Clinical trial NCT00380562: The Baltimore Experience Corps Study
Official title: Experience Corps Trial: Improving Health of Older Populations Through Generativity
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Aging
Generativity
Keywords: Quality of life
Cognitive Functioning
Activities of Daily Living
Disability prevention
Lead sponsor: Johns Hopkins University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Retirement Research Foundation
name: Abell Foundation
name: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
name: Goldseker Foundation
name: The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc.
First posted: 2006-09-26
Enrollment: 702
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 60
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: 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.

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 Dr. Linda Fried 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 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

Primary outcomes:
measure: Decreased disability in mobility and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)
timeFrame: Measured in 4 month intevals from baseline to 24 month
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Decreased falls
timeFrame: Measured in 4 month intervals from baseline to 24 month
measure: decreased rate of decline in memory
timeFrame: Measured in 4 month intervals from baseline to 24 month
measure: 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
timeFrame: Measured in 4 month intervals from baseline to 24 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Baltimore
country: United States
facility: Center on Aging and Health
state: Maryland
Study officials:
affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
name: George Rebok, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: 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. doi: 10.1093/jurban/jth094.
citation: 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. doi: 10.1093/jurban/jth097.
citation: Fried LP, Carlson MC, McGill S, Seeman T, Xue QL, Frick K, Tan E, Tanner EK, Barron J, Frangakis C, Piferi R, Martinez I, Gruenewald T, Martin BK, Berry-Vaughn L, Stewart J, Dickersin K, Willging PR, Rebok GW. Experience Corps: a dual trial to promote the health of older adults and children's academic success. Contemp Clin Trials. 2013 Sep;36(1):1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2013.05.003. Epub 2013 May 13.
citation: Tan EJ, McGill S, Tanner EK, Carlson MC, Rebok GW, Seeman TE, Fried LP. The evolution of an academic-community partnership in the design, implementation, and evaluation of experience corps(R) Baltimore city: a courtship model. Gerontologist. 2014 Apr;54(2):314-21. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnt072. Epub 2013 Jul 25.
citation: Parisi JM, Rebok GW, Seeman TE, Tanner EK, Tan EJ, Fried LP, Xue QL, Frick KD, Carlson MC. Lifestyle Activities in Sociodemographically at-risk Urban, Older Adults Prior to Participation in the Baltimore Experience Corps((R)) Trial. Act Adapt Aging. 2012 Jan 1;36(3):242-260. doi: 10.1080/01924788.2012.702306. Epub 2012 Sep 18.
citation: Parisi JM, Rebok GW, Xue QL, Fried LP, Seeman TE, Tanner EK, Gruenewald TL, Frick KD, Carlson MC. The role of education and intellectual activity on cognition. J Aging Res. 2012;2012:416132. doi: 10.1155/2012/416132. Epub 2012 Aug 9.
citation: Agbedia OO, Varma VR, Seplaki CL, Seeman TE, Fried LP, Li L, Harris GC, Rebok GW, Xue QL, Tan EJ, Tanner E, Parisi JM, McGill S, Carlson MC. Blunted diurnal decline of cortisol among older adults with low socioeconomic status. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2011 Aug;1231:56-64. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06151.x.
citation: Tan EJ, Tanner EK, Seeman TE, Xue QL, Rebok GW, Frick KD, Carlson MC, Wang T, Piferi RL, McGill S, Whitfield KE, Fried LP. Marketing public health through older adult volunteering: Experience Corps as a social marketing intervention. Am J Public Health. 2010 Apr;100(4):727-34. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.169151. Epub 2010 Feb 18.
citation: Carlson MC, Erickson KI, Kramer AF, Voss MW, Bolea N, Mielke M, McGill S, Rebok GW, Seeman T, Fried LP. Evidence for neurocognitive plasticity in at-risk older adults: the experience corps program. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2009 Dec;64(12):1275-82. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glp117. Epub 2009 Aug 19.
citation: Tan EJ, Rebok GW, Yu Q, Frangakis CE, Carlson MC, Wang T, Ricks M, Tanner EK, McGill S, Fried LP. The long-term relationship between high-intensity volunteering and physical activity in older African American women. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2009 Mar;64(2):304-11. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbn023. Epub 2009 Jan 29.
citation: Carlson MC, Saczynski JS, Rebok GW, Seeman T, Glass TA, McGill S, Tielsch J, Frick KD, Hill J, Fried LP. Exploring the effects of an "everyday" activity program on executive function and memory in older adults: Experience Corps. Gerontologist. 2008 Dec;48(6):793-801. doi: 10.1093/geront/48.6.793.
citation: Glass TA, Freedman M, Carlson MC, Hill J, Frick KD, Ialongo N, McGill S, Rebok GW, Seeman T, Tielsch JM, Wasik BA, Zeger S, Fried LP. Experience Corps: design of an intergenerational program to boost social capital and promote the health of an aging society. J Urban Health. 2004 Mar;81(1):94-105. doi: 10.1093/jurban/jth096.
citation: Rebok GW, Carlson MC, Glass TA, McGill S, Hill J, Wasik BA, Ialongo N, Frick KD, Fried LP, Rasmussen MD. Short-term impact of Experience Corps participation on children and schools: results from a pilot randomized trial. J Urban Health. 2004 Mar;81(1):79-93. doi: 10.1093/jurban/jth095.
citation: Varma VR, Tan EJ, Gross AL, Harris G, Romani W, Fried LP, Rebok GW, Carlson MC. Effect of Community Volunteering on Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Prev Med. 2016 Jan;50(1):106-110. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.06.015. Epub 2015 Sep 2.