What Older Americans Think

What Older Americans Think PDF Author: Christine L. Day
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400861128
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
As the much publicized "graying of America" progresses, political groups that lobby for the elderly have achieved enormous power and organizational success, with no sign of decline in the foreseeable future. What Older Americans Think provides a fresh look at these groups. Are older people united in support of increasing old-age benefits--or perhaps even obsessed with their own financial self-interest, as is sometimes alleged? Do younger people tend to oppose old-age benefits? Why do aging-based political organizations attract so many members? How do Washington policymakers see the "gray lobby"? Focusing on the last decade, Christine Day offers new answers to these and other questions. Drawing on survey data and interviews with organization leaders, congressional staff, and executive branch employees, Day presents an objective, rather than an impressionistic, view. Her findings dispel the myth that older people agree in a desire to receive expanded government benefits: they are no more likely than younger people to support more federal spending on the elderly, or to consider aging policy a highly salient issue. Day also reveals that while older people have become wealthier as a group, they have also become economically more diverse. Old-age interest groups have little control over the degree of inequality between the rich and the poor. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

What Older Americans Think

What Older Americans Think PDF Author: Christine L. Day
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400861128
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 174

Get Book

Book Description
As the much publicized "graying of America" progresses, political groups that lobby for the elderly have achieved enormous power and organizational success, with no sign of decline in the foreseeable future. What Older Americans Think provides a fresh look at these groups. Are older people united in support of increasing old-age benefits--or perhaps even obsessed with their own financial self-interest, as is sometimes alleged? Do younger people tend to oppose old-age benefits? Why do aging-based political organizations attract so many members? How do Washington policymakers see the "gray lobby"? Focusing on the last decade, Christine Day offers new answers to these and other questions. Drawing on survey data and interviews with organization leaders, congressional staff, and executive branch employees, Day presents an objective, rather than an impressionistic, view. Her findings dispel the myth that older people agree in a desire to receive expanded government benefits: they are no more likely than younger people to support more federal spending on the elderly, or to consider aging policy a highly salient issue. Day also reveals that while older people have become wealthier as a group, they have also become economically more diverse. Old-age interest groups have little control over the degree of inequality between the rich and the poor. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Real People, Real Problems

Real People, Real Problems PDF Author: Jo Harris-Wehling
Publisher: National Academies
ISBN:
Category : Long-term care facilities
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description


The Older Americans Act

The Older Americans Act PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description


Families Caring for an Aging America

Families Caring for an Aging America PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309448093
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

Older Americans, Vital Communities

Older Americans, Vital Communities PDF Author: W. Andrew Achenbaum
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801882371
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
This thought-provoking work grapples with the vast range of issues associated with the aging population and challenges people of all ages to think more boldly and more creatively about the relationship between older Americans and their communities. W. Andrew Achenbaum begins by exploring the demographics of our aging society and its effect on employment and markets, education, health care, religion, and political action. Drawing on history, literature, and philosophy, Achenbaum focuses on the way health care and increases in life expectancy have transformed late life from a phase characterized by illness, frailty, and debility to one of vitality, productivity, and spirituality. He shows how this transformation of aging is beginning to be felt in programs and policies for aging persons, as communities focus more effort on lifelong learning and extensive civic engagement. Concerned that his own undergraduate students are too focused on the immediate future, Achenbaum encourages young people to consider their place in life's social and chronological trajectory. He calls on baby boomers to create institutional structures that promote productive, vital growth for the common good, and he invites people of all ages to think more boldly about what they will do with the long lives ahead of them.

Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults

Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309671035
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.

Growing Older in America

Growing Older in America PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Older people
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description


American Values and the Elderly

American Values and the Elderly PDF Author: University of Michigan. Institute of Gerontology
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Older people
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description


Retooling for an Aging America

Retooling for an Aging America PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309115876
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.

Older Americans, Vital Communities

Older Americans, Vital Communities PDF Author: W. Andrew Achenbaum
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801887682
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
This thought-provoking work grapples with the vast range of issues associated with the aging population and challenges people of all ages to think more boldly and more creatively about the relationship between older Americans and their communities. W. Andrew Achenbaum begins by exploring the demographics of our aging society and its effect on employment and markets, education, health care, religion, and political action. Drawing on history, literature, and philosophy, Achenbaum focuses on the way health care and increases in life expectancy have transformed late life from a phase characterized by illness, frailty, and debility to one of vitality, productivity, and spirituality. He shows how this transformation of aging is beginning to be felt in programs and policies for aging persons, as communities focus more effort on lifelong learning and extensive civic engagement. Concerned that his own undergraduate students are too focused on the immediate future, Achenbaum encourages young people to consider their place in life's social and chronological trajectory. He calls on baby boomers to create institutional structures that promote productive, vital growth for the common good, and he invites people of all ages to think more boldly about what they will do with the long lives ahead of them.