The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Judith Graham was a contributing columnist for 吃瓜不打烊 until January 2025.
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Assisted living was meant to be a home-like setting where older adults could interact with other residents while receiving help with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing. But as the concept has become more popular, residents are now older and sicker than in the past, and a panel of experts is calling for more focus on their medical and mental health needs.
An important new study offers much-needed data to inform older Americans of the risks and benefits they must weigh when facing major surgery.
Lengthy checklists from public health officials on handling emergencies miss vulnerable seniors who can鈥檛 always follow the recommendations.
Twelve years ago, Marna Clarke was seized by a desire to examine what she looked like at age 70 鈥 and to document the results. This creative project has sustained and engaged her since.
Two studies published this year provide evidence that older adults鈥 cognitive health may benefit if air quality is improved.
With prices of necessities rising dramatically, many older Americans are having trouble making ends meet. They often don鈥檛 know that help is available from a variety of programs, and some sources of financial assistance are underused.
Three women explain how life鈥檚 surprises can catapult their efforts to carefully manage limited budgets and lead to financial distress.
People whose brains have been injured by concussions, traumatic accidents, strokes, or neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson鈥檚 disease can benefit from targeted therapy. Experts also employ therapies for long-covid patients with memory and language problems.
The Elder Index, developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, shows that nearly 5 million older women living alone, 2 million older men living alone, and more than 2 million older couples have incomes that make them economically insecure.
About half of adults 65 and older have above-normal blood sugar levels that put them in the prediabetes category. Although that is a signal to improve your eating habits and get more exercise, researchers say only a small percentage of the group will develop diabetes.
Although identifying long covid in older adults can be tricky, experts say there are good strategies for getting medical advice and fighting the impact of the virus.
Millions of older adults are grappling with long covid, yet the impact on them has received little attention even though research suggests seniors are more likely to develop the poorly understood condition than younger or middle-aged adults.
Colorado researchers publish a tool to help gun owners and family members plan ahead for safe firearm use and transfers in the event of disability or death.
Becca Levy of Yale University talks with 鈥淣avigating Aging鈥 columnist Judith Graham about how people can alter ingrained perceptions of aging 鈥 which are often formed unconsciously and are unrecognized.
Relatives who often provide vital caregiving for nursing home residents say the lockdowns during the covid pandemic showed the need for family members to visit in person with their loved ones. About a dozen states have passed laws guaranteeing that right, and California is considering one.
Membership-based villages help arrange services for seniors 鈥 such as handyman help or transportation to appointments 鈥 and provide social connections through classes, leisure opportunities, or community events. Despite great promise, they have been slow to expand because of difficulties raising funding and keeping people interested.
Medicare has proposed limiting coverage of Aduhelm, the costly new drug to treat Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, and several prominent groups representing patients and their families are pressing the program to make it more widely available. But among individuals facing the disease, the outlook is more nuanced.
The spread of the omicron variant has dashed the hopes of many older adults that the country was exiting the worst of the pandemic, leaving them anxious while their patience wears thin.
Home health and hospice agencies are experiencing extreme worker shortages, which means they can鈥檛 provide services to all the patients seeking care.
Relatives say it is important they be allowed to go into nursing homes because staff shortages are affecting care. And many are still upset about lengthy separations from loved ones during lockdowns earlier in the pandemic.
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