Efficacy and challenges of a culturally relevant intervention to improve attitudes to aging

OBJECTIVES: Attitudes to aging have been linked with important health outcomes. It is unclear whether interventions to improve attitudes to aging are effective across cultural contexts. This study investigated the efficacy of an intervention among women of either Australian or Chinese backgrounds. METHODS: Among 96 women who provided baseline measures, 86 attended a single, 90-min group session on either healthy aging or healthy diet. Measures of three domains of attitudes to aging were collected at baseline, then immediately and 8 weeks after the intervention. RESULTS: The intervention improved attitudes in the psychological growth domain, but not the physical change or psychosocial loss domains. Cultural identification did not moderate intervention efficacy. DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that brief, culturally inclusive interventions may be partially effective at improving attitudes to aging. Furthermore, research is needed to investigate if the intervention would be more effective when baseline attitudes to aging are less positive.