Almost 25 years have passed since the Demography of Aging (1994) was published by the National Research Council. Future Directions for the Demography of Aging is, in many ways, the successor to that original volume. The Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to produce an authoritative guide to new directions in demography of aging. The papers published in this report were originally presented and discussed at a public workshop held in Washington, D.C., August 17-18, 2017. The workshop discussion made evident that major new advances had been made in the last two decades, but also that new trends and research directions have emerged that call for innovative conceptual, design, and measurement approaches. The report reviews these recent trends and also discusses future directions for research on a range of topics that are central to current research in the demography of aging. Looking back over the past two decades of demography of aging research shows remarkable advances in our understanding of the health and well-being of the older population. Equally exciting is that this report sets the stage for the next two decades of innovative researchâ€"a period of rapid growth in the older American population.

This book provides deep insights into concerns related to the well-being in older women across the globe. Written by experts in the field, it explores social roles, health, quality of life/well-being, as well as concerns related to abuse and neglect, impacting the health of older women. It discusses important conditions for the holistic health of older women from different perspectives and provides practical guidelines towards improving the overall status of older women's well-being in society. The chapters analyze the wider implications of older women’s experiences as family members, drivers of economies and members of a diverse population worldwide. Covering a focus which is applicable to countries across continents, whether developed or developing, the book has an overall appeal to academicians, health care, policy makers as well as researchers in areas such as aging, gerontology, social work and psychology.

New York Times Bestseller * USA Today Bestseller* Los Angeles Times Bestseller * Publishers Weekly Bestseller A guide to wisdom, authenticity, and bliss for women as they age by the author of Reviving Ophelia. Women growing older contend with ageism, misogyny, and loss. Yet as Mary Pipher shows, most older women are deeply happy and filled with gratitude for the gifts of life. Their struggles help them grow into the authentic, empathetic, and wise people they have always wanted to be. In Women Rowing North, Pipher offers a timely examination of the cultural and developmental issues women face as they age. Drawing on her own experience as daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, caregiver, clinical psychologist, and cultural anthropologist, she explores ways women can cultivate resilient responses to the challenges they face. “If we can keep our wits about us, think clearly, and manage our emotions skillfully,” Pipher writes, “we will experience a joyous time of our lives. If we have planned carefully and packed properly, if we have good maps and guides, the journey can be transcendent.”

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.

The beloved New York Times columnist "inspires women to embrace aging and look at it with a new sense of hope" in this lively, fascinating, eye-opening look at women and aging in America (Parade Magazine). "You're not getting older, you're getting better," or so promised the famous 1970's ad -- for women's hair dye. Americans have always had a complicated relationship with aging: embrace it, deny it, defer it -- and women have been on the front lines of the battle, willingly or not. In her lively social history of American women and aging, acclaimed New York Times columnist Gail Collins illustrates the ways in which age is an arbitrary concept that has swung back and forth over the centuries. From Plymouth Rock (when a woman was considered marriageable if "civil and under fifty years of age"), to a few generations later, when they were quietly retired to elderdom once they had passed the optimum age for reproduction, to recent decades when freedom from striving in the workplace and caretaking at home is often celebrated, to the first female nominee for president, American attitudes towards age have been a moving target. Gail Collins gives women reason to expect the best of their golden years.

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.

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.

Offers advice on diet, exercise, sexuality, and self-image for middle aged women. Includes the Prime Time Workout.

As no two menopause journeys are identical, this highly practical and accessible nutrition and lifestyle guide enables women to build a bespoke menopause diet that specifically targets their symptoms, with the minimum of fuss and effort. This practical nutrition and lifestyle guide provides women with the tools to build their own menopause diet which specifically targets the symptoms that are relevant to them. There are so many ways that nutrition can support a healthy and happy menopause, but a one-size-fits-all approach simply won’t work. The reality is that there are many different menopausal symptoms and no two women have the same experience. Jackie explains how the menopause and perimenopause can change your body and how your diet can make a tangible difference to the way that you feel, whether you’re using HRT or not. Each symptom section provides a range of targeted nutritional solutions, practical lifestyle advice and simple recipe tips that you can incorporate into your daily routine. A highly experienced clinician, Jackie specialises in providing real-world guidance to busy women. This book is designed to make the key information as easily accessible as possible and reflects her trademark practical style, which makes it the ideal one-stop solution for anyone juggling their menopause with the demands of a busy job and a hectic family life.

These are paradoxical times to be an older woman. As individual older women take the stage as role models in the arts and the public sphere, female elders as a group are marginalized as dependent, declining and unimportant. Women and Aging surveys the evolving sociopolitical landscape in an era still struggling with gender and age discrimination. This insightful volume recasts familiar concepts such as social roles, appearance, health, sexuality and transition through the related lenses of empowerment/restraint and quality of life/well-being for a deeper understanding of the disparities that exist both with men and within their own gender. Two especially relevant questions emerge from this framework: how women over 60 are contributing to the current climate of societal change and how these positive developments can improve the lives of older women as a whole. Featured topics analyze the wider implications of older women's experiences as family members, sensual and sexual beings, drivers of economies and members of a diverse population worldwide: Older women, power and the body. Older women, economic power and consumerism. The impact of multiple roles on older women: Strain or enrichment? Older women, leadership and encore careers. Sexuality in older women: Desirability and desire. Lesbians over 60: Newer every day. Clinical interventions to empower older women. A significant advance in femi nist research, Women and Aging brings path-breaking perspectives to scholars in women’s studies, gerontology, psychology, sociology, social work and human development, whether they study women who have overcome barriers or those who need support in changing the rules.