North Carolina Conference on Aging Update: Planning Is The Focus
The 2011 North Carolina Conference on Aging will focus on the theme "The Community Response: Implementing the Plan for a Livable, Senior Friendly North Carolina" and will be held October 18-20 at the Hilton Charlotte University Place Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. “North Carolina needs to move forward with some critical planning work to address the growing older population. This conference will provide a forum for people around the state to come together and do just that,” said Bill Lamb, Conference Chair. Among the topics covered at the Conference will be: Healthy Aging & Active Engagement; Economics of Aging; Safe Communities; Health and the Continuum of Care; Planning Livable, Senior-Friendly Communities; Diversity and Aging; and Families, Caregiving, Grandparenting. Registration is now underway for the Conference. The Preprogram & Registration booklet, as well as the Sponsor, Exhibitor and Advertiser Guide, are available from the Conference website at www.aging.unc.edu/nccoa/.
New NC Mental Health & Aging Coalition Holds First Meeting
On June 7, 2011, over 30 professionals from various disciplines attended the first meeting of the new North Carolina Mental Health and Aging Coalition at the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services. The purpose of the coalition is to bring collaborative attention and action to the mental health needs of older North Carolinians. Older adult mental health issues are often serious, under-recognized, and untreated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that approximately 20% of individuals age 55 and older suffer from some form of mental health issue, with the most prevalent problem being depression. The NC Mental Health and Aging Coalition will focus on advocacy, training, and dissemination of evidence-based programs and practices in the state to make more effective and efficient use of resources. Coalition Steering Committee organizations include the Carolina Geriatric Education Center, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services, NC Division of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities/Substance Abuse Services and the UNC Institute on Aging. For more information about the Coalition, please contact Ellen Schneider at 919-843-8528 or eschneider@schsr.unc.edu.
SGS Recognizes Drs. Bearon and Shenk
Two North Carolina professors were presented with awards from the Southern Gerontological Society at its recent annual conference in Raleigh. Dr. Dena Shenk, Director of the UNC Charlotte Gerontology Program, received the Gordon Streib Distinguished Academic Gerontologist Award. Dr. Luci Bearon, Associate Professor at NC State University and Adult Development and Aging Specialist with the NC Cooperative Extension, received the Applied Gerontologist Award.
NC DAAS Accepting Award Nominations
The NC Division of Aging and Adult Services is now accepting nominations for the 2011 Maddox, Messer and Busse awards. The Ewald W. Busse Award recognizes an individual or organization that has had a significant impact on enhancing the health status of older North Carolinians through efforts to direct health related policies and/or to provide leadership in developing innovative solutions to health care problems. The George L. Maddox Award recognizes an individual or organization in the state that has excelled in creative programming for older adults. The Ernest B. Messer Award recognizes a community (a defined geographic area) in the state that has excelled in addressing the needs of its older citizens. Nominations are due by August 29th. The awards will be distributed at the NC Conference on Aging in October. Questions pertaining to the Awards or the nomination process may be directed to Mary Edwards at (919)733-3983 or Mary.Edwards@dhhs.nc.gov.
Heads Up: September Marks Many Annual Aging Observances
September is the month for numerous state, national and international observances related to aging. A list of these observances, and links to their sponsors, are available on the IOA's Annual Aging Observances page. A number of topical synergies exist among these events. For instance, September is Healthy Aging Month, encompassing Active Aging Week and North Carolina's Falls Prevention Awareness Week. World Alzheimer's Day occurs during Adult Day Services Week. The entire month is National Senior Center Month.
GSA Student Contest Announcement
The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) has launched a student contest focused on aging and design. The Aging Means Business Student Design Contest invites undergraduate and graduate students in gerontology, engineering, business, industrial design, architecture, and social work to showcase their design ingenuity by proposing an original product for adults age 50+. Judging will be based on innovation of design, appeal and appropriateness to 50+ adults, and marketability of the product. The contest winner will present at Aging Means Business: Design for a New Age, in conjunction with GSA’s Annual Scientific Meeting in November.
NC State Offering Distance Gerontology Course For Fall
Providing a foundation of gerontological knowledge needed to work with older adults and their families, and presenting core concepts and findings from theory, research and practice, a remote version of the course Gerontology in Family Life Education will be offered in Fall, 2011 through the NC State Department of 4-H Youth Development and Family & Consumer Sciences. Taught by Dr. Luci Bearon and guest faculty, the course is open to non-degree graduate students as well as degree program enrollees. Remote synchronous sessions will be conducted through Elluminate, and no campus visits are required of distance enrollees.
Age In Action Newsletter For Summer 2011
The Summer edition of Age In Action, the quarterly newsletter of the Virginia Center on Aging, is now online. This issue features a case study on alcohol, medications and older adults.
Aging & Health Promotion News
New NC-Authored Environmental and Policy Change Resources Available. The CDC Healthy Aging Research Network (CDC-HAN) announces the release of four action briefs, the newest additions to the resources of the Environmental and Policy Change (EPC) Initiative to Support Healthy Aging. They are: Optimal Living: Promising Strategies; Optimal Living: Frameworks to Guide Change; Optimal Living: Getting Around; and Optimal Living: Home Environments. Local authors include Richard Duncan of the RL Mace Universal Design Institute and Rebecca Hunter of the NC Healthy Aging Research Network and Center for Aging and Health, UNC School of Medicine. Other EPC resources include recorded presentations, webinars, online discussions, tools for practice and policy, and the EPC Clearinghouse (see "Featured Web Site", below, for a description). Rebecca Hunter of UNC and Basia Belza of the University of Washington lead the EPC Initiative, with support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the CDC. According to Ms. Hunter, there is “a great deal of interest in the creation of healthier, safer environments, but the specific strategies necessary to support healthy and vital aging are not always considered”. EPC resources address that gap.
New from NC Researchers
Altpeter, M.; Houenou, L.; Martin, K.; Schoster, B.; Callahan, L.F. (2011). Recruiting and Retaining “Hard-to-reach” Populations: Lessons Learned and Targeted Strategies from Arthritis Physical Activity Intervention Studies. Arthritis Care & Research. Accepted manuscript online: DOI: 10.1002/acr.20474.
Bird, C. L. (2011). The economic impact of Extension Educators and SHIIP Volunteers. International Journal of Volunteer Administration, 28(1): 1-8.
Callahan, L.; Shreffler, J.; Altpeter, M.; Schoster, B.; Hootman, J.;Houenou, L.; Martin, K.; Schwartz, T. (2011). Evaluation of Group and Self-Directed Formats of the Arthritis Foundation's (AF) Walk with Ease (WWE) Program. Arthritis Care & Research. Accepted manuscript online: DOI: 10.1002/acr.20490.
Coppola, S. (2011). Occupation-centered practice with older adults with mental health conditions. Guest commentary. WFOT Bulletin: Occupational therapy practice around the globe, 63: 5-8.
Farrar, Brandy; Morgan, Jennifer Craft; Chuang, Emmeline; Konrad, Thomas R. (2011). Growing Your Own: Community Health Workers and Jobs to Careers. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management. 34(3):234-246. doi: 10.1097/JAC.0b013e31821c6408
Chuang, Emmeline; Jason, Kendra; Morgan, Jennifer Craft. (2011). Implementing complex innovations: Factors influencing middle manager support. Health Care Management Review. POST AUTHOR CORRECTIONS, 17 June 2011 doi: 10.1097/HMR.0b013e3182100cc2
Rejeski, W.J., Mihalko, S. L., Ambrosius, W. T., Bearon, L. B. and McClelland, J. W.(2011).
Weight loss and self-regulatory eating efficacy in older adults: The Cooperative Lifestyle Intervention Program.
Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. 66B (3): 279-286.
*named a GSA Editor's Choice
Schoster, B.; Altpeter, M.; Meier, A;, Callahan, L.F. (2011). Tips for Overcoming Formative Evaluation Challenges: The Case of the Arthritis Foundation Walk With Ease Program. Health Promotion and Practice. Accepted manuscript online: June 15, 2011, DOI: 10.1177/1524839910384060
For a more extensive list of publications by North Carolina faculty, see New & Notable Publications.
New from the Digital Library
These are selected new additions to the AgeLib Digital Library. Each link below will open a new window displaying the AgeLib record, with a link to the publication itself.
Multigenerational households are increasing / report
view the record
Quality long-term care in North Carolina : A consumer guide to choices and advocacy / report
view the record
The Metlife study of caregiving costs to working caregivers : Double jeopardy for Baby Boomers caring for their parents/ report
view the record
The uneven aging and younging of America : State and metropolitan trends in the 2010 census / report
view the record
Featured Web Site:
EPC Clearinghouse
depts.washington.edu/hansite/drupal/
A searchable, annotated database of online materials pertinent to healthy aging and environmental and mobility issues, the EPC Clearinghouse provides resources, tools, and concrete strategies that support local efforts in environmental and policy change for healthy aging. Types of resources include toolkits, best practices, case studies, process steps and guidelines.
Upcoming Events In NC
August 16-17, 2011
Workshop: Developing Effective Helping Relationships
Carolina Meadows, Chapel Hill
Registration Fee: $40.00; Registration Deadline: 8/10/2011
Registration Link: https://www.ncswlearn.org/plp/catalog/curriculum.aspx?cid=270
September 1-2, 2011
Workshop: Working With Older Adults and Their Families
Carteret County Cooperative Extension Center, Morehead City
Registration Fee: $40.00; Registration Deadline: 8/18/2011
Registration Link: https://www.ncswlearn.org/plp/catalog/curriculum.aspx?cid=267
September 19-25, 2011
North Carolina Falls Prevention Awareness Week
Save The Dates
October 18-20, 2011
NC Conference on Aging
Hilton Charlotte University Place Hotel
Charlotte
View our complete events calendar at www.aging.unc.edu/events/.
Donate Online To The IOA
Visit Support the IOA to make a tax-deductible contribution funding the various research, education and service activities of the Institute.
Subscribe to News Services from the IOA
IOA News Releases: Subscribe to an RSS feed of our current news page.
NC*Aging: Subscribe to the ioanews listserv to receive notice of the publication of NC*Aging, and other announcements.
Jobs in Aging:
The Jobs in Aging web page lists available positions both within North Carolina and nationally. An RSS feed is available.
Current and past issues of NC*Aging may be viewed at any time at http://www.aging.unc.edu/news/newsletter.html . If you have information that you would like to include in this newsletter in the future, please send it to aginginfo@unc.edu at any time.