Increasing Social Connectedness for Underserved Older Adults Living With Depression: A Pre-Post Evaluation of PEARLS.

Objective: To evaluate PEARLS effectiveness for increasing social connectedness among underserved older adults with depression.

Design: Multisite, pre-post single-group evaluation.

Setting: Community-based social service organizations (N = 16) in five U.

A Brief Intervention for Malnutrition among Older Adults: .

Despite a multitude of nutritional risk factors among older adults, there is a lack of community-based programs and activities that screen for malnutrition and address modifiable risk among this vulnerable population. Given the known association of protein and fluid consumption with fall-related risk among older adults and the high prevalence of falls among Americans age 65 years and older each year, a brief intervention was created. Stepping Up Your Nutrition (SUYN) is a 2.

Understanding the context of health for persons with multiple chronic conditions: moving from what is the matter to what matters.

Purpose: An isolated focus on 1 disease at a time is insufficient to generate the scientific evidence needed to improve the health of persons living with more than 1 chronic condition. This article explores how to bring context into research efforts to improve the health of persons living with multiple chronic conditions (MCC).

Methods: Forty-five experts, including persons with MCC, family and friend caregivers, researchers, policy makers, funders, and clinicians met to critically consider 4 aspects of incorporating context into research on MCC: key contextual factors, needed research, essential research methods for understanding important contextual factors, and necessary partnerships for catalyzing collaborative action in conducting and applying research.

Building a foundation for systems change: increasing access to physical activity programs for older adults.

Although 25% of U.S. adults are physically inactive, this percentage increases dramatically for older adults.

Advocacy 101: getting started in health education advocacy.

Advocacy for the public's health and for the profession are widely recognized as responsibilities of health educators. Increasing emphasis on advocacy by professional organizations has peaked the interest of health educators, yet knowing where to begin as an advocate is, to many, a mystifying process. This article provides basic advocacy terminology, dispels concerns about participating in advocacy activities, and provides a practical and stepped approach to becoming an effective advocate.

The health educator's role in advocacy and policy: principles, processes, programs, and partnerships.

Advocacy skills are essential for the public health practitioner. Recognizing this need, two statewide public health organizations partnered for a series of advocacy trainings. Outcomes included an increased competence for such advocacy as providing expert testimony, writing position papers, forging stronger relationships with policy makers, and committing to ongoing advocacy.