Net becomes a
fountain of youth
11/22/99- Updated 05:53 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Is the fountain of
youth available at the click of a mouse? Experts say nursing
home residents, even the frail ones, take to computers
quickly and can revitalize their lives through e-mail and
the Internet.
''The Internet is a window to life,'' said
David Lansdale, a geriatrics expert from Stanford
University. ''It's an elixir for these people.''
Lansdale, who believes every nursing home
should be equipped with communal e-mail and Internet access,
is one of several academics raising the issue here at a
weekend meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.
Lansdale said mastery of e-mail and
Internet techniques can help overcome what he termed the
four plagues of institutionalized elders: loneliness,
boredom, helplessness and decline of mental skills.
''The end result is we want to promote
relationships,'' he said. ''Getting connected is bringing
people back to life.''
He directs a program called LinkingAges
that teaches nursing home residents how to communicate with
faraway family, old friends and health care providers by
using e-mail. The 12-week course ends with a graduation
ceremony, and encourages participants to share the e-mail
they receive from relatives.
Lansdale told of a woman in her 90s who
mastered the lessons and got a message from a granddaughter
that said: ''Dear Grandma, I can't believe you just sent me
e-mail. You're the coolest grandma in California.''
Group dynamics of a nursing home can
improve the program's success. One resident might exclaim,
''Hey, I can do this,'' and other residents will be
emboldened to make the effort themselves.
People who master the technology gain
confidence that spreads into other aspects of their lives,
and many take pride in helping teach the skills to their
fellow residents, he said.
''You have opened up the heavens to me,''
Lansdale said he was told by one resident who must use a
wheelchair.
Douglas McConatha, a sociologist from West
Chester University in Pennsylvania, said he observed
improved morale and a noticeable drop in depression among
nursing home residents who received Internet training as
part of a study he conducted.
''It took maybe two training sessions,''
he said. ''You turn them loose in this environment, and a
large portion of them flourish. They learned so fast they
outpaced the 20-year-old college students learning with
them.''
McConatha advocated expanded online
education programs aimed at attracting retirees both as
students and as instructors.
He described one such program, called
Circle of Learning, that encourages elderly people to offer
courses based on their lifetime experience, on topics
ranging from personal finance to hobbies. One man is
teaching a course about his Italian grandmother, McConatha
said.
''We can now capture the knowledge of our
elders and transfer that wisdom to future generations,''
McConatha said.
Only 25% of Americans over age 60 own a
computer, compared with 50% for the rest of the population,
according to research by Microsoft and the American Society
on Aging.
One of the keys for expanding Internet use
by the elderly is to make equipment and Web sites more
accessible to them, Lansdale said. Among changes needed are
increased print size on some Web sites and easier-to-use
keyboards.
TOP
