Objectives Compares use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) across age cohorts. Design Secondary analysis of data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys. Participants Adults born in 1964 or earlier (n=11,371). Over half (61.3%) are baby boomers and fifty-three percent are female. Seventy-five percent of the sample is white, 10.2% African American, .6% black Caribbean, 9.35 Latino, and 4.1% Asian. Measurements The dependent variable is a dichotomous variable indicating use of any CAM, The main predictor of interest is age cohort categorized as pre-boomers (those born in 1945 or earlier) and baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964). Covariates include the use of traditional service providers in the past 12 months and 12-month mood, anxiety, and substance disorder. Disorders were assessed with the Diagnostic and Statistical manual World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI). Logistic regression was used to test the association between use of CAM and age cohort. Results Baby boomers were more likely than pre-boomers to report using CAM for a mental disorder. Among identified CAM users, a higher proportion of baby boomers reported using most individual CAM modalities. Prayer and spiritual practices was the only CAM used by more pre-boomers. Conclusions Age cohort plays a significant role in shaping individual health care behaviors and service use and may influence future trends in the use of CAM for behavioral health. Health care providers need to be aware of patient use of CAM and communicate with them about the pros and cons of alternative therapies.

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Intergenerational programs increase interaction among groups allowing both generations to share their beliefs, talents, knowledge, and wisdom. The Senior Programming Intergenerational College Experience (SPICE) Project was designed to deliver an 11-week long intergenerational program with college-aged and older adult participants and was provided virtually during the pandemic. The purpose of this study was to describe the participation characteristics and attitudes towards aging and technology of older adults who completed the SPICE program. Older adult recruitment occurred through paper fliers posted at senior centers/housing, libraries, faith-based organizations in Genesee County, Michigan and through a large state-wide electronic study recruitment portal. Older adult participants were English speaking; aged 55+ years; able to participate in live Zoom sessions once/week; and were committed to complete >75% of the SPICE program. Online surveys were completed before/after SPICE to evaluate attitudes towards aging and technophilia. Results from 15 older adults who completed >75% of SPICE sessions indicated that they were able to cope with life as they got older (60%), viewed aging as a positive experience (85.7%), were not afraid to use new technology (68.6%) and believed technology was useful/fun (88.6%). Older adults were divided on willingness to try new technology and their ability to keep up with technological progress. These data indicate that for higher education institutions focused on designing age-inclusive online opportunities, older adults who possess a positive attitude toward aging and technology may be more likely to complete intergenerational programs.

This interprofessional study conducted by faculty in Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Public Health explored older adult technology use (or nonuse) by 216 Genesee County Michigan residents. Three professional lenses informed survey development, implementation and data analysis. Occupational therapy emphasized accessibility, how physical or cognitive impairments hinder technology use, and role of technology to complete daily living activities. Social work focused on technology use to facilitate social connectivity, decrease risks for mental health problems, and resource access. Public health explored if technology use or nonuse impacts health. Results indicated that 14% of participants want to learn to obtain transportation (social, health) via the internet, 13% stated they wanted to learn how to use technology to access medical records, 12.5% to attend on-line appointments, 11% reported they would engage in additional technology-based social activities (e.g. communicating with family/friends), 10% to order/refill medications, and 9% of older adults surveyed had difficulty accessing technology due to a physical, cognitive or sensory impairment. Researchers found the questions provided an integrated view of factors influencing older adult use or nonuse of technology and provided a guide for designing collaborative interventions to facilitate older adult access and use of technology to result in positive holistic health outcomes.

The COVID-19 pandemic creates psychological concerns and stress and its impacts are more extreme for those with health concerns residing in socially and economically disadvantaged communities, such as residents of Flint, Michigan. This study assesses the stress level among people who received community assistance in the first 3 months of COVID lockdowns. Further, it examines associations between stress and physical and mental health status. We measured perceived stress, health concerns, mental distress, and perceived physical and mental health from 106 survey respondents. Comparisons of stress levels by demographics showed that females, high school graduates, and homeowners had higher stress levels than its counterparts. Results from general linear models showed that stress was highest among those with high levels of psychological distress, perceived poor mental health, and more health concerns. The associations between poor perceived physical health and stress were marginal. Homeowners and high school diploma holders showed lower stress levels. This research suggests community health practices tailored to community characteristics and culture will have the greatest impact on stress and health problems in underserved communities.