The Baltimore Experience Corps Study - Full Text View

Sponsor:	National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Collaborators:	Retirement Research Foundation Abell Foundation Experience Corps National Office France-Merrick Foundation Goldseeker Foundation The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc. Maryland Governor's Office of Service and Volunteerism
Information provided by:	National Institute on Aging (NIA)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00380562

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the Experience Corps program in preventing or delaying physical disability in older adults, by studying the effects of volunteerism on physical, social and cognitive well-being.

Condition	Intervention
Aging Generativity	Behavioral: Experience Corps

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Allocation: Randomized Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment Masking: Single Blind Primary Purpose: Treatment
Official Title:	Experience Corps Trial: Improving Health of Older Populations Through Generativity

Further study details as provided by National Institute on Aging (NIA):

Primary Outcome Measures:

Decreased disability in mobility and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)

Secondary Outcome Measures:

Decreased falls
decreased rate of decline in memory
increased, preserved or slowed decline in strength, balance, walking speed, frailty, timed "get up and go", cortical plasticity and executive function and speed and accuracy in objective IADL task performance

Estimated Enrollment:	1046
Study Start Date:	March 2006
Estimated Study Completion Date:	March 2011

Detailed Description:

The Baltimore Experience Corps Study is a randomized, controlled, community-based trial of the effectiveness of Experience Corps (EC) to determine if participation for adults 60 years and older, over two years of follow-up, results in better outcomes in the EC versus control arm in terms of mobility, strength, balance, and cognitive functioning.

The Experience Corps is a community-based model for health promotion for older adults embedded within a social engagement program. The program places older adult volunteers in meaningful roles in public elementary schools, bringing the time, experience, and wisdom of older adults to bear in improving academic and behavioral outcomes of children. The Experience Corps incorporates health promotion preventing disability and dependency associated with aging, into new, generative roles for older adults.

This program was initially designed by the Principal Investigator of this application, along with Marc Freedman of Civic Ventures, Inc. It has gone through two national demonstrations, neither of which evaluated the impact on older adults.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	60 Years and older
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

60 years or older
Agree to commit to at least 1 year of participation in the EC and to participate at least 15 hours per week for the full school year, if randomized to the intervention group
Meet minimum criteria for cognitive functioning necessary to function successfully in a school setting
Functionally literate, using a nationally recognized and standardized evaluation which provides grade level equivalency in reading and spelling
Ability to travel to the schools, if randomized to the intervention group
Agree to accept randomization and to participate in evaluations
Clearance on the Baltimore city public school's criminal background check, if randomized to intervention group
Complete training, if randomized to intervention group

Exclusion Criteria:

Under 60 years of age

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00380562

Contacts

Contact: Gene Graves	410-807-1785	cgraves1@jhmi.edu
Contact: Carol Ray	410-818-8348	cray9@jhmi.edu

Locations

United States, Maryland
Center on Aging and Health	Recruiting
Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21205
Contact: Laprisha Berry-Vaughn, MSW, MPH 410-502-6630 lberry7@jhmi.edu
Sub-Investigator: Jeremy Barron, MD
Sub-Investigator: Michelle Carlson, PhD
Sub-Investigator: Constantine Frangakis, PhD
Sub-Investigator: Tara Gruenewald, PhD
Sub-Investigator: Barbara Martin, PhD
Sub-Investigator: Iveris Martinez, PhD
Sub-Investigator: George Rebok, PhD
Sub-Investigator: Teresa Seeman, PhD
Sub-Investigator: Erwin Tan, PhD
Sub-Investigator: Elizabeth Tanner, PhD, RN
Sub-Investigator: Keith Whitfield, PhD
Sub-Investigator: Qilu Yu, PhD

Sponsors and Collaborators

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Retirement Research Foundation

Abell Foundation

Experience Corps National Office

France-Merrick Foundation

Goldseeker Foundation

The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc.

Maryland Governor's Office of Service and Volunteerism

Investigators

Principal Investigator:	Linda Fried, MD, MPH	Johns Hopkins University
Study Director:	Laprisha Berry-Vaughn	Johns Hopkins University

More Information

Publications:

Fried LP, Carlson MC, Freedman M, Frick KD, Glass TA, Hill J, McGill S, Rebok GW, Seeman T, Tielsch J, Wasik BA, Zeger S. A social model for health promotion for an aging population: initial evidence on the Experience Corps model. J Urban Health. 2004 Mar;81(1):64-78.

Frick KD, Carlson MC, Glass TA, McGill S, Rebok GW, Simpson C, Fried LP. Modeled cost-effectiveness of the Experience Corps Baltimore based on a pilot randomized trial. J Urban Health. 2004 Mar;81(1):106-17.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00380562 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	AG0069, PO1AG027735
Study First Received:	September 25, 2006
Last Updated:	January 29, 2009
Health Authority:	United States: Federal Government

Keywords provided by National Institute on Aging (NIA):

Quality of life
Cognitive Functioning
Activities of Daily Living
Disability prevention

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on February 12, 2012