What is quality of life? What is quality of life in older age? How can quality of life in older age be improved? This book explores concepts of quality of life in older age in the theoretical literature and presents the views of a national sample of people aged sixty- five years or older. It offers a broad overview of the quality of life experienced by older people in Britain using a number of wide ranging indicators, including: Health Hobbies and interests Home and neighbourhood Income Independence Psychological wellbeing Social and family relationships The result is a fascinating book enlivened by rich data – both quantitative and qualitative – drawn from detailed surveys and interviews with almost a thousand older people. Ageing Well is key reading for students, academics, practitioners and policy makers who are concerned with the research and practice that will help to improve quality of life for older people.

This volume brings together leading researchers on quality of life in old age to focus on one of the most important issues in both gerontology and quality of life studies. There are very few texts available on this topic and none of an international and multi-disciplinary nature. For these reasons and the high quality of the authors we have assembled, this will be a seminal text for both gerontology and quality of life researchers.

Presents the results of the MacArthur Foundation Study of Aging in America, which show how to maintain optimum physical and mental strength throughout later life.

What constitutes quality of life for older people? How can quality of life be measured? How might policy makers improve quality of life for older people? This book considers key findings from the Growing Older research programme and presents them in a lively thematic format. It discusses essential topics such as environment, family, bereavement, identity, and social interaction and describes key concepts and measures. Using data drawn from a range of different research projects, the book illustrates considerable methodological diversity to capture a broad picture of quality of life. Key implications for future research on quality of life in older age are also proposed. The book is a companion volume toGrowing Older: Quality of Life in Old Ageedited by Alan Walker and Catherine Hagan Hennessy and is key reading on a range of undergraduate and Masters level courses including social gerontology, social work, sociology and social policy. Contributors:Sara Arber, John Baldock, Kate M. Bennett, David Blane, Ann Bowling, Elizabeth Breeze, Jabeer Butt, Lynda Clarke, Peter Coleman, Kate Davidson, Murna Downs, Maria Evandrou, Ken Gilhooly, Mary Gilhooly, Jane Gow, Jan Hadlow, Catherine Hagan Hennessy, Paul Higgs, Caroline Holland, Georgina M. Hughes, Martin Hyde, Leonie Kellaher, Mary Maynard, Kevin McKee, F. McKiernan, Christopher McKevitt, Marie Mills, Jo Moriarty, James Nazroo, Sheila Peace, Thomas Scharf, Philip T. Smith, Peter Speck, Susan Tester, Christina Victor, Alan Walker, Peter Warr, Lorna Warren, Dick Wiggins, Fiona Wilson.

In the past century, average life expectancies have nearly doubled, and today, for the first time in human history, many people have a realistic chance of living to eighty or beyond. As life expectancy increases, Americans need accurate, scientifically grounded information so that they can take full responsibility for their own later years. In The Art and Science of Aging Well, Mark E. Williams, M.D., discusses the remarkable advances that medical science has made in the field of aging and the steps that people may take to enhance their lives as they age. Through his own observations and by use of the most current medical research, Williams offers practical advice to help aging readers and those who care for them enjoy personal growth and approach aging with optimism and even joy. The Art and Science of Aging Well gives a realistic portrait of how aging occurs and provides important advice for self-improvement and philosophical, spiritual, and conscious evolution. Williams argues that we have considerable choice in determining the quality of our own old age. Refuting the perspective of aging that insists that personal, social, economic, and health care declines are persistent and inevitable, he takes a more holistic approach, revealing the multiple facets of old age. Williams provides the resources for a happy and productive later life.

In a unique series of studies, Harvard University has followed 824 subjects from their teens to old age. Professor George Vaillant now uses these to illustrate the surprising factors involved in reaching happy, healthy old age.

This book explores the meaning of quality of life in care for older persons and introduces the reader to their main concerns when receiving care. Based on qualitative research, it pays particular attention to the needs and requirements of older people, considering their individual family situations, social circumstances, values and lifestyles. Person-centred care is a way of providing nursing care that puts older people and their families at the core of all decisions, seeing each person as an individual, and working together to develop appropriate solutions. Following an introduction to the concept of quality of life in old age, the book reviews essential findings from worldwide research into the experiences of older people with regard to nursing care and the impact of these experiences on their quality of life. It investigates health promotion, care provided in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and palliative care. Each chapter includes a brief introduction to the respective field of nursing care and the problems it has to deal with, concluding with a discussion of their implications for nursing practice in the respective field of care. In closing, the evidence from qualitative research is discussed in relation to current gerontological theories.

Americans are unprepared for aging. The Power of Positive Aging is a training course to help you survive and thrive through the greatest challenge of your life--growing old. Americans now live longer than ever--a full 30 years longer than they did in the early 20th century. Our culture and personal expectations have not yet adapted to that change. These extra years can be a burden or an adventure, depending on your mental attitude. You can't fight the inevitable changes to your aging body, but author David Lereah says these changes are at worst inconveniences that won't prevent living a fulfilling life. Based on life lessons learned during Lereah's successful battle against cancer, The Power of Positive Aging gives readers a practical program of mental and spiritual exercises teaching mindfulness and acceptance, plus strategies for pursuing a balanced life and seeking and accepting social support. Based on timeless spiritual (but completely practical) principles, The Power of Positive Aging presents a concrete program of specific actions to put these principles into use in everyday life.

Recent studies show that more people than ever before are reaching old age in better health and enjoying that health for a longer time. This Handbook outlines the latest discoveries in the study of aging from bio-medicine, psychology, and socio-demography. It treats the study of aging as a multidisciplinary scientific subject, since it requires the interplay of broad disciplines, while offering high motivation, positive attitudes, and behaviors for aging well, and lifestyle changes that will help people to stay healthier across life span and in old age. Written by leading scholars from various academic disciplines, the chapters delve into the most topical aspects of aging today - including biological mechanisms of aging, aging with health, active and productive aging, aging with satisfaction, aging with respect, and aging with dignity. Aimed at health professionals as well as general readers, this Cambridge Handbook offers a new, positive approach to later life.

More and more people live into old age. This demographic revolution underscores the fact that old age is the last uncharted and unattended phase of the life cycle.