COMMUNITY EDUCATION FOR DIVERSE ELDERS: What Weve Learned

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COMMUNITY EDUCATION FOR DIVERSE ELDERS What
Weve Learned
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COMMUNITY EDUCATION FOR DIVERSE ELDERS What
Weve Learned

• Luis F. Riquelme, M.S.,CCC-SLP
• Dept. of Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Rebecca States, Ph.D.
• Dept. of Physical Therapy
• William B. Susman, Ph.D., P.T.
• Dept. of Physical Therapy Brooklyn Campus

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Workshop Outline

• Overview of the HRSA Grant
• Outreach to Community Organizations
• Development of the Community Education Modules
  Outline, Evaluation, Implementation
• Student Involvement
• Sample Activities for Elders in Modules
• Professional and Personal Benefits to You
• Questions and Answers

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Developing a Community Education Program

• Grant funding can provide support, open new
  opportunities.
• Developing the individual workshops
• Community outreach
• Implementing the workshops

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HRSA Grant OverviewInterdisciplinary,
Community-Based, Health Education

• An Allied Health Project Grant
• Health Resources Services Administration
• U. S. Dept. of Health Human Services

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HRSA Grant OverviewFun Facts

• Three year grant 07/01/2001 06/30/2004
• From Health Resources Services Administration
• Total Budget 292,438
• Project Director Rebecca A. States
• Project Co-Director William M. Susman
• Awarded to Long Island University/BC

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HRSA Grant OverviewThree Objectives

• Community Education ModulesPresented at local
  Senior Centers, Presented in English and in
  Spanish.
• Multimedia Case Study ModulesNew, web-based,
  case studies of elders for use in health care
  curricula at LIU and elsewhere.
• Dissemination of Grant Products- Website for
  other Health Education Programs- Website for
  Elderly Health Information Consumers- Continuing
  Studies Course for Health Professionals

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HRSA Grant Overview 3 Health Care Topics

• Each objective cycles through 3 health care
  topics important to Healthy People 2010.

Dementia Depression
Stress Reduction
Physical Activity
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HRSA Grant OverviewTimeline

• Activities on all three objectives happen
  concurrently.
• All grant members focus on one health care topic
  at a time. Focus shifts over the three
  year-period.
• Fall 2002 - Dementia Depression
• Spring 2003 - Stress Reduction
• Fall 2003 - Physical Activity

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HRSA Grant Overview Participation from

• Social Work
• Respiratory Care
• Physical Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Nursing
• Communication Sciences Disorders
• (Speech-Language Pathology)

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HRSA Grant Overview Project-Wide Preparations

• Established Interdisciplinary Advisory Board from
  LIU-BC faculty.
• Held informational meeting on the health care
  needs of Latino elders in Brooklyn.
• Developed overall structure for workshops.
• Conducted outreach to community organizations.

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Outreach to Community Organizations
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OutreachGo Through The Steps

• Start early
• Know what you want from your partner organization
  what you will deliver
• Provide written outline for review
• Suggest calendar/schedule be flexible
• Meet with potential partners in person
• Follow-up
• Get commitments in writing

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Outreach Umbrella Organizations

• New York City Department for the Aging, Bureau of
  Community Services
• RAICES Spanish Speaking Elderly Council
• Brooklyn Interagency Council on the Aging
• Brooklyn Geriatrics Committee

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Participating Senior Centers

• Eileen Dugan Senior Citizens Center (Pilot)
• Ft. Greene Senior Center
• Times Plaza Senior Center
• Wyckoff Gardens Senior Center
• Hope Gardens Senior Citizens Center

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The Community Education Workshops
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Workshops Outline

• 20-min. presentation by faculty member
• Question Answer period
• Small-group activity led by students
• Student interviews with individual clients to
  evaluate session
• Total time
• Approx. 1 hour

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Developing the ModulesContent

• Researched the content and possible small-group
  activities.
• Developed learning objectives for each session.
• Created presentations small-group activities
  for each session.
• Interdisciplinary focus within a multicultural
  context offered an exploration of learning in
  considering how to meet the objectives of each
  module.

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Developing the ModulesInterdisciplinary
Logistics

• Collaboration weekly meetings
• Consultation
• Reference materials
• Module design/content
• Coordination A/V, schedules, student
  participation, translations

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Developing the ModulesDelivery

• Guidelines for student involvement that work
  across disciplines
• Evaluation Questionnaires that work for all
  health care topics for clients, for community
  center administrators

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Evaluating the WorkshopsQuestions for Clients

• Questionnaires completed by students with each
  client
• Did you learn anything new about(topic)?
• Will you use any of the information covered
  today?
• In the next week, will you discuss the issues
  raised with friends or family?
• What did you like best? Least?

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Implementing the Workshops
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Implementing the WorkshopsAdministrative Tasks

• Arrange/confirm logistics with Senior Center
  (schedule, refreshments, space)
• Arrange for Workshops to be videotaped
• Gather educational hand-outs
• Recruit and train students to participate
• Professionally translate presentation materials
  into Spanish

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Implementing the Workshops Student Involvement

• Each academic program involved creates their own
  means of incorporating this experience into their
  curricula.
• Pre and Post module questionnaires administered
  to students are used to evaluate changes in
  attitudes and knowledge of older adults
• Students are introduced as part of the Team
  conducting the Workshop

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The Students Role

• Welcome clients, answer questions
• Help with A/V Consent Form, if needed
• Run post-presentation small-group activities with
  clients
• Administer post-workshop Evaluation Questionnaire
  to elderly clients
• Provide feedback to Faculty

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Implementing the WorkshopsSmall-Group
Activities - Example

• Use a set of cards with photos of older adults
  doing familiar activities as prompts to get
  clients to discuss
• Activities they currently do to stay healthy,
• New activities they might try out to improve
  their health, and
• Ways to make cumbersome activities more
  attractive and productive.

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Some Client Comments(after Dementia
Depression and Stress Reduction Workshops)

• I liked it a lot. I learned a lot about
  health.
• I liked everything. It was therapy for me.
• You gave us courage to talk about what we have.
• I appreciated the open environment created by
  the speaker.
• I learned that anyone can have this problem.

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Professional and Personal Benefits To You

• Learn to communicate about wellness issues with
  older adults from diverse backgrounds
• Learn how to better organize and run Community
  Education Programs
• Get to know older urban adults as they engage in
  large and small-group settings
• Learn about the services and environment provided
  by Senior Centers
• Others

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Have fun with it!
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Questions and Answers
Riquelme, States, Susman, 2003 COMMUNITY
EDUCATION FOR DIVERSE ELDERS What Weve Learned