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Division of Aging and Division of Aging and DHS Divisions General Eldercare Locator
Age with Dignity East Arkansas Western Arkansas
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This
column appears in the December 2007 edition of Aging Arkansas,
"Good information is the best medicine for older adults,” says Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D, Director, National Library of Medicine. The Internet offers easy access to such information and surveys show that most of those who go online search for health and medical information. The down side of the Internet is there may be too much information available. Where does one begin, which Internet site is trustworthy? Thanks to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), finding easy to understand, accurate and free information is readily available at NIH’s Senior Health site: http://nihseniorhealth.gov/ This website designed for older adults was developed by the National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine, both part of the National Institutes of Health, a US government agency. The site’s design is simple and easy to navigate. It offers both basic and in-depth information on a wide range of topics. Want facts about a particular disease? It has straightforward information about causes, treatments, and research. Want to stay disease free? Check out the links on risk factors and prevention. It even has information on how to talk to your doctor. For example, it advises to make the best use of time by ranking your list of concerns and questions by importance and talk about the most important items first. If you put off talking about the items that are bothering you most, you may run out of time to talk about them during the visit. Afterwards, if you have time, you can talk about the other things on your list. A unique feature of the site is the variety of viewing options. Not only can the font be readily increased in size for easier viewing, the contrast of the site can be altered with one click. Doing so creates a black background with yellow and white lettering making the site accessible to individuals with low vision. Another option is “speech.” Click this button and the printed information is read. Unfortunately, most older Americans cannot take advantage of NIH’s Senior Health site from their home. According to the Census Bureau in 2003, among the 23.0 million households where the householder was 65 or older, only about a third (34.7%) had a computer, slightly more than half the figure for the general population (61.8%). The good news is these figures represent a substantial increase in computer and Internet use among older persons in the four years from 2000 to 2003. As the baby boomers reach age 65 the numbers will continue to increase. For those that don’t have computers at home senior adult centers and libraries usually provide free access to the Internet. To broaden the numbers of older adults able to search for and find reliable health information online, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) has developed a free training curriculum for those who teach and work with older adults. This Toolkit for Trainers is now available at NIHSeniorHealth.gov. "Research has shown that age is no hindrance to computer or Internet use. But proper training is important to build computer confidence and Internet skills in older people," says Richard J. Hodes, M.D., NIA director. "This training program is designed to open up the Internet to older adults who want to know more about the health issues facing them as they age." The Toolkit for Trainers can be a welcome addition to computer training programs at public libraries, senior centers, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers, places where older adults typically take computer courses. Instructors at these locations can use the free curriculum to teach older adults how to find accurate, up-to-date online health information on their own. To make sure the training curriculum meets the learning needs of older adults, NIA developers based its design on cognitive aging and vision research and field tested the materials with older adults and instructors in computer classes. Trainers who download the toolkit at http://nihseniorhealth.gov/toolkit/toolkit.html will receive a set of materials they can customize to their students skill levels and interests. These include lesson plans, student handouts, Web searching exercises and illustrated glossaries. An introductory video gives a quick overview of the curriculum and a glimpse of Internet classes in action. Tips on how to set up a senior-friendly computer classroom also are provided. If you have Internet access and want top-notch health and wellness information visit http://nihseniorhealth.gov/ If you are associated with a public library, senior center, community college or lifelong learning center enhance your role among seniors by taking advantage of the free training curriculum and help seniors get the information they need to maximize their health and well being. Division of Aging and Adult Services |
