This volume focuses on understanding the impact of age-related decline in cognitive abilities on medical decisions and compliance with medical instructions. It examines how medical information and the medical environment can be restructured to accommodate the decreased cognitive function associated with aging. Although the issues discussed in this book are of critical importance in providing effective health care, they have been largely neglected in the national debate over provision of health care for the increasingly aging population. It is essential that we begin to understand how to present information so that informed choices are made and patients comprehend well enough that they can follow their treatment regimens and understand the importance of those regimens.
Divided into four major sections, this volume addresses the following issues:
* the implications of cognitive aging for medical information processing;
* aging and medical decision making;
* aging and medication adherence; and
* human factors design for medical devices and instructions.

Gerontological research is currently of great interest due to ever-increasing longevity of human life spans. Created to provide researchers and scientists with the technical methods essential to their work, Methods in Aging Research is a practical bench-top guide for everyone who plans, designs, or conducts research in aging. It highlights experimental procedures that are key to the investigation of the biological aging phenomena.
Methods in Aging Research is a state-of-the-art reference that offers the most direct and clear cut descriptions available of methodological procedures used in aging research. Methods and protocols are critically evaluated and the advantages and disadvantages of each technique are explored. More than 70 expert contributors from around the world share their combined knowledge on a broad range of topics essential to everyone involved in cultivating and developing the gerontological research frontier.

This book highlights international efforts to better understand the role of individual differences in healthy aging by exploring new directions, methods, and questions within the field. The book considers how to measure personality and personality change during adulthood, the associations between personality and healthy aging outcomes over time, and the role of personality in building interventions to promote healthy aging. The first section considers the value of personality constructs for healthy aging outcomes beyond the broad Big Five personality dimensions. It discusses the role of attachment, purpose, and affect, and also touches on the issue of psychopathology. The second section presents innovative assessment methods, research designs beyond classical longitudinal approaches, as well as sophisticated and integrative techniques for analyzing personality change processes. The third section raises new important questions, such as how interventionists from non-personality domains can incorporate personality processes in their intervention programs. It also discusses how different domains of individual functioning may interact in concert to predict healthy aging outcomes, as well as how more integrative lifespan models of healthy aging may advance research on personality and healthy aging. Overall, this book will spark interest and chart new directions for researchers, practitioners and interventionists in healthy aging, gerontology and applied fields.

Medication costs and common drug-related problems, such as misapplication of therapy, medication misuse, and adverse effects, can often be avoided or reduced. Geriatric Drug Therapy Interventions will help you get better outcomes with your patients as it points out pitfalls to avoid and provides you with logical principles for administering drug therapy. Offering guidelines, advice, and gentle reminders, this book shows you the importance of properly documenting patient problems and of considering the entire medical history of your patients. It also helps you perform fall and psychoactive drug risk assessments and address under-recognized and undertreated problems such as malnutrition, depression, sensory deficits, anemia, osteoporosis, and pressure ulcers.As Geriatric Drug Therapy Interventions clarifies, increased consultant pharmacist involvement in comprehensive pharmaceutical services results in the reduction of drug-related problems and medication-associated costs with long-term care patients. Using this book's helpful and substantive interventions, you can improve clinical, economic, and humanistic outcomes in your practice. For this purpose, Geriatric Drug Therapy Interventions discusses: a study designed to teach pharmacy students to identify, document, solve, and prevent medication-related problems providing patient-focused care and assuming responsibility for patient outcomes reimbursing pharmacists for performing cognitive service and cost-savings activities how the prevalence of drug-related problems that influence the need for hospital and nursing home admissions increases with age reasons for patient noncompliance NSAID-associated gastritis, gastrointestinal bleeding, drug-induced delirium, incontinence, and constipation why the advent of managed care does not bode well for the overall health outcomes of the elderlyPharmacists, physicians, and other health care providers can't control all aspects of drug use, but there are many practical steps you can take to help your patients use their prescriptions appropriately. Geriatric Drug Therapy Interventions will help you monitor the efficacy of drug therapy, guide patients who are exasperated with being poked, prodded, and barraged with medications, and work together to develop therapy patterns and schedules that are effective and comfortable.

Comprehensive health services cannot be planned on the basis of 7.000 people - the average list size of a fundholding practice. Services such as casualty and kidney transplantation must be planned on populations of hundreds of thousands. GP commissioning has developed from the spontaneous reaction against fundholding by some GPs ( both fundholding and non-fundholding) into a comprehensive, systematic approach towards the planning and monitoring of health services. This book is the first to explain GP commissioning in its own right. It documents the history, theory and practice of GP commissioning and places it within the current political situation faced by the NHS. It shows how commissioning goes beyond fundholding. Commissioning is a more cost-efficient alternative, is clinically effective and its spontaneous development implies it is more in keeping with the basic tenets of the National Health Service. The difficult areas of financing, commercialization and rationing of health care are all covered. The book also explores the relationship between GP commissioning and evidence-based medicine, both of which can contribute to a systematic approach towards the planning and provision of health care into the next century. With contributions from GP commissioners, health services managers, leading academics, the Secretary of State, and the former Shadow Secretary of State for Health, this book will inform the important debate on the structure of primary care. It is vital reading for all those with an interest in the future of the health service.

Part of a series of pocket-sized books that set out to provide easily assimilable information on diagnosis and treatment of common medical conditions. This volume looks at depression in the elderly, covering such topics as aetiology and risk factors, clinical presentation and prognosis.

Sportive care can be thought of as an extension of palliative care so that the person with dementia receives good quality, holistic care that makes no distinctions between the dichotomies of care and cure from the time of diagnosis until, and beyond, death. It recognizes the need for an inter-disciplinary approach for continuity of care. Supportive care in dementia must, therefore, be broad in its scope and application.
Supportive Care of the Person with Dementia provides just such a broad and full perspective, drawing upon the experience and expertise of a wide range of internationally-based professionals to outline a model of supportive care that will provide good quality and holistic care for people with dementia. Making use of real-life reports from both patients and carers to help readers fully understand the reality of dementia, the book examines the key principles that guide the practice of supportive care. It looks at how supportive care can be used, and specific benefits a care model of this type can bring to the complex problems that are frequently encountered when treating this condition.
It is an ideal resource for all clinicians who are part of an interdisciplinary team caring for sufferers with this debilitating illness.

This book makes an enquiry into policies surrounding old age and telecare. It contextualises telecare within the wider history of health and social care in England to build the case that there are grand narratives of old age embedded in policies. Divided into four sections, the book covers: * Connecting old age with telecare * A general review of old age and telecare * A critical enquiry into discourses and the identity of old age * Conclusions and future directions. The author highlights the manifestation of old age discourses in care policies, how they have been perpetuated yet also transformed in the context of telecare, and what this means about older people. The book will be of interest to students and academics in the fields of gerontology, sociology, old age studies, philosophy, social policy, health and social care policy, information systems, and critical theoreticians

Your indispensable guide to taking charge of the second half of your life. From Dr. Rosanne M. Leipzig, a top doctor with more than 35 years of experience caring for older people, Honest Aging is an indispensable guide to the second half of life, describing what to expect physically, psychologically, functionally, and emotionally as you age. Leipzig, an expert in evidence-based geriatrics, highlights how 80-year-olds differ from 60-year-olds and why knowing this is important for your health. With candor, humor, and empathy, this book will provide you with the knowledge and practical advice to optimize aging. The book * helps you recognize age-related changes in your body and mind and understand what's typical with aging and what's not; * offers guidance for common health concerns, including problems with memory, energy, mood, sleep, incontinence, mobility and falls, hearing and vision, aches and pains, gastrointestinal problems, weight, and sex; * shares advice on how to make decisions about health care, driving, and where to live; * includes helpful checklists and lists of medications to prepare for doctor and hospital visits; * recommends the best technology options, such as mobility devices, emergency device systems, and more; * counters common myths about aging; and * offers resources for additional information, self-help, and support. Enriched by illustrations, patient stories, and deep dives into science and the latest research, Honest Aging gives you the tools to take control of your health and well-being as you age.

With the recent discovery that amyloid beta protein, the cause of plaques in Alzheimer's disease, is an antimicrobial peptide produced in response to infection, many researchers are focusing on the role infection plays in the development of Alzheimer's disease. Brain studies have also identified a number of different viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa in the postmortem brain specimens of Alzheimer's patients. Infection (particularly chronic, latent and persistent infections) causes an immune response that leads to inflammation and brain cell degeneration, which are characteristic features of Alzheimer's disease. Sources of infection in Alzheimer's disease vary from childhood infections to gut microbes that find their way into the brain as a result of aging, leaky gut syndrome, and increased permeability of the blood brain barrier. Studies and ongoing clinical trials show that treatment of viral and bacterial infections, as well as restoring a healthy balance to the gut microbiome, can reduce disease risk and improve symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease. This book serves as an introduction to the human microbiome and the role that infection plays in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of a growing phenomenon in migration: retired Americans moving to Latin America. Through in-depth profiles of two of the most popular destinations - Cuenca, Ecuador and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, the book provides a unique commentary on the social forces shaping this new diaspora and its impact on the settings to which retirees relocate. Sections of the book address the lives and activities of retirees themselves; their impact on real estate, business development, and gentrification within historic cities; the availability and access to medical and long-term care services; and the role of governmental policies in attracting immigrant retirees and shaping their societal impact. Concluding sections provide guidance for potential retirees and for cities and countries interested in attracting these new immigrants while minimizing adverse impact on local culture and quality of life. Carefully researched and extensively illustrated with photographs, maps, figures, and tables, the book serves as an important new resource for scientists and policy makers, as well as for baby boomers who have retired abroad or are considering doing so.

This book aims to clarify the potential association between frailty and cardiovascular disease in older people. Covering the biological as well as the clinical point of view, it allows researchers and clinicians to discover the significance of this topic. The contributions cover the most important aspects in the potential relationship between frailty and cardiovascular disease. In particular, authoritative authors in this field have clarified the definition and the epidemiology of frailty and cardiovascular disease in older people. A large part of the volume is dedicated to the biological mechanisms of frailty and cardiovascular disease, trying to find those in common between these two conditions. Since this book is dedicated to both researchers and clinicians, we have proposed some chapters to the importance of comprehensive geriatric assessment in the evaluation and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and frailty. In this regard, the importance of geriatric evaluation in cardiac surgery for older people is well covered. Finally, the importance of cardiac rehabilitation and physical exercise is summarized, being, actually, the most important treatments for both frailty and cardiovascular disease. Written by many well-known and widely published experts in their respective fields, this book will appeal to a wide readership such as researchers in the field and clinicians, especially suited in geriatric medicine and cardiology who, every day, face frail older patients.

What special skills and knowledge base do practitioners need to work in nursing homes? What ethical and legal issues do practitioners face in nursing homes? And how have reforms under the newly implemented 1987 OBRA legislature affected practice in nursing homes? With the rapid growth of nursing homes in the 1980s, questions such as these are now being raised by policymakers, administrators, practitioners, and others working in nursing homes. In this highly instructive volume, the authors examine these vital questions and explore such relevant issues as working with nursing home residents and their families, managing selected special populations, working with other members of the nursing home staff, legal and ethical issues, and the organizational and policy contexts that shape practice. In addition, the authors include structured learning tasks that can be used to guide the development of practice skills in supervised nursing home practicums and field settings. Professionals from a variety of fields including social work, nursing, geriatric mental health, medicine, and nursing home administration will find this book to be an invaluable resource in their own day to day work. "This book presents a useful and thorough introduction to the subject of case practice with older persons in nursing homes. While of interest to anyone who desires to work with older persons in nursing homes, this book will be particularly useful to students and professors in social work and gerontology courses. . . . Instructors will find that the chapters lend themselves effectively to course organization, and they will appreciate the model fieldwork assignments that are presented in the appendix." --Clinical Gerontologist "This book provides a detailed and practical introduction to the subject of geriatric case practice in nursing homes. To the authors' credit, the content reflects a sound psychosocial theoretical base consistent with social service and social work practice. Students, beginning case practitioners, and instructors will find this book to be a useful guide to geriatric case practice in nursing homes." --Clinical Gerontologist "Generally, the private nursing-home sector is poorly served with high quality literature specifically relating to this field; so, it is pleasing to find a book such as Geriatric Case Practice in Nursing Homes which is extremely well-written and fully referenced. . . . I definitely recommend [this book] to health-care staff from any profession who have contact with elderly people, particularly nursing and rest-home staff, hospital, community- and day-centre staff, and nursing-home inspectors." --Nursing Standard "Very useful as a textbook in schools of social work. . . . The text would be valuable to any professional neophyte in the nursing home industry who needs an overview of the field, its development and the policies that are meant to effect change in quality of care. A major strength of this text is found in the 26-page appendix which thoughtfully and in great detail provides outlines, including learning objectives, for implementing several model fieldwork assignments in nursing homes." --Priscilla Ebersole, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Geriatric Nursing "It presents a great deal of informative material with clarity in a well-organizeed and useful manner. Students and others who work in nursing facilities will become well-acquainted with the dimensions and complexities of these institutions when they read this book." --Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology

This issue of Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, guest edited by Dr. Amir Soumekh and Dr. Philip O. Katz, is devoted to Gastroenterology. Articles in this issue include: Esophageal and Gastric Motility Disorders, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and Barrett's Esophagus, Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS), Anticoagulation and Upper GI Bleeding, Managing Gallstone Disease in the Elderly, Fecal Incontinence, Constipation, Diarrhea, Functional Bowel Disease, Nutrition, Malnutrition and Obesity, Diverticulosis, Diverticulitis and Diverticular Bleeding, Gastrointestinal Bleeding, Colon Cancer Screening, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and more.

This comprehensive book presents an evidence-based approach to treating asthma in adults aged 65 and older, a vulnerable subset of patients who are more likely to experience higher morbidity and mortality rates, and often enduring higher financial burdens related to treatment. Treatment of Asthma in Older Adults: A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Guide is a unique resource, providing an up-to-date review of medication strategies, how asthma phenotypes and treatment decisions interact, and how controlling asthma triggers impacts long-term asthma outcomes in older patients. Additionally, the book incorporates recent advances in alternative therapies that improve the patient's quality of life. Opening discussions address the unique challenges of the differential diagnosis of asthma in older adults, as well as an examination of the significant medical comorbidities that co-exist with asthma. Subsequent chapters provide strategies to optimizing asthma management in this specific population, including information on case management that will assist allied health providers. Finally, the book closes with an analysis of several novel targets for therapy to treat severe asthma including biologics, macrolides and bronchial thermoplasty. Written by experts in the field, Treatment of Asthma in Older Adults: A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Guide is an indispensable resource for allergists, pulmonologists, family physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and all other allied clinicians.

The decline of infections, starvation, warfare, heart attack and stroke has allowed people to reach extreme old age but ushered in disability, dementia and degenerative disease, with profound consequences for the self and society. Dr Guy Brown explores these vital issues at various levels, from the cell, to the whole body, to society.

Ageing is a complex, time-related biological phenomenon that is genetically determined and environmentally modulated. According to even the most pessimistic projections, average lifespan is expected to increase around the world during the next 20 years, significantly raising the number of aged individuals. But increasing life expectancy presents new problems, and industrialized countries are facing a pronounced increase in lifestyle diseases which constitute barriers to healthy ageing. Anti-Ageing Nutrients: Evidence-based Prevention of Age-Associated Diseases is written by a multi-disciplinary group of researchers, all interested in the nutritional modulation of ageing mechanisms. Structured in three parts, Part 1 looks at the cellular modifications that underlie senescence of cells and ageing of the organisms; the effects of energy restriction on cellular and molecular mechanisms and in the whole organism; and the epigenetic modifications associated with ageing. Part 2 includes chapters which discuss the nutritional modulation of age-associated pathologies and the functional decline of organs, with a focus on those primarily affected by chronological ageing. Part 3 summarises the knowledge presented in the previous chapters and considers the best diet pattern for the aged individuals. The book reflects the most recent advances in anti-ageing nutrition and will be a valuable resource for professionals, educators and students in the health, nutritional and food sciences.

Medical practitioners receive little, if any, formal training in the prevention, assessment and management of pressure ulcers and other chronic wounds. Pressure Ulcers in the Aging Population: A Guide for Clinicians is a resource primarily aimed at physicians interested in the fundamentals of wound care. This book is written for geriatricians, internists, general practitioners, residents and fellows who treat older patients and unlike other texts on the market addresses the specific issues of wound prevention and managment in older individuals. Pressure Ulcers in the Aging Population: A Guide for Clinicians emphasizes prevention, proper documentation and the team care process which are often overlooked in standard texts. Chapters are written by experts in their fields and include such evolving topics as deep tissue injury and the newer support surface technologies.

Few families are untouched by Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. Moving accounts of what it is like to care for someone with this disease have already been published, as well as how-to books that offer caregivers advice and information on coping. But this book is the first to provide a comprehensive report of what it is like to have dementia oneself--the subjective experience of living with progressive memory loss.

Each chapter discusses a different aspect of having dementia, from the initial assessment and diagnosis through placement in a nursing home. The discussions are grounded in qualitative research and case studies, which convey the variable and personal nature of the experience. They seek to help clinicians, researchers, students, and caregivers (both professionals and family members) understand the experience of dementia, and thereby to promote better caregiving through a person-centered approach.

Contributors: Kathleen Kahn-Denis, Judson Retirement Community; Casey Durkin, a psychotherapist in Cleveland, Ohio; Jane Gilliard, Dementia Voice, UK; Phyllis Braudy Harris, John Carroll University; John Keady, University of Wales, UK; John Killick, University of Stirling, UK; Rebecca G. Logsdon, University of Washington; Charlie Murphy, University of Stirling, UK; Alison Phinney, University of British Columbia, Canada; Steven R. Sabat, Georgetown University; Dorothy Seman, Alzheimer's Family Care Center, Chicago; Lisa Snyder, University of California, San Diego; Jane Stansell, Alzheimer's Family Care Center, Chicago; Gloria Sterin, Shaker Heights, Ohio; Jon C. Stuckey, Messiah College; Robyn Yale, Consultant to the Alzheimer's Association, San Francisco; Rosalie Young, Wayne State University School of Medicine.

This book provides an overview of recent advances in the study of aging and aging related diseases, discussing the topics at individual, organ, tissue, cell, and molecular levels. It also presents studies on the biomarkers of aging and anti-aging interventions. Aging has been becoming a global health problem. However it was not possible to determine aging as we usually diagnose a disease because there are few biomarkers for age estimation. Since ancient times, people have been seeking anti-aging substances and methods for achieving immortality, while the scientific study of aging has only existed for 100 years. This book appeals to researchers both in institutes and in pharmaceutical companies interested in further studies in this field.

For the last 40 years, biogerontology--the study of the biological basis of aging--has progressed tremendously, and it has now become an independent and respected field of study and research. This volume brings together contributions by biogerontologists, bioethicists, biodemographers, researchers, students, clinicians, and dieticians.

The main areas of discussion and presentation of new research results include (1) biological and non-biological factors affecting lifespan and the quality of life; (2) ethical and social issues related to lifespan and health-span extension; (3) physiological, cellular, and molecular aspects of aging; (4) new technologies to understand and modulate aging; (5) the latest successful approaches in the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases, and (6) aging intervention, prevention, and modulation by genes, natural and synthetic molecules, and lifestyle modifications.

Accordingly, the main sections of the volume focus on the following topics: defining aging, longevity, and the diseases of aging; selected aging organs; cellular aging; molecular aging; ethics of aging intervention; genetics of aging and longevity; and aging interventions.

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Das Buch untersucht die inhaltlichen und strukturellen Herausforderungen, vor der unsere Gesellschaft angesichts einer stetig steigenden Lebenserwartung und einer zunehmenden Vielfalt unterschiedlicher Lebensentwurfe steht. Sind wir vorbereitet auf die Bedurfnisse einer alternden Bevoelkerung? Wie sollen wir auf den demografischen Wandel reagieren, um ein wurdevolles Altern sicherzustellen? Wie mussen wir die unterschiedlichen Lebensbereiche wie Arbeitswelt, Gesundheitsversorgung, Wohnen und Kultur gestalten und anpassen, um den veranderten Lebenslaufen gerecht zu werden? Entlang der Dimensionen Alterung, Diversitat und Technisierung widmen sich in diesem Band Experten aus Medizin, Ethik, Recht, Sozialwissenschaften, Padagogik, Kunstgeschichte und Gerontologie Moeglichkeiten und Bedingungen des 'guten Alterns' in einer Gesellschaft des langen Lebens.

This book presents a concise description and qualitative exploration of a new residential option for older adults: senior cohousing. It describes the practical, structural and communal aspects of senior cohousing and shares the lived experiences of actual residents. Pursuing an existential-phenomenological approach, the authors visited a selection of senior cohousing communities throughout the US and interviewed members to investigate their experiences in several regards: gathering together; developing the mission and architectural design; defining member expectations for the community; and engaging in cooperative self-management, consensus building, shared tasks and mutual activities as an ongoing way of life. In addition, the authors explored the benefits, challenges and surprises that community members have encountered along the way, and what these experiences have meant for their lives. Given its unique insights, the book offers a valuable resource for academics and all those working and interested in gerontology, sociology, psychology, nursing, public health, housing and the consumer sciences. It will also benefit active older adults who are considering new housing options.

This book focuses on language and communication issues with older people with mental health problems. Radically revised and updated from the authors' earlier book, "Communication Disability and the Psychiatry of Old Age", this book recognizes that language and communication is not just the business of speech and language therapy, but is relevant to all staff involved with people who have mental health difficulties. It focuses on what older people with mental health difficulties require to maintain their independence and to minimize the effects of degenerative disease processes for as long as possible from a speech and language perspective. It is relevant to all members of the multidisciplinary team involved within older people's mental health services. Each chapter is evidence based and factual and reflects the substantial advances in the diagnosis and treatment of dementias.