| Learning Objective #1: Identify health risks of low income elders who reside in the subsidized living facilities. | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Describe a Community Eldercare Project that can promote health outcomes of low income elders who reside in the subsidized living facilities. |
Purpose: The Community Eldercare Project is an educational intervention that focuses on elderly people understanding of health promotion activities. Initiated by nursing faculty and their students, the project promotes a broad range of wellness programs for low income elders including screening of blood pressures and blood glucoses, health assessments, and health teaching programs. The purpose of this presentation is to identify health risks of low income elders who reside in the subsidized community living facilities as well as describe a Community Eldercare Project that can improve health outcomes of low income elders.
Design and Method: In the past three years, over 800 low income elders were surveyed and interviewed by nursing students and their faculty at 12 subsidized community living facilities in the East Bay. The survey questionnaire included demographic data, health status, psychosocial backgrounds, and environmental and living conditions. Using equipment and supplies supported by Roche Diagnostics, students also screened participants for diabetes and hypertension.
Results: The incidences of participants with the pre-diabetes in this population were 35%. Participants with hypertensive conditions were 72%: Of those, 50% of them were routinely taking antihypertensive medications. The majority of participants also reported experiencing signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, hard of hearing, poor visions, and lack of sleep. After thorough assessments by nursing students in series of four sessions in each community setting, health teaching programs focusing on priority health needs targeted toward those participants who were interested in life style changes. Follow-up case studies and one on one meeting by nursing students improved health outcomes for participants.
Implications: The Community Eldercare Project in the subsidized living facilities that involve nursing students and their faculty provides a model program that may be implemented globally to improve health outcomes of a low income elderly population who appears to be at increased health risks.
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