Yoga for Seniors with Arthritis: A Pilot Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
Elizabeth de Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
New York ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Home Practice ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
East Harlem ◽  
Group Format ◽  
Low Incomes

To examine whether Yoga classes can relieve arthritis symptoms in older adults, Yoga classes were offered once a week for six weeks to 23 older adults (mean age 71; 19 of the 23 were diagnosed with arthritis) in four different senior institutions in East Harlem, New York. Most participants were of Puerto Rican or Spanish-speaking origins, and all had low incomes and little knowledge of or prior exposure to Yoga. Self-reported levels of pain, stiffness and sleeplessness were collected at the beginning and end of the six-week Yoga program. Statistical analyses revealed significant improvements in pain and stiffness, with large effect sizes. The classes had no significant effect on sleeplessness. Twenty-two of the 23 participants also reported home practice of breathing and poses. The results of this pilot study provide promising evidence that group Yoga classes can reduce pain and stiffness among seniors with arthritis. The study also demonstrates the feasibility of this type of intervention: a group format delivered to seniors where they already live or seek resources and that accommodates a diverse range of abilities and health conditions.

scholarly journals A PILOT STUDY ASSESSING IN-HOME ACTIVITY PERFORMANCE AMONG VULNERABLE OLDER ADULTS IN NEW YORK CITY

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. 46-46
Author(s):  
D. Russell ◽  
S.L. Szanton ◽  
J.L. Feinberg ◽  
K.H. Bowles
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
York City ◽  
Activity Performance

Between–City Variation in Frequency of Injection Among Puerto Rican Injection Drug Users: East Harlem, New York, and Bayamon, Puerto Rico

2001 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Héctor M. Colón ◽  
Rafaela R. Robles ◽  
Sherry Deren ◽  
Hardeo Sahai ◽  
H. Ann Finlinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Injection Drug Users ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Injection Drug ◽  
East Harlem

scholarly journals A Comparative Study of Mortality Among Puerto Rican Injection Drug Users in East Harlem, New York, and Bayamon, Puerto Rico

2006 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 1114-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hector Manuel Colon ◽  
Sherry Deren ◽  
Rafaela Rivera Robles ◽  
Sung -Yeon Kang ◽  
Myrna Cabassa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Injection Drug Users ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Injection Drug ◽  
East Harlem

Sexual risk behaviours of Puerto Rican drug users in East Harlem New York and Bayamón, Puerto Rico

2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Oliver-Velez ◽  
Sherry Deren ◽  
Ann Finlinson ◽  
Michele Shedlin ◽  
Rafaela R. Robles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Sexual Risk ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Risk Behaviours ◽  
East Harlem ◽  
Sexual Risk Behaviours

scholarly journals Working Memory Training and Cortical Arousal in Healthy Older Adults: A Resting-State EEG Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Spironelli ◽  
Erika Borella
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Training Group ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Intrusion Errors ◽  
High Beta

The current pilot study aimed to test the gains of working memory (WM) training, both at the short- and long-term, at a behavioral level, and by examining the electrophysiological changes induced by training in resting-state EEG activity among older adults. The study group included 24 older adults (from 64 to 75 years old) who were randomly assigned to a training group (TG) or an active control group (ACG) in a double-blind, repeated-measures experimental design in which open eyes, resting-state EEG recording, followed by a WM task, i.e., the Categorization Working Memory Span (CWMS) task, were collected before and after training, as well as at a 6-month follow-up session. At the behavioral level, medium to large Cohen's d effect sizes was found for the TG in immediate and long-term gains in the WM criterion task, as compared with small gains for the ACG. Regarding intrusion errors committed in the CWMS, an index of inhibitory control representing a transfer effect, results showed that medium to large effect sizes for immediate and long-term gains emerged for the TG, as compared to small effect sizes for the ACG. Spontaneous high-beta/alpha ratio analyses in four regions of interest (ROIs) revealed no pre-training group differences. Significantly greater TG anterior rates, particularly in the left ROI, were found after training, with frontal oscillatory responses being correlated with better post-training CWMS performance in only the TG. The follow-up analysis showed similar results, with greater anterior left high-beta/alpha rates among TG participants. Follow-up frontal high-beta/alpha rates in the right ROI were correlated with lower CWMS follow-up intrusion errors in only the TG. The present findings are further evidence of the efficacy of WM training in enhancing the cognitive functioning of older adults and their frontal oscillatory activity. Overall, these results suggested that WM training also can be a promising approach toward fostering the so-called functional cortical plasticity in aging.

scholarly journals Effects of Three Different Exercise Strategies for Optimizing Aerobic Capacity and Skeletal Muscle Performance in Older Adults: A Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
D. Tavoian ◽  
D.W. Russ ◽  
T.D. Law ◽  
J.E. Simon ◽  
P.J. Chase ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Resistance Training ◽  
Physical Function ◽  
Interval Training ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
High Intensity Interval Training ◽  
Continuous Training ◽  
High Intensity Interval

This Brief Report describes a pilot study of the effect of 12 weeks of stationary bicycle high-intensity interval training, stationary bicycle moderate-intensity continuous training, and resistance training on cardiorespiratory, muscular, and physical function measures in insufficiently-active older adults (N=14; 66.4±3.9 years; 3 male, 11 female). After baseline testing, participants were randomly assigned to one of the exercise groups. High-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training had small-to-large effect sizes on cardiorespiratory/endurance and physical function measures, but very small effect sizes on muscular measures. Resistance training had small-to-large effect sizes on cardiorespiratory, muscular, and physical function measures. This pilot study should be interpreted cautiously, but findings suggest that resistance exercise may be the most effective of the three studied exercise strategies for older adults as it can induce beneficial adaptations across multiple domains. These effect sizes can be used to determine optimal sample sizes for future investigations.

Coming of Age in the 1960s

2020 ◽  
pp. 49-90
Author(s):  
Johanna Fernández
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Road Trip ◽  
East Harlem ◽  
Young Lords ◽  
Operation Bootstrap ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Puerto Rican Students

In New York, a circle of Puerto Rican students read a Black Panther newspaper interview with Cha Cha, took a road trip to meet the Chicago gang leader turned revolutionary, and got permission to launch a chapter of the organization in New York. In search of an organizing agenda in East Harlem, they discovered who their parents were and why over 1/3 of them had left Puerto Rico. In 1947, Operation Bootstrap, A US-led industrialization project of the island displaced more farmers than it absorbed into the new economy. A contingency plan encouraged their mass migration to cities like New York, where 70% of Puerto Ricans became proletarianized as superexploited workers in the city’s garment industry. Soon, they encountered displacements in housing and due to urban industrial decline. They wrestled with medical discrimination in the public hospitals and overt racism in the classroom. In 1967, the killing of a Puerto Rican man by police led to the East Harlem riots. The early childhood experiences of the Young Lords in the streets, in the schools, and as language and cultural translators for their parents radicalized them emotionally and compelled the evangelical commitment with which they launched their activism as young adults.

Drug-Scene Roles and HIV Risk Among Puerto Rican Injection Drug Users in East Harlem, New York and Bayamón, Puerto Rico

2002 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel R. Friedman ◽  
Sung-Yeon Kang ◽  
Sherry Deren ◽  
Rafaela Robles ◽  
Hector M. Colón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Hiv Risk ◽  
Injection Drug Users ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Injection Drug ◽  
East Harlem

scholarly journals Simultaneous Exercise and Cognitive Training in Virtual Reality Phase 2 Pilot Study: Impact on Brain Health and Cognition in Older Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Ashwin Sakhare ◽  
Joy Stradford ◽  
Roshan Ravichandran ◽  
Rong Deng ◽  
Julissa Ruiz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Vascular Resistance ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Medium Effect ◽  
Phase 2 ◽  
Brain Health ◽  
The Impact

Background: Aerobic exercise and environmental enrichment have been shown to enhance brain function. Virtual reality (VR) is a promising method for combining these activities in a meaningful and ecologically valid way. Objective: The purpose of this Phase 2 pilot study was to calculate relative change and effect sizes to assess the impact of simultaneous exercise and cognitive training in VR on brain health and cognition in older adults. Methods: Twelve cognitively normal older adults (64.7±8.8 years old, 8 female) participated in a 12-week intervention, 3 sessions/week for 25–50 minutes/session at 50–80%HRmax. Participants cycled on a custom-built stationary exercise bike while wearing a VR head-mounted display and navigating novel virtual environments to train spatial memory. Brain and cognitive changes were assessed using MRI imaging and a cognitive battery. Results: Medium effect size (ES) improvements in cerebral flow and brain structure were observed. Pulsatility, a measure of peripheral vascular resistance, decreased 10.5%(ES(d) = 0.47). Total grey matter volume increased 0.73%(ES(r) = 0.38), while thickness of the superior parietal lobule, a region associated with spatial orientation, increased 0.44%(ES(r) = 0.30). Visual memory discrimination related to pattern separation showed a large improvement of 68%(ES(ηp2) = 0.43). Cognitive flexibility (Trail Making Test B) (ES(r) = 0.42) and response inhibition (ES(W) = 0.54) showed medium improvements of 14%and 34%, respectively. Conclusions: Twelve weeks of simultaneous exercise and cognitive training in VR elicits positive changes in brain volume, vascular resistance, memory, and executive function with moderate-to-large effect sizes in our pilot study.

iRest Meditation for Older Adults with Depression Symptoms: A Pilot Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helané Wahbeh ◽  
Melissa Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
The United States ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Home Practice ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Growing Population

Abstract Older adults, a rapidly growing population in the United States, have fewer physiological reserves and are more likely to be affected by stress, making them especially susceptible to depression symptoms. Meditation offers promising potential as an effective treatment; however, few studies have evaluated meditation interventions for this demographic. The objectives of this pilot study were to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an iRest meditation program in older adults with depression symptoms and to collect preliminary data on its effect on depression and depression-related symptoms compared to a vacation control. The study occurred at the Institute of Noetic Sciences EarthRise Retreat Center and participants' homes. Thirty generally healthy older adults, aged 55–90, with depression symptoms were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to a 2-day retreat of either iRest meditation training or vacation. After the retreat, participants were asked to complete 20 minutes of home practice per day for 6 weeks; this consisted of either guided meditations (iRest) or music (vacation). Data were collected pre- and post-retreat and then 6 weeks later. Measures included depression-related variables (expectancy, depression symptoms, perceived stress, resilience, pain, sleep quality, and spirituality) and biomarkers (voice stress analysis, heart rate, heart rate variability). We found the iRest intervention for older adults with depression symptoms to be feasible and acceptable. Preliminary results at 6 weeks demonstrated improvements in sleep impairment in older adults compared to the control group and promising trends in improvements in depression symptoms and pain severity.

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