Author Archives for Herb Weiss

Study Seeks Seniors Wanting Healthier Lifestyle

Published in Pawtucket Times on June 4, 2001

A University of Rhode Island research study that is currently under way is seeking seniors looking for a healthier lifestyle. The unique East Providence-based health promotion program plans to expand into nearby Pawtucket, Seekonk, Barrington, and the East Side of Providence and seeks 300 additional senior volunteers to participate.

At the SENIOR Project, URI researchers are investigating whether physical activity and nutrition are being elixirs to better health.

According to Director Phillip Clark, Sc.D., at URI’s Program in Gerontology, the National Institute on Aging-funded study takes a look at the effectiveness of a health promotion program geared at reaching people are at different stages of readiness to change their health-related behavior. “One size fit all” describes most health promotion programs, Clark tells The Times, but the SENIOR’s Project’s 12-month health promotion approach is “highly individualized.”

Currently, more than 1,000 enrollees age 65 and over have randomly been assigned to four health promotion interventions. All enrollees received material with large-print type for ease in reading.

The first intervention group receives a 20-page manual that explains the process of changing behaviors and the importance of physical exercise.  The second group is provided with a similar manual that also explains the change process but focuses on the nutritional benefits of eating fruits and vegetables.  A third group receives both sets of informational health promotion materials while the fourth group receives a manual on fall prevention.

Based on the results of quarterly questionnaire, an individualized report is generated and provided to each enrollee about their specific attitudes and behaviors, providing them with suggestions as to what they can do to make positive health and nutritional changes.

There are 16,000 possible variations of the computer-generated reports based on how the individualized questionnaires are filled out notes, Geoffrey Greene, Ph.D. RD, LDN, a URI professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences who also staffs the URI research team.

Greene adds that quarterly telephone counseling is offered too, by trained counselors. Using individualized reports, the counselor effectively coaches each older enrollee. “The counselors might focus on either the person’s attitudes or behaviors, depending on the person’s readiness to change,” he stated.

In between the quarterly reports. Greene notes that each enrollee will receive eight newsletters. Depending on the intervention group, the senior will be mailed a newsletter focusing on either nutrition, physical exercise, or both. Those seniors receiving the manuals about fall prevention will receive no newsletter. The URI nutritionist states that one of 40 variations of newsletters could be mailed to enrollees, linked to their level of readiness to change.


What specific nutritional lessons do people learn? Seniors receiving nutritional information on fruit and vegetables learn the importance of eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables, Greene says. “It can help to reduce your high blood pressure, prevent certain types of cancers, reduce the risks of heart disease. Those who eat even more servings seem to have lower risks of diabetes, too,” Greene adds.

Greene states that seniors receiving nutritional intervention who already eat a lot of fruits and vegetables are told by the trained counselors to increase their variety. “A person is steered toward specific types of vegetables and fruits that are richer in nutrients and protective against certain types of diseases,” he adds.

As to physical fitness, Clark says that exercise is properly the most important health behavior for older adults. “It benefits body, mind and spirit,” he adds, noting that people of any age can benefit from a regular exercise program. Before beginning any exercise program, one needs to check with a physician, warns Clark.

Clark believes that “It’s never too late to begin to increase your physical activity.”

Estelle Tetreault, 78, a former public health nurse who had cardiac surgery last March, is a believer in the SENIOR Project and is pleased with her positive lifestyle changes. “The program really gets us off our butts,” she quipped, noting that her interest in health promotion influenced her to enroll.

For a while, Tetreault admits, she was a couch potato. “Exercise and nutrition have become a regular and more important part of my life,” the former Pawtucket and now East Providence resident says. “The upshot is I joined the SENIOR Project to support them but the project has become a source of support for me.

Tetreault’s longtime friend, Fran Robertson, also an East Providence resident and participant in the research study sees the tangible benefits, too. “Everyday Fran reminds herself to eat five fruits and vegetables,” Tetreault says, noting that her friend now regularly reminds herself to exercise daily.

l

Cultivating a Garden, Inside and Out, Brings Satisfaction to Many Seniors

Published in the Pawtucket times on May 28, 2001

Some aging Baby Boomers squirm at the thought of turning age 50. The reality of aging often hits home when a letter arrives from the AARP urging them to become a member.

But one’s senior years could be uplifting, not a downer. Radio producer and writer Connie Goldman believes that the aging process can be viewed as a spiritual quest, not a personal crisis.

Goldman writes and produces public radio programs about seniors, from caregiving to cultivating your inner guard to talking about seniors who enjoy becoming more creative, alive and aware in their later years.

In one radio program, she talked about “Late Bloomers,” persons in their later years who choose to enjoy late life learning, climbing steep mountains and even becoming artists, dancers and writers in their later years.  But “being busy for the sake of being busy” ignores the real benefits of growing older, Goldman states, noting that the later years offer opportunities to focus on activities that are meaningful and internally enriching you.

For those age 50 and older, there are many opportunities to take advantage of and enjoy new relationships. Others begin to slowly wind down their hectic career, travel to exotic lands, assist in raising their grandchildren or contribute back to society through volunteer work. “It’s good to keep busy with something you truly enjoy,” Goldman says, but the simple act of watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset or even quietly puttering around your garden can be as stimulating as a jam-packed calendar of activities.

According to Goldman, as the outer world shrinks and we pull back into our selves, our inner personal world is given space to  grow. “This time of our lives can provide us with an opportunity to explore a different side of our selves. During the quiet times of midlife and beyond, gardening can offer us a chance for  contemplation, meditation, deep relation and inner calm,” she adds.

“Gardening provides us with a way to connect with the earth ad get in touch with the natural world,” Goldman states.

With the raves and kudos Goldman received from her recent one-hour public radio special, “The Wisdom of Gardening: Conversation with Elders and Others,” the 70-year-old writer and radio producer, and her writing colleague Richard Mahler, coauthored a book on the deeper meaning of gardening.

This 235-page book, “Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit: The Healing Gifts of Gardening,” explores how the simple act of gardening can bring great satisfaction to gardeners, as well as to those who visit gardens. Interviewers told them how they found peace in their backyard when they were dealing with sadness and grief, relief from the stresses of the work place or feeling great joy in watching a tiny plant growing to be a big beautiful flower or ripe tomato.

“Whether you garden on a plot or in a pot, one experiences great satisfaction in being a partner in nature’s growth,” Goldman adds. So, as summer time approaches, get off the fast track of life. Dust off your gardening tools, put on your old clothing and sneakers. In the backyard vegetable patch, Goldman urges us to spend time connecting with the “natural world through gardening.” Whether admiring roses in your background patch or a neighbor’s garden, eating vegetables that you grew or simply enjoying the cool shade of trees, take time to nurture your “celestial Eden.”

Study: Communication Gap Exists Between Elderly and Their Children

Published in the Pawtucket Times on May 21, 2001

Everyone knows that communication gaps oftentimes occur between teenagers and their parents. According to the findings of a newly released AARP study, this problem also occurs in the later years too, between elderly parents and their adult children.

The AARP study found that most adult children never talk with their elderly parents about their aged-related needs until a crisis occurs.

Of those surveyed, two out of three adult children have never had this conversation with their aging parents.

Additionally, the findings indicated that more adult children and their older parents believed that their parents had a problem that affected their independence.

Moreover, the researchers say that the elderly parents are more than twice as likely as their adult children to say that their offspring had given them no help when they had a problem in the past five years.  While many elderly parents would seek information f rom their adult children about how to live independently, one in three adult children don’t know what type of information to give their parents or even where to locate it.

Grace Lebow, Co.-Director, of Aging Network Services, a nationwide care management service based in Bethesda, Maryland, believes “it’s never too late to open up communication with your elderly parents.”

However, “Many aging baby boomers find it difficult to see their parents age and become less parental to them,” states the clinical social worker specializing in working with older persons.

“Sometimes both older parents and grown children will think they are protecting each other by not addressing delicate subjects such as finances, wills, medical, durable power of attorney, and prepaid funerals,” Lebow tells The Times.

“The longer you avoid discussing these sensitive issues, the harder it will become when a future crisis occurs.”

Adult children often complain that their parents avoid or even refuse any discussions. Meanwhile, even if elderly parents are willing to talk with their adult children, oftentimes it’s the aging baby boomer children who are the ones who are in denial,” Lebow says.

“The adult children must become more receptive to listening to their signals instead of changing the subject and turning off the conversation.” She urges the aging baby boomers to tune in and pick up the parent’s lead.

For both generations, Lebow calls each to “listen to each other and become open for discussion.”

Sometimes a sibling might block needed conversations about age-related issues.

To circumvent this obstacle, consider writing a letter to this sibling and to the elderly parent, Lebow recommends, stating your feelings and how important you consider holding a family meeting to discuss your older parent’s needs.

Or consider bringing in the family friend or professional to get the dialogue jumpstarted, Lebow adds.

“It may even take the personal experiences of a friend of the parent to bring the issues home to both the elderly parent and adult children.”

Professionals, like family physicians or lawyers, who the older person trusts might be brought into the communication impasse as an alley to discuss the importance and the need for taking steps such as signing a living will, durable power of attorney or the need for prepaid funerals.

Aging specialist Nora Jean Levin, quoted in AARP’s brochure “Family Conversations that Help Parents Stay Independent,” notes that a conversation can help “plan for the future.”

She recommends working with older parents to create personal and financial profiles, including information such as the parent’s Social Security numbers, insurance coverage, medical records, and financial status.  By gathering this information, you might uncover current or potential needs for help.

As your older parent’s health and financial needs continue to change over time, continue to keep up your conversations on a regular basis.

To receive a pamphlet, “Family Conversations that Help Parents Stay Independent,” call Betsy L. Draper, of AARP, at 617 723-7600; or for information on Aging Network Services or to order a copy of Coping with Your Difficult Older Parents: A Guide for Stressed Out Children, by Grace Lebow & Barbara Kane, call 301 657-4329.