IIAGG 2017 World Congress health empowerment score improved from 24 to 36 after the intervention (p < 0.03). At least 4 weeks with weekly meetings were required. A highly person-centered approach is required to meet individual needs for various types of mul- tiple chronic-disease management. ORAL HEALTH AND CANCER SCREENING IN NURSING HOMES: MOTIVATION AND OPPORTUNITY AS INTERVENTION TARGETS S. Burke 3 , T. Cadet 1,2 , M. Lecloux 4 , E. White 5 , P. Maramaldi 1,2,6 , E. Kalenderian 7 , T. Kinnunen 8 , 1. School of Social Work, Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts, 2. Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, 3. Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 4. West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, 5. Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, 6. Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, 7. University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, San Francisco, California, 8. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Background: Improving the oral health in the older adult population is a priority of the Healthy People 2020. Poor oral health is a risk factor for many diseases including oral cancer, which disproportionably affects older populations. An estimated 48,330 Americans will be newly diagnosed while 9,570 of all oral cancer patients will die in 2016. Paradoxically, nursing home populations are at the high- est risk, yet least likely to receive relatively simple and low cost oral cancer screening procedures. Methods: The pur- pose of this NIDCR-funded pilot study was to use empiri- cal methods to identify interventions that could eliminate barriers to oral hygiene and cancer screening in nursing homes. The Health Belief and COM-B Model provided the conceptual framework. A rigorous recruitment protocol yielded a purposive sample of nursing home administrators and directors who participated in nine discrete focus groups (n = 34). Qualitative analysis (NVivo) was used to identify conceptual themes related to potential intervention targets. Findings:Participants identifed several impediments to oral hygiene and cancer screening. High barriers, low opportuni- ties, and low motivation were themes identifed as potential targets for intervention. Framed in the conceptual model, fndings indicated that intervention strategies should target increasing oral health awareness to increase levels of per- ceived seriousness. Conclusions and Implications: Our fnd- ings provide formative data to support the development and testing of low-cost interventions using established behavior change theories. Interventions that increase awareness should target all nursing home staff involved in the oral health care of older adults. HEALTH LITERACY SCREENING IN GERIATRIC PRIMARY CARE A. Albright, L. Mieskowski, A. Halli, D. Carroll, F.R. Scogin, R.S. Allen, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama Health literacy is vital to understanding medical informa- tion and making subsequent decisions based on this informa- tion. Knowledge of patient health literacy may be particularly important for care providers, as it can provide guidance on how to best communicate with the patient (Nouri & Rudd, 2015). Approximately 100 patients (mean age = 78; 72% female; 14% African American) attending an interdiscipli- nary geriatrics clinic in West Alabama have been recruited to take part in a variety of behavioral health screenings, such as evaluation of cognitive status and depression. One of the aims of this process was to provide more comprehen- sive health care to elderly adults by assessing both physical and mental health. It may be particularly important to moni- tor health literacy within this population, as several studies (eg, Kobayashi et al., 2015) have shown that health literacy decreases in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. In addition, low health literacy has previously been linked with both lower recognition of symptoms of depression and lower likelihood to seek mental health treatment in young adults (Kim et al., 2015). The current study assessed health liter- acy using a selection of eight questions developed by Chew, Bradley, and Boyko (2004). Health literacy was found to be signifcantly associated with cognitive status (r = .34, p < .001), depression (r = -.26, p < .05), and psychological infex- ibility (r = -.34, p < .05). Based on these fndings, knowledge of patient health literacy levels may have important mental and physical healthcare implications in elderly adults. RESILIENCE BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENTAL MASTERY AMONG OLDER ADULTS WITH VISION LOSS S. Sorensen, Warner School for Education and Human Development, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York Older adults with vision impairment tend to experience losses in Environmental Mastery (EM), a vital component of psychological well-being. Poorly informed about their eye condition and the services and devices that help main- tain functioning, they slowly lose the ability to control their activities and environment. We tested the effects a Resilience Building Program (RBP) aimed at increasing concrete plan- ning (CP) for future care needs among older adults with vision loss due to Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Participants aged 60–96 (N=180, 63% female, 96% White) were randomized to RBP or control. Both groups attended vision education classes and received large print resource binders. RBP participants received 4 weeks of in-home basic problem-solving and 4 weeks of future-oriented problem- solving training Controls received a friendly visitor. CP and EM were measured at: baseline, after classes, after 4 weeks of in-home visits, after conclusion of the program, after 6 months, and after 12 months. In multi-level models, a linear and quadratic increase in CP and a linear, quadratic, and cubic curve for EM were detected. Controlling for gender and age, results suggested that the shape of the curve was different for the two treat- ment groups (GroupXquadtime and GroupXcubetime p<.05), but that the groups did not differ signifcantly in EM at 12 month followup. Adding concrete planning for future care as a time-varying covariate, however, showed that the increase in CP was positively associated with greater EM and improved the model ft (ΔChi-square =13.1,df=1). Future analyses will directly test whether increases in concrete plan- ning mediate maintenance of EM. Innovation in Aging, 2017, Vol. 1, No. S1 830 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/innovateage/article/1/suppl_1/830/3900041 by guest on 21 December 2023