World Population Ageing 2020 Highlights


Book Description

Drawing on the Household Living Arrangements of Older Persons 2019 Dataset, the World Population Ageing 2020 Highlights will document key patterns and trends of the household living arrangements of older persons around the world. These levels or trends will be described using indicators such as the average number of persons per household, the distribution of older persons by household type, by type of living arrangement and select characteristics of heads of household. The report will also address the impact of living arrangements of older persons on their vulnerability to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. It will conclude with a brief discussion of global and regional trends in policies on population ageing based on the most recently available data from the United Nations Inquiry among Governments on Population and Development (2019).




Retooling for an Aging America


Book Description

As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.




Families Caring for an Aging America


Book Description

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.




Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults


Book Description

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.




World Report on Ageing and Health


Book Description

The WHO World report on ageing and health is not for the book shelf it is a living breathing testament to all older people who have fought for their voice to be heard at all levels of government across disciplines and sectors. - Mr Bjarne Hastrup President International Federation on Ageing and CEO DaneAge This report outlines a framework for action to foster Healthy Ageing built around the new concept of functional ability. This will require a transformation of health systems away from disease based curative models and towards the provision of older-person-centred and integrated care. It will require the development sometimes from nothing of comprehensive systems of long term care. It will require a coordinated response from many other sectors and multiple levels of government. And it will need to draw on better ways of measuring and monitoring the health and functioning of older populations. These actions are likely to be a sound investment in society's future. A future that gives older people the freedom to live lives that previous generations might never have imagined. The World report on ageing and health responds to these challenges by recommending equally profound changes in the way health policies for ageing populations are formulated and services are provided. As the foundation for its recommendations the report looks at what the latest evidence has to say about the ageing process noting that many common perceptions and assumptions about older people are based on outdated stereotypes. The report's recommendations are anchored in the evidence comprehensive and forward-looking yet eminently practical. Throughout examples of experiences from different countries are used to illustrate how specific problems can be addressed through innovation solutions. Topics explored range from strategies to deliver comprehensive and person-centred services to older populations to policies that enable older people to live in comfort and safety to ways to correct the problems and injustices inherent in current systems for long-term care.




Successful Aging


Book Description

INSTANT TOP 10 BESTSELLER • New York Times • USA Today • Washington Post • LA Times “Debunks the idea that aging inevitably brings infirmity and unhappiness and instead offers a trove of practical, evidence-based guidance for living longer and better.”—Daniel H. Pink, author of When and Drive SUCCESSFUL AGING delivers powerful insights: • Debunking the myth that memory always declines with age • Confirming that "health span"—not "life span"—is what matters • Proving that sixty-plus years is a unique and newly recognized developmental stage • Recommending that people look forward to joy, as reminiscing doesn't promote health Levitin looks at the science behind what we all can learn from those who age joyously, as well as how to adapt our culture to take full advantage of older people's wisdom and experience. Throughout his exploration of what aging really means, using research from developmental neuroscience and the psychology of individual differences, Levitin reveals resilience strategies and practical, cognitive enhancing tricks everyone should do as they age. Successful Aging inspires a powerful new approach to how readers think about our final decades, and it will revolutionize the way we plan for old age as individuals, family members, and citizens within a society where the average life expectancy continues to rise.




Aging


Book Description

Presenting current research in an innovative text-reader format, Aging: Concepts and Controversies, Ninth Edition encourages students to become involved and take an informed stand on the major aging issues we face as a society. Not simply a summary of research literature, Harry R. Moody and Jennifer R. Sasser’s text focuses on controversies and questions, rather than on assimilating facts or arriving at a single "correct" view about aging and older people. Drawing on their extensive expertise, the authors first provide an overview of aging in three domains: aging over the life course, health care, and the socioeconomic aspects of aging. Each section is followed by a series of edited readings, offering different perspectives from experts and specialists on that subject. New readings focus on whether current federal spending on the elderly is sustainable and fair to other groups, how older consumers are reshaping the business landscape, and the challenges of marketing and selling to customers 60 and over. More emphasis is placed on how social class and inequality earlier in life can shape our final years and the number of older Americans living in poverty. The section on Aging and Health Care has been thoroughly updated to reflect the latest data about chronic diseases that affect the elderly, government spending on health care, and policy changes to programs like Medicaid and Medicare. The section on the Social and Economic Outlook for an Aging Society gives the most current picture of the racial and ethnic diversity of older Americans, their participation in the labor force, and their income and wealth.




Current and Emerging Trends in Aging and Work


Book Description

This timely volume provides an up-to-date and comprehensive summary about what is known about aging and work and addresses the challenges and opportunities confronting older workers and organizations. The authors describe current and emerging topics related to work and aging adults such as working in teams, the increasing diversity of the labor force, work and caregiving, the implications of technology for an aging workforce, and health and wellness issues. The authorship is international; the authors are renowned for their respective work in the topical areas and represent a broad range of disciplines within academia, as well as offer perspectives from government and policy. Jobs, organizations, the labor market, and the workforce are experiencing dramatic change. Workers of all ages, including older workers, need to interact with the wide variety of ubiquitous technologies that are reshaping work processes, job content, work settings, communication strategies, and the delivery of training, and this book aims to update readers on the particular issues facing today’s aging adults in the workplace. The chapters’ broad and inclusive scope encompasses: Workplace aging and jobs in the 21st century The retirement income security outlook for older workers Population aging, age discrimination, and age discrimination protections Older workers and the contemporary labor market The role of aging, age diversity, and age heterogeneity within teams The intersection of family caregiving and work Current and Emerging Trends in Aging and Work is relevant to a broad audience of academic researchers, practitioners, and students in psychology, sociology, management, engineering (industrial and human factors), the health sciences, gerontology/geriatrics, and public health. It is also a useful resource for government and policy leaders, as well as workers and managers in the public and private sectors.




Handbook of Mental Health and Aging


Book Description

The Handbook of Mental Health and Aging, Third Edition provides a foundational background for practitioners and researchers to understand mental health care in older adults as presented by leading experts in the field. Wherever possible, chapters integrate research into clinical practice. The book opens with conceptual factors, such as the epidemiology of mental health disorders in aging and cultural factors that impact mental health. The book transitions into neurobiological-based topics such as biomarkers, age-related structural changes in the brain, and current models of accelerated aging in mental health. Clinical topics include dementia, neuropsychology, psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, mood disorders, anxiety, schizophrenia, sleep disorders, and substance abuse. The book closes with current and future trends in geriatric mental health, including the brain functional connectome, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), technology-based interventions, and treatment innovations. - Identifies factors influencing mental health in older adults - Includes biological, sociological, and psychological factors - Reviews epidemiology of different mental health disorders - Supplies separate chapters on grief, schizophrenia, mood, anxiety, and sleep disorders - Discusses biomarkers and genetics of mental health and aging - Provides assessment and treatment approaches




Successful Aging


Book Description

Presents the results of the MacArthur Foundation Study of Aging in America, which show how to maintain optimum physical and mental strength throughout later life.