institute. OASIS Institute Receives National Award from HHS for Program to Promote Healthy Lifestyle for Older Adults. Press Release; October 30, 2006. http://www.oasisnet.org/about/news_06_10_30.htmActive Living Program News Archive
