Working With Diverse Elders in Rural Communities (Opportunities and Strengths)

Co-Chair(s)

• LH

  Lyn Holley, PhD, FAGHE, MPA,PhD,FAGHE (she/her/hers)

  Chuck Powell Professor of Gerontology
  Department of Gerontology
  University of Nebraska at Omaha
  Omaha, Nebraska, United States

Discussant(s)

• CF

  Cassandra Ford, PhD, RN, FAHA, FGSA

  Associate Professor
  Capstone College of Nursing
  University of Alabama
  Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

• 

  Haorui Wu, PhD (he/him/his)

  Canada Research Chair in Resilience and Associate Professor
  Resilience
  Dalhousie University
  Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• JL

  Jordan Lewis, PhD, MSW, FGSA (he/him/his)

  Director of Research, Research Professor
  Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team
  University of Alaska Fairbanks, College of Indigenous Studies
  Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
• 

  Hillary Spangler, MD

  Assistant Professor
  Geriatric Medicine
  University of North Carolina School of Medicine
  Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

  Slides
• 

  Mary Milidonis, PhD, PT (she/her/hers)

  Associate Professor
  Physical Therapy
  Cleveland State University
  Hudson, Ohio, United States

The focus of this symposium is to discuss the opportunities and strengths of working with diverse elders and older adults in rural communities. Accounts of field experiences will be shared, and methods of utilizing existing data that hold promise for addressing current problems; along with building the foundation of communication and relationship requisite to successful design, development, and implementation of improvements will be described through various studies with rural and/or indigenous peoples. We will discuss the role of social determinants of health, race, and rurality on frailty trajectories utilizing data from the National Health and Aging Trend Study. An innovative approach for leveraging older adult farmers’ expertise to facilitate effective emergency decision-making in Fraiser Valley, British Columbia, Canada, will be described. Ongoing research with Alaskan Native Elders provides insight into the need for effective research with Indigenous cultures, especially Elders, by developing trusting and mutually beneficial relationships. Research strategies involved historical, social, cultural, and inter-relational perspectives. Insight into how Cuidando con Respeto, a program with Latinx elders, builds bridges to health care and mutual understanding nurtured at the community level and shows promise in empowering caregivers within a familismo-culturally relevant manner will be shared. The use of mobile pain applications and considerations when designing health technology will be examined with diverse older adults.

This is a collaborative symposium between the Indigenous Peoples and Rural Aging Interest Groups.

Presentations:

• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  Preparedness and Cuidando con Respeto: A Culture-Centered Approach for Latinx Caregivers
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  Older Adult Animal Farmers' Evacuation Efforts During the 2021 Pacific Northwest Floods in Canada
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Haorui Wu, PhD (he/him/his) – Dalhousie University
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  Wisdom Over Tea: Use of Community-Based Approaches With Rural Alaska Native Elders
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Jordan P. Lewis, PhD, MSW, FGSA (he/him/his) – University of Alaska Fairbanks, College of Indigenous Studies
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  The Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Frailty Trajectories of Older Adults in Rural United States
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Hillary Spangler, MD – University of North Carolina School of Medicine
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  Exploring Mobile Pain Applications With Diverse Elders
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Mary Milidonis, PhD, PT (she/her/hers) – Cleveland State University