Healthy Body, Healthy Mind…Healthy Aging
Older adults have many gifts to share. They are our history keepers, our leaders and the hearts of our families. But as elders advance in age, changes in their health can challenge their ability to carry on these roles. We don’t have any one method for curing all that ails us as we grow older, but we do know that healthy aging requires regular physical activity.
This issue, featuring information to support a healthy body and mind, is brought to you by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Institute conducts and supports biological, clinical, social and behavioral research on aging as well as the special problems and needs of older people.
Featured News and Health Information
Go4Life, NIA’s campaign to help older adults fit exercise and physical activity into their daily lives, features a lively website with exercises and motivational tips, as well as free print materials. We invite you to join us in September 2015 to celebrate Go4Life Month, in collaboration with the White House Conference on Aging, to start or maintain being active every day.
Brain Health As You Age: You Can Make a Difference is a free presentation toolkit to facilitate conversations with older adults about ways to help them keep their brains functioning best as they age. Developed by the Administration for Community Living, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the NIH, the toolkit is ideal for use in community settings. NIA also offers a variety of free materials on Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia through its Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center.
Talking With Your Doctor is a free presentation toolkit from NIA. It offers practical tips to help older adults get ready for an appointment, share health concerns with their doctor and make collaborative decisions about care. It is designed to be easy to follow so that, with little or no preparation, it can be used in an interactive session with an older audience.
Grow Older in Good Health bookmark is a free bookmark from NIA. It has an American Indian-inspired design that features a forest, a feather watermark and NIA’s contact information.
Events, Training, Grants and Funding
The White House Conference on Aging continues a year-long effort to listen, learn and share with older adults, their families, caregivers, advocates, community leaders and experts in the aging field on how to best address the changing landscape of aging in the coming decade. Get involved by watching the July 13 event live online, hosting a viewing session [PDF - 198 KB], participating in Q&A using Twitter and more.
The 2015 Healthy Aging Summit will be held July 27–28, 2015, in Washington, DC, and is hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Summit goals include exploring the science on healthy aging, identifying knowledge gaps, promoting the role of prevention and preventive services, and mobilizing action to improve the delivery of care. Cross-cutting themes include health equity and disparities, health literacy and cultural competency, and policies with demographic considerations (urban/rural, state/local/tribal).
The 2015 National Title VI Training and Technical Assistance Conference will be held August 10–13, 2015, in Washington, DC, with a Tribal Consultation on August 11. The conference, hosted by the Administration for Community Living’s Administration on Aging, is designed to help enhance Title VI programs by fostering a renewed commitment to quality services. The training will cover Title VI program operations and how to expand services that meet the needs of elders in Tribal communities. The conference agenda will be available soon.
Banner Alzheimer’s Institute will host an Inaugural National Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia in Native American Communities: Impact, Issues and Next Steps on October 15–16, 2015, in Scottsdale, AZ. Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, funded in part by the NIH, includes a Native American Outreach Program that seeks to improve awareness, care and scientific understanding of Alzheimer's disease through a variety of educational and outreach activities with the community. It also supports participation of interested Native Americans in a longitudinal study of aging and dementia.
Image: “Native American Healthy Brain” by artist Rance Raymond Sneed.
The Native Elder Research Center at the University of Colorado Denver, part of NIA’s Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research, leads a career development Native Investigator Program. It aims to train the next generation of researchers to address gerontological health issues in American Indian/Alaska Native communities.