Interdisciplinary Community Based Health Education

							COMMUNITY EDUCATION FOR
    DIVERSE ELDERS:
 What We’ve Learned
     COMMUNITY EDUCATION FOR
         DIVERSE ELDERS:
        What We’ve 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
      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
            Developing a
Community Education Program
• Grant funding can provide support,
  open new opportunities.
• Developing the individual workshops
• Community outreach
• Implementing the workshops
       HRSA Grant Overview:
  Interdisciplinary, Community-
       Based, Health Education
An Allied Health Project Grant
Health Resources & Services
Administration
U. S. Dept. of Health & Human Services
        HRSA Grant Overview:
                              Fun 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
         HRSA Grant Overview:
                       Three Objectives
• Community Education Modules:
  Presented at local Senior Centers,
  Presented in English and in Spanish.
• Multimedia Case Study Modules:
  New, 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
             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
               HRSA Grant Overview:
                                      Timeline
• 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
                   HRSA Grant Overview:
                        Participation from …
•   Social Work
•   Respiratory Care
•   Physical Therapy
•   Occupational Therapy
•   Nursing
•   Communication
    Sciences & Disorders
    (Speech-Language Pathology)
          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.
   Outreach to
Community Organizations
                         Outreach:
          Go 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
                              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
    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
        The
    Community
Education Workshops
                     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
                Developing the Modules:
• Researched the content           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.
         Developing the Modules:
         Interdisciplinary Logistics
•   Collaboration: weekly meetings
•   Consultation
•   Reference materials
•   Module design/content
•   Coordination: A/V, schedules, student
    participation, translations
       Developing the Modules:
                               Delivery

• Guidelines for student involvement that
  work across disciplines

• Evaluation Questionnaires that work for
  all health care topics: for clients,
  for community center administrators
        Evaluating the Workshops:
                   Questions 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?
Implementing
 the Workshops
Implementing the Workshops:
             Administrative 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
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
                   The Student’s 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
          Implementing the Workshops:
  Small-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.
            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.”
             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…
Have fun with it!
       Questions and Answers




Riquelme, States, Susman, 2003
COMMUNITY EDUCATION FOR DIVERSE ELDERS:
What We’ve Learned