Paige Denison has over 20 years of experience working in diverse communities with health promotion programs for older adults and adults aging with disabilities. She has served on multiple boards and committees focused on scaling access to proven programs that support Evidence-Based Cancer Control Programs (EBCCP) Connection people in leading happier, healthier, better-connected lives. These endeavors include the Exercise Is Medicine (EIM) Older Adult Advisory Committee for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Physical Activity Alliance Cornerstone Team, University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC) Advisory Board, and King County Fall Prevention Coalition.
Questions & Answers
EnhanceFitness (EF) was developed by the University of Washington in partnership with Sound Generations in Seattle, WA (formerly known as Senior Services) and Group Health Cooperative (now Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington, Inc.) in the mid- 1990s. After the initial randomized controlled trial of EF in the late 1990s, support of the program was transitioned to Sound Generations. For more than 20 years, Sound Generations has managed all aspects of the program, including national and international dissemination, as the program administrator. This includes coordinating with multiple academic institutions; training; licensing; proving program support; conducting fidelity monitoring; and running the data system that tracks participant measures (e.g., attendance and change in functional outcomes over time).
EF has been implemented successfully and sustainably with diverse populations in facilities around the country, including senior centers, YMCAs, churches, parks and recreation sites, affordable housing, and retirement communities.
EnhanceFitness was developed for older adults and people aging with disabilities living in the community. Promoting physical activity in community settings is critical in reaching people where they are. It can help decrease risk for falls and maintain and improve physical function, allowing older adults to continue living with independence in their communities.
As a multiservice community-based organization, Sound Generations reaches socially disadvantaged older populations that experience disparities in health outcomes and access to quality care through all of our programs. UW Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC) brings deep expertise in developing, testing, and disseminating health promotion strategies. EnhanceFitness delivery organizations are operationalizing programming in underresourced conditions, and expanding dissemination has brought increased complexity to our work in supporting their unique implementation and sustainability challenges. Our strong continuing community–academic partnerships have supported problem-solving with the community to understand what works and for whom.
We value our strong relationships with the researchers, health care providers, delivery organizations, and funders that support EnhanceFitness in various settings and populations. The scientific advisory support and ongoing research opportunities have been key to scaling and adapting this work to meet emerging needs.