By Jill Pease

Many of us picture living out our golden years in the comfort and familiarity of home. A recent AARP survey found three-quarters of adults age 50 and older want to remain in their current homes as they age. Yet, age-related mobility and cognitive changes, coupled with limited community resources and support, can derail these plans.

When it comes to aging, rather than focusing solely on lifespan, we need to pay closer attention to healthspan — the period of life spent in good health, said Chiung-ju (CJ) Liu, Ph.D., OTR/L, an associate professor in the college’s Department of Occupational Therapy.

In her research, Liu investigates the factors that enhance older adults’ functional ability, which is the capacity to perform daily activities that are meaningful and valuable to the individual. Functional ability, not age, determines how old you are, she said, and it is crucial for aging in place.

“Usually when people have to decide to abandon their home or move to a care facility, it’s really because they have lost the very basic ability to take care of themselves,” Liu said.

Liu developed a 10-week exercise program for older adults that embeds exercise into activities of daily living. Research has shown participants in Liu’s 3-Step Workout for Life retained muscle strength and improved functional ability for months after the training compared to participants in traditional resistance training programs.

Liu’s program asks participants to make the activities they normally do a little more challenging by increasing distance, speed or adding weight. When working in the garden, for example, add a weight to your harvest basket. Driving to the store? Take a parking spot in the farthest row from the entrance. It’s never too early or late to incorporate exercise into your daily tasks, Liu said.

“Functional ability is one of the best investments we can make for our retirement account,” she said.

This year, the UF Office of Research provided the College of Public Health and Health Professions funding to develop strategies to better enable Floridians to age safely in their homes. College scientists have been awarded grants to investigate several conditions affecting older adults, including:

• Liu and Dorian Rose, Ph.D., P.T., a research professor of physical therapy, aim to improve mobility and cognition in high-risk older adults who recently received home health care by addressing persistent mobility and cognitive issues with a six-week task-oriented exercise plan.
• Hearing loss can impact the ability to follow medical instructions, hear fire alarms or participate in daily activities. Tracy Centanni, Ph.D., an associate professor of speech, language and hearing sciences, is evaluating vagus nerve stimulation as a portable and affordable intervention for improving speech-in-noise perception.
• Hongwu Wang, Ph.D., an assistant professor of occupational therapy, is creating both an AI-driven tool that recommends personalized, affordable smart home devices for older adults and a hands-on training kit to boost independence and reduce preventable accidents.
• Chien-Te Wu, Ph.D., an associate professor of occupational therapy, leads a project to enhance cognitive flexibility, the brain’s ability to adapt, switch between tasks and cope with new demands. He is examining the feasibility of employing a program known as Tinkering to Flex Ur braiN among older adults in community settings.
• Jennifer Applebaum, Ph.D., an assistant professor of environmental and global health, is assessing the barriers and facilitators to aging in place for older adults with HIV who are pet owners. The project focuses on pets’ impacts on mental, physical and social health, as well as economic stability.
• Age-related hearing loss is often accompanied by vestibular dysfunction, which significantly increases fall risk. Elizabeth Tobener, Ph.D., Au.D., a clinical assistant professor of speech, language and hearing sciences, is investigating the relationship between hearing loss and fall risk by evaluating an equipment-free balance screening measure.