1. Department of Internal Medicine
Concepts of Successful Aging & Introduction to the Senior Mentor Program
November 4, 2005
Carla J. Herman, MD, MPH
Department of Internal Medicine

2. Why Geriatrics? Fasting growing cohort – over 65
By 2020, 20% of total population
Over age 85 group growing very fast

3. Americans Are Living Longer A Trend that is Expected to Continue
Years of Life Expectancy At Birth
In the year:
Men
Women
1900
47.1
50.7
1990
71.8
78.8
2020
75.7
82.3
2050
79.7
85.6
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Decennial Life Tables for , vol. 1, no. 3, Some Trends and Comparisons of United States Life Table Data: Hyattsville, MD; 1999, p. 2, Table A.

4. Growth in Population Age 65+

5. Care of Older Persons Will Require
An increasing proportion of health care resources
Clinicians who are alert to the specific needs of the geriatric patient
An emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention at all ages

6. What’s Different About the 65+ Age Group?
Wide range of health status
Age-related physiologic changes
Increased incidence of comorbidity
Atypical disease presentations
Increased incidence of iatrogenic illness
Higher need of social supports
Different goals of therapy

7. Top 5 Causes of Death Among Older Americans in 2001
Rank
Cause % 1
Heart Disease 32 2
Cancer 22 3
Stroke/CVA 8 4
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 6 5
Pneumonia & influenza, DM, Alzheimer’s Disease
each

8. Sucessful Aging Rowe and Kahn 1998
Successful
Aging
Avoiding
Disease
Maintaining high cognitive & physical functioning
Active engagement with life

9. What Is Successful Aging?
Staying involved with life and living
Staying active despite chronic conditions
Exercising body & mind
Interaction with people
Meaningful contribution to life

10. Maintaining Mental Function
Young persons outperform elders in ability to:
Recall a word or name
Speed of processing information
Young persons and elders have same ability to:
Understand and learn
Perform other cognitive functions

11. Maintaining Mental Function
Studies found key factors that predict good mental function in older adults are:
Regular physical activity
Strong social support systems
Belief in one’s ability to handle life events
Staying mentally challenged

12. Maintaining Physical Health
Regular health checks
Staying physically active
Eating a healthy diet
Stopping smoking or chewing tobacco
Safety habits to prevent falls
Managing stress
Immunizations

13. Maintaining Social Support
Defined as belief that one is cared for, loved, esteemed, and has a network of social obligations
Successful agers from MacArthur study report that they thrive because they have important social bonds with both family & friends
Married people live longer than unmarried
Members of church or secular organizations live longer than those without affiliations

14. Marital Status of Adults Age 65 +

15. Geriatric Medical Education at UNM
Increased focus on
Older patients
Learning roles of multi-disciplinary providers
Maintenance of health and functional abilities
New initiatives supported through funding from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation

16. UNM Senior Mentor Program
Pairs active seniors with medical students
Seniors:
- Aged 65 and over
- Albuquerque area
First & second year UNM medical and physician assistant students

18. Goals of Senior Mentor Program
Longitudinal experience
Older adults as “professors”
Relationship building
Education & training for both

19. Benefits to Senior Mentors
Involvement with young people
New friendship
Share life history, expertise & perspectives on health and healthcare system
Opportunity to contribute & help others

20. Benefits to Medical Students
Develop a positive relationship with an older adult
Acknowledge full and rich the lives of seniors
Learn about aging process and use of health care system
Witness successful aging
Enhance listening skills

21. What’s Involved November 11 meet the mentors
3 meetings of mentor & student pairs
2 student discussion sessions
1-2 group social events with all mentors and students
Feedback on how it went
Opportunity to continue a second year

22. Nov 11 Meet Your Senior Mentors
Hotel MCM Eleganté on Menual, 3:30 – 5:30 pm
Continuing second year medical students and their mentors also attending
Brief introduction for benefit of new mentors
Listen to continuing pairs’ experiences
You and your mentor will introduce each other to the group
Food and beverages
Questions?

23. Your Senior Mentors
Ages 65 – 94, active despite chronic conditions, mix of professional backgrounds and interests
Matching with your preferences & interests as best we can
A few mentor couples, most singles
If with a couple: two students per couple, can go together or separately to see your mentor, suggest portion one-on-one time

24. Student/Mentor Meetings
You and your mentor schedule these on your own
Meet at least 3 times by late April, can meet more
Meet at mentor’s home or other mutually agreed place
About 2 hours
Social conversation or activity
And discussion topics (see folder):
Mentor’s Life History
Mentor’s Healthcare Views
How Mentor Stays Active
Brief afterwards to staff

25. First Student/Mentor Meeting
Meet by December 9 -- Topic: Mentor’s Life History
Getting to know your Senior Mentor
A conversation, not a medical history interview
Focus on cohort your mentor grew up with and world events that affected cohort
Prompts you can use if you want
Your mentor will want to know about you also
Reflect afterwards on what you learned

26. First Student/Mentor Meeting
Brief afterwards to Lloryn Swan
When and where meeting took place
1-2 sentences something you admire in your mentor
1-2 sentences richest part of your meeting
Purpose: get a sense of how meetings are going, track progress of program, help us prepare for student discussion sessions
December 9 Student Discussion & Lunch
Share mentor meeting experiences
Continuing students invited also
Facilitated by Sandra Qaseem, MD

28. Spring Semester January Early February Early March By late April May
2nd mentor meeting on your own
Student discussion
Student & Mentor Social Event (1st & 2nd years)
3rd mentor meeting on your own
Celebration with mentors

29. Senior Mentor Experiences

30. Senior Mentor Experiences

31. Senior Mentor Experiences

32. Senior Mentor Experiences

33. Contact Us UNM Center on Aging 1720 Louisiana Blvd NE, Suite 300
Campus mail: MSC
(505)
Faculty liaison: Sandra Qaseem, MD
Staff liaison: Lloryn Swan,

34. Compassionate Physicians Providing Better Care with Older Adults
Thanks to the wonderful
Senior Mentors and Medical Students!