The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program recently participated in a ten week “train the trainer” series called the Creativity Continuum , which includes TimeSlips, Visible Lives and LifeStory. These programs are designed to elicit creative responses in older adults in residential care, adult day programs or in the community. Creative expression is important at any age but may become more so as we age by helping to preserve a sense of identity, connection with others and even affecting health since “evidence suggests that stimulating creativity in elders at all levels of functioning improves health outcomes.”

A trained facilitator records all responses which, when combined, tell a story that participants have created from their own imaginations. Since there are no wrong answers, resident storytellers feel secure in their environment, in their group and with their responses. At the end of the program, all of the photographs and stories are bound into a book and a copy is given to each participant. A book signing party marks the culmination of the project and staff, friends and family are invited to celebrate the accomplishments of all. Another point on the creativity continuum is Visible Lives, a program that encourages residents to reconfigure a lifetime of experiences, re-examine values and make their own expressive choices through the creation of a visible storyboard. The storyboard presents a montage of themes through pictures, achievements, crafts and mementos collected over the course of a lifetime. Prominently displaying the storyboard allows residents, visitors and staff to see the residents as they see themselves, providing an avenue of insight into the resident's life, which can lead to deeper human connections. The photographs are easily changed to reflect celebrations or special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, holidays or even a change in seasons. The Ombudsman's role in Visible Lives is to act as a facilitator by helping to sort through artifacts, gather pertinent details through interviews with the resident and family members and assist in storyboard construction. Once the storyboard is completed, a ceremony with staff, friends and family is held to celebrate the individual's life. This process works well with all residents in long-term care and has proven to increase self-esteem and positive interactions with caregivers.

-Participants in the "train the trainer" Creativity Continuum-

LifeStory is an eight week workshop involving writing, reflecting, and sharing stories of one's life. This program works best with higher functioning older adults in the community, residential setting or day centers. The writing group experiments with a variety of suggested writing techniques including narrative, journaling, letters and poetry. The personal narratives are then shared and other members of the group are encouraged to comment on positive aspects of the author's writing technique and style. Security and confidentially are key to group success since it allows individuals a comfortable and safe environment in which to share their life experiences. By allowing time for self-expression and group support, activities that both nurture and heal, LifeStory has demonstrated its therapeutic effects at any stage in life.

The Ombudsman Program plans to continue these creative programs for long-term care residents and their families. In our experiences thus far, facilities have been receptive to these new activities for their residents, and in some cases have reported increased well-being and cognitive functioning among participating residents. In the future, we will be implementing Visual Lives to encourage residents to reflect on and share significant moments in their lives. We will be adding a unique element to this creative endeavor by partnering with local youth groups, introducing a structured opportunity for intergenerational interaction. And finally, we will be offering training to our ombudsmen volunteers

so that we can implement these creativity tools in more facilities in order to support,encourage and inspire more residents in long-term care, thus expanding these powerful life-affirming programs.

Martel Scholoarships Awarded
 

The Valley Advisory Board is seeking nominations for the following awards to be presented at the Joseph C. and Selenia E. Valley Conference on September 14, 2007.

• The Joseph C. Valley Professional of the Year Award acknowledges a gerontology/geriatric professional, practicing in long-term care settings and having a sustained impact on the lives of older adults.
• The Joseph C. Valley Community Advocate Award acknowledges an individual involved in his or her community having an ongoing impact on the lives of older adults.

A nominee should submit a CV or resume and a letter of application that addresses the criteria as listed on the COA web-site, www.uthcoa.org .

Nominations should be addressed to Dr. Nancy Bergstrom, Director, Center on Aging, UTSON-H Center on Aging, 6901 Bertner Avenue, Houston, TX 77030 or to Nancy.Bergstrom@uth.tmc.edu. They should be received by June 1.

For questions or a copy of the criteria, please contact Barbara.M.Booth@uth.tmc.edu or 713.500.9922.

The COA Shares Knowledge
 

Faculty and doctoral students associated with the Center on Aging figured prominently in recent national and international conferences.

Joint Conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging (Chicago, March 2007):

• Vaunette Fay, workshop, Women in Transition:  Issues and Ideas for the Second Half of Life (a project of the Wellderly Program, funded by the United Way).
• Carmen Castro and Diane Persson,  Surviving the Storms: Responding to the Needs of Elders in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Other Natural Disasters.
• Diane Persson, A Worm's Eye View of Nursing Home Culture Change in Texas : An Ombudsman Perspective.
• Diane Persson, panelist, Ombudsman: Friend or Foe?

Association of Gerontology in Higher Education (March 2007, Portland , OR):

• Vaunette Fay and Elaine Sounder, Mentoring: Sharing Educational Strategies to Foster Active Learning in Gerontology.  

Southern Nursing Research Society meetings (February 2007, Galveston , TX):

• Nancy Bergstrom, Doctoral student mentoring and networking workshop: Post dissertation.
• Joan Wasserman, Kyler Godwin, and Sharon Ostwald, Measuring Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in Stroke Survivors.
• Wanda Borges, Josefina Lujan, and Constance Sixta, symposium The Role of Promotores in Diabetes Self-Management Education: Research Findings.
• Mei-Kuei Tai, Ambulatory Blood Pressure Dipping and Physical Activity in Heart Failure – A Pilot.
• Cleo Richard, Negotiating Care during Hemodialysis – A Pilot Study.

International Stroke Conference and associated International Nursing Symposium (February 2007, San Francisco):

• Sheila Decker, Sharon Ostwald, Stan Cron, Joan Wasserman, and Kyler Godwin, Pain in Elderly Stroke Survivors .
• Sharon Ostwald, plenary session, Living after Stroke: Conversations with Couples .

National Institute for Nursing Research State of the Science Conference, Washington , DC (October, 2006):

• Sharon Ostwald, Joan Wasserman and Stan Cron, Predictors of Life Satisfaction among Stroke Survivors and Spousal Caregivers One Year Post Hospital Discharge. (Best Poster Award).

American Rehabilitation Nurses Conference (October 2006, Chicago):

• Sharon Ostwald, Francisca Hernandez, Franzina Coutinho, Adverse events experienced by stroke survivors the first year following hospital discharge .

National Stroke Association Regional Workshops, (September 2006, Las Vegas and Boston ; October, Orlando ; December, Chicago)

• Sharon Ostwald, Preparatory strategies for life after discharge: Lessons from the CAReS study.

Top of page

Director's Corner
 

The research goal of the Center on Aging is to conduct, facilitate, and disseminate interdisciplinary research that improves the quality of care and well-being of older adults, their families, and the communities in which they live. Faculty have submitted two proposals to the National Institute for Nursing Research, received new funding from intramural funds, presented research findings at National and International meetings (listed elsewhere), mentored students who are now presenting at conferences, and are currently mentoring students who have recently received funding. We are particularly pleased to be able to offer dissertation research awards made possible by a generous endowment, the 4 students receiving awards will make a contribution to the literature regarding care of vulnerable, frail elderly. All of these accomplishments demonstrate progress in our research enterprise.

We are particularly pleased to welcome Carmel Bitondo Dyer, MD, AGSF, FACP to UTH. She is the Director, Division of Geriatric Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine. We are moving toward greater interdisciplinary partnerships that will include most of the schools at UTH. Our focus as a group will be on elder abuse and neglect which has commonalities across areas of excellence of a number of faculty.

In this issue, we call for nominations for Valley Professional of the Year and Valley Community Advocate. We encourage you to nominate colleagues for these prestigious awards which will be presented at the Valley Conference on September 14, 2007. The Valley Conference is entitled, “Protecting Our Elderly: Recognizing and Preventing Elder Abuse and Neglect.”

Thank you for your interest in the Center on Aging.

~ Nancy Bergstrom, PhD, RN, FAAN

6901 Bertner, 6th Floor
Houston, TX 77030
www.uthcoa.org
Phone 713.500.9921