Special Issue

Non-pharmacological Interventions Targeting Chronic Illness and Wellness in Older Adults

Submission Deadline: March 31, 2027 (Open) Submit Now

Guest Editor

Leila Kozak, PhD

Professor, Family Medicine Department, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA;
Integrative Palliative Care Institute, Redmond, WA, USA

Website | E-Mail

Research Interests: Psycho-oncology; supportive care; functional medicine; geriatrics; aging; health psychology; older adults; lifestyle medicine; dementia; Alzheimer's

About This Topic

The global population is aging at an unprecedented rate, resulting in larger groups of older adults who will be seeking care for chronic illnesses. Caring for these older generations represents a new challenge for medicine, because chronic illnesses are more effectively treated by a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions that are usually more complex to implement and manage than conventional pharmacological-based interventions alone. In addition, Baby Boomers and younger generations have different expectations with regards to health and wellbeing than their predecessors: they expect to be involved as an active protagonist in their own care, highlighting the need for a patient-centered and relationship-centered approach to care. Moreover, many of them have been actively using interventions such as chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, nutrition, exercise and contemplative/mind-body practices for wellness and quality of life. As a result, promotion of healthy aging by the integration of non-pharmacological interventions represent an emerging paradigm that must be considered at the core of supporting health and wellbeing in older populations.  Non-pharmacological interventions include somatic therapies, exercise, nutrition, psychosocial and spiritual support, as well as traditional and complementary medicine methods. New high-tech approaches such as virtual reality, vagal nerve stimulation, micro-current devices and photobiomodulation have also emerged as evidence-based interventions that can play a significant role in improving symptom management and comfort. These interventions may be key in maintaining the physical, emotional and mental health of older people and enhancing their quality of life.

This special issue welcomes the submission of original research, reviews, clinical studies, and evidence-based practice reports, with a focus on safe, effective, and innovative non-pharmacological interventions that may support older adults in their quest for enhancing quality of life during their aging process.

Keywords

Healthy aging; older adults; non-pharmacological interventions; complementary and integrative medicine; lifestyle medicine; mind–body interventions; self-care; virtual reality; micro-current; photobiomodulation; vagal nerve stimulation

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted through the LIDSEN Submission System. Detailed information on manuscript preparation and submission is available in the Instructions for Authors. All submitted articles will be thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process and will be processed following the Editorial Process and Quality Control policy. Upon acceptance, the article will be immediately published in a regular issue of the journal and will be listed together on the special issue website, with a label that the article belongs to the Special Issue. LIDSEN distributes articles under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License in an open-access model. The authors own the copyright to the article, and the article can be free to access, distribute, and reuse provided that the original work is correctly cited.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). Research articles and review articles are highly invited. Authors are encouraged to send the tentative title and abstract of the planned paper to the Editorial Office (icm@lidsen.com) for record. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Editorial Office.

Welcome your submission!