Knowledge is Power: The Importance of Mental Health Maintenance in the Aging Population
Authors: Kelly Eitel, Joey Lane, Kristen Wallace, Christian Dusenberry, Victoria Hansen, Savannah Luker,Darienne Lee, & Miriam Vonashek
Faculty Supervisor: Laura Grantham, DNP, RN
Community Partner: Gateway Behavioral Health Services & St. Simon’s By-The-Sea
Abstract:
For our project, we created a one-slide PowerPoint that could be used as a poster to educate the community. Our PowerPoint was directed to the aging population and ways to benefit their mental health through local resources. We have a great need here in Glynn county for mental health resources, particularly for the aging population. Our project hopes to spread awareness of the resources we do have, further educate the community to take their mental health seriously, and inspire more resources to be made available. Our project provides crucial information regarding mental health and the aging population and provides resources for people in the community. Included on the PowerPoint are resources for maintaining mental health, travel, food, and companionship. When gathering these resources, we took into account the complex variables that impact our aging population, such as limited finances. This project had a positive impact on the team, as we are more aware of the mental health needs of the aging population and are more sensitive and empathetic to members of the elderly population that each of us regularly interact with. We will be able to take the knowledge and awareness into the communities where we live and work. Additionally, once we are registered nurses in our various places of employment, we will be able to empathetically respond to our patients and provide resources we would otherwise not have been aware of had we not worked on this project together.
