Pre-conference Intensives
Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2008
You may register for a pre-conference intensive without registering for the full conference.
Available Intensives
Home Telehealth and the Delivery of Remote Rehabilitation Services
| Coordinators: | Jeffery Loomis David Brennan |
| Time: | 1-5 pm |
| Cost: | $50 |
Telecommunication technologies can help minimize the obstacle of distance in delivering healthcare services, and promote improved continuity of care, disease management, and follow-up services.
Home Telehealth integrates these technologies into traditional homecare services to give clinicians the ability to monitor and measure patient health and/or deliver direct services from a distance.
This pre-conference intensive will address current trends in Home Telehealth, and describe ways that rehabilitation services have been successfully integrated into the telehomecare model to deliver remote treatment interventions to consumers with disabilities.
This workshop is targeted at homecare and rehabilitation clinicians and researchers who want to learn more about effective and innovative approaches for integrating telemedicine into homecare.
More info... 
The 21st Century Community
| Coordinators: | Edward Steinfeld Jon Sanford Jordana Maisel |
| Time: | 8am - 5pm |
| Cost: | $100 |
This pre-conference workshop will explore the contributions of universal design to the independence and participation of individuals throughout their lifespan.
It will review the current research and practice of universal design in housing, public buildings, community infrastructure, and the products and technology related to the use of these environments.
The first part of the workshop will explore new ways of conceptualizing universal design, the emerging market, and convergence with other urban design, public health, and sustainability initiatives.
The second part of the workshop will take a more in-depth look at the components of the 21st Century Community.
Leaders in the field from around the world will present and discuss the latest research, policy, and best practices.
These intensive sessions will conclude with a look to the future, identifying unmet research and development needs and innovative new strategies to advance the field.
The goal of this discussion will be to find strategies to help elevate universal design to become an integral component of the mainstream design and engineering disciplines.
More info...
Development of Transportation and Mobility Guides for Local Communities
| Coordinator: | John W. Eberhard, PhD, Chair, Transportation Committee, Howard County Commission on Aging |
| Time: | 8am - 5pm |
| Cost: | $100 |
A "mobility guide" is a document that provides seniors and their caregivers information on resources in their community for getting out beyond the home.
Unfortunately, most communities do not have mobility guides.
This hands on workshop (bring your laptop) will teach participants how to assemble the essential elements of a mobility guide for their community.
Participants will identify the necessary resources to enable people to drive as safely as possible, as well as to walk, use public transportation, assisted transportation and specialized transportation.
The mobility guide will address how to remain safely independent in the community as we age.
This workshop is based upon the development of a model guide developed for Howard County, Maryland by the presenter.
More info...
Interventions to Promote Independence in Older Adults: New Discoveries in Physical Activity Programs, Cognitive Training & Gene Therapy
- University of Florida College of Public Health & Health Professions
- University of Florida College of Nursing
- University of Florida College of Medicine
- Division of Biology of Aging, UF Department of Aging & Geriatrics
- Division of Career Development & Education, UF Department of Aging & Geriatrics
- University of Florida Division of Sponsored Research
- University of Florida Genetics Institute
| Coordinator: | Constance R. Uphold, PhD, ARNP, BC, FAAN |
| Time: | 8am - 5pm |
| Cost: | $100 (non-VA and non-UF) $30 (VA or UF employees, fee to cover cost of food) |
Flexing the muscles of the brain and body, as well as correcting defective genes, can promote independence.
Recent advances in exercise interventions, cognitive training, and gene therapy have helped to delay age-related loss of physical and mental functioning.
An interdisciplinary group of researchers and health professionals will highlight how evidence-based research can be translated into practice to improve healthcare of older adults.
To illustrate strategies to improve healthy aging, experts conducting large national research projects will present their findings and provide practical recommendations that can be used in the clinical area.
The pre-symposium will begin with a session presented by an expert in aging from the Veterans Affairs MOVE program, a national initiative to reduce obesity among veterans.
Other speakers will include leaders in the LIFE (Physical Activity to Prevent Disability) and ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly) studies, as well as experts involved in Tai Chi research, mental exercise training, and gene therapy interventions.
More info...
Working with Older Adults who are Visually Impaired: A Hands-on Approach
| Coordinator: | Cynthia Stuen, PhD |
| Time: | 8am - 5pm |
| Cost: | $100 |
This 1-day program provides a comprehensive introduction to the skills needed to work with patients who have age-related vision loss and to function effectively as a member of the multidisciplinary team.
The session will cover: functional implications of the eye diseases that cause low vision; visual function and visual skills and how these are assessed as part of a low vision evaluation; how test results affect intervention by OTs and other providers; low vision devices prescribed to help with daily activities (including spectacles, hand and stand magnifiers, telescopes and electronic devices); environmental modifications and adaptations for activities of daily living (including meal preparation, grooming, medication management, communication).
More info...
Accelerating Advancement in AT Outcomes Research to Enhance Independence in Aging
| Coordinators: | Jeff Jutai, PhD Sandra Hubbard, PhD |
| Time: | 8am - 5pm |
| Cost: | $100 |
In this pre-conference session, a distinguished international panel will address the key questions for accelerating the development of the evidence base for assistive technology (AT) to enhance independence in aging.
They include questions about the outcomes we should be measuring, the outcomes study designs we should be implementing, and more generally, the steps we need to take to strengthen the evidentiary bases for AT decisions by providers and end-users.
Panelists will share their expertise and experience with topics that include measuring the impact of the environment on participation, the influence of reimbursement systems, the importance of specifying the interventions in AT outcomes research, interactions between caregiving and the use of AT, and technologies to enhance AT outcomes data collection and interpretation in the field.
More info...
