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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Elderly population

Tribal Nursing Homes: Best Practices for Patients with Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease
Details a report on tribal nursing homes' best practices for treatment of Dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Discusses cultural considerations and risk factors in caring for elders. Includes related organizations, resources, and webinars.
Date: 03/2017
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Reclaiming What is Sacred: Addressing Harm to Indigenous Elders and Developing a Tribal Response to Abuse in Later Life
Presents strategies and information for preventing elder abuse in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Discusses the prevalence of elder abuse, as well as cultural considerations for prevention policies and programs.
Additional links: Tools, Webinar Recording
Author(s): Lauren J. Litton, Victoria Ybanez
Date: 02/2017
Sponsoring organization: National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life
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Hunger in Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for the Aging Services Network
Report details the state of food security in older adults throughout the nation. Examines some of the negative health outcomes caused or worsened by malnutrition at an older age. Discusses some of the barriers that inhibit many elderly people from accessing food, such as immobility, lack of transportation, and poverty, among others.
Date: 02/2017
Sponsoring organization: Meals on Wheels America
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Telemedicine and Primary Care Obesity Management in Rural Areas – Innovative Approach for Older Adults?
Explores telemedicine as a potential delivery tool for the Medicare Obesity Benefit in primary care settings. Describes challenges in implementing the benefit in rural areas, including increasing older adult populations, shortages in primary care and specialized healthcare providers, reimbursement issues, and transportation barriers. Presents the potential utility of telemedicine in rural obesity care and non-physician staff delivery options, which require regulatory changes.
Author(s): John Batsis, Sarah Pletcher, James Stahl
Citation: BMC Geriatrics, 17, 6
Date: 01/2017
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Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Stay Independent Checklist to Engage a Community of American Indians and Raise Awareness About Risk of Falls, 2016
Describes a program implemented to prevent falls among elders in the Zuni Pueblo community in rural western New Mexico.
Author(s): Janet Popp, Debra L. Waters, Karen Leekity, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 14
Date: 01/2017
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Public Transportation's Impact on Rural and Small Towns: A Vital Mobility Link
Presents a report on rural and small-town public transportation. Looks at specific groups of non-drivers that require some form of public transportation, as well as the different types of transit and the advantages they present to small, rural communities. Provides several case studies and discusses a number of myths about public transportation in rural areas.
Author(s): Todd Litman
Date: 2017
Sponsoring organization: American Public Transportation Association
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Aging in Rural Communities: Older Persons' Narratives of Relocating in Place to Maintain Rural Identity
Uses data from 16 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with older adults living in a rural area to examine their assessment of their current living situation. Seeks to understand the perspective of older persons who move from a rural area to a more populous, but still rural community. Also discusses the influence of overall health status and access to healthcare services when making relocation decisions.
Author(s): Joyce Weil
Citation: Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy, 12(1)
Date: 2017
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Tribal Nursing Home Best Practices: Traditional Foods
Presents a guide for tribal nursing homes to develop a traditional food menu for elderly American Indians and Alaska Natives. Discusses the health benefits of traditional foods and the methods for involving elders and the community in the planning and implementing of traditional food menus. Features organizations, case studies, and webinars, among other resources.
Date: 12/2016
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Utility of the Living (Well Through) Intergenerational Fitness and Exercise Program as a County-Delivered Extension Program
Evaluates the suitability of the county Extension to deliver the Living (well through) Intergenerational Fitness and Exercise (LIFE) program, a group-based exercise program for rural residing older adults providing low-cost, effective physical activities to address chronic health conditions and improve health-related quality of life.
Author(s): Ashleigh J. Sowle, Sarah L. Francis, Jennifer A. Margrett, Warren D. Franke
Citation: Journal of Extension, 54(4), rb5
Date: 08/2016
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Aging Gracefully: The PACE Approach to Caring for Frail Elders in the Community
Provides an overview of the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) model, which offer participants comprehensive medical and long-term services and supports. Highlights Mountain Empire's PACE, which serves older adults in rural Virginia.
Author(s): Martha Hostetter, Sarah Klein, Douglas McCarthy
Date: 08/2016
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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