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Understanding the Patient, Wellness, and Caregiving Work of Older Adults
Published in Rupa S. Valdez, Richard J. Holden, The Patient Factor, 2021
Abigail R. Wooldridge, Wendy A. Rogers
The growing trend of hospital-at-home programs, which care for certain acute medical conditions through monitoring and daily nursing and clinician visits, could potentially benefit from within-home monitoring given the enhancements in their efficiency (e.g. www.hospitalathome.org). In addition, technology innovations are fragmented, not validated with target older adult populations, and not integrated into either the healthcare ecology or the home itself (Sanford, 2010). When telehealth and home-based programs are implemented the technologies may be inflexible, unreliable, and unsustainable (Charness et al., 2011). Even well-designed products may fail because of insufficient attention paid to policy, acceptance, and ethical issues such as privacy (Hudson, 2014). Healthcare technologies are increasing at a rapid pace and older adults are expected to be able to integrate them into their daily health regimens. Societal needs for technologic facilitators of successful aging in place require an evidence-based system that is integrated, validated, deployed in context, tested with stakeholders, valuable for various chronic conditions and multimorbidity, and that can be scaled up to accommodate the needs of a rapidly increasing older adult population.
Lifestyle Medicine for the Older Adult Population
Published in James M. Rippe, Manual of Lifestyle Medicine, 2021
The study of successful aging has demonstrated that factors such as regular physical activity, social engagement, and high mental and physical function are all important components of health and quality of life in the older population.
End of Life Care and Decision Making: How Far We Have Come, How Far We Have to Go
Published in Inge B. Corless, Zelda Foster, The Hospice Heritage: Celebrating Our Future, 2020
Connie Zuckerman, David Wollner
The explosion of our elderly population, particularly of individuals 85 and older, reflects both tremendous success in public health and medical management, and enormous complexity, as we grapple with medical and social situations which our current systems of care delivery were never designed to address. By the year 2030 fully 20% of our population will be over the age of 65 (Institute of Medicine, 1997). This will begin to emerge as a significant cumulative growth of disability and chronic illness. While there is no doubt that strategies of “successful aging” will enable more and more individuals to live longer lives of better quality, it is also inevitable that as we age as a society, we will begin to witness the increasing incidence of those conditions and diseases which plague the elderly in acute, chronic and ultimately fatal ways. Sixty percent of all cancer-associated deaths in this country occur in individuals over 65 (Cleary & Carbone, 1997), yet these deaths account for only 23% of the deaths in our elderly patient population (Cassel & Siegel, 1998). The majority of elderly individuals instead become afflicted with, and eventually die from, diseases and complications such as stroke, heart disease, dementia, pneumonia, and respiratory and multi-organ failure (Institute of Medicine 1997). What stands out so starkly is that these are all medical conditions that are at the heart of geriatric medicine, yet that lie outside of the traditional disease courses associated with hospice care.
Social support among older adults in group physical activity programs
Published in Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 2023
Chantelle Zimmer, Meghan H. McDonough, Jennifer Hewson, Ann M. Toohey, Cari Din, Peter R. E. Crocker, Erica V. Bennett
Facilitating opportunities for the growing older adult population to engage in life pursuits that enhance their health and quality of life, a key component of successful aging (Stowe & Cooney, 2015), is of critical importance. Physical activity can influence successful aging by providing opportunities for older adults to maintain or improve their physical and mental health, physical and cognitive functioning, independence, and quality of life (Baker et al., 2009; Netz et al., 2005). However, effective approaches for promoting and sustaining the engagement of older adults in physical activity are needed (Zubala et al., 2017). Many physical activity promotion efforts aimed at the aging population encourage increasing activity to prevent ill health (Almond, 2010). To experience the full health benefits of physical activity, it is recommended that older adults accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, 2020). More than 80% of older adults though do not meet these recommended levels (Clarke et al., 2019). Promotion efforts that encourage the aging population to engage in purposeful physical pursuits to experience holistic enrichment through movement may be more effective (Almond, 2010). As such, examining physical activity in a more holistic and positive manner, through the lens of physical literacy, may provide greater insight into supporting behavior change and maintenance among older adults.
Quality of life among older people with a disability: the role of purpose in life and capabilities
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2021
As the population ages, an increasing number of older people will age with and into disability. It is imperative to consider successful aging for people with disabilities beyond a focus on disease, illness and health limitations. This approach tends to reduce the experience of aging to physical and health limitations and ignore their need for purpose in life and requirements for resources to pursue this purpose. Frameworks that incorporate purpose and capability, and enhance dignity and rights for older people with a disability are paramount. Shifting the focus to purpose in life and the resources required to support this will enable older people with a disability to live purposefully as well as to reevaluate what is important to them [96]. Professionals should be prepared to work with older people with a disability from the older person’s experiences of impairment, ableism, adaptation and resilience, which at times may not fit with the dominant discourses of aging but have great relevance to people aging into new impairments [93]. A greater awareness of these perspectives will advance the relevance and inclusiveness of how to support older people with a disability to age successfully and positively on their own terms.
Gerontechnological factors affecting successful aging of elderly
Published in The Aging Male, 2020
According to the definition made by Rowe and Kahn [21], successful aging is positive in terms of mental and physical competences. The low risk for the disease is indicative of successful aging [21]. There are social, mental, physiological, health, and activity factors that affect successful aging. Differences in these factors led to different opinions about successful aging [22, p. 930]. One of these views is a pathological aging. The fall of aging and the depression of the disease due to the disease reveals the fact that aging is successful [23]. Due to the age-related physical stresses and decreased functioning of the organs, the increase in external dependency affects successful aging negatively [19]. An individual who actively performs physical movements and actively participates in life activities is a pathologically successful aging candidate [24].