Physical activity adjusted to physical health favors the improvement of the general health condition, which in turn leads to an increase in the quality of life of older adults. As health care professionals, it is our mission to help older adults achieve or maintain high levels of functional fitness and health as they age. When establishing intervention plans that will optimize functions for older adults, it is hopefully the plans succeed in assisting older adults to lead rewarding and fulfilling lives.
Geriatric rehabilitation research, including interventions designed to help reduce the prevalence of deterioration caused by old age, is vital to increasing our scientific knowledge to assist in making clinical decisions. We are pleased to present the November issue of the Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation titled "Functional Fitness and Health Promotion of Older Adults." This issue contains many compelling articles, most strongly supported by evidence-based studies, regarding components of geriatric rehabilitation that are vital to providing the best care and outcomes for older adults. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation is pleased and honored to have these article submissions. This issue is devoted to the gamut of informative and applicable research as well as systematic review and meta-analysis articles that address the main theme. Here is a sneak peak of some of the topics addressed in this issue.
* A systematic review and meta-analysis provide insights of the development of functional fitness in older adults over the past decades.
* Chair yoga may be recommended for female community-dwelling older adults with low physical activities to improve functional fitness and well-being.
* Tai chi combined with thera-band training may have positive effects on physical fitness, psychological well-being, and pain in older sedentary office workers.
* A comparison between treadmill and corridor walking distances gives insights into potentially more appropriate methods for conducting 6-minute walk test in community-dwelling older adults.
* Combining multifactorial assessment tools and dimensionality reduction analysis can be an effective method for fall risk classification in community-dwelling older adults.
* As compared with older adults without Alzheimer dementia, physical activity, muscle strength, and functional fitness are rapidly deteriorating in older adults with Alzheimer dementia.
* Wellness program activities can have better positive effects on improving older adults' functional fitness when the activities are delivered on the basis of the older adults' preferences.
* Cognitive and physical factors were associated with increased risk of high-speed driving capacity in older adults.
* Cognitive stimulation therapy may have positive effects on treating community-dwelling older adults with cognitive decline in Taiwan.
We would like to thank these authors who have spent thousands of hours to the tremendous rehabilitation research presented in this issue. Great appreciation is also given to the many older adults who gave their consent and participated in these research studies. This issue would not have been possible without the great support of the editorial board members, and we would like to express our sincere thanks to all of them.
We are certain that this special issue will be followed by many others, reporting new interventions in the geriatric rehabilitation field. We hope that this fine collection of articles will be a valuable resource for Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation readers and will stimulate further research into the vibrant area of geriatric rehabilitation.
-Kuei-Min Chen, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor, College of Nursing; Vice President for Global
Affairs; Director, Center for Long-term Care Research;
and Director, Master Program of Long-term Care in
Aging, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan