Seniors go through a lot of changes that can impact their mental and emotional health. Some of these changes are minor and occur gradually, while others are significant and abrupt. Below are some of the challenges older adults face that may compromise their psychological well-being. Challenges That Impact Seniors’ Emotional and Mental Health Isolation and […]

View Full Article - Improving Older Adults’ Mental and Emotional Well-Being with Home Health Care

Up to 42% of Americans over the age of 65 take five or more medications, and in 2018, at least one in every five seniors experienced an adverse drug reaction. Such reactions are more common when seniors can’t properly adhere to the instructions that accompany their prescriptions. In fact, according to U.S. Pharmacist, nonadherence accounts for about half […]

View Full Article - How New Tech Can Support Caregivers as They Support Seniors

Despite some claims that Americans are in the midst of a “loneliness epidemic,” older people today may not be any lonelier than their counterparts from previous generations – there just might be more of them, according to a pair of studies published by the American Psychological Association. “We found no evidence that older adults have […]

View Full Article - Loneliness May Be Due to Increasing Aging Population

More than half of family caregivers are between the ages of 18 and 49 years old – and as the U.S. population ages, increasing numbers of these caregivers will be enrolled in colleges. Often categorized as “nontraditional students,” college-enrolled caregivers are responsible for children, spouses, and dependent parents with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Nontraditional students […]

View Full Article - How Universities Can Better Support Student Caregivers

One of the most common questions asked by seniors these days is “Do I need to enroll in Medicare if I’m still working at 65?” The answer isn’t black and white. It depends on multiple factors and personal preferences. If you don’t plan on retiring at 65, you are going to want to ask yourself […]

View Full Article - Do I Have to Enroll in Medicare if I’m Still Working at 65?

Approximately half of middle-aged people in American provide financial, health, or emotional support for adult parents and minor or adult children. The term “sandwich generation caregiver” emerged in the 1980’s to describe middle-aged people who support minor children while providing physical, emotional, financial, or legal assistance to adults. Of course, doing so much exacts personal […]

View Full Article - Dilemmas and Solutions for Americans Raising Children While Caring for Elderly Family Members

No matter where you travel, you’ll notice one universal truth — music has a very particular and powerful hold on us all. Cultures everywhere make and love music. This has been the case throughout history. We have used music to relax, communicate and celebrate — the human brain is hard-wired to react to music. According […]

View Full Article - Music: The Secret to Mental Health and Balance While Aging

If you are like me and the other nearly 325,000,000 trillion people in the U.S., you have experienced stress. From raising kids, dealing with your boss or handling a health issue, you can feel overwhelmed. But there’s good news! Learn how to create peace and take control of your life. Determining the Type of Stress […]

View Full Article - Four Calming Techniques to Improve Your Mental Health

Older adults living in public senior housing communities experience a large degree of loneliness, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Nevertheless, senior housing communities may be ideal locations for reducing that loneliness, the study finds. “There are many studies on loneliness among community-dwelling older adults; however, there […]

View Full Article - Loneliness Found to Be High in Public Senior Housing Communities

An unexpected medical emergency, a life-changing diagnosis, or a car accident are a number of countless situations that can land us in the emergency room, setting off a chain reaction of diagnostic tests, follow-up appointments, prescriptions, treatments, and more. Of course, this all has a significant implication on your pocketbook, and even if you have […]

View Full Article - Medicare For All – Protection for Your Retirement Plans

Social workers can now earn continuing education hours while they learn Medicare at their own pace, anytime and anywhere with Medicare Interactive (MI) Pro, an online Medicare curriculum powered by the Medicare Rights Center. MI Pro provides the information that social workers and health professionals need to become “Medicare smart,” so they can help their […]

View Full Article - Social Workers Can Now Learn Medicare Online and Earn Continuing Education Hours

Caring for loved ones who have aged or become disabled is not a new concept. Many of the services provided in hospitals, clinics and even funeral homes were once provided by families at home. Particularly in communities where traditional cultural beliefs are highly valued, taking care of an aging parent or grandparent is still a […]

View Full Article - The Critical Role of Caregivers, and What they Need from Us

AARP applauds the unanimous passage in the U.S. Senate of the bipartisan Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act (S. 1028). The legislation, introduced by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), calls for the development of a strategy to support the nation’s 40 million family caregivers. It would bring together stakeholders from the private […]

View Full Article - AARP Applauds Unanimous Senate Passage of RAISE Family Caregivers Act

According to a new report by Generations United, grandparents and other relatives who step in to care for children, play an important role in mitigating trauma, which children in the child welfare system experience at starkly higher rates than the general population. Thirty percent (127,819) of children in foster care are being raised by grandparents […]

View Full Article - Child Welfare System Increasingly Relying on Relatives to Raise Children Exposed to Trauma

Emergency room staff call it a “pop drop” – when a disabled older person comes in for medical attention, but it seems like the person who takes care of them at home is also seeking a break from the demands of caregiving. It’s been hard to actually study the phenomenon. A new University of Michigan […]

View Full Article - Stressed Out Caregivers Are Using ER Visits for Respite, Study Finds

Over the last twelve months, my colleagues and I have spoken at length with close to one hundred Native American seniors across the state of New Mexico about their health care and health insurance. Since November 2016, these seniors have expressed profound apprehension about the future of health care and insurance coverage under President Donald […]

View Full Article - How Republican Plans to Cut Obamacare and Medicaid Hurt Older Americans

More than 700,000 elderly and disabled Americans receive health care in residential care communities, such as assisted living facilities. As the population ages, this number will grow. A new study by RTI International found that low Medicaid payment rates for services in assisted living and similar settings discourage residential care providers from serving Medicaid beneficiaries, which […]

View Full Article - Low Medicaid Rates Limit Beneficiaries’ Access to Assisted Living Facilities, Quality Care

When it comes to HIV prevention and treatment, there is a growing population that is being overlooked — older adults — and implicit ageism is partially responsible for this neglect, according to a presentation at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. “The lack of perceived HIV risk in late adulthood among older […]

View Full Article - Older Adults with HIV: An Overlooked Population?

Are your parents aging but still wanting to keep in touch, be in the know, and continue to be avid fans of their smartphones? Now is a great time to be a tech-savvy senior, as they have far more options to choose from when it comes to applications designed to keep their lives simpler and […]

View Full Article - 10 Useful Apps for Your Tech-Savvy Aged Parent

Since the turn of the millennium, the technology industry has sky-rocketed and there are many types of technology which have become a huge part of our lives. We can now get almost anything with the click of a button, be it a meal, taxi or even renting out an apartment. With the healthcare industry, many […]

View Full Article - How is Technology Transforming the Healthcare Industry