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| navigate: home: magazine: fall 1999: article | |
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New website offers gerontology-related information By Kristine Lalley | ||||||
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The Gerontology Center of Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development has created a Web site to share gerontology-related information with senior citizens, consumers and volunteers who work with the elderly. The Web site features a newsletter written by seniors in Centre County; a book list on diverse issues such as breast cancer, fitness, men’s and women’s health and elderly housing; and links to e-mail discussion groups, chat rooms and related Web sites addressing such issues as Alzheimer’s disease, chronic pain, elder care and aging. In addition to these resources, the Gerontology Center’s Aging Information Services searchable database is available at the Web site. The database has information on more than 150 topics, as well as 170 toll-free numbers on age-related topics of interest to agencies, volunteers and the public. Volunteer Outreach, a unit within the Gerontology Center, developed the Web site. According to Susan B. Keller, assistant director of outreach for the Gerontology Center, the center is using information technology to store resources and disseminate knowledge through the Internet to agencies worldwide, particularly agencies with small budgets that need quick and easy access to the latest national expertise. Dr. Sara Parks, associate dean for outreach, Cooperative Extension and international programs for the College of Health and Human Development, noted, “Today, there are more than 70 million Internet users in the United States and more than 147 million worldwide. Penn State is committed to becoming an indispensable resource for the people of Pennsylvania and beyond. We believe that information technology is fundamental to increasing this engagement. This outreach project is an excellent example of the way in which the College of Health and Human Development is providing access to knowledge and extending university scholarship beyond traditional boundaries.” Dr. K. Warner Schaie, Gerontology Center director, added, “Opportunities for outreach in gerontology have been markedly increased and become economically possible by creative use of the Internet. At Penn State, we are relying heavily on the contributions of our volunteers, both students and senior citizens, to help in this effort.” The Gerontology Center Volunteer Outreach Program works to strengthen the connection between Penn State and local communities. The program also manages the Aging Information Services Hotline, maintains the Gerontology Center working collection, compiles the Senior Citizen’s Guide to Campus Life, offers one-on-one computer classes for senior citizens and coordinates senior representation on service agency boards. For more information on the Gerontology Center Volunteer Outreach Program, visit the Web site or contact:
Susan B. Keller | |||||
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