Center for
Aging
in Uganda
Photo Credit: Jonathan Wallen
The following sections contain guidelines for the various screenings and interventions provided by the Kisoro Elders Project. Although written here in English, when actually used for training Village Health Workers (also known as Community Health Workers or Village Health Teams) guidelines and lessons should be translated into the local language, which, in Kisoro, is Rufumbira.
For questions, or if you would like to visit our program or have us visit yours for consultation or training, please contact us!
Vision
Goals of the Kisoro Elders Project for Vision Problems
- Identify far and near vision loss
- Select and dispense appropriate near vision glasses
- Refer selected elders for follow-up visits and far vision glasses or cataract surgery as needed
Hearing
Goals of the Kisoro Elders Project for Hearing Problems
- Identify hearing loss
- Inspect for and remove earwax impaction
- Dispense “listenator” hearing aids to appropriate older adults
- Teach how to communicate with older adults with hearing loss
Mobility and Pain
Goals of the Kisoro Elders Project for Mobility and Pain
- Identify mobility problems and risk of falls
- Teach about falls prevention
- Dispense canes to appropriate older adults
- Dispense pain medication to selected older adults
Happy with his new cane
Measuring cane height
Able to dig again after paracetamol
Samson administering acupuncture
Depression
Dancing, singing, and clapping at the end of the depression support group
Goals of the Kisoro Elders Project for Depression
- Identify older adults with depression
- Provide mental health outreach and group support for older adults with depression
Dementia
Goals of the Kisoro Elders Project for Dementia
- Identify older adults with dementia
- Teach family/community members what dementia is: a disease, not a curse nor caused by spirits
- Establish goals of care for stages of dementia
- Teach family/community members how to communicate with a person with dementia
- Educate about personality/behavioral changes
- Provide support for caregivers
Solar Lights
Goal of the Kisoro Elders "Lighting Up the Night" Project
- To provide Kisoro Elders who cannot afford electricity with solar light units
Gardens
Goals of “Healthy Food for Healthy Aging”, the Kisoro Elders Garden Project
- To teach Village Health Workers to plant small family gardens that are healthy for themselves and their families, and healthy for the soil and the planet
- To promote intergenerational cooperation by VHWs teaching older adults in their villages, along with younger family members, to plant healthy gardens
