Health Literacy Among Older Adults
Health Literacy Among Older Adults

Author: Karen Kopera-Frye, PhD

Publisher: Springer Publishing Company

Published: 2016-08-16

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0826194524

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The first graduate text to address health literacy in the aging population Low health literacy is a critical issue among adults, with over one third found to have difficulty understanding such basic information as that found on prescription bottles. This is the first graduate textbook to address key health literacy issues as they affect the health and wellbeing of the aging population. Embracing a topic spanning numerous disciplines, it features a dynamic, multicontextual systems approach and includes contributions from renowned scholars and practitioners in gerontology, public health, social work, nursing, and other related fields. The text emphasizes increasing health literacy among older adults through the use of technological tools and features, the most current research, and evidence-based programs and practices. The book provides expansive coverage of the intersection of technology and health literacy, highlighting innovative approaches and discussing how to use technology with resource-limited groups. The text gives special consideration to rural, impoverished, culturally diverse, and lowliteracy elders and presents gold standard intervention programs and models. Also covered are the policy implications of programs focusing on increasing health literacy and future directions for meeting the Healthy People 2020 initiative. Case studies, review questions, learning objectives, and supplemental PowerPoint presentations will reinforce learning. Key Features: Provides a one-of-a-kind, multidisciplinary survey of the key health literacy issues of older adults Focuses on increasing health literacy across the disciplines Addresses a priority area of Healthy People 2020 Incorporates research and practice from gerontology, psychology, public health, social work, sociology, medicine, and nursing Includes case studies, review questions, learning objectives, and PowerPoint slides for assisting instructors

Aging and Decision Making
Aging and Decision Making

Author: Thomas M. Hess

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2015-02-17

Total Pages: 429

ISBN-13: 0124171559

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Decisions large and small play a fundamental role in shaping life course trajectories of health and well-being: decisions draw upon an individual's capacity for self-regulation and self-control, their ability to keep long-term goals in mind, and their willingness to place appropriate value on their future well-being. Aging and Decision Making addresses the specific cognitive and affective processes that account for age-related changes in decision making, targeting interventions to compensate for vulnerabilities and leverage strengths in the aging individual. This book focuses on four dominant approaches that characterize the current state of decision-making science and aging - neuroscience, behavioral mechanisms, competence models, and applied perspectives. Underscoring that choice is a ubiquitous component of everyday functioning, Aging and Decision Making examines the implications of how we invest our limited social, temporal, psychological, financial, and physical resources, and lays essential groundwork for the design of decision supportive interventions for adaptive aging that take into account individual capacities and context variables. - Divided into four dominant approaches that characterize the current state of decision-making science and aging neuroscience - Explores the impact of aging on the linkages between cortical structures/functions and the behavioral indices of decision-making - Examines the themes associated with behavioral approaches that attempt integrations of methods, models, and theories of general decision-making with those derived from the study of aging - Details the changes in underlying competencies in later life and the two prevailing themes that have emerged—one, the general individual differences perspective, and two, a more clinical focus

Aging, Technology and Health
Aging, Technology and Health

Author: Richard Pak

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2018-03-15

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 0128112735

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Aging, Health and Technology takes a problem-centered approach to examine how older adults use technology for health. It examines the many ways in which technology is being used by older adults, focusing on challenges, solutions and perspectives of the older user. Using aging-health technology as a lens, the book examines issues of technology adoption, basic human factors, cognitive aging, mental health, aging and usability, privacy, trust and automation. Each chapter takes a case study approach to summarize lessons learned from unique examples that can be applied to similar projects, while also providing general information about older adults and technology. - Discusses human factors design challenges specific to older adults - Covers the wide range of health-related uses for technology—from fitness to leading a more engaged life - Utilizes a case study approach for practical application - Envisions what the future will hold for technology and older adults - Employs a roster of interdisciplinary contributors

Productive Aging
Productive Aging

Author: Nancy Morrow-Howell

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2003-05-01

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 0801876575

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"Will 69 million baby boomers suddenly drop out of the workforce when they turn 65? It is difficult to imagine this generation, with its talent, education, and experience, idling away the last thirty years of life."—From the Foreword, by Robert N. Butler, M.D., The Mount Sinai Medical Center Old age has been historically thought of as a period of frailty and dependence, yet studies show that with the help of advances in health and medicine, current populations will live longer and remain healthier than previous generations. As average life expectancies rise, traditional concepts of retirement need to be reconsidered on all levels—from government policy to business practice to individual life planning. In this volume, leaders in the field of gerontology explore these changing conditions through the concept of "productive aging," which has been developed by leaders in the field to promote older adults' contributions to society in social and economic capacities. Productive Aging: Concepts and Challenges treats the implications of productive aging for the discipline of gerontology and for society in general. The first section defines the principles, historical perspectives, and conceptual frameworks for productive aging. The second section takes a disciplinary approach, treating the biomedical, psychological, sociological, and economic implications of a more capable older generation. The third section considers advances in theories of gerontology, and the fourth section suggests future directions in practice, theory, and research. Contributors: W. Andrew Achenbaum, University of Houston • Scott A. Bass, University of Maryland-Baltimore • Vern L. Bengtson, University of Southern California • James E. Birren, UCLA • Francis G. Caro, University of Massachusetts Boston • Carroll L. Estes, University of California-San Francisco • Marc Freedman, Civic Ventures (co-founder of Experience Corps) • James Hinterlong, Washington University • James S. Jackson, University of Michigan • Jane L. Mahakian, Pacific Senior Services • Harry R. Moody, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation • Nancy Morrow-Howell, Washington University • Philip Rozario, Washington University • James H. Schulz, Brandeis University • Michael Sherraden, Washington University • Alvar Svanborg, University of Illinois-Chicago and Goteburg University, Sweden • Brent A. Taylor, San Diego State University

Measures of Health Literacy
Measures of Health Literacy

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-12-30

Total Pages: 142

ISBN-13: 0309139805

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Health literacy-the ability for individuals to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services to facilitate appropriate health decisions-is increasingly recognized as an important facet of health care and health outcomes. Although research on health literacy has grown tremendously in the past decade, there is no widely agreed-upon framework for health literacy as a determinant of health outcomes. Most instruments focus on assessing an individual's health literacy, yet the scope of health literacy reaches far beyond an individual's skills and abilities. Health literacy occurs in the context of the health care system, and therefore measures of health literacy must also assess the demands and complexities of the health care systems with which patients interact. For example, measures are needed to determine how well the system has been organized so that it can be navigated by individuals with different levels of health literacy and how well health organizations are doing at making health information understandable and actionable. To examine what is known about measures of health literacy, the Institute of Medicine convened a workshop. The workshop, summarized in this volume, reviews the current status of measures of health literacy, including those used in the health care setting; discusses possible surrogate measures that might be used to assess health literacy; and explores ways in which health literacy measures can be used to assess patient-centered approaches to care.

Health Literacy and Older Adults
Health Literacy and Older Adults

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2018-10-16

Total Pages: 103

ISBN-13: 0309479495

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Adults age 65 and older make up the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. At the same time, the complexity of health care delivery continues to grow, creating challenges that are magnified for older adults, given that age is one of the highest correlates of low health literacy. This creates a shared obligation between health care and the health care team to use the principles, tools, and practices of health literacy so that patients and families of older adults can more easily navigate discussions related to chronic disease, polypharmacy, long-term care, palliative care, insurance complexities, the social determinants of health, and other factors that create challenges for older adults, particularly among underserved populations nationwide. To gain a better understanding of the health communication challenges among older adults and their professional and family caregivers and how those challenges affect the care older adults receive, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Roundtable on Health Literacy convened a 1-day public workshop featuring presentations and discussions that examined the effect of low health literacy on the health of older adults. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Health Literacy
Health Literacy

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2004-06-29

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 0309133319

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To maintain their own health and the health of their families and communities, consumers rely heavily on the health information that is available to them. This information is at the core of the partnerships that patients and their families forge with today's complex modern health systems. This information may be provided in a variety of forms â€" ranging from a discussion between a patient and a health care provider to a health promotion advertisement, a consent form, or one of many other forms of health communication common in our society. Yet millions of Americans cannot understand or act upon this information. To address this problem, the field of health literacy brings together research and practice from diverse fields including education, health services, and social and cultural sciences, and the many organizations whose actions can improve or impede health literacy. Health Literacy: Prescription to End Confusion examines the body of knowledge that applies to the field of health literacy, and recommends actions to promote a health literate society. By examining the extent of limited health literacy and the ways to improve it, we can improve the health of individuals and populations.