Integrating Lifestyle Medicine and the 4Ms in Interprofessional Older Adult Care

Abstract

The rapid growth of the older adult population and the increasing burden of chronic disease require coordinated, prevention-focused models of care. Lifestyle medicine (LM) provides evidence-based therapeutic interventions that target nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, social connection, and avoidance of risky substances. At the same time, the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative promotes the 4Ms framework, which includes What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility, to optimize outcomes for older adults. Although these approaches are conceptually aligned, they are often implemented independently. This manuscript describes an interprofessional framework integrating LM and the 4Ms to advance whole-person, age-friendly care. The framework positions What Matters at the center, organizes care through the remaining domains (Medication, Mentation, and Mobility), and embeds the 6 lifestyle pillars as modifiable drivers of health. Implementation across interdisciplinary educational initiatives—including case conceptualizations, Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) participation, community health worker training, internships, an asynchronous LM course, and a culinary medicine teaching kitchen—demonstrates feasibility in academic and community settings. Descriptive evaluation findings indicate interdisciplinary engagement, high satisfaction, perceived relevance to practice, and reported improvements in confidence and clinical application. Integrating lifestyle medicine within interprofessional structures offers a scalable strategy to strengthen workforce development and support healthy longevity.