Positively Aging: Maximizing the Healthspan

描述（由申请人提供）：每个人都希望尽可能长时间地过上健康的生活，没有疾病和残疾。最佳功能的时期被称为“健康期”，是每个人寿命的一个子集。实现和保持健康的生活始于童年，学生必须学习有关习惯和选择的科学证据，这些习惯和选择可以增加他们一生中保持身心独立的机会。这个第一阶段和第二阶段的SEPA申请将创建、评估和传播以衰老生物学和体内平衡与非平衡的科学过程为中心的新型教材，以教授学生如何最大化健康寿命。通过对照研究、对科学态度工具的严格心理测量重新评估和教师观察，我们的团队开发了新的证据，并准备测试一个以最大化健康跨度为老年学重点的密集创新教师专业发展计划。该提案的核心内容利用了来自美国国立卫生研究院资助的老年学基础、转化和以患者为导向的临床研究的信息，以创建新颖的基于探究的健康促进课程，有效地教授中学水平的科学、数学和健康原则。该提案将利用这些材料进行教师专业发展的对照试验，并评估教师对学生科学态度的影响。我们不断创新的跨学科合作伙伴关系将圣安东尼奥德克萨斯大学健康科学中心（UTHSCSA）的Barshop长寿与老龄化研究所的科学家与德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥多个学区的中学教育工作者相匹配。这些学区主要服务于经济上处于不利地位的墨西哥裔美国人。这一伙伴关系将提供免费的课堂教学材料，以满足国家环境保护局的目标，即：(a)提高公立学校的数学和科学教育质量，(b)促进对减少疾病风险的行为的理解。为了实现这一目标，我们设定了四个具体目标：（目标A）基于美国国立卫生研究院资助的关于衰老、体内平衡、非稳态和优化健康生活的数量和质量的生物学研究，开发新的教育材料；（目标B）以最大化健康跨度为内容，利用我们的教育伙伴关系创建和评估一个密集的、新颖的、多维的模型，对中学教师的专业发展进行定性和定量评估；（目的C）对照评价积极老化(r)教师专业发展项目对学生科学态度改变的效果，采用新修订和缩短的两种态度量表：女性参与科学量表（WiSS-R）和Simpson-Troost态度问卷（STAQ-R）进行测量；（目标D）通过积极老龄化(r)网站、教师研讨会、教育和科学会议上的演讲、同行评议期刊上的出版物以及通过国家临床和转化科学奖联盟的社区参与来传播课程。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Everyone desires to live a healthy life, free of disease and disability, for as long as possible. The period of optimal functioning is termed the 'healthspan,' and is a subset of each human's lifespan. Attaining and maintaining a healthy life starts in childhood and students must learn the scientific evidence for habits and choices that increase their chances of sustaining physical and mental independence throughout their lives. This Phase I and II SEPA application will create, evaluate, and disseminate novel teaching materials centered on the biology of aging and the scientific processes of homeostasis and allostasis to teach students about Maximizing the Healthspan. Through controlled studies, rigorous psychometric re-evaluations of science attitude instruments, and teacher observations, our team developed new evidence and is poised to test an intensive innovative Teacher Professional Development program with Maximizing the Healthspan as the gerontology focus. The core content of this proposal utilizes information from NIH-funded gerontologic basic, translational, and patient-oriented clinical research to create novel inquiry-based health promotion lessons that effectively teach science, math, and health principles at the middle school level. The proposal will utilize these materials in a controlled trial of teacher professional development and evaluate the impact the teachers have on student attitudes toward science. Our continually innovating interdisciplinary partnership matches Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) with middle school educators from multiple school districts in San Antonio, TX. These districts serve predominantly economically disadvantaged Mexican-American populations. This partnership will produce freely available classroom-ready instructional materials that meet SEPA goals to (a) improve math and science education quality in public schools, and (b) promote understandings of behavior that reduce disease risk. To accomplish this, we set four specific aims: (Aim A) Develop new educational materials based on NIH-funded research on the biology of aging, homeostasis, allostasis, and optimizing the quantity and quality of healthy life; (Aim B) With Maximizing the Healthspan as content, utilize our educational partnerships to create and evaluate an intensive, novel, multi-dimensional model that qualitatively and quantitatively assesses middle school teacher professional development; (Aim C) Conduct a controlled evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the Positively Aging(r) teacher professional development program on changing students' attitudes toward science as measured by two newly re-evaluated and shortened attitude scales: the Women in Science Scale-Revised (WiSS-R) and the Simpson-Troost Attitude Questionnaire-Revised (STAQ-R); and (Aim D) Disseminate the curriculum through the Positively Aging(r) website, teacher workshops, presentations at educational and scientific meetings, publications in peer-reviewed journals, and community engagement through the national Clinical and Translational Science Award consortium. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE (provided by applicant): This Positively Aging(r) proposal will improve science, math, and health education in grades 6-8 by teaching students new health information, based on current NIH supported research, to extend and improve their lives. A novel science teacher professional development program, created by the Positively Aging(r) team, will strive to improve teachers' knowledge, skills, and confidence levels, ultimately affecting their students. In addition, this proposal seeks to improve students' attitudes toward science which may promote career interest in science, research, and medicine.