What does “successful aging” look like? And how can we achieve it?
A group of College of Nursing and Public Health (CNPH) faculty recently probed this question, and it turns out, the answer depends on far more than just physical well-being.
In their study, “Do Persons Age in the Same Manner, Related to Their Date of Birth?” (The Journal of the New York State Nurses Association, July 2025), CNPH faculty members Marilyn Klainberg ’63, MS ’77, Irene Auteri ’79, PhD ’22, Joy Scharfman, PhD ’23, Bridget Maley, MS ’11, William Jacobowitz, EdD, Mercy Joseph, PhD, Patricia Pope, EdD and Catherine R. Bell wanted to test a seminal theory in gerontology: activity theory, which posits that staying socially and mentally active will increase positive health outcomes and life satisfaction.
Dr. Klainberg, first author of the publication, says she and her colleagues took on this work because aging is not simple. “The definition of successful aging is one thing,” she said, “but we wanted to see how older adults actually perceived their success.”
What Helps and Hinders Healthy Aging?
Successful aging involves a variety of factors. Some are physiological, like chronic health conditions or mental health. Others are linked to a person’s environment, background and finances. Aging also has social determinants, including independence, interpersonal relationships, community involvement and emotional support systems. As the CNPH study shows, self-perception plays a critical role, too. The more positively an older adult perceives their life, the better their quality of life may be. “If you look at the research,” Dr. Klainberg said, “even people with health issues who are socially involved will say that they’re well.”
The CNPH team took a multidimensional approach when designing their study. They considered the influence of chronological age as well as socialization, health determinants and self-perception of health. Team members interviewed 175 adults over the age of 65 who lived independently and did not have significant health-related limitations. In order to gather a cross-section of data that would support their conjectures, the CNPH team asked participants to evaluate their health and how they perceived it.
For Some Seniors, Age Really Is Just a Number
As Dr. Klainberg observed in prior studies, the two realities did not always overlap. Eighty-seven percent of participants perceived themselves as healthy, even though 62 percent had chronic illnesses. Despite their ages and health conditions, only 20 percent of participants reported feeling sad. Eighty-four percent did not feel lonely, even though 77 percent lived alone—but, as the CNPH team suspected, 89 percent socialized with family and friends, which made all the difference. Plus, almost all participants engaged in enjoyable daily activities, exercised and took rest breaks. Besides socialization, the CNPH team’s findings demonstrate that exercise and rest are integral for well-being among older adults.
Ultimately, the CNPH team confirmed what many of us believe: Sometimes, age is just a number. Mixed individual and societal influences shape older adults’ perception of their health. To ensure successful aging, care environments must emphasize older adults’ social, psychological and independence needs throughout the aging process.
The data collected from this study will be put to good use among healthcare providers. “Many older adults think, ‘I’ve done my time, I should just sit here now that I’ve retired,’” Dr. Klainberg said. “But our role as nurses and educators is to help them find ways to stay engaged, whether that’s joining an organization, going to the library or getting out to see friends. Now we have more data to explain why.”
Grant Funds Game-Changing Gerontology Education Tools
Other CNPH faculty are also undertaking work to enhance student education to meet the needs of older adults. Anthony Egan, director of the Clinical Education and Simulation Lab (CESil), received a grant from the nonprofit Aging in America for the “Gerontology Education and Simulation Enhancement Project,” which will expand Adelphi’s capacity to prepare nursing students for their future careers.
“At CESiL, we pride ourselves on providing top-tier education, but when we realized that the majority of our nursing simulations resemble younger patients, we recognized the need to better represent the population most nurses care for: older adults,” Egan said. He calls the partnership with Aging in America a “game changer” in improving nursing education for the care of older adults. The project will enable students to access realistic and diverse simulation-based learning scenarios, as well as targeted scholarships and new gerontology content across the curriculum.
Egan added, “We are beyond excited and proud to have Aging in America as a partner in this important work. Their commitment to improving geriatric care education aligns perfectly with our mission, and we can’t wait to see the positive impact this project will have on both our students and the communities they serve.”