Download or read book Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2020-05-14 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Experiencing Old Age in Ancient Rome written by Karen Cokayne and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Old age today is a contentious topic. It can be seen as a demographic timebomb or as a resource of wisdom and experience to be valued and exploited. There is frequent debate over how we value the elderly, and whether ageing is an affliction to be treated or a natural process to be embraced. Karen Cokayne explores how ancient Rome dealt with the physical, intellectual and emotional implications of the ageing process, and asks how the Romans themselves experienced and responded to old age. Drawing on a wide range of contemporary material - written sources, inscriptions, and visual evidence - the study brings into focus universal concerns, including geriatric illness, memory loss and senility; the status and role of the old, sexuality and family relationships. The book's unique emphasis on both the individual and society's responses to ageing makes it a valuable contribution to the study of the social history of Rome.

Download or read book When I m 64 written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2006-02-13 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By 2030 there will be about 70 million people in the United States who are older than 64. Approximately 26 percent of these will be racial and ethnic minorities. Overall, the older population will be more diverse and better educated than their earlier cohorts. The range of late-life outcomes is very dramatic with old age being a significantly different experience for financially secure and well-educated people than for poor and uneducated people. The early mission of behavioral science research focused on identifying problems of older adults, such as isolation, caregiving, and dementia. Today, the field of gerontology is more interdisciplinary. When I'm 64 examines how individual and social behavior play a role in understanding diverse outcomes in old age. It also explores the implications of an aging workforce on the economy. The book recommends that the National Institute on Aging focus its research support in social, personality, and life-span psychology in four areas: motivation and behavioral change; socioemotional influences on decision-making; the influence of social engagement on cognition; and the effects of stereotypes on self and others. When I'm 64 is a useful resource for policymakers, researchers and medical professionals.

Download or read book Aging Society and the Life Course Fourth Edition written by Leslie A. Morgan and published by Springer Publishing Company. This book was released on 2011-03-15 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Print+CourseSmart

Download or read book Elderhood written by Louise Aronson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 467 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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."

Download or read book Faces of Aging written by Yoshiko Matsumoto and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2011-03-17 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The chapters in this volume put a human face on aging issues, and consider multiple dimensions of the aging experience with a focus on Japan.

Download or read book Old Age in the New Land written by W. Andrew Achenbaum and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1978. Drawing on a wide range of sources from social, intellectual, and political history, Old Age in the New Land analyzes the changing fates and fortunes of America's elderly in the course of its history. By providing a historical perspective on society's conceptions of aging—and its effects on human lives—Achenbaum's work offers valuable insights for historians, sociologists, gerontologists, and others interested in the "graying" of America.

Download or read book Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism written by Liat Ayalon and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-22 with total page 582 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book provides a comprehensive perspective on the concept of ageism, its origins, the manifestation and consequences of ageism, as well as ways to respond to and research ageism. The book represents a collaborative effort of researchers from over 20 countries and a variety of disciplines, including, psychology, sociology, gerontology, geriatrics, pharmacology, law, geography, design, engineering, policy and media studies. The contributors have collaborated to produce a truly stimulating and educating book on ageism which brings a clear overview of the state of the art in the field. The book serves as a catalyst to generate research, policy and public interest in the field of ageism and to reconstruct the image of old age and will be of interest to researchers and students in gerontology and geriatrics.

Download or read book Counterclockwise written by Ellen J. Langer and published by Random House Digital, Inc.. This book was released on 2009 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientifically riveting and practically empowering, "Counterclockwise" offers a bold new way to think about aging and lifelong health from the trailblazing social psychologist and author of the bestselling classic "Mindfulness."

Download or read book Old Age written by Michael Kinsley and published by Crown. This book was released on 2016-04-26 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vanity Fair columnist Michael Kinsley escorts his fellow Boomers through the door marked "Exit." The notorious baby boomers—the largest age cohort in history—are approaching the end and starting to plan their final moves in the game of life. Now they are asking: What was that all about? Was it about acquiring things or changing the world? Was it about keeping all your marbles? Or is the only thing that counts after you’re gone the reputation you leave behind? In this series of essays, Michael Kinsley uses his own battle with Parkinson’s disease to unearth answers to questions we are all at some time forced to confront. “Sometimes,” he writes, “I feel like a scout from my generation, sent out ahead to experience in my fifties what even the healthiest Boomers are going to experience in their sixties, seventies, or eighties.” This surprisingly cheerful book is at once a fresh assessment of a generation and a frequently funny account of one man’s journey toward the finish line. “The least misfortune can do to make up for itself is to be interesting,” he writes. “Parkinson’s disease has fulfilled that obligation.”

Download or read book Old Age in English History written by Pat Thane and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2000-05-11 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the end of the twentieth century more people are living into their seventies, eighties, nineties and beyond, a process expected to continue well into the next millennium. The twentieth century has achieved what people in other centuries only dreamed of: many can now expect to survive to old age in reasonably good health and can remain active and independent to the end, in contrast to the high death rate, ill health and destitution which affected all ages in the past. Yet this change is generally greeted not with triumph but with alarm. It is assumed that the longer people live, the longer they are ill and dependent, thus burdening a shrinking younger generation with the cost of pensions and health care. It is also widely believed that 'the past' saw few survivors into old age and these could be supported by their families without involving the taxpayer. In this first survey of old age throughout English history, these assumptions are challenged. Vivid pictures are given of the ways in which very large numbers of older people lived often vigorous and independent lives over many centuries. The book argues that old people have always been highly visible in English communities, and concludes that as people live longer due to the benefits of the rise in living standards, far from being 'burdens' they can be valuable contributors to their family and friends.

Download or read book The End of Old Age written by Marc E. Argonin and published by Da Capo Lifelong Books. This book was released on 2018-01-16 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acclaimed author of How We Age, whose "descriptive powers are a gift to readers" (Sherwin Nuland), presents a hopeful and practical model of aging -- a guide to understanding how we can all make the journey better. As one of America's leading geriatric psychiatrists, Dr. Marc Agronin sees both the sickest and the healthiest of seniors. He observes what works to make their lives better and more purposeful and what doesn't. Many authors can talk about aging from their particular vantage points, but Dr. Agronin is on the front lines as he counsels and treats elderly individuals and their loved ones on a daily basis. The latest scientific research and Dr. Agronin's first-hand experience are brilliantly distilled in The End of Old Age -- a call to no longer see aging as an implacable enemy and to start seeing it as a developmental force for enhancing well-being, meaning, and longevity. Throughout The End of Old Age, the focus is squarely on "So what does this mean for me and my family?" In the final part of the book, Dr. Agronin provides simple but revealing charts that you can fill out to identify, develop, and optimize your unique age-given strengths. It's nothing short of an action plan to help you age better by improving how you value the aging process, guide yourself through stress, and find ways to creatively address change for the best possible experience and outcome.

Download or read book Gerotranscendence written by Lars Tornstam, PhD and published by Springer Publishing Company. This book was released on 2005-06-20 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the 2006 GREAT GERONTOLOGY AWARD for outstanding contribution to gerontological research by the Swedish Gerontological Society Received a VALUE GROUND AWARD from the journal Aldreomsorg (Old Age Care) Expanding upon his earlier writings, Dr. Tornstam's latest book explores the need for new theories in gerontology and sets the stage for the development of his theory of gerotranscendence. This theory was developed to address what the author sees as a perpetual mismatch between present theories in social gerontology and existing empirical data. The development towards gerotranscendence can involve some overlooked developmental changes that are related to increased life satisfaction, as self-described by individuals. The gerotranscendent individual typically experiences a redefinition of the Self and of relationships to others and a new understanding of fundamental existential questions: The individual becomes less self-occupied and at the same time more selective in the choice of social and other activities. There is an increased feeling of affinity with past generations and a decreased interest in superfluous social interaction. The individual might also experience a decrease in interest in material things and a greater need for solitary "meditation.î Positive solitude becomes more important. There is also often a feeling of cosmic communion with the spirit of the universe, and a redefinition of time, space, life and death. Gerotranscendence does NOT imply any state of withdrawal or disengagement, as sometimes erroneously believed. It is not the old disengagement theory in new disguise. Rather, it is a theory that describes a developmental pattern beyond the old dualism of activity and disengagement. The author supports his theory with insightful qualitative in-depth interviews with older persons and quantitative studies. In addition, Tornstam illustrates the practical implications of the theory of gerotranscendence for professionals working with older adults in care settings. A useful Appendix contains suggestions of how to facilitate personal development toward gerotranscendence. For Further Information, Please Click Here!

Download or read book The Aging Experience written by Cherry Russell and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-05-10 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Local writing on the subject of old age had tended to a fairly uniform approach, focusing on empirical studies of old age as a social problem using census and survey-type data. Little attention had been paid to theory development. Originally published in 1981, this book provides an in-depth study of how old age was experienced in contemporary Australian society at the time. It was the first major piece of original research on aging to be published in Australia and in several important senses represented a clear departure from the mainstream of Australian gerontology. The Aging Experience links original in-depth data to a broad theoretical framework. Working from the premise that old age is a devalued status it examines the implications of this for the personal experience and interpersonal relations of elderly people. Through detailed case studies of elderly Australians their interaction with family, age peers and welfare services are described. The analysis concentrates less on the overt characteristics of these relationships and their material functions than on their symbolic content and meaning for the participants. Thus, the study moves beyond conventional statistical documentation of the problems of old age to a sharper delineation of aging as a lived experience. It is an approach which offers new perspectives, and challenges many of the assumptions underlying previous research.

Download or read book Families Caring for an Aging America written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Old Age Homes written by Roger Clough and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-11-07 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1981, in Old Age Homes Roger Clough presents a vivid description of the lives and work of residents and staff in an old people’s home. His powerful analysis of the realities of residential work would make a major contribution to improved practice, to social work training, and to social policy formation. Many people, including some social work professionals, still felt that the very existence of residential homes illustrated a failure of society, and that living with their own family or on their own was invariably a more satisfactory experience for old people. Roger Clough questions this assumption. He argues that homes are needed and if they are to be good places in which to live and die there must be a clearer understanding of the interactions that take place within them. The descriptive parts of the study, based on detailed observation and lengthy interviews, strongly reflect the author’s genuine compassion and warmth for old people. His most illuminating perceptions are presented from the perspective of the old people themselves, many of whom were conscious of the double-bind in which residents and staff are caught: there is a prevailing belief that it is best to keep active in old age, yet many of the elderly had little they though worth doing, while the staff saw their role as doing whatever they could for the residents. Roger Clough uses his material to test two central hypotheses: first that there is a linkage between the attitudes to aging held by staff and the degree of control over their own lives exercised by residents; and secondly that this degree of control is strongly correlated with resident satisfaction. Through an acute analysis of these key variables, he demonstrates the circumstances in which living in a home can be, for certain old people at certain times, the way of life they themselves would choose. His conclusions are of the greatest importance for social work practice and for the changing of staff attitudes in training. Old Age Homes would challenge anybody who knows or works with a resident in an old people’s home. But it would be of outstanding value for the managers, practitioners, trainers and students to whom it was primarily addressed at the time.

Download or read book Dying in Old Age written by Sara M. Moorman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-09-14 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three-quarters of deaths in the U.S. today occur to people over the age of 65, following chronic illness. This new experience of "predictable death" has important consequences for the ways in which societies structure their health care systems, laws, and labor markets. Dying in Old Age: U.S. Practice and Policy applies a sociological lens to the end of life, exploring how macrosocial systems and social inequalities interact to affect individual experiences of death in the United States. Using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study and Pew Research Center Survey of Aging and Longevity, this book argues that predictable death influences the entire life course and works to generate greater social disparities. The volume is divided into sections exploring demography, the circumstances of dying people, and public policy affecting dying people and their families. In exploring these interconnected factors, the author also proposes means of making "bad death" an avoidable event. As one of the first books to explore the social consequences of end of life practice, Dying in Old Age will be of great interest to graduate and advanced undergraduate students in sociology, social work, and public health, as well as scholars and policymakers in these areas.