No abstract

Gerontologists have argued that the growing human capital of the aging population can be better marshaled as a resource for families, communities, and society at large. Additionally, this active, purposeful engagement can produce positive outcomes for older adults themselves. In this manuscript, we propose that existing conceptual frameworks articulating antecedents and outcomes of productive engagement, including working, volunteering, and caregiving can be improved using a system dynamics (SD) approach. Through a series of five unstructured group model-building sessions, experts from gerontology and systems science developed a qualitative SD model of the productive engagement of older adults. The model illustrates the reciprocal and dynamic nature of the stocks of human capital of older adults, social capital of older adults, and family resources; the engagement of older adults in productive activities; and the social and organizational variables that affect the flow and depletion of these stocks. Given this is the first attempt to develop a SD model for productive engagement in later life, the model is preliminary and heuristic. However, it offers a new approach to advancing theory and research on productive engagement in later life. Further, it can guide the development of mathematical models to estimate the effects of changes in any part of this system.

No abstract

The federal Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides on-the-job training to people 55 years and older with incomes at or below 125% of the federal poverty level with multiple barriers to employment. This study examined the processes by which SCSEP may influence participant financial, physical, and mental well-being. We engaged 15 SCSEP participants and case managers over four virtual and one telephone session using a participatory research method called community-based system dynamics. Activities included identifying key problem trends, variable elicitation, developing a causal map, and identifying changes to the system to increase participant well-being. Respondents identified how individual, organizational, and program and policy factors relate to participant well-being (e.g., SCSEP participation reduces social isolation, which increases desire to participate) and suggested program and policy recommendations to strengthen SCSEP (e.g., benchmarks of success should include health and well-being outcomes). These findings highlight the benefits and potential of this long-running program.

The ecological momentary assessment (EMA) method was used to examine the antecedents and correlates of older adults' in-the-moment perceptions of meaning at work. Data were collected six times per day for 7 days from 30 older adults who were mostly social entrepreneurs and who were engaged in purpose work (i.e., work that addresses a social problem or issue). We found concurrent effects of two types of affective states (i.e., relaxed and energetic) and generative work behaviors (i.e., sharing information about one's work and encouraging/inviting others into one's work) on three measures of perceptions of meaningful work (i.e., high passion for one's work, high sense of engagement in one's work, and high connection to a sense of meaning in life). Feeling energetic had a lagged effect on meaningful work approximately 2.5 and 5 hr later in the day. We consider ways to foster engagement in meaningful work as a path toward healthy aging.