May 26, 2011 –
INSPECTORS have raised serious concerns about the way some NHS hospitals treat elderly people. Three health trusts have broken the law when it…
The Linda & Rudy Slucker NCJW (National Council of Jewish Women) Center for Women, 513 W. Mount Pleasant Ave., Livingston, will hold a support group for Women Caring for an Elderly or Ill Family M
EL PASO - May is “Older Americans Month,” and Adult Protective Services wants to remind us all to care for the elders in our community. It’s a story Irma Fierro knows all too well; her father, who had dementia, passed away after wandering off. read more
Geriatr Psychol Neuropsychiatr. 2011 Mar 1; 9(1): 91-100
Rigaud AS, Pino M, Wu YH, DE Rotrou J, Boulay M, Seux ML, Hugonot-Diener L, DE Sant’anna M, Moulin F, LE Gouverneur G, Cristancho-Lacroix V, Lenoir H
The increasing number of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease raises the question of their caring at home, especially when the disease causes disability and negative consequences in daily life such as isolation, falls, wandering, errors in drug taking. Furthermore, caregivers bear a substantial burden that can have adverse effects on their physical and mental health. New technologies of information could play an additional role as care providers without substituting family or professional caregivers help. A review of literature focused on the different technological solutions conceived for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and their carers shows that these appliances could help to provide reminders in daily life (drugs, tasks and appointments, meals cooking), to activate residual cognitive resources by computerized cognitive stimulation intervention, to reduce stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients by visual contact with families and professionals (webconference), to contribute to patients safety by detecting falls and wandering, and to help families in the caring of patients with computerized information and counselling interventions. We also discuss the current limitations for a widespread use of these technologies and outline future research avenues. True needs of end-users are still poorly known and should be more clearly defined. Simplicity of the use of these appliances should be further improved. Demonstration of medical and social benefits for elderly people should be carried out in randomized, controlled studies. Ethical reflexion should be developed in conjunction with the use of these gerontechnologies. Finally, the economical model which would enable the providing of these appliances to the largest number of patients and caregivers should be implemented. Although these gerontechnologies are promising, research is still needed to tailor them properly to the needs of end-users, assess their benefit in ecological context of people with Alzheimer’s disease in order to provide them with appropriate tools in daily life.
“A Bittersweet Season” by New York Times reporter Jane Gross chronicles the author’s challenges negotiating the labyrinthine world of elderly care, after she became caregiver to her fiercely independent but aging mother.
Here are five ways to better ensure your elderly loved ones are getting the best care possible at the end of their lives.
Gransnet, a social networking site for Britain’s 14m grandparents, aims to counter deeply ingrained ageism Back in 1965, the chief executive of Elizabeth Arden wrote in Forbes magazine: “We don’t want to be connected with older women.” Not much has changed. Today there are more than 20 million Britons over 50; yet, despite our numbers, we can be forgiven for feeling that we are ever so slightly …
Dr. Hillary Lum was undecided about her medical specialty until her work in the geriatric track of her residency helped her decide she wanted to focus on caring for the elderly.
I am one of the millions of Americans who currently take care of an elderly parent. It’s almost impossible to get through the red tape required to qualify for services. Can you imagine how much harder this will be when the Republicans start to hand out …
“A Bittersweet Season: Caring for Our Aging Parents — and Ourselves” (Knopf), by Jane Gross: Decades after screen star Bette Davis famously declared that “growing old is not for sissies,” Estelle Gross expanded on the woes of the ailing aged with her lament that people live too long and die too slowly.
