March 24, 2009
Few Friends Combined with Loneliness Linked to Poor Mental and Physical Health for Elderly
(ScienceDaily – March 19, 2009)–Although not having many close friends contributes to poorer health for many older adults, those who also feel lonely face even greater health risks, research at the University of Chicago suggests. Older people who are able to adjust to being alone don’t have the same health problems.
The study is the first to examine the relationships between health and two different types of isolation. Researchers measured the degree to which older adults are socially connected and socially active. They also assessed whether older adults feel lonely and whether they expect that friends and family would help them in times of need.
“Social disconnectedness is associated with worse physical health, regardless of whether it prompts feelings of loneliness or a perceived lack of social support,” said co-author Linda Waite, the Lucy Flower Professor in Sociology at the University of Chicago and a leading expert on aging.
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** Family Alliance’s day programs provide a socially stimulating environment for mentally and physically frail seniors who may feel isolated. Our programs keep seniors functioning in their homes and in touch with their peers and community. The social interaction with fellow day program goers and staff enhance the quality of life for the seniors and their caregiver.
March 23, 2009
Adult Day Services: More Than a Stopgap Measure
(AgingWell Magazine)-Adult day care provides for specific acute needs of older adults and their caregivers. But to successfully address the approaching wave of baby boomers, such services will have to be modified in both programming and flexibility to meet boomer needs and expectations.
Ideal for providing an intermediate step between aging in place and institutionalization for older adults, adult day services continue to expand and evolve. It may be surprising that such services have been in place for more than three decades. In 1978, only 200 adult day care centers existed nationwide. The country’s older adult population explosion has seen that number increase to more than 2,100 such centers by the 1980s and more than 4,000 today, according to the National Adult Day Services Association.
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** Family Alliance, Inc. has been providing adult day services since 1981. Programs include Adult Day Health, Dementia Specific Day Program and Recovery services with door-to-door transportation (to seniors who live in our service area); in-home and on-site counseling; animal-assisted and horticultural therapy; caregiver support groups; care management and community support and education.
March 19, 2009
Dealing with Hallucinations and Delusions in Alzheimer’s
By: Dennis Thompson, Jr. (Medically reviewed by Cynthia Haines, MD)
(Everyday Health – December 29, 2008) – In late stage Alzheimer’s, many have trouble determining what’s real and what’s not. Learning about hallucinations and delusions can help you cope with the situation more effectively.
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** Family Alliance has a Dementia Specific Day Program, and conducts in-home assessments, counseling and follow-ups for seniors experiencing dementia who live in our service area. Our Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Social Worker, and Geriatric Psychiatrist help seniors work through their hallucinations and delusions on-site or in their homes. Family Alliance hosts caregiver support groups twice a month to help caregivers understand how to deal with the hallucinations and delusions their loved one may be experiencing.
March 16, 2009
Sensors Help Keep the Elderly Safe, and at Home
By: John Leland
(NY Times – February 13, 2009) - Increasingly, many older people who live alone are not truly alone. They are being watched by a flurry of new technologies designed to enable them to live independently and avoid expensive trips to the emergency room or nursing homes.
Bertha Branch, 78, discovered a system called eNeighbor when she fell to the floor of her Philadelphia apartment late one night without her emergency alert pendant and could not phone for help.
A wireless sensor under Ms. Branch’s bed detected that she had gotten up. Motion detectors in her bedroom and bathroom registered that she had not left the area in her usual pattern and relayed that information to a central monitoring system, prompting a call to her telephone to ask if she was all right. When she did not answer, that incited more calls– to a neighbor, the building manager and finally 911, which dispatched firefighters to break through her door. She had been on the floor less than an hour when they arrived.
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March 13, 2009
Less-stressed People May Have Lower Dementia Risk
By: Elizabeth Landau
(CNN – January 22, 2009) People with a stable mood and better capacity to handle stressful situations without anxiety have a reduced risk of developing dementia, according to a study published in the journal Neurology.
This finding was particularly strong in highly extroverted people, the study said. Subjects who were both socially active and not easily stressed had the lowest risk for dementia. But even socially isolated individuals who were more calm and self-satisfied showed a reduced likelihood of dementia, the study said.
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** Family Alliance employs Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and a Licensed Social Worker to provide on-site and in-home counseling to adults, age 55 and older, who live in our service area. Our Social Workers can help adults confront any issues or anxieties they have about aging or other worries.
March 6, 2009
Views on Old Age May Become Reality Later
“If people hold more negative views of aging, they may be less likely to walk the extra block or engage in healthy behaviors as they get older,” explained study author Becca Levy, an associate professor of epidemiology and psychology at Yale School of Public Health.
** Family Alliance offers in-home & on-site counseling to adults 55 and older to help with specific problems and anxieties about aging and related conditions or illnesses.
