SHORT‐TERM TRAINING VISION AND AGING PROJECT

The Pennsylvania College of Optometry, with funding from the Administration on Aging, conducted two series of “Vision and Aging” workshops. The project directive was to improve the knowledge of long‐term care and optometric professionals caring for elderly individuals. A total of 86 optometrists and 74 long‐term care professionals completed their respective 2‐day workshops. Evaluation data revealed that participants had little knowledge/skills about vision and aging; the workshops were informative and relevant; interactive strategies employed were favorably received; and participants' knowledge of vision and aging increased. Additional vision‐related training, services, and activities for the elderly have occurred since the workshops were conducted.     

DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING SERVICE‐LEARNING IN AGING

This article focuses on the potential benefits of service‐learning in aging to students, the university, and the community. We first discuss the concept of service‐learning, clarify its parameters, and describe the types of projects that best exemplify its unique blend of service and learning. Opportunities for service‐learning are examined using examples from the current Intergenerational Service‐Learning Project of the National Council on Aging. The complexity of initiating and gaining acceptance of service‐learning in aging projects is explored, with particular attention given to supervisory and curriculum issues. Finally, the national implications of service‐learning in aging are discussed, as well as the possibilities for including service‐learning approaches in some of the new federal initiatives in aging.     

IN‐SERVICE TRAINING IN GERONTOLOGY: A CASE STUDY OF STATEWIDE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

This report describes the design and conduct of a statewide training needs assessment based on joint state agency and university planning. Sample findings are presented for both the statewide population (N = 736) and various job function groupings. Differences in expressed training needs across job function groups are examined, and strategies for providing effective and efficient training are discussed.     

A MODULAR COURSE APPROACH TO IN‐SERVICE AND PRE‐SERVICE TRAINING IN GERONTOLOGY

In order to meet both in‐service and pre‐service training needs in gerontology, North Country Community College has developed an innovative one‐year certificate program. Under the assumption that persons working with the aged in a rural area must have a diverse group of skills to draw upon, the gerontology certificate stresses course work in: communication skills, culture variability, gerontology knowledge, management skills, and service skills. The curriculum approach taken is that of competency based education, with most of the skills courses put into a modular course format. After the first year of the certificate, 53% (N = 65) of the students in the certificate courses are adults or community professionals turning to this community college program to upgrade skills or acquire new ones. This certificate is beginning to meet the training needs in a rural area that were only previously addressed by occasional workshops for the human service practitioner.     

MEETING THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF SERVICE PROVIDERS: EFFECTS OF A CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM ON SELF‐REPORTED KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES ABOUT AGING

A variety of approaches are available for meeting the educational needs of professionals currently providing services to older adults. This article focuses on the development of the Professional Development Program in Gerontology offered through Continuing Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and examines the effectiveness of this program in educating regional service providers. The discussion is based on participants’ self‐reported before‐and‐after data on their knowledge and attitudes about aging and the aged. The importance of changing employers’ attitudes about the importance of gerontology education as a qualification for service providers is also discussed.     

TRAINING AND ORIENTATION OF CERTIFIED OMBUDSPERSON VOLUNTEERS FOR LONG‐TERM CARE FACILITIES

We report findings on learner retention and satisfaction as a result of certified ombudsperson volunteer (COV) training. Specifically, two research questions were addressed. First, did individuals who completed COV training learn the content? The result of the analysis was significant. Second, were individuals who completed COV training satisfied with its content? Survey results indicated satisfaction with the content, format, and utility of the COV training. In addition, a review of the literature was conducted, and recommendations for further research are offered.     

UNIVERSITY‐BASED ADULT DAY CARE CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND TRAINING: DESIGN,FUNDING, AND PROGRAMMATIC ISSUES

In the early 1980s, the College of Human Resources at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University began a visioning process to plan its educational agenda for the 21st century. One of the more pressing issues targeted for educational intervention was community‐based long‐term care. Ten years later, a licensed, Medicaid‐certified adult day health center is fully operational on the university campus, providing a myriad of research, teaching, and public service opportunities for faculty and students. Center design, funding, and programmatic issues are discussed.     

EPILOGUE: SPACED‐RETRIEVAL MEMORY TRAINING IN AN ADULT DAY‐CARE CENTER

A memory‐impaired client at an adult day‐care center was trained to remember the name of a staff member using the spaced‐retrieval technique. After two brief training sessions, the client demonstrated long‐term retention of the target name. Retention was maintained at follow‐up testing 6 months later. Details of the unique aspects of this cognitive intervention, along with implications of this project for cognitive aging research in general, are discussed. In particular, the social and emotional components of memory‐ and cognitive training tasks are emphasized.     

TRAINING IN SUPPORT OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN ELDERCARE CAMPAIGN: REPLICATION OF AN AMERICAN INDIAN HOME‐CARE TRAINING PROGRAM

In 1991, the federal Administration on Aging initiated the National Eldercare Campaign to broaden the base of commitment and societal involvement to assist today's vulnerable elderly. With Administration on Aging funding, the project described in this study sought to enhance services to American Indian elders by training individuals as home‐care workers. The project replicated a previously developed American Indian paraprofessional home‐care worker curriculum at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet, Minnesota. This program, which is transferable to Indian and non‐Indian communities, addressed three contemporary aging issues. First, it addressed the need to incorporate diversity and minority aging knowledge into the curriculum of postsecondary education. Second, it provided more accessible and better quality community‐based in‐home care to meet the needs of frail elderly. Third, this training program confronted the pervasive lack of employment opportunities in many American Indian and other minority communities.     

HEALTH CARE EDUCATORS’ KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES REGARDING SEXUALITY IN THE AGED

Health care providers’ knowledge of and attitudes toward sexuality in older adults may have an impact on the overall quality of care they provide to older clients. One place to begin improving the knowledge and attitudes of health care professionals may be health care educators. If educators have accurate knowledge and positive attitudes, they can help their students acquire accurate knowledge and develop positive attitudes. Forty‐two health care educators in a large community college completed a sexuality knowledge and attitude scale. The study attempted to determine the extent of the educators’ knowledge of sexuality in the aged, their attitudes toward it, the relationship between sexual knowledge and attitudes, and the relationship of knowledge and attitudes to certain personal / demographic variables and professional / experiential factors. The results indicated that the health care educators had limited knowledge regarding aged sexuality but held positive attitudes toward it. No significant relationship was found between knowledge and attitudes. Older health care educators and educators who had participated in continuing education related to sexuality possessed more knowledge about aged sexuality. Educators who rated themselves as more religious held more restrictive attitudes.     

SHORT‐TERM PROGRAMS ON DEATH AND DYING AND AGING: A REVIEW OF SELECTED LITERATURE

Agencies and institutions dealing with the elderly have only limited time, money, and personnel with which to plan and implement educational programs. Yet a basic knowledge of aging and death and dying seems to be essential for those working with older adults. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on short‐term educational programs on death and dying and aging in order to offer practitioners some guidance for efficiently structuring programs to bring about desired changes in these areas. From 15 selected studies, 3 aspects of such programs are reviewed and analyzed: the length of the intervention, the type of treatment, and the nature of the target group involved.     

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A TRAIN‐THE‐TRAINER CURRICULUM ON SUCCESSFUL AND PRODUCTIVE AGING

Despite the fact that Japan has developed many exemplary social policies for their expanding older population and programs to foster elderly workforce participation, shortage of personnel with a comprehensive understanding of gerontology has limited these efforts. In response to the need for greater gerontological education among the Japanese who will work in the allied health professions, we developed an intensive training program on “Successful and Productive Aging,” with two associate degree colleges in Japan. Emphasizing lessons learned from the United States experience, the three‐week program covered issues in health promotion/ disease prevention, health maintenance/independence, mechanisms of formal/ informal caregiving, and preparations for retirement. Instructional methods included didactic presentations by a multidisciplinary faculty, case‐based problem‐solving exercises, and field visits to various agencies and geriatric facilities in the greater Boston area. The educational program was field‐tested with 5 faculty from Japan who were asked to evaluate the program based on whether the learning objectives were met, perceptions of relevance of subject matters to students in Japan, and perceptions of teaching methods’ effectiveness. We present the results of this successful cross‐national collaboration, with emphasis on how information gathered is being integrated into teaching plans upon returning to Japan.     

INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICE‐LEARNING: CONTRIBUTIONS TO CURRICULA

This article reports some findings from a national demonstration project involving the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and thirteen colleges and universities. We studied 39 courses in which students were involved in service‐learning in aging. We describe and discuss (1) the range of demonstrably feasible adaptions, (2) what faculty say their students learned from the experiences, and (3) faculty perceptions of personal benefits and costs associated with developing and directing these projects.     

KNOWLEDGE OF AND ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING IN YOUNG,MIDDLE‐AGED,AND OLDER COLLEGE STUDENTS: A COMPARISON OF TWO MEASURES OF KNOWLEDGE OF AGING

Scores on two measures of knowledge of aging were compared and correlated with direct and indirect measures of attitudes toward aging. Knowledge scores were not strongly related (r = .2‐.3) to either indirect or direct measures of attitudes toward older adults, and scores on the knowledge tests were not strongly correlated with each other (r = .25). In general, older subjects had higher knowledge scores and more positive attitude scores than did younger subjects. The age effect for knowledge remained after attitude was controlled. Suggestions for improving tests of general knowledge of aging are offered.     

SERVICE PROVIDERS’ KNOWLEDGE AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT OLD AGE: COMPARISON OF THREE SERVICE NETWORKS

We report on knowledge about old age among social service providers from three service networks. Data are based on a survey of 245 respondents from Washington State's developmental disabilities, aging, and generic service networks. Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ; 1977, 1988) was used to measure the level of knowledge about old age. Key findings are as follows: (a) Overall, the respondents averaged 64% correct on the FAQ. (b) Developmental disabilities service providers scored lower than either aging service providers or generic service providers. (c) The content areas in which items were most often missed were the psychological aspects aging, the demographic trends of the aging population, and the socioeconomic status of the elderly. Implications of the results for training service providers are discussed.     

ALTERNATIVES IN AURAL REHABILITATION: PROVIDER TRAINING OF NONAUDIOLOGISTS IN THE DELIVERY OF HEARING‐AID SUPPORTIVE SERVICES TO OLDER PERSONS WITH HEARING LOSS

Recently, Patterson and Dancer (1987) suggested a model wherein persons who normally come in contact with older hearing‐impaired persons can be trained to assist the older hearing‐aid user in adjustment to amplification. Their four‐phase educational model offers an alternative to traditional aural rehabilitation programs by using personnel from senior centers, nursing homes, and state and local agencies as program providers.

The present article elaborates more fully on the training that protocol providers will receive from audiologists certified by the American Speech‐Language‐Hearing Association. Providers will be carried through five stages: empathy, effective communication skills, knowledge of the interaction of aging and hearing loss, the phases outlined in the Patterson and Dancer model, and guidelines for referrals. Objective‐based provider and client response criteria are outlined for moving the client from the initial receipt of the hearing aid to its ultimate acceptance and use on a doily basis.     

PART‐TIME COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY: THEIR NEEDS FOR INSTRUCTION‐RELATED ASSISTANCE

An aura of controversy surrounds the proliferation of part‐time faculty members on community college campuses. The related literature provides evidence that part‐timers have fewer advanced degrees and years of teaching experience than their full‐time counterparts. Nevertheless, the increasing trend toward their employment shows no sign of slowing. As part‐timers comprise a growing proportion of community college faculties, and as they are recruited from nonacademic sources, opportunities should be provided for them to hone their pedagogical skills. The findings of a study undertaken at Arizona State University's Department of Higher and Adult Education reveal part‐timers’ needs for assistance and information in instruction‐related areas such as evaluation, handling paperwork, teaching community college students and community college philosophy. An instructional resource manual developed for part‐time faculty was perceived to be a viable method of providing assistance to part‐timers.     

TEACHING ABOUT AGING IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: A ONE‐YEAR FOLLOW‐UP

This study followed up on a 7‐day, 5th‐grade intergenerational project on aging. The “Age Doesn't Matter” (ADM) project was interdisciplinary; incorporating dance, health education, history, art, and poetry to teach about growing older. Older adults came to the school to interact with the students and the students also went on field trips to a nursing home and a retirement hotel. Thirteen of the original 19 ADM students were still in the same school 1 year after the project's completion. These students were matched by grade, gender, and race with a comparison group (n = 13) one year after the project's completion. Three experts in the field of gerontology were asked to blindly review the students' responses to open‐ended questions about aging and to rate each student concerning his or her attitudes toward aging. The ADM students were judged to have significantly (p < .05) more positive attitudes toward aging than the comparison group students.