Community volunteer programs help the aging adult to remain in their own homes for a longer period of time. These learning packages provide information for self-study or workshops. With these packages, your organization can provide the needed education to help volunteers and home health aides be more effective at both communicating with aging adults and recognizing when family may need to be contacted or services may need to be referred. 1. Communication: Talking effectively with aging adults. Topics: (Importance of attitude in communication, Basic communication strategies, Communication challenges as we age, How to overcome these challenges) 2. Medication Management: Recognizing medication problems with aging adults. Topics (How age affects the actions of medications, The most common medication problems, The signs of adverse reactions, How to support good medication management) 3. Memory Loss: Understanding age-related memory loss & dementia. Topics ( How to identify normal age-related changes in memory, Ways to manage memory loss, How to identify memory loss linked to dementia, How to communicate effectively with people who have a memory loss) 4. Home Safety: Making the home safe for aging persons Signs that indicate a home is unsafe. Topics ( Ways to make a home safer, The most common risks and how to prevent them: Falls, Fractures, Fire) 5. Sensory Difficulties: Relating to persons with sensory impairment. Topics ( Common age-related changes in the senses, How these changes make a person feel, How to relate to someone with sensory loss, How to help someone overcome a sensory loss) 6. Elder Depression: Recognizing and responding to depression. Topics ( How depression differs from grief, How to recognize depression, What places a person at risk of depression, Strategies for working with depressed individuals) 7. Food Safety: Understanding and avoiding foodborne Illness. Topics ( Which groups are at the greatest risk?, The importance of hand washing, Factors that are keys to assuring food safety, Symptoms of foodborne illness) |