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International Research Symposium:
Global Social & Psychological Support for Older Adults During COVID-19: Challenges and Mitigations

Pre-Symposium Experiential Workshop: Friday, February 26, 2021
Research Symposium: Saturday and Sunday, February 27-28, 2021

Organized by:
International TELE’DRAMA Institute (ITI)
American Institute of Human Relations and Aging (AIHRA)

* In consultation with Dr. Stan Ingman, Emeritus Professor of Applied Gerontology
Health Services Research (PhD) Program, Concentration in Applied Gerontology, Rehabilitation & Health Services Department, University of North Texas - College of Health and Public Service 

Since Covid-19 everyone's lives have been heavily disrupted in various ways. Older adults have been some of the most vulnerable groups of people in societies around the world. This Symposium aims at increasing awareness and change through reporting challenges and various projects for mitigation and support.
 
The proceeds of the Symposium will benefit the elderly members of the Tohono O'Odham Native American Nation - http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/ : the Tohono O'odham Nursing Care Authority (TONCA). A Zoom Meeting and/or a video, reflecting on the life of the elderly and on our effort and financial support will be made available to all participants and sponsors.
 
The fees for the conference are very affordable, as beside supporting the elderly Native American, our team aims to include as many participants as possible. We have included a form for a partial scholarship; and also, a link for donations from people who are unable to attend, but would be willing to support the project.

The Symposium will be handled through Zoom Meetings.
The participants will have a chance to attend ANY or ALL of the presentations.

Timeline:
Pre-Symposium Experiential Workshop: Friday, February 26, 2021 (3 hours)
Research Symposium: Saturday and Sunday, February 27-28, 2021 (2 days x 2 sessions per day x 3 hours per session).

Each 3-h session will be structured as follows:
·         Session Opening & Sharing (large group and small groups);
·         3-4 Presentations with Q&A
·         Sharing & Session Closing

Time stated in:
Central Time (US & Canada; Dallas/Chicago)
Central European Time (CET; Rome/Paris) 
You will receive the zoom invitation via email.
For partial scholarship opportunities please CLICK HERE
Payment, in case of cancellation, will be credited to future Tele'Drama events.
Registration is completed upon payment.
Cost:

***	Professionals and General Public	Students and Retirees
2-day Symposium	$60.00	$30.00
One 3-h Session	$20.00	$10.00
Pre-symposium	$50.00	$25.00

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A link for donations from people who are unable to attend, but would be willing to support the project.

Pre-symposium: 3-h Experiential Workshop
Friday, February 26, 2021
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM Central Time (US & Canada; Dallas/Chicago)
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM Central European Time (CET; Rome/Paris)

Joseph Dillard, LCSW, PhD, Private Practice, Berlin, Germany
Dreaming Healthy Families: Transforming Family Scripting via Interviewing Dream Characters
Didactic & Experiential Workshop

How can elders and children help each other to reduce loss and find greater life meaning? Learning how to share amazing interviews with dream characters, like nightmare monsters, as well as life issues, like the “knife” from a “stabbing pain,” is an adventure in mutual growth that brings truth, respect, and joy that bridges and unites generations.

Symposium Day One
Session # 1: Saturday, February 27, 2021
8:00 AM – 11:00 AM Central Time (US & Canada; Dallas/Chicago)
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM Central European Time (CET; Rome/Paris)

Presentations:

1. Daniela Simmons, PhD, Applied Gerontology, TEP (United States) & Joseph Dillard, PhD (Germany); International Tele'Drama Institute (ITI)
International Support Groups for People at Age 70+ during Pandemic

What are the issues that are of greatest concern to those over seventy during the pandemic? How can they best be supported? How can they best support each other? These are some of the questions Zoom Tele’Drama addresses. Our experience facilitating such a group provides some interesting answers!

2. Solymar Rivera, MS & Jean Keller, PhD, CTRS; University of North Texas, Denton, TX, United States
Psycho-social Aspects of Leisure Activities: Supporting Older Adults in Independent Living Communities

An overview of studies reporting the efficacy of the psychosocial aspects of leisure activities with older adults living in independent living communities will be shared. The psychosocial benefits will focus on social, emotional, mood, stress, concentration, connections, feelings, and creativity a variety of leisure activities can bring to older adults in various types of independent living communities. Leisure activities have been shown to promote optimal health and well-being among older adults. A discussion of the impact of COVID-19 on leisure activity participation, and how older adults and those offering leisure activities were able to remove barriers to support engagement in meaningful leisure activities to support psychosocial well-being will be highlighted.

3. Xiaoli Li, PhD, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, United States
Implementing Person-centered Engagement Strategies: Finding Purpose for Older Adults During COVID 19

There is room for innovation and improvement in design and implement activities for resident in long-term care facilities. In particular, during COVID-19, using person-centered design approaches would be suitable to generate new ways focused on the needs of older adults and healthcare providers in LTC. Using Resident Engagement Index Score(REIS), a service provider commits to assessing resident needs, planning individualized engagement activities, implementing that plan and then evaluating success. This tool lets senior service providers measure and manage resident engagement strategies by assessing their current abilities and setting goals to improve resident engagement. Providers should measure engagement, for every single resident, in real-time and make adjustments as needed. Ultimately, the residents they serve would be satisfied. The tool can be used to identify areas for improvement or to celebrate current successes.

4. Shilpa Shashidhara, PhD; Sutter Health, CA, United States
Caring for the Aging Population during the Pandemic: An Ethical Approach to Treatment Decisions

The aging population is among the most vulnerable in our society. When caring for patients with COVID-19, there are ethical issues that arise. This presentation will identify ways to support these patients when hospitalized, discuss who should be involved in healthcare decision making, and describe the best practice approach in making ethically appropriate health care decisions for this patient population. Patient care scenarios involving different levels of treatment decision making commonly encountered by healthcare providers when caring for these patients in the acute care setting will also be discussed.

Symposium Day One
Session # 2: Saturday, February 27, 2021
12:00 PM – 03:00 PM Central Time (US & Canada; Dallas/Chicago)
07:00 PM – 10:00 PM Central European Time (CET; Rome/Paris) 

Presentations:

1. Kendall R. Brune, PhD, CPH, MBA, BHS, FACHCA; Arise Veteran Foundation, United States
"Resiliency and Response" of a Historical African American Eldercare Community

Knowles Home Assisted Living center serves a predominantly African American community in North Nashville Tennessee. The community members are inherently involved in over 30 churches and the greater Music City country music and gospel community. The recent COVID Pandemic has forced this eldercare community to shutter its doors and isolate from the outside world. This is a short tale of their quest of FAITH during this time. (Faith in God, Attitude of Survival, Incredible community fortitude, Technology adaptation, and Humanitarian efforts to care for others).

2. Mark Wentworth (UK), Colour PsychoDynamic Practitioner, Colour for Life & Filipe De Moura (Portugal), Musician, Singer and Artist; Co-Creators of the Dynamic Theatre Method; International Tele'Drama Institute (ITI)
Long Term Ageism and its Impact in the Time of COVID-19

Long term ageism and its impact in the time of CoVid19
Covert ageism has spread throughout most of the industrialised world at a rapid rate over the last ten - fifteen years. Since the onset of CoVid19 this other growing pandemic has made itself ever more visible, whilst we breathe a sigh of relief for a vaccine for COVID-19, will there ever be a solution for ageism?

Mark and Filipe will report on a group session which took place some years ago in Yorkshire UK, the group focus was around the theme of connection and disconnection between the generations. They will share the learning of the group and its ripple effect into the families and the communities of the group members, and how the learning then is even more relevant and needed now.

3. Serif Esendemir, PhD; Yildiz Technical University and The Presidency of Darulaceze, Turkey
The Social Change in the Lives of the Older Adults Regarding COVID-Pandemic in Turkey

Social change has always been at the heart of society with its positive and negative reasons. Although social change is mainly associated with its positive aspects such as cultural, educational, technological, and urban developments, the negative ones, including demographic transition, poverty, conflicts, natural disasters and pandemics cannot be disregarded. In this respect, the present COVID-19 Pandemic shows how a comprehensive social change rapidly happens in almost all parts of life, especially in the lives of vulnerable older adults. Therefore, the presentation aims at understanding how the COVID-19 Pandemic Process creates social change in daily life by taking the older adults cohort as an example in Turkey.

Symposium Day Two
Session # 3: Sunday, February 28, 2021
8:00 AM – 11:00 AM Central Time (US & Canada; Dallas/Chicago)
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM Central European Time (CET; Rome/Paris)

Presentations:

1. Hande Karakılıç Üçer, MD, Psychiatrist & Pınar Ulupınar Erakay, Psychologist (Presenters); Ejder Sıkıntı- Adana Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey, Executive Assistant to the Mayor; İpek Sabah - Aynal Adana Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey, Advisor to the Mayor.
Remaining authors: Gözde Özer Danış, İnanç Sümbüloğlu, Özden Şükran Üneri, Ali Kuserli, Tülin Ünal, Eda Ünlü; Federation of Psychodrama Associations - Turkey, Mental Health for All-Turkey, Izmir Municipaliity-Turkey, International Tele'drama Institute (ITI)
LIFE DOES NOT END WHEN OLD: A project to support the active aging process of individuals over the age of 65 during the pandemic process

The project aims to contribute to elderly people’s psychological sense of well-being via a psychosocial support group intervention program within the isolating context of the pandemic. An preliminary associated aim is to augment the elderly’s digital literacy and skills. It will involve a modular format lasting 4 months. The project’s inputs and outputs will be evaluated in order to determine efficacy and replicability. The project is intended to be a preventive community mental health intervention that would be brought to life as a result of cooperation between a variety of public and non-governmental actors belonging to different sectors. In case the results are found to be effective, our hope is that this pilot project would serve as a practical model for other national and international communities and organizations.

2. Sudharani Basangari-Kaspret, PhD, Psy.D., MD; Private Practice, Austria
A Healthy Lifestyle for the Elderly With and Without Families During Covid

This study aims to show as much as the elderly get help from themselves. And an understanding of the situation of them and their families. Also, the same with the family members to gain stability with their emotions. With examples, along with a few case studies. These data were collects from December 2019 to November 2020. In various situations like in the praxis-settings, from visiting hours, through social media, from gaybourhood, families, online settings, etc.

3. Krishna Pathak, PhD, CDP; Nepal Open University, Nepal
COVID-19: Digital Health Access, Challenges And Opportunities In Different Countries

COVID-19 has created huge challenges for health systems worldwide for health care resources and health care providers in health institutions. An immense range of digital health technologies can be considerable health strategies in recent years. The aim of this presentation is to review the access, opportunities and challenges of digital health technologies for the care of people during pandemic COVID-19.

4. Ofra Faiman, MA, Israel
Drama Therapy with the Elderly During Covid Lockdown

Using my background in theater and group conducting, I created a weekly group meeting for residents in a  residence for the elderly.  I employed theater techniques to encourage the participants to act out their fears and anxieties during this trying time. They were encouraged to write about their experiences, or choose a poem that expresses their feelings. These pieces formed the basis for a 30-minute play, which the participants performed for the entire community. I shall screen a video of the performance and then outline the process that went into our work.

Symposium Day Two
Session # 4: Sunday, February 28, 2021
12:00 PM – 03:00 PM Central Time (US & Canada; Dallas/Chicago)
07:00 PM – 10:00 PM Central European Time (CET; Rome/Paris)

Presentations:

1. Kendall R. Brune, PhD, CPH, MBA, BHS, FACHCA; Meharry Medical College, United States
Pandemic Impact on American Indian Cultural Approach to Aging

Part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Indian Health Service (HIS) is required by treaty to deliver health care to American Indians/Alaska Natives around the country, with more than two million depending on this federal agency. Unfortunately, it appears to be failing. Tribal members have told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs about alarming conditions COVID present to American Indians. We will review the current efforts and impact of tribes to create their own culturally appropriate Elder Care communities.

2. Tohono O'Odham Native American Nation - http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/
Tohono O'Odham Nursing Care Authority (TONCA)

Resilience is steeped in cultural beliefs and practices. American Indians and Alaskan Natives continue to adapt to their environment, and not only survive, but thrive to pass on their heritage to their children and their children's children.  Caring for the aging and those in need of skilled nursing care is planned and delivered from a cultural point of view.  During the Pandemic, the challenges, for all of us, were not only to quickly respond to all the directives of the CDC and CMS, but to persuade/ convince/ demand people stay apart.  Not only keep distance but wear a mask, wash your hands, and self-quarantine.  Socializing: personal, close human contact.  No more family gatherings, no community celebrations, no wakes, no life.  In the end, we hold onto our beliefs.  The presentation will share two examples of these beliefs and practices.

The Tohono O’odham Nursing Care Authority (TONCA), is one of the few tribal entities operating a skilled nursing facility and assisted living residence on tribal lands. With a mission to serve aging and elder O’odham, TONCA believes elder O’odham live and die with dignity, in harmony with O’odham Himdag and with the help of the community, elders live independently, make their own decisions, and have access to the very best healthcare.  

Join TONCA, for a discussion of Tohono O’odham history and culture and the ways in which it is incorporated into person-centered and O’odham-centered care. Finally, learn the history, successes, and challenges of operating these facilities on the Tohono O’odham Nation and the new story being created during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

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