AARP Bulletin - January 2012

In the News ;

75Average age of participants at senior centers.

Technology is giving a boost to voters with disabilities. ; This month, as a test, some Oregon voters will use iPads to mark their ballots in a special election. The devices, using software created by Everyone Counts, will aid people with conditions such as arthritis or impaired vision. They cannot actually cast their votes online with the iPads, but they can fill out the ballots, which will then be printed out and mailed in or dropped off at election stations. ; “This is a big step in the process,” says Dmitri Belser of the Center for Accessible Technology, a consulting group in Berkeley, Calif. ; All U.S. election jurisdictions must have accessible equipment for voters with disabilities, but each state has a different approval process for new devices. ; Darren Burton, a technology expert at the American Foundation for the Blind, is enthusiastic: “The iPad has built-in access features that allow those of us who are blind or with low vision to use them without the assistance of others.” —Frank McCoy

Disabled Voters Testing iPads
Vets Can
Enlist for
Research

Veterans are signing up to serve again—but this time the focus is on better health care. ; The Million Veteran Program, sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development, has a $19.8 million budget to research how genes affect the health and illnesses of those who have served in the armed forces. ; More than 25,000 vets have signed up so far—and the VA hopes to hit the 1 million mark within seven years. ; “We will customize treatments for conditions that affect veterans,” says Joel Kupersmith, M.D., the VA’s chief research officer, and study “whether there are underlying genetic factors that contribute to disorders.” ; Volunteers must provide blood samples and complete health questionnaires at one of the nation’s 40 VA health centers. The samples are tested for DNA and other genetic characteristics. Procedures are in place to protect participants’ privacy. ; For more information, call 1-866-441-6075 toll-free. —Todd Beamon