Come, Walk with Us

"Our Elders....Our Teachers"

Assessments

To do appropriate planning for Wisdom Steps, it is important for communities to visit with their Elders and ask them to self assess their needs. The National Resource Center on Native American Aging (NRCNAA) provided Wisdom Steps with the self-assessment tool called "Identifying Our Needs: A Survey of Elders." The assessments focus on three major goals: 1) Identifying important issues for your community; 2) locating options for responding to the issues; and 3) assessing the options and charting action plans.

To date the NRCNAA has received completed assessments from seven tribal and urban Indian communities in Minnesota.

Elders in MN identified themselves...


• 39% are current smokers
• 41% do not exercise
• 46% have either fair or poor health
• 49% have arthritis
• 56% are overweight

Wisdom Steps focuses on the following three preventive health primary components:

Health Screenings:

Elders are encouraged to practice good preventive health by visiting their physicians and setting personal health goals. To help Elders better understand their health needs, they are encouraged to have annual screenings for blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol and weight. Elders are encouraged to consider other preventive health screenings such as hearing, vision, glaucoma, mammogram, pap smear, prostate, dental, foot clinic, colon rectal, flu shot and pneumovax. Educational materials are being developed to help Elders understand the meaning of these screening results and how these affect their health and well being.

Health Education:

Elders determined that it is important for Wisdom Steps to provide culturally acceptable education about preventive health programs. They decided their first educational project would be to develop Medicare information materials that would be more easily understood by Elders. "Medicare In American Indian Communities" includes teaching manuals for Elder advocates and learning packets for individual Elders.

Indian health providers and elder advocates are invited to annual trainings to learn about Medicare updates, Medicare Savings Programs and Medicaid. Currently a partnership with the State Health Insurance Program is being developed to provide increased opportunities for local Medicare education sessions. They will also help communities with the identification of Medicare eligible elders and assist with the application, enrollment and re-certification process.

Healthy Living Activities:

Participating in healthy living activities, such as routine exercise or regular walking, eating a proper diet, visiting with family and friends, joining talking circles and doing activities that make you feel good, are important to good health. Elders organize a statewide walk each year, and individual communities host walks on the local level.

Incentive Plan for Wisdom Steps:

A simple incentive plan encourages Elder participation in Wisdom Steps. Elders complete two of the three below activities to qualify for a Wisdom Steps pin, charm and certificate each year: 

1) Health Screenings: Complete 5 of the 15 health activities listed below (must complete the starred four*)

2) Health Education: Attend your Reservation/Urban/Regional Health Fair.

3) Healthy Living Activity: Participate in an organized walk or routine exercise of your choice.

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Wisdom Steps web site is maintained by the Minnesota Board on Aging