Secrets of Women's Healthy Ageing draws on the findings of a unique study that has focused on the health of more than four hundred women in their mid-to-late lives. Over the past thirty years a team of international investigators has compiled a remarkable amount of data, aiming toraise awareness of modifiable risk factors in women's health. Their findings cover brain, heart and gut health, diet, sleep, exercise, and the benefits of socialising. But importantly, they highlight how the results relate directly to women's wellbeing. In Secrets of Women's Healthy Ageing Cassandra Szoeke shares the wisdom revealed by this comprehensive study, showing how to promote overall wellness and providing the key ingredients for living a long and healthy life.

The concepts and principles in this document build on the World Health Organization's active aging policy framework, which calls on policy-makers, practitioners, nongovernmental organizations and civil society to optimize opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life for people as they age. This requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account the gendered nature of the life course. This report endeavors to provide information on aging women in both developing and developed countries; however, data is often scant in many areas of the developing world. Some implications and directions for policy and practice based on the evidence and known best practices are included in this report. These are intended to stimulate discussion and lead to specific recommendations and action plans. The report provides an overall framework for taking action that is useful in all settings. Specific responses in policy, practice and research is undoubtedly best left to policy-makers, experts and older people in individual countries and regions, since they best understand the political, economic and social context within which decisions must be made.--Publisher's description.

This book clearly explains when and how different rehabilitation techniques should be applied in the aging patient, thereby enabling readers to identify and apply those rehabilitation strategies that will maximize quality of life and functional independence in individual cases. It is specifically designed for ease of consultation and rapid retrieval of the information most relevant to clinical practice. Prominence is given to the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach to rehabilitation, with discussion of a very wide range of aspects of rehabilitation in different disease settings. The breadth of coverage is illustrated by the attention paid to less commonly addressed topics such as visual and hearing rehabilitation, the role of robotics and 3D imaging techniques, variations in approach among health care systems, and rehabilitation in end-of-life care. The authors are international academic experts in their fields, guaranteeing a high scientific standard throughout. This manual will be an invaluable tool and source of knowledge for geriatricians and physiatrists but will also appeal to a wider range of clinicians, practitioners, and students.

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.

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.

Does a longer life mean a healthier life? The number of adults over 65 in the United States is growing, but many may not be aware that they are at greater risk from foodborne diseases and their nutritional needs change as they age. The IOM's Food Forum held a workshop October 29-30, 2009, to discuss food safety and nutrition concerns for older adults.

The population of Asia is growing both larger and older. Demographically the most important continent on the world, Asia's population, currently estimated to be 4.2 billion, is expected to increase to about 5.9 billion by 2050. Rapid declines in fertility, together with rising life expectancy, are altering the age structure of the population so that in 2050, for the first time in history, there will be roughly as many people in Asia over the age of 65 as under the age of 15. It is against this backdrop that the Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) asked the National Research Council (NRC), through the Committee on Population, to undertake a project on advancing behavioral and social research on aging in Asia. Aging in Asia: Findings from New and Emerging Data Initiatives is a peer-reviewed collection of papers from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand that were presented at two conferences organized in conjunction with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Indonesian Academy of Sciences, and Science Council of Japan; the first conference was hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, and the second conference was hosted by the Indian National Science Academy in New Delhi. The papers in the volume highlight the contributions from new and emerging data initiatives in the region and cover subject areas such as economic growth, labor markets, and consumption; family roles and responsibilities; and labor markets and consumption.

As the United States and the rest of the world face the unprecedented challenge of aging populations, this volume draws together for the first time state-of-the-art work from the emerging field of the demography of aging. The nine chapters, written by experts from a variety of disciplines, highlight data sources and research approaches, results, and proposed strategies on a topic with major policy implications for labor forces, economic well-being, health care, and the need for social and family supports.

This book explores what is known about healthy living among older women, emphasizing overcoming illness and adversity. Women and Healthy Aging focuses on common age-related changes and illnesses that frequently occur among women in the later years. It describes these diseases and changes, provides treatment options, highlights preventative measures, and offers suggestions for continued productive living as women age. Since some of the barriers to effective diagnoses, treatments, and implementation of productive living strategies are institutional, two chapters explore public health policies which affect older women and discrimination against older women in health care. This informative book assists health care professionals in the provision of services to older women, helping these professionals become catalysts for enabling older women to “overcome adversity” and continue to lead healthy, productive lives.Many of the most common diseases and age-related changes that affect older women are not “curable.” In a society which stresses “cure” as the appropriate role for health care professionals, what are these professionals to do with the legions of older women for whom “cures” may not be possible? How can they assist older women in preventing or slowing the occurrences of diseases and age-related changes? When prevention or cure is not possible, how can they assist older women in living productive, meaningful lives?By addressing specific conditions and diseases, Women and Healthy Aging gives readers focused information on current treatment options, preventative strategies, and suggestions for productive living which are disease- or condition-specific and target older women. Some of the topics covered include menopause, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and sensory loss. Practitioners, educators, and students in the fields of nursing, social work, physical therapy, occupational therapy, gerontology, human services, and medicine will find this book an illuminating source of valuable information and insights into the aging process for women.