Q. Since May is Older Americans Month, what do the latest statistics tell us about growing older in the United States? What future needs are unfolding for seniors and their families?
An interesting profile is emerging that does provide a clearer picture of the face of aging in this country today and into the decades ahead. First of all, more people are centenarians. An estimated 104,754 seniors in the United States were at least 100 years old on Nov. 1, 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
What’s more, projections reveal that reaching that magic century mark will become more common. By 2050, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that 601,000 seniors will be at least 100 years old.
Seniors are a busy bunch as well. An estimated 6.2 million were in the labor force in 2008. Projections indicate that by 2016, the number will reach 10.1 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Statistics also reveal a population either living alone or with relatives. Nearly one-third (29 percent) of people 65 and older were widowed in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Some were relying on family support. In 2008, 68 percent were in households with relatives, 5 percent lived in group quarters and 2 percent lived with non-relatives, as reported by the 2008 American Community Survey.
A study conducted by the Home Instead Senior Care® network found that an overwhelming majority (86 percent) of seniors want to continue living at home for as long as possible. But who will care for this growing number of seniors, which could reach nearly 72 million by 2025?
It should be no surprise that caregiving is emerging as one of the fastest-growing professions in this country. It’s estimated that more than two million caregivers will be needed to keep pace with the demand in the decade ahead. For instance, Home Instead Senior Care, the largest provider of care in the world, currently employs more than 65,000 CAREGivers. For the company to keep pace with projected demand, it will have to double its care force in just two years.
For more information about Home Instead Senior Care of Frederick County, view our eBrochure: http://www.hisc627.digbro.com/, or visit www.homeinstead.com/627.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Reminiscing Helps Ward off Depression
Q. My 85-year-old dad, who was a successful businessman, seems depressed lately and I'm not sure what I can do to pull him out of the blues. He's starting to experience a little dementia and I know he struggles with loneliness, since he lives by himself.
Reliving your dad’s glory days may help. A new study of 158 Georgia centenarians has found that past satisfaction with life, even if it's simply recalling isolated career accomplishments, is the key to happiness in our oldest years. Researchers from Iowa State University's gerontology program have helped identify what predicts happiness and long life in centenarians, as well as what causes depression in seniors 80 and older.
“The past is the best predictor of the future, so you’re not going to turn your life around at 85 or 90,” said Peter Martin, director of Iowa State's gerontology program and a professor of human development and family studies (HDFS), who collaborated on both studies. “But it's also good to know that past accomplishments and the happiness that you had -- looking back at your past -- carries you through these very last years.”
Your dad’s cognitive decline also could be contributing to depression, researchers discovered. For the depression study, researchers added 78 octogenarians (people 80 or older) to the happiness centenarian sample. They found that diminished cognitive problem-solving ability was a significant predictor of depression in octogenarians, while living in a nursing home increased depression among centenarians.
Researchers also were surprised to learn that overall cognition was not a stronger predictor of depression at either age. Rather, it was the loss of the subject's control -- problem-solving in the octogenarians, and choosing where they lived in the centenarians -- that tended to depress them.
While there was no indication that resources affect happiness, past life satisfaction, even individual achievements, was found to have a direct association.
Why not help your dad reminisce by reconnecting with others with whom he could share stories. Senior centers and churches or synagogues are good places to go. Or consider hiring a caregiver companion who would love to hear all about his life. Home Instead Senior Care® hires CAREGivers who love to listen.
For more information about Home Instead Senior Care of Frederick County, contact visit www.homeinstead.com/627. For more about the studies above, log on to http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2010/mar/centenarians.
Reliving your dad’s glory days may help. A new study of 158 Georgia centenarians has found that past satisfaction with life, even if it's simply recalling isolated career accomplishments, is the key to happiness in our oldest years. Researchers from Iowa State University's gerontology program have helped identify what predicts happiness and long life in centenarians, as well as what causes depression in seniors 80 and older.
“The past is the best predictor of the future, so you’re not going to turn your life around at 85 or 90,” said Peter Martin, director of Iowa State's gerontology program and a professor of human development and family studies (HDFS), who collaborated on both studies. “But it's also good to know that past accomplishments and the happiness that you had -- looking back at your past -- carries you through these very last years.”
Your dad’s cognitive decline also could be contributing to depression, researchers discovered. For the depression study, researchers added 78 octogenarians (people 80 or older) to the happiness centenarian sample. They found that diminished cognitive problem-solving ability was a significant predictor of depression in octogenarians, while living in a nursing home increased depression among centenarians.
Researchers also were surprised to learn that overall cognition was not a stronger predictor of depression at either age. Rather, it was the loss of the subject's control -- problem-solving in the octogenarians, and choosing where they lived in the centenarians -- that tended to depress them.
While there was no indication that resources affect happiness, past life satisfaction, even individual achievements, was found to have a direct association.
Why not help your dad reminisce by reconnecting with others with whom he could share stories. Senior centers and churches or synagogues are good places to go. Or consider hiring a caregiver companion who would love to hear all about his life. Home Instead Senior Care® hires CAREGivers who love to listen.
For more information about Home Instead Senior Care of Frederick County, contact visit www.homeinstead.com/627. For more about the studies above, log on to http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2010/mar/centenarians.
Monday, May 10, 2010
One in Four Lacks Ability to Make End-of-Life Decisions
Q. My 82-year-old mother refuses to address her end-of-life wishes. I don’t like to think about her passing either, but I’d much rather know what she would want. Do you have any suggestions? I’m afraid she will get to the point where she will be unable to make these decisions for herself.
Your concerns are certainly warranted. More than one in four elderly Americans lacks the capacity to make their own medical care decisions at the end of life, according to a study of 3,746 people that was published April 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Those who had advance directives including living wills or durable powers of attorney for healthcare received the care they wanted most of the time, says lead author Maria Silveira, M.D., M.P.H., physician scientist at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System’s Clinical Management Research and assistant professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan.
“Our research shows that a substantial number of older adults need someone else to make decisions about whether aggressive, limited or comfort care should be provided at the end of life,” Silveira said. “This study underscores the need to prepare oneself and one’s family for the often emotional and difficult medical decisions that can arise at the end of life. It also suggests that the time spent to craft a living will and appoint a durable power of attorney for health care can be worthwhile.”
Advance directives usually document patients’ wishes for life-sustaining treatment in a living will, as well as their choice of a proxy decision-maker in a durable power of attorney for health care.
Many people do not understand that advance directives are used only when patients can’t make medical care decisions for themselves, and they can be revoked by the patient at any time, either in writing or orally, Silveira said. Advance directives are frequently confused with wills and durable powers of attorney, which have no bearing on medical care decisions.
If you need help talking to your mother about end-of-life issues or for more information about resources, go to http://www.4070talk.com/ and click on “Life Legacies.” You’ll find tips about how to discuss sensitive topics like these.
For more information about Home Instead Senior Care® of Frederick County, log on to www.homeinstead.com/627. For more about the research, log on to http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1532.
Your concerns are certainly warranted. More than one in four elderly Americans lacks the capacity to make their own medical care decisions at the end of life, according to a study of 3,746 people that was published April 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Those who had advance directives including living wills or durable powers of attorney for healthcare received the care they wanted most of the time, says lead author Maria Silveira, M.D., M.P.H., physician scientist at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System’s Clinical Management Research and assistant professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan.
“Our research shows that a substantial number of older adults need someone else to make decisions about whether aggressive, limited or comfort care should be provided at the end of life,” Silveira said. “This study underscores the need to prepare oneself and one’s family for the often emotional and difficult medical decisions that can arise at the end of life. It also suggests that the time spent to craft a living will and appoint a durable power of attorney for health care can be worthwhile.”
Advance directives usually document patients’ wishes for life-sustaining treatment in a living will, as well as their choice of a proxy decision-maker in a durable power of attorney for health care.
Many people do not understand that advance directives are used only when patients can’t make medical care decisions for themselves, and they can be revoked by the patient at any time, either in writing or orally, Silveira said. Advance directives are frequently confused with wills and durable powers of attorney, which have no bearing on medical care decisions.
If you need help talking to your mother about end-of-life issues or for more information about resources, go to http://www.4070talk.com/ and click on “Life Legacies.” You’ll find tips about how to discuss sensitive topics like these.
For more information about Home Instead Senior Care® of Frederick County, log on to www.homeinstead.com/627. For more about the research, log on to http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1532.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Family, Friends and Caregivers Important for Ill Seniors
Q. My 86-year-old widowed dad has become ill. I'm the closest relative and yet I live four hours away. I'm beside myself with worry. What can I do?
Did you know that nearly 40 percent of chronically ill older adults in the U.S. live alone, and a majority of those who are married have spouses with at least one chronic illness that can affect their ability to provide support? That’s according to a University of Michigan study published recently in the journal Chronic Illness.
Researchers found that 93 percent of the chronically ill older adults had adult children, but for half of them, the children lived more than 10 miles away. Roughly 19 million older chronically ill Americans have adult children like you living at a distance.
“Fortunately, most of these people had adult children who could be another source of support for their chronic illness care,” said John D. Piette, Ph.D., professor of internal medicine and a senior career scientist with the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. “But these relationships are increasingly strained as adult children move farther away from their parents. Distances pose a barrier to the monitoring and frequent support for behavior change that many chronically ill patients need.”
These Michigan researchers are working to develop telephone monitoring systems that involve family members in a relative’s care through e-mail alerts or automated phone calls. The “CarePartners” program has been developed for patients with heart failure, diabetes, depression and cancer chemotherapy. The program is currently being studied.
“Family members need more than just information to be successful,” said co-author Ann-Marie Rosland, M.D., clinical lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and research investigator for the Center for Clinical Management Research in the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. “We need to teach family members communication skills and provide the tools that they can use to encourage patients to stick to their health regimen.”
Respite assistance also can be a benefit to a long distance family caregiver like you. Having a trusted companion could help put you at ease and give your father the assistance and support he needs at home. Contact Home Instead Senior Care® for more information.
For more information about Home Instead Senior Care of Frederick County, visit www.homeinstead.com/627 or view our web brochure at http://www.hisc627.digbro.com./ For more about the article, visit http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1550.
Did you know that nearly 40 percent of chronically ill older adults in the U.S. live alone, and a majority of those who are married have spouses with at least one chronic illness that can affect their ability to provide support? That’s according to a University of Michigan study published recently in the journal Chronic Illness.
Researchers found that 93 percent of the chronically ill older adults had adult children, but for half of them, the children lived more than 10 miles away. Roughly 19 million older chronically ill Americans have adult children like you living at a distance.
“Fortunately, most of these people had adult children who could be another source of support for their chronic illness care,” said John D. Piette, Ph.D., professor of internal medicine and a senior career scientist with the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. “But these relationships are increasingly strained as adult children move farther away from their parents. Distances pose a barrier to the monitoring and frequent support for behavior change that many chronically ill patients need.”
These Michigan researchers are working to develop telephone monitoring systems that involve family members in a relative’s care through e-mail alerts or automated phone calls. The “CarePartners” program has been developed for patients with heart failure, diabetes, depression and cancer chemotherapy. The program is currently being studied.
“Family members need more than just information to be successful,” said co-author Ann-Marie Rosland, M.D., clinical lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and research investigator for the Center for Clinical Management Research in the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. “We need to teach family members communication skills and provide the tools that they can use to encourage patients to stick to their health regimen.”
Respite assistance also can be a benefit to a long distance family caregiver like you. Having a trusted companion could help put you at ease and give your father the assistance and support he needs at home. Contact Home Instead Senior Care® for more information.
For more information about Home Instead Senior Care of Frederick County, visit www.homeinstead.com/627 or view our web brochure at http://www.hisc627.digbro.com./ For more about the article, visit http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1550.
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