Visions of Aging


Book Description

Explores two central perspectives of movies: movies on old age by old filmmakers; and movies on old age by younger artists. This book focuses on the cinematic representation of ageing from within, examining the ways ageing is viewed from the outside. It offers a panoramic view of the direction of this field of cinematic gerontology.




Aging and Vision Loss


Book Description

As the number of older persons experiencing vision loss continues to soar over the upcoming years, all of us may find that a family member or friend we care about has become visually impaired. Aging and Vision Loss contains reassuring, supportive, and helpful information on meeting the needs of the older person and family caregivers as well.




A Vision for the Aging Church


Book Description

James M. Houston and Michael Parker believe now is the time for the church to offer ministry to its increasing numbers of seniors and to benefit from ministry they can offer. They issue an urgent call to reconceive the place and part of the elderly in the local congregation, showing that seniors aren't the problem--they are the solution.




The Becoming of Age


Book Description

The Becoming of Age is an examination of the ways that aging and old age are represented in popular film. Arguing that the ideas behind cinematic depictions of aging are historical and open to revision, the author looks at how movies both promote negative portrayals of aging and challenge its persistent cultural devaluation. Movies are a site of struggle where the representation and the reality of aging intertwine, and they have the power not only to reflect but to reconstruct our understanding.




Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative


Book Description

The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.




Prospective Longevity


Book Description

From two leading experts, a revolutionary new way to think about and measure aging. Aging is a complex phenomenon. We usually think of chronological age as a benchmark, but it is actually a backward way of defining lifespan. It tells us how long we’ve lived so far, but what about the rest of our lives? In this pathbreaking book, Warren C. Sanderson and Sergei Scherbov provide a new way to measure individual and population aging. Instead of counting how many years we’ve lived, we should think about the number of years we have left, our “prospective age.” Two people who share the same chronological age probably have different prospective ages, because one will outlive the other. Combining their forward-thinking measure of our remaining years with other health metrics, Sanderson and Scherbov show how we can generate better demographic estimates, which inform better policies. Measuring prospective age helps make sense of observed patterns of survival, reorients understanding of health in old age, and clarifies the burden of old-age dependency. The metric also brings valuable data to debates over equitable intergenerational pensions. Sanderson and Scherbov’s pioneering model has already been adopted by the United Nations. Prospective Longevity offers us all an opportunity to rethink aging, so that we can make the right choices for our societal and economic health.




Jewish Visions for Aging


Book Description

Discover the Jewish tradition’s insights on growing older and eldercare in this groundbreaking resource—the only one of its kind! “Judaism can be [tremendously] powerful for those searching for new meaning and roles, for perspective on life’s profound questions, and for solace amid the inevitable loss and change of later life.... It is time to forge a new paradigm for the Jewish response to aging.” —from the Introduction From the rapidly changing retirement years to the sometimes wrenching challenges of dementia and chronic illness, spiritual questions and needs among today’s elders and caregivers are central. This rich resource probes Jewish texts to offer solutions and suggestions for finding meaning, purpose and community within Jewish tradition. With timely—and timeless—wisdom, this rich resource probes Jewish texts, spirituality and observance, uncovering a deep, never-before-realized approach to responding to the challenges of aging with a refreshing and inspiring vitality. The insights—spanning textual analysis and spiritual and pastoral perspectives—provide practical guidance in spiritual care and communal programming to dynamically engage and serve elders and their families. Accessible and honest, Jewish and non-Jewish clergy, chaplains, elder- and healthcare professionals, volunteers and family members will find this guide an invaluable asset as they explore how to empower elders and their families through daily spiritual and communal life.




Ageing Slowly, Living Longer


Book Description

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF LONGEVITYThe world today is fast progressing and we live in the unprecedented times. There is a boom of advances in every field, from the art to the science and technology. This includes health science, too. The wonderful advances in the field of medical science make it possible to cure acute disorders and, thus, avoiding untimely demise. The chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. can be efficiently managed leading to virtual freedom from their complications. There is, in general, an appreciable increase in life expectancy and lifespan. The ideology apart, health is the prime instrument that lets us enjoy life. The preservation of health is the best formula for longevity. A healthy food, adequate physical activity and wholesome lifestyle keep the daily attrition-related damage at minimum and retard ageing. An optimal healthcare adds further. An individual's life course may appear unpredictable, but it is not. The genetic and environmental factors, both being of equal importance, and behavioral patterns can successfully predict the life expectancy. The longer life is not separate from ageing slowly. They are mutually related.The life is an eternal truth. We are because we live. We find people ageing; we ourselves age and grow older. The phenomenon of ageing is universal in the kingdom of living. With time, all living beings age. Yet, ageing is an enigma. We do not understand it. We do not exactly know, what makes us age and grow old, finally losing vitality of life? Living a healthy and long life is a common dream. All of us nourish the dream; all of us wish to realize it. But various disorders and infirmities annihilate the dream. Falling prey to them, we lose our health and fitness, and pass through an abridged life. There have been immense developments in scientific research, including medical science. There has evolved a whole novel understanding of the biology of ageing. A vast body of knowledge can explain the changes that take place with ageing at molecular and cellular level. At the same time, the progress in healthcare and technology makes it possible to slow ageing. The science has progressed and there are futuristic visions of achieving significant longevity. There are possibilities of being able to reverse the ageing process. The eternal dream of immortality, is on the verge of becoming a reality. This book aims to provide answers to the questions related to ageing. It aims to explain ageing and charts out a program for slowing ageing. It also gives a peep into the futuristic visions of longevity and suggests scientific ways for a long life. Simultaneously, it is designed to educate you for fitness and to lead a healthy life. As you read through the book, you will find long-held views interspersed with shattering myths, and scientific facts intermingled with results from research and studies, which are still not out of the lab doors. It may seem at times, but the book is not a fiction. Neither, it is a concocted dream. The book is based on current state of scientific knowledge and gerontological research. I intend to share with you the current state of knowledge relating to ageing and gerontology. There are, to share with you, the facts and visions more eloquent than imaginations, and amazing thoughts amounting to the reality-pregnant-early-morning dreams. You will notice few things as you read through the book. Using certain words has been avoided. You will only rarely find the words like aged, old, etc. The words like elderly have been used very sparingly. This has been done purposely and is well in line with the central thought of the book, which is to come out of our age-old prejudices against the old age. So, I request you to read on. After all, theme of the book ageing slowly and living longer, as indicated by the title chosen, is of the prime concern to all of us. Your partner in healthy long life, Dr Vinod Nikhra, M.D.




Elderhood


Book Description

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction A New York Times Bestseller Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Winner of the WSU AOS Bonner Book Award Winner of the 2022 At Home With Growing Older Impact Award As revelatory as Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, physician and award-winning author Louise Aronson's Elderhood is an essential, empathetic look at a vital but often disparaged stage of life. For more than 5,000 years, "old" has been defined as beginning between the ages of 60 and 70. That means most people alive today will spend more years in elderhood than in childhood, and many will be elders for 40 years or more. Yet at the very moment that humans are living longer than ever before, we've made old age into a disease, a condition to be dreaded, denigrated, neglected, and denied. Reminiscent of Oliver Sacks, noted Harvard-trained geriatrician Louise Aronson uses stories from her quarter century of caring for patients, and draws from history, science, literature, popular culture, and her own life to weave a vision of old age that's neither nightmare nor utopian fantasy--a vision full of joy, wonder, frustration, outrage, and hope about aging, medicine, and humanity itself. Elderhood is for anyone who is, in the author's own words, "an aging, i.e., still-breathing human being."




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.