Healthy Habits - Keeping a Positive Outlook on Aging (Symposium Recap)

 

Leaders from the family history and aging communities gathered in May to identify collaborative approaches that enhance healthy aging. The National Genealogical Society, Vivid-Pix, FamilySearch, and other genealogy organizations joined experts in AgeTech, home and facility healthcare, and healthy aging for a first-ever symposium designed to explore how family history activities can support America’s aging population and its caregivers in promoting longevity and mental health in aging. Highlights from the event, as well as the full symposium, can be viewed at https://Vivid-Pix.com/NGS-Symposium.    Panelists from the healthcare sector discussed research on SuperAgers, healthy aging, and the brain, concluding: The average American lifespan is 79 years, making healthy aging today vastly different from 1965 when Medicare was established and American lifespans were less than 70 years. The population aged 65 and older is the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. Technology is essential to older Americans. According to AARP, the average person aged 50 and older owns seven technology devices. The single highest risk factor of avoidable dementia is hearing loss. Over 75 percent of people age 70 and over are in good health;however, loneliness increases the risk of dementia by more than 30 percent.   Dr. Charlotte Yeh of Yeh Innovation and past-Chief Medical Officer at AARP Services, Inc., stated, “There are three things that really matter for healthy aging and lower healthcare costs. One, having a sense of purpose is associated with better health outcomes. Number two, social connection. That is one of the most powerful things for healthy aging, and what do you do in genealogy? You join a community of like-minded people while you recreate your family. And the third is a positive view of aging. And because you dive into family histories, you learn how growing older brings wisdom, experience, and resilience.”   Two panels with family history leaders explored how purpose, social connection, and a positive outlook on aging are fostered through genealogy and family history pursuits. Some key observations included: If we listen to and let older adults share their stories, look at photos, and research their family history, it can help provide seniors with a sense of purpose. An Ancestry research project referenced during the symposium described that 80% of seniors will share their stories when asked. We can enhance social connection and reduce loneliness by fostering relationships through storytelling. Researching genealogy is similar to using puzzles, which makes connections and keeps the brain young. Reflecting on the past can evoke fond memories and enhance older adults’ perspectives on aging. Grandchildren can encourage older adults to open up and share more of their stories than they might have otherwise done with their children. Collaborating with caregivers can provide families with opportunities to share stories and learn more about their ancestors. Treating older adults with dignity enhances engagement and can lead to improved therapeutic outcomes. The National Institute for Dementia Education, CERTUS Institute, and Vivid-Pix have expanded their research to further understand how therapeutic activities using photos and mementos can improve the connection between care-receiver and caregiver, reducing loneliness, isolation, depression, and burnout. Research on outcomes associated with family history activities is important and should be supported. Creating events that align senior services, genealogical and historical societies, local communities, libraries, archives, and museums (SLAMs) can help bring people together. SLAMs require financial support and tools to increase their engagement with the aging community.   One of the key findings from the symposium is that there is a mutual benefit from collaboration between family historians and the healthy aging community. David Rencher, President of the National Genealogical Society and Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch, noted, “We have to understand the largest genealogical asset on the planet is living memory.”   Curt Witcher, Director of Special Collections and Manager of The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library told the audience, “The power of partnership is essential. We have extremely good success working with every elder care facility in northeast Indiana that will have us. No matter what we do, the residents embrace it, the activities directors embrace it,” Witcher said, proving the demand for family history programming is high in these settings. Together, these two communities can enhance health and memory outcomes while expanding Americans’ understanding of how families and our society are interconnected.   For more information, please see: https://www.vivid-pix.com/ngs-symposium/.

About the Organizers   The National Genealogical Society supports the aging community through its vast network of over 8,000 family historians and 500 genealogy organization members representing hundreds of thousands of people interested in family history. Family history activities, including reading, research, analysis, and writing, are brain-healthy activities that keep people engaged and socially connected. For more info, see: https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/.    Vivid-Pix invents and harnesses scanning, restoration, recording, and sharing technologies, making it simple for individuals, families, and organizations to relive memories and share stories, reconnecting people, whether through bringing back precious memories thought to be long gone due to the passage of time, or cognitive decline. For more info, see http://www.vivid-pix.com, https://vivid-pix.com/reminisce, https://vivid-pix.com/education, and https://vivid-pix.com/memorystation.