tailieunhanh - Home on the Range—Health Literacy, Rural Elderly, Well-Being

A cross-sectional community based study was conducted in two different groups of elderly population (60 year and above) in Dibrugarh District of Assam, India during the study period from 2002 to 2003. The study comprised of 523 geriatric persons from both the settings. The first group consisted of 293 (male - 181 and female - 112) elderly persons from an urban setting among a population of about lakhs. Four wards and two adjoining localities were selected randomly for the study. The second groups of 230 (male - 101 and female - 129) geriatric persons were drawn from a community predominantly engaged in tea industry mainly as manual labourer. The population of. | Home on the Range Health Literacy Rural Elderly Well-Being _ Journal of Extension June 2012 Volume 50 Number 3 Article Number 3FEA2 Return to Current Issue Home on the Range Health Literacy Rural Elderly Well-Being David Young Professor and Community Resource Specialist Extension Service and College of Nursing dyoung@ Clarann Weinert Professor College of Nursing cweinert@ Amber Spring Project Manager College of Nursing aspring@ Montana State University Bozeman Montana Abstract The demographic and socioeconomic impacts of the baby boomer generation turning 65 in 2011 will be magnified in rural areas where elderly are already disproportionately represented. The overall goal of a collaborative community-based project was to improve the health literacy health outcomes and overall well-being of rural elderly in four small rural communities. The methodology involved implementing four documented interventions working with Extension agents senior center directors librarians and public health nurses in the communities. Extension can play a critical leadership role working with other key community stakeholders in improving health literacy health and well-being of rural elderly. Introduction Adults 65 years and older constitute the fastest growing segment of America s population. In rural settings older adults are disproportionately represented accounting for more than 15 in many areas compared to of the overall . population USDHHS 2009 . Beginning in 2011 the first of the nation s 75 million baby boomers will reach age 65 and by 2030 the elderly population will increase to 72 million representing 20 of the population Federal Interagency Forum on Aging 2010 . It is projected that baby boomer migration patterns will increase the population of rural and small-town settings Cromartie Nelson 2009 . This dramatic demographic change will create socioeconomic challenges across a number of domains Social Security housing long-term