Seniors Taking Charge of Your Health and Safety

2009-08-28T18:03:04Z

1 Program Tools
- 1.1 Tip Sheets
- 1.2 Slideshows
2 About the Program
- 2.1 Frequently Asked Questions
3 Contact the Program

Program Tools

Tip Sheets

Slideshows

About the Program

This program activates local community networks in rural Appalachian counties to educate and empower West Virginia seniors to self-manage chronic conditions, improve healthy lifestyles, and enhance their independence. The program aims to help participants maintain healthy, independent lives through the dissemination and diffusion of critical health information. Taking Charge of your Health and Safety program is part of an ongoing USDA grant.

The Taking Charge program works to build a sustainable system for continuous delivery of innovative and culturally relevant behavior change strategies. The program identifies, links, and trains allied healthcare professionals to take ownership and responsibility for the program. These people then link with senior and other community networks, to train new network members as peer trainers.

The project uses the existing infrastructure of county Extension Agents to initiate activities in West Virginia counties. Agents are knowledgeable, connected to, and respected by existing networks including faith based organizations, Community Educational and Outreach Service clubs, civic groups, senior centers, and health agencies.

Specific program strategies include training allied health professionals, pre-service students, and small competitive training grants. Home assessments are offered to participants to assist seniors in recognizing and ameliorating health and safety hazards in their homes. Also, an automated phone messaging service with health promotion messages from peers is used to motivate behavior change and reinforce what has been learned from the program. Together, the strong community networks and the program strategies will bring renewed synergy to improve the health and well-being of older adults in rural Appalachia.

Seniors Taking Charge of Your Health and Safety is a collaborative program of the West Virginia University Extension Service and the WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the program about?

This purpose of the program is to educate and empower West Virginia seniors to practice healthy habits every day. These daily habits will help them manage chronic conditions, improve well-being, and live independently.

Where will the program be conducted?

When the program began in 2007-2008, 18 West Virginia counties were involved: Boone, Berkeley, Cabell, Greenbrier, Hardy, Harrison, Jefferson, Kanawha, Marion, Marshall, McDowell, Mercer, Putnam, Raleigh, Summers, Taylor, Wirt, Wyoming. Taking Charge has since become a state-wide program in which any county is eligible to join.

How did the project begin?

The WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities asked the West Virginia University Extension Service if we wanted to collaborate in writing a grant. And, our proposal was successful. So, the Taking Charge of your Health and Safety program began with a USDA Rural Health and Safety grant in October 2007. In spring/summer of 2008, educational programs and home assessments began in our counties. We then applied for and receive a second year of funding. This will allow us to continue and expand the program through fall 2009.

Who funds the program?

It is a one-year grant from the US Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. It is part of their Rural Health & Safety Education Competitive Grants Program. We are one of five grants nationally.

What is the need?

Many chronic health conditions can be avoided through daily health practices, such as physical activity. Also, if an individual already has a health condition, there are many ways they can manage the symptoms, pain and worsening of the problem. People need education and tools to prevent and manage their health conditions. West Virginia has many cultural, social, and economic factors that too often lead to poor health. These include:

Rural residents have a harder time accessing the health care they need. 64% of our population lives in communities of fewer than 2,500 residents. Fifty of our 55 counties are wholly or partly designated as Medically Underserved Areas. Rural counties have few specialized healthcare services.

Our high poverty rates put our residents at risk. One-fifth of W.Va. families live in poverty. Poor families may lack transportation to health services, health insurance, and resources to purchase healthy foods and medicines they need. Also, homes that are old and in bad repair can be unsafe in terms of air quality and accident risks.

While there are many positive cultural factors in W.Va., such as close families, there are negative factors, too. Some West Virginians do not seek out health care services. They may simply suffer with chronic pain or make do with unsafe housing. (In a recent phone survey of 145 locations across the country, adults > age 18 were asked to rate their health -poor, fair, good, excellent. A sample from the Huntington area reported the highest – 24.3% said their health was fair or poor.)

The West Virginia population on average is older than the rest of the country. In 2000, 15.3% of our population was over age 65. This is 3% higher than the 12.4% national average. West Virginia seniors, on average, have a lower education level than seniors in other states – 45% have not completed HS, compared to 34.5% in the nation. This can limit their ability to read and understand health information they get from their healthcare providers. Considering all these factors, it is not surprising that we have a high disease rates - heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.

How does the program work?

The state partnership of WVU Extension Service and the WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities provides the overall leadership.

Our network of WVU County Extension Offices provides the local leadership for educational programs. They work with trained Community Leaders and health partners to get programs and resources to seniors in their communities. We work together to train Community Leaders who deliver educational programs to seniors and senior groups. For example, leaders give programs for civic clubs, senior centers, and faith organizations. Participants hear practical health messages in a video and PowerPoint show. They get take-home reminders to reinforce these messages: a colorful folder, calendar, window/mirror cling, and a video. Materials are designed for easy reading and are available in other formats for vision and hearing impaired seniors, too.

We offer individualized home assessments to help at risk seniors recognize and remedy health and safety hazards in their homes. A trained home assessment team provides recommendations to the seniors and there is a small budget to make these changes if the senior decides to make them. This could be anything from a smoke detector to better lighting to making stairs or walkways safe. If seniors participating in our programs want follow-up health tips, we are developing an automated phone system with friendly health messages. We hope these will motivate seniors to continue practicing healthy habits. This year, we will be training pre-service students in the Taking Charge curriculum. So, when they go to rural areas to do their rotations, they have everything they need to do educational programs with seniors.

We also offer mini-grants in the spring to community groups. These grants will support collaborative work and training with allied healthcare partners. These partners may include a broad cross-section of health-related professionals, such as social workers, dentists, emergency response workers, as well as the traditional doctors, nurses, etc. We want to build on our existing community network to involve healthcare partners.

How will seniors benefit?

They receive important health tips and motivational reminders to practice daily health habits. Those with hearing or visual disabilities can receive special materials for them, such as a large print folder or audiotape.

Seniors also gain information to share with their healthcare provider. We hope this will lead to effective communication with their doctor. They may apply for a home assessment. If selected, the assessment recommendations can be made to improve the senior’s ability to live healthy, independent lives.

We all benefit when we live in communities with strong partnerships between education, social and health organizations.

Contact the Program

For more information about Seniors Taking Charge of Your Health and Safety, please contact:

Elaine Bowen, Extension Associate Professor, West Virginia University

Stephanie Prager, Graduate Assistant, West Virginia University

or contact the program directly:

Taking Charge: Activating Senior Networks
c/o Center for Excellence in Disabilities
959 Hartman Run Road
Morgantown, WV 26505
Phone: 304-293-4692
Toll Free: 800-841-8436
takingcharge@hsc.wvu.edu

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