Respecting Our Elders
A Younger Value Position for Senior Services: "I am Not Old", or Don't Call Me a Senior
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Agnes Otjen, Anna Talafuse
Adult Resource Alliance (ARA), the senior services organization for Yellowstone County in Montana, won a ballot initiative for increased funds for more services such as Meals on Wheels and their four senior centers in June of 2016. At the same time, they asked the students of Montana State University Billings to develop the strategy and positioning to broaden their appeal to a younger target audience. The area population was aging and shifting in terms of attitudes and behaviors from baby boomer to generation X. The students determined the main problem was that adults over age fifty-five were not aware of, nor did they recognize themselves as needing or benefiting from the services of ARA. Therefore, community services were not being utilized. 50.8% of seniors respond negatively to the word “senior.” Secondary research revealed the need to change services offered and the names of the centers to something other than "senior." Primary research focused on self-actualization and attitudes towards prime of life for ages forty to seventy. 304 responses to a random sample email survey provided results to better understand attitudes about modern aging and direct creative concepts for a new positioning effort. The new slogan for ARA became "keeping up with you." The changes to the services and branding campaign are being launched in the summer of 2017. Most of the students graduated in the spring of 2017 and considered this applied course as essential experiential learning as well as an important social and service contribution to their community.
Efficacy of Music Therapy as a Non-pharmacological Treatment for the Elderly
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Margarita Pino-Juste, Sara Domínguez Lloría, María José González Ojea
Aging and advanced age cause different pathologies in people, including anxiety, depression, and dementia. The treatment of their symptoms requires innovative approaches, able to reduce the high cost of treatments and the side effects of traditional pharmacological interventions. Music therapy, together with other musical interventions, has gained popularity as a non-pharmacological treatment for elderly people with dementia or depressive symptoms. Our objective has been to analyze the scientific production on the use of music therapy for elderly people through a bibliometric and content analysis of the scientific publications within the last five years. To this end, a retrospective ex post facto design has been used, taking into account the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The results of the publications suggest that music therapy programs in gerontological patients improve social skills and cognitive abilities in the short term, causing an undoubted improvement in patients who presented depressive states. In addition, there are improvements in relationships between equals, reduced conflicts, and a better atmosphere of peaceful coexistence, thanks to the development of social skills strategies and an increase in empathy. In recent years, studies on the use of music therapy in gerontology have increased, although more attention is needed to integrate it with other interventions in the health field and to advance in the design for the effectiveness of the different programs.
Attitude and Fear of Death in Older People: Life Story Analysis
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nazaret Martínez Heredia
This research shows that the elderly discuss their attitudes and fears towards their own and others' deaths, highlighting the importance and need to create various points of encounter and educational reflection. To this effect, a qualitative methodological design was selected using information collection techniques with semi-structured and in-depth interviews to learn the life story of older people. The sample consists of thirty individuals from the city of Granada, aged between 65 and 85 years. The results show a positive attitude of death to oneself, but not so much to the death of others, recounting the fear or the anxiety towards the finiteness of a loved one. As a main conclusion, we emphasize the importance of creating educational spaces aimed to allow adults to be able to treat these negative attitudes and reinforce positive ones through the development of a pedagogy and education towards death.
