Mandy Bolinder (taller of the two) of Dermody Properties Foundation presents a check for $1,500 to Carole Anderson, director of volunteer programs, Sanford Center for Aging

The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Washoe County has received a $1,500 gift from the Dermody Properties Foundation to support RSVP’s efforts to recruit adults 55 and older and match them with volunteer opportunities throughout the community.

RSVP plans to use the gift to purchase software that will allow volunteers to report their volunteered hours directly on the RSVP website. Part of the gift also will be used to supplement grant monies for volunteers’ mileage reimbursement, said Carole Anderson, director of volunteer programs at the Sanford Center for Aging, which sponsors RSVP in Washoe County.

The Demody Properites Foundation is an employee-managed offshoot of Dermody Properties, a national commercial developer of parks and other facilities. Its subsidiaries include Reno-based DP Partners. The foundation focuses on support for the arts, education and the family with a special emphasis on children and elders.

RSVP of Washoe County is part of a program funded nationally by the Corporation for National and Community Service and, in Nevada, by the state’s Aging and Disability Services Division. RSVP matches older adults with volunteer opportunities at more than 90 sites in and around Reno. It is sponsored locally by the Sanford Center for Aging, part of the University of Nevada, Reno’s Division of Health Sciences.

Those are among the findings in the latest edition of a state fact book on the health of older adults, Elders Count Nevada, 2009. The 80-page report was prepared and published by the Sanford Center for Aging in collaboration with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, the state Health Division and the Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division.

Some of the researchers involved in compiling the report gave a summary of its contents this week at the annual meeting of the Nevada Public Health Association, held at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Because of its rapid growth, Nevada is at the leading edge of the so-called “aging tsunami,” the demographic wave carrying 78 million baby boomers into their retirement years. As Nevada’s overall population boomed between 2000 and 2007, the state’s population of people 65 and older grew almost four times faster than the national average.

This is the second edition of Elders Count Nevada, and it tells much the same story as the first (published in 2007): Old or young, many Nevadans don’t practice the healthiest of living habits. And Nevada trails almost every other state in terms of its supply of medical and health-care professionals.

As the report details, only four states (Kansas, Oklahoma, Idaho and Mississippi) have fewer active physicians per capita, and only one (Arizona) has fewer nurses. Nevada ranks last in terms of dentists and medical students per capita, and it has fewer than half the national rate of nursing-home beds per capita.

The report shows that the roughly 300,000 Nevadans 65 and older are similar to seniors in other states in some respects, including life expectancy (about 76 years). However, there are noteworthy differences, including rates of:

Suicide. Nevada’s elder-suicide rate (35.4 per 100,000 population) is more than double the national rate. Isolation in rural parts of the state and the widespread possession of firearms (the most common means of suicide) are believed to be contributors.

Obesity. A smaller share of Nevada elders meet the definition of “obese” than is the case nationally (18 percent vs. 23 percent). But Nevada is above the national average in the less-severe category, “overweight” (43 percent vs. 41 percent), plus the trend is discouraging. In 1995, 13 percent of Nevada adults of all ages were obese. By 2007, the rate had grown to 25 percent.

Smoking. In 2007, 18 percent of Nevadans 65 and older smoked, double the national rate. But things are looking up. Although about one in four Nevada seniors smoked daily in 1996, 10 years later that rate had been halved, to 12 percent. Unfortunately, that’s still one-third higher than the national daily smoking rate for seniors (9 percent).

Heavy drinking. Almost twice as many Nevada seniors drink heavily than is the case nationally (4.9 percent vs. 2.9 percent). Heavy drinking is defined as men who have more than two drinks per day and women who have more than one.

Along with statistics, Elders Count Nevada 2009 offered a set of policy recommendations. These included expanding several relatively low-cost programs for seniors, programs that are already partially funded or operated by state agencies and the Sanford Center for Aging.

One example is the Medication Therapy Management program, which analyzes seniors’ drug and vitamin/supplement regimens to check for potentially dangerous interactions and duplications. Adverse reactions to medications are believed to be the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States. Almost one in three hospitalizations of elders is due to preventable medication-related errors.

The entire Elders Count Nevada 2009 report can be read or downloaded online at http://www.unr.edu/sanford/documents/EldersCountReport09.pdf.

Presenting details of the Elders Count report at the NPHA conference were Dominique Joseph, M.P.H., research assistant and geriatric fellowship coordinator for the Sanford center; Teresa M. Sacks, M.P.H., health research analyst for the Sanford center; and Lawrence J. Weiss, Ph.D., the CEO of the Center for Healthy Aging.

At the Nevada Public Health Association annual conference, held this week at the University of Nevada, Reno, a team of researchers presented findings from a survey of Nevada pharmacists that related to this issue.

The team included Daniel M. Cook, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the UNR School of Community Health Sciences who is also associated with the Sanford Center for Aging.

Among 668 responses from licensed Nevada pharmacists, 47.9% said they believed they should not be required to fill all valid prescriptions.

Other findings:

• 43.4% said they would refuse a prescription if allowed;
• 76.9% thought that if a pharmacist refused to fill a prescription that pharmacist should be obligated to find a pharmacist who would fill it;
• Roughly a third (28%) said they knew of cases of refusals despite local rules;

Current Nevada law requires pharmacists to honor all valid prescriptions, Cook said.

The other authors of the study were: Clare T. Pettis and Laura Davidson, both doctoral candidates in interdisciplinary social psychology at UNR; Amber J. Joiner, a doctoral candidate in public policy and administration at UNR and a senior research analyst with the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau; and Craig M. Klugman, Ph.D., Stewart & Marianne Reuter Endowed Professor of Medical Humanities and assistant director for ethics education at the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

So why don’t more people get screened for it?

Research presented at the Nevada Public Health Association annual meeting, held this week at the University of Nevada, Reno, sheds some light.

The study was done by faculty and research assistants from the Sanford Center for Aging and University of Nevada School of Medicine.

Using data from the 1997–2006 Nevada behavioral risk factor surveillance system (BFRSS), the researchers  found that among elders 50 and older who had ever had a colonoscopy/sigmoidoscopy or a fecal occult blood test, those LEAST likely to undergo one or the other tests were:

• age 50 to 59
• rural residents
• people with lower incomes
• people with lesser education
• those who described themselves as healthy

The findings were presented by Sreekanth Donepudi, M.D., M.P.H., geriatrics fellow of University Of Nevada School Of Medicine; and Dominique Joseph, M.P.H., research assistant with the Sanford center, on behalf of their co-investigators Wei Yang, M.D., M.P.H., of the UNR School Of Public Health; and Diane Chau, M.D., of the University of Nevada School Of Medicine.

Paula Valencia-Castro

One of the Sanford Center for Aging’s graduate assistants, Paula Valencia-Castro, was awarded a $500 scholarship at the Nevada Public Health Association’s annual meeting this week at the University of Nevada, Reno.

In a letter congratulating her on the award, NPHA President Nancy Menzel, Ph.D., R.N., said the scholarship recognized the quality of her submission including identification of a public health issue facing Nevada, her professional goals, and plans to contribute to the field of public health.

Originally from Chile, Paula graduated from the Universidad de Playa Ancha, Chile, in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. In 2008 she earned her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from UNR. She is currently working as a research assistant for the Medication Therapy Management program at the Sanford Center for Aging while pursuing a Ph.D in Environmental Sciences and Health.

She is interested in investigating the impact of the built environment and area of residency on individuals’ health. Specifically, she is concerned about how these affect older adults’ well-being and its impact on their health and access to health care and medications.

After earning her Ph.D. she plans to continue working in public health, particularly translating research into practice and developing programs to serve older adults.

That’s the picture painted by statistics presented at the Nevada Public Health Association annual conference, which was held Sept. 21 & 22 at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Here’s a sampling of numbers mentioned:

In terms of state health expenditures as a percentage of GSP, Nevada ranks 48th.

Number of primary-care physicians per 100,000 population: 46th

Registered nurses per 100K population: 50th

Children uninsured: 50th

Children immunized: 50th

Percentage of adults who visited a doctor in the past two years: 47th

Percentage of adults with poor mental health: 51st

Then there was this frightener: 35.7 percent of kindergarten students in Nevada are considered to be either overweight or at risk of overweight.

On the plus side (finally!), Nevada is No 3 in seat belt use.

What’s especially frustrating, said Jay Kvam, a health program specialist at the Nevada State Health Division, is that Nevada’s numbers are lower than surrounding states and lower than they one would expect them to be based on the state’s wealth and population.

More data can be found in the Nevada Health Scorecard prepared by the Nevada Academy of Health.

The one-hour talk, presented by Senior Outreach Services of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, will be in the  Laxalt Auditorium of the Nelson Building, 401 W. 2nd St., Reno.

Dr. Rubin will talk about how memory changes with age and the biological and psychological changes that confront us all during our transitional years. There will also be discussion of managing dementia with and without medication.

Volunteer Educational Talks are free and open to anyone. Respond by August 28 to Sina Ward, 784-7506 or sinaw@unr.edu.

Come early, at 9:30,  and meet others  over a cup of coffee or tea. The talk will start at 10 and last about an hour.

Parking: Free parking is available for this event in the metered city lot on the east side (right side as you face the front) of the Nelson Building, 401 W. 2nd St., Reno.

Bonus: Hear about a free weatherization program available to lower-income seniors.

Dr. Rubin is a board-certified geriatric psychiatrist who practices in Reno. His areas of expertise include managing developmentally disabled young adults, assessing and treating cognitive, mood and behavioral geriatric declines, and treating acute and chronically unstable psychiatric illnesses.

He serves on the Nevada State Medicaid Drug Review Board and various ethics committees for state and local medical associations. He is the author of Autumn Leaves, Aging With and Without Dementia and speaks nationwide to clinicians on adult and geriatric psychiatric issues.

Ms. Carole Anderson, a current UNR employee, has agreed to transfer from Human Resources to serve as the director for the coming year. Ms. Anderson will be responsible for leading and enhancing the fine work that the RSVP, Senior Outreach Services and Legacy Corps programs currently provide. She is a very capable and talented individual with many years of experience who will enable the university to continue the service that these programs provide to the community. We appreciate your continued support of the Sanford Center for Aging and the senior community.

The competition was part of the annual national Bike to Work Day.

At a ceremony in downtown Reno on May 31, the SCA was presented with a plaque and a copy of the sign used to promote the event on RTC Ride buses. Grad assistant Rori Lee led the drive to get SCA employees to register online.

According to the story in the Reno Gazette-Journal, which quotes grad assistant Paula Valencia-Castro, 47 businesses entered and were divided into six categories based on number of employees. Nearly 1,000 people registered.

Robert Cialdini

Here’s an example of how social factors can influence our decision making:

If a restaurant prints “This is our most popular dessert” next to an item on its dessert menu, it will instantly become the most popular dessert.

That was one of the research findings mentioned by famous psychologist and author Robert Cialdini during a talk Tuesday morning at the Joe Crowley Student Union.

Cialdini, a professor of psychology and marketing at Arizona State, is the author of the best-seller Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, which I read in one of my classes last year at USC, part of the master’s program on management of online communities. It’s a great book, very readable and compelling.

At UNR he was talking about research into how to influence people to act more responsibly in regard to the environment. He talked about a study that tried different kinds of appeals to get people to reuse their towels and linens in hotel rooms. We’ve all seen those signs asking us to reuse our towels to save on water and detergent and lessen the impact on the environment.

Cialdini’s study found that such appeals have almost no effect. The same was true of a message in which the hotel promised to make a donation to an environmental group on behalf of the guest if the guest complied in reusing towels.

He described two other kinds of appeals that worked much better.

One asked the guest to cooperate and help cover the cost that the hotel had incurred in donating to an environmental group on the guest’s behalf. Cialdini speculated that the success of this appeal was due to our innate sense of obligation to reciprocate when someone has given us something or done something on our behalf.

Even more successful was a sign in the bathroom that explained that the majority of people who had stayed in that very same room in the past had chosen to reuse their towels. Cialdini said people have a strong compulsion to act as people similar to them act, conform to the norm.

This last example reminded me of the recent public-service message campaign in which teens ask their peers if they know that 80 percent of teens in rural Nevada do NOT use tobacco products.

We should consider using this technique in marketing programs like Taking Charge and Medication Therapy Management. If we can show that the majority of elders are making, or want to make, smart choices about their care, more of them will probably conform to that norm.