fulbright Taiwan online journal

fulbright Taiwan online journal

Author: Hsueh-Wen Chow 周學雯

Hsueh-Wen Chow 周學雯
Hsueh-wen Chow has devoted her research in health promotion for older adults from park and recreation professionals. For the past 5 years, she has received support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan to investigate the relationships among older adults’ leisure behaviors, built-environments, and health. The results of her research have been published by numerous international conferences and journals. She has shared her knowledge in graduate courses and has been invited to speak at numerous seminars at hospitals and universities. Her work also appears in public media. In the 2015-2016 academic year, she was supported by both the Fulbright-Formosa Plastics Group Senior Scholar Scholarship and The Top University Strategic Alliance in the Republic of China (Taiwan) programs as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley in the USA.    

Active aging through the socio-ecological model

     I was very honored to receive the opportunity to conduct my research project in UC Berkeley, US in the academic year of 2015-2016. My project was supported by both the Fulbright-Formosa Plastics Group Senior Scholar Scholarship and The Top University Strategic Alliance in the Republic of China (Taiwan). What follows is a brief summary of the research and my personal reflections. Research Populations of older adults are increasing dramatically worldwide, especially in Taiwan. Aging populations have major social and economic consequences. Such consequences can be mediated by active aging. Reducing sedentary lifestyles and increasing social participation represent identifiable preventative strategies. However, developing initiatives to increase physical activity among seniors remains a pressing challenge in public health.      Park and recreation professionals are as important contributors since built- environments, especially recreational sites and parks, are the preferred venues for most seniors for increasing physical activity, and these places are more effective than other programs in terms of sustainability and reaching populations. Framed from a socio-ecological model, this research project investigates various factors, including informational, socio-cultural, natural, intrapersonal, perceptional, behavioral, circumstantial, and governmental environments to examine the effect of park-based physical activity on seniors’ health in conjunction with a

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Research & Reflections

fulbright taiwan online journal