meaningful activity in later life_palette
TRANSCRIPT
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“More training in geriatrics and gerontology is needed for health care providers in order to improve their
attitudes toward and competencies for working with older people and their families.”
Hooyman & Kiyak (2008)
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Intergenerational Creative Arts• Launched in 2013 with
visual arts
• Expanded in 2015 to movement arts
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Community & University Partners
• Geriatric Training and Education initiative administered by the Virginia Center on Aging
• VCU Council for Community Engagement
Funders
• VCU Department of Gerontology
• VCU School of Pharmacy• VCU Department of Dance
& Choreography• VCU Department of
Physical Therapy• VCU School of Social Work• VCU School of Dentistry• Senior Connections• Age Wave• Weinstein JCC• Visual Arts Center of
Richmond
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PALETTE Video
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Structure of PALETTE ProgramsStudent and senior volunteers partner to participate in:– 5 creative art classes– 1 cultural outing– 1 opening reception/final
showcaseStudents and senior volunteers separately attend:– 1 orientation & training
seminar– 1 reflection seminar
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AGEISM & STEREOTYPES OF AGINGIf you’ve met one older adult, then you’ve met one older adult!
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BE HONEST: HOW MANY OF THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED TO
BE TRUE?
• Older adults are often confused/don’t know what’s going on.
• Older adults are lonely and unhappy with their lives.• Older adults are conservative and stuck in their ways. • Older adults are unable to adapt to change or learn new
things.• Older adults have no interest in nor capability of engaging
in sexual activity.
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Do you say “aaawww, isn’t she cute?” when you see an older woman doing something a younger person might do (e.g., kissing her partner, playing a game)?
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AGEISM & INFANTILIZING
• How we treat older adults is influenced by social factors including personal assumptions, expectations, and fears about growing older
• Infantilizing of older adults (“aww isn’t she cute?”) carries a negative connotation and devalues the individual
• Most people believe that old age = physical disabilities, poor health, an inability to think clearly & quickly, and having a negative outlook on life
• Research has shown that health care professionals are significantly more negative in their attitudes toward older patients than they are toward younger patients
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• Birthday card aisle• Anti-aging
movement• Lack of positive
images in ads & on TV
• Demeaning language
MANIFESTATION OF AGEISM IN SOCIETY
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• Businesses• State welfare
funds• Human service
professionals• Graduate
education
PERPETUATION OF AGEISM IN INSTITUTIONS
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HOW YOU CAN AVOID PROMOTING AGEISM
• Recognize and explore your own feelings and attitudes toward aging
Pay attention to the way you communicate with older adults
• Correct ageist stereotyping
Help others to understand the dangers of infantilizing older adults
• Avoid using ageist terms and language
They come up more often than we even realize! “little old lady” “over the hill” “one foot in the grave”
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Since its launch in 2013…• Over 170 older adults and interprofessional students engaged in
PALETTE programs• Evaluation results show:• Improved students attitudes
toward older adults and aging
• Decreased student aging anxieties
• PALETTE fostered an environment for:– building strong intergenerational relationships– engaging older adults with their peers– highlighting the individualities of older adults– “giving older adults center-stage”
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SOURCES• Chop, W. C., & Robnett, R. H. (1999). Gerontology for the health care professional (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis. • Cohen, G (2006). The creativity and aging study: The impact of professionally conducted cultural programs on older adults. NEA Final Report No
4-30-06. Washington, DC: National Endowment for the Arts.
• The Gerontological Society of America (2012). Communicating with older adults: An evidence-based view of what really works. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.agingresources.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/GSA_Communicating-with-Older-Adults-low-Final.pdf
• Grabinski, C. J. (2007). 101 careers in gerontology. New York: Springer Pub.
• Hooyman, N. R., & Kiyak, H. A. (1988). Social gerontology: A multidisciplinary perspective. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. • Knowles, M. (1984). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species (3rd Ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.
• National Alliance for Caregiving & AARP. (2004). Caregiving in the U.S. Washington, DC.
• Projections of Future Growth of the Older Population. Retrieved from Administration on Aging website: http://www.aoa.gov/Aging_Statistics/future_growth/future_growth.aspx
• Reichstadt J, Sengupta G, Depp C. A, Palinkas L. A, Jeste D. V. (2010) Older adults’ perspectives on successful aging: Qualitative interviews. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry,18(7):567–575.
• Robinson, Barry (1994). Curriculum module on aging. School of Social Welfare, University of California at Berkeley.
• US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging (2011). A profile of older americans: 2011. Retrieved from http://www.aoa.gov/Aging_Statistics/Profile/2011/docs/2011profile.pdf
• Vincent, G. K., & Velkoff, V. A. (2010). THE NEXT FOUR DECADES: The older population in the United States: 2010 to 2050. Retrieved from US Census Bureau website: http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p25-1138.pdf
• Werner, C. A. (2011). The older population: 2010. Retrieved from US Census Bureau website: http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-09.pdf
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