Community Awareness And Response

This guide provides information & an approach that communities can use to develop policies, programs, & services that support older adults affected by abuse & neglect. The introduction includes a definition of abuse & neglect and notes that abuse & neglect is a form of family violence. This is followed by discussion of the context of abuse & neglect of older adults, including the types of abuse, indicators of abuse & neglect, risk factors, prevalence, and population trends. Section 3 reviews perceptions about abuse & neglect, factors contributing to the risk of abuse, and principles & issues involved in interventions. Section 4 considers ways to changing community attitudes & values which play a large role in how a community responds to neglect & abuse of older adults. Section 5 describes approaches for community response, such as support networks, advocacy, service provider training, development & use of protocols, community co-ordination, and preventive strategies. The final section examines legal issues that affect a community's response.

Although present for many years in our society, the abuse and neglect of older adults has existed in relative silence, denial and isolation. This guide to community approaches provides a conceptual framework for communities to develop protocols, policies, and services to address the issue of abuse and neglect of older adults. It raises questions about perceptions of the issue and it is intended to stimulate discussion and action at the community level. It focuses the abuse and neglect of older adults within the broad context of family violence.

The loss of hearing - be it gradual or acute, mild or severe, present since birth or acquired in older age - can have significant effects on one's communication abilities, quality of life, social participation, and health. Despite this, many people with hearing loss do not seek or receive hearing health care. The reasons are numerous, complex, and often interconnected. For some, hearing health care is not affordable. For others, the appropriate services are difficult to access, or individuals do not know how or where to access them. Others may not want to deal with the stigma that they and society may associate with needing hearing health care and obtaining that care. Still others do not recognize they need hearing health care, as hearing loss is an invisible health condition that often worsens gradually over time. In the United States, an estimated 30 million individuals (12.7 percent of Americans ages 12 years or older) have hearing loss. Globally, hearing loss has been identified as the fifth leading cause of years lived with disability. Successful hearing health care enables individuals with hearing loss to have the freedom to communicate in their environments in ways that are culturally appropriate and that preserve their dignity and function. Hearing Health Care for Adults focuses on improving the accessibility and affordability of hearing health care for adults of all ages. This study examines the hearing health care system, with a focus on non-surgical technologies and services, and offers recommendations for improving access to, the affordability of, and the quality of hearing health care for adults of all ages.

Initial priorities for U.S. participation in the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, declared by the United Nations, are contained in this volume. It focuses on seven issues: hazard and risk assessment; awareness and education; mitigation; preparedness for emergency response; recovery and reconstruction; prediction and warning; learning from disasters; and U.S. participation internationally. The committee presents its philosophy of calls for broad public and private participation to reduce the toll of disasters.

A complete, forward-thinking guide to environmental communityrelations procedures and program development The Practical Guide to Environmental Community Relations offers acomprehensive hands-on framework for working successfully withcommunity residents and other stakeholders to prevent, resolve, orminimize conflicts on environmental issues. Featuring detailedchecklists, forms, and worksheets, the book equips you withready-to-use knowledge and skills in key areas of environmentalcommunity relations development: * Community assessment--how to identify stakeholders and concerns,determine assessment parameters, conduct interviews, analyze data,and report findings * Communications--how to develop a powerful communications programthrough written materials, personal communications, and focusedmedia strategy, and how the essential principles of technical,crisis, and risk communication fit within the context of communityrelations * Community relations techniques--how to manage public meetings,tours, availability sessions, and other events, plus advice on howto create and run Community Advisory Panels (CAPs) * Community relations programs--how to plan and implement programseffectively, including establishing common goals and working withstakeholders constructively to achieve positive results * Environmental regulations--including RCRA, CERCLA/SARA, NCP,NPDES, EPCRA, and Clean Air Act Accidental Release Prevention andRisk Management Programs * Cutting-edge issues--investigation and cleanup of contaminatedsites, permitting of facilities, federal facilities programs,environmental justice, and more Complete with mini-case studies revealing important do's and don'tsof community outreach in action, this accessible guide is a vitalresource for private and public sector professionals working inenvironmental and facilities management, community relations,public affairs, and law.