Many elderly adults are increasingly isolated and grapple with depression, loneliness and declines in physical health. The UAB Department of Sociology and Social Work will use a five-year, $1.9 million National Institute on Aging (NIA) grant to study the ability of computer use and social media networking to enhance the quality of life of elderly adults through online social connections and easier access to health information. Read full article.
Very interesting news out yesterday about a proposed National Alzheimer’s Office in the White House to coordinate Alzheimer’s research, clinical care, and service. U.S. Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) are leading the charge. Their release can be found here.
Alzheimer’s directly impacts the lives of over 5.3 million Americans and is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. Recent studies have shown that among Americans age 85 and older half will be afflicted with Alzheimer’s.
Any steps to improve care, both for patients and their loved ones, is a step in the right direction.
This recent article in the Northwest Herald hits the nail on the head. Moving into an assisted living community can be a difficult experience for many reasons, but the loss of independence is often the primary one.
Highlights from the piece include:
“A lot of folks don’t want to leave their home, so we’re an excellent transition to help people realize that getting help is not bad,” he said.
Those seniors who do need the full-time care of a nursing facility might be wary of the change at first, Nzeribe said.
“But the good news is that after the initial resistance, when they are finally in the correct place, they realize, ‘Gee, I should have done this much sooner,’ ” he said.
It’s also important to remember that getting professional care isn’t just helpful for the senior, it also can help family members trying to do the job alone.
“There is caregiver burnout,” Nzeribe said. “You will end up not doing a good job. You end up blaming yourself. … So if we can avoid that, then we should.”
From our own experience in the field, we have found that Connected Living is an effective way to encourage independence and can mitigate the difficult transition seniors face. Through our web-based portal seniors have the ability to learn how to use a computer, how to surf the internet, stay in touch with family and friends through a secure email and photo sharing system, and have the ability to work on their memoirs.