Gerontology Commons^™

Research Brief: "Military Service And Men’S Health Trajectories In Later Life", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the health and age-related changes of wartime male veterans during later years in life as compared to non-veterans and non-wartime veterans. In policy and practice, veterans reaching retirement age, with help from their families, should pay attention to their health in case any conditions arise, and health policies should look at early-life health in addition to later-life health. Suggestions for future research include performing studies over time on younger veterans as they age and clearing up biases within the sampling processes.

Summary Of Mass State Pension Reform Law Chapter 176 Of The Acts Of 2011, Ellen A. Bruce

Pension Action Center Publications

Massachusetts passed significant changes to its public pension system meant to create cost savings for the state and to encourage employees to work longer. Most of the changes apply only to people hired after April 2, 2012. This summarizes the most important changes.

Primetimes Newsletter, Winter 2011, Office Of Lifespan Studies

PrimeTimes Newsletter

PrimeTimes is the newsletter of the Office of Lifespan Studies in the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

Leaving Home Care: Decision Making, Risk Scenarios & Services Gaps In The Home Care System, Jacey J. Vaughan, Nina M. Silverstein

Gerontology Institute Publications

Home and community-based services (HCBS) enable older and disabled adults to age-in-place in their homes and communities by helping them function independently for as long as possible (Grabowski et al., 2010; Wong & Silverstein, 2011). Previous studies well document that older adults prefer receiving HCBS rather than institutional care at a nursing home (e.g., Walker, 2010; Fox-Grage, Coleman, & Freiman, 2006). Medicaid is a major source of funding for long-term care. Currently, a large proportion of Medicaid funds in most states has been spent on institutional care (National Conference of State Legislatures & AARP, 2009), and older adults and their …

Consumer Involvement In Medicaid Nursing Facility Reimbursement: Lessons From New York And Minnesota For State Policymakers, Edward Alan Miller, Cynthia Rudder

Gerontology Institute Publications

Medicaid is the major purchaser of nursing home care in the United States. State governments design their methods of reimbursing nursing homes to achieve desired policy objectives related to facility cost and quality, access to care, payment equity, service capacity, and budgetary control.

Often, participation in the process of developing Medicaid payment policy is limited to state agency officials and providers of care and, occasionally, union representatives and state legislative staff. Invited less frequently to reimbursement policy discussions are consumer representatives. Lack of consumer involvement in the development of state rate setting systems has the potential to result in the …

A Primer For Consumer Involvement In Medicaid Nursing Facility Reimbursement: Lessons From New York And Minnesota, Edward Alan Miller, Cynthia Rudder

Gerontology Institute Publications

Medicaid is the major purchaser of nursing home care in the United States. To ensure that providers behave appropriately, the federal and state governments have established an extensive set of regulations that nursing homes must comply with if they are to be reimbursed for patients insured by Medicaid. Consumers exert considerable influence here by focusing on regulations and enforcement of non-compliance.

States also seek to align providers’ interests with those of other interested parties through controls and incentives built into state reimbursement systems, including with respect to facility cost and quality, access to care, payment equity, service capacity, and budgetary …

Senior Transportation Abstracts: A Focus On Options, Helen Kerschner, Nina M. Silverstein

Gerontology Institute Publications

This collection of abstracts represents a publication of importance for understanding the needs, challenges, solutions, and/or every day issues related to senior transportation services. While several of the abstracts include information about senior driver safety, the collection’s primary purpose is to present a holistic approach to transportation options for older adults. Such a collection is timely because, although the practice of providing transportation to older adults is not new, research and preparation of practical informational and technical materials related to older adult transportation service needs and service delivery are quite recent.

Massachusetts Senior Legal Assistance Project Needs Evaluation: Current Demand For Legal Services, Alison Gottlieb, Lauren A. Martin, Ellen A. Bruce

Gerontology Institute Publications

The Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston was contracted to conduct a statewide needs assessment for the MSLAP. As agreed upon by the MSLAP Advisory Board, the focus of this assessment was to analyze the demand for services Massachusetts legal service providers have experienced recently as a means to understanding the legal needs of Massachusetts elders (age 60 and older). A second needs assessment was conducted by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs. That needs assessment surveyed home care workers and other elder agency personnel to gauge their assessment of elders’ legal needs in Massachusetts. Read together, …

Coming Of Age In Marshfield: A Needs Assessment Of Aging Services, Jan Mutchler, Sandra Mccoskrie Blanchette

Gerontology Institute Publications

The purpose of this needs assessment is to investigate the needs, interests, and opinions of mature residents of Marshfield, Massachusetts, relating to their aging experiences and needs for age‐related services. On behalf of the Marshfield Council on Aging (COA), this assessment was conducted by the Collins Center for Public Management and the Gerontology Institute of the McCormack Graduate School at UMass Boston. The focus of this report is on Marshfield residents aged 60+ (referred to here as “Seniors”) and residents aged 45‐59 (referred to here as “Boomers”). Information about these two age groups was obtained both through the U.S. Census …

Primetimes Newsletter, Fall 2011, Office Of Lifespan Studies

PrimeTimes Newsletter

PrimeTimes is the newsletter of the Office of Lifespan Studies in the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

Protecting Your Retirement Savings From Potential Creditors, Pension Action Center, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Pension Action Center Publications

State and federal laws provide strong protections to New England residents to shield their retirement savings from creditors. The particular protections available depend on whether you have filed for bankruptcy, how your retirement savings are kept, and where you live.

Primetimes Newsletter, Summer 2011, Office Of Lifespan Studies

PrimeTimes Newsletter

PrimeTimes is the newsletter of the Office of Lifespan Studies in the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs: Relevance For Persons With Dementia, Nina M. Silverstein, Alison S. Gottlieb

Gerontology Institute Publications

The context for this study is the work of the Healthy Brain Initiative. The CDC has established a cooperative agreement with the Alzheimer’s Association to develop and implement a multifaceted approach to look at cognitive health as a public health issue. Late in 2010, the Association commissioned a review of the major chronic disease prevention programs from a systems approach to begin to understand the source of findings that Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s and related disorders are much higher cost than those simply with a single chronic disease and no AD. This led to the conclusion that Chronic Disease Self‐Management …

Exploratory Study Of Neglect Among Elderly In Hong Kong : A Family Perspective, Asia-Pacific Institute Of Ageing Studies, Lingnan University, The Central Policy Unit, Hong Kong Sar Government

APIAS Research Report 研究報告

Elder neglect, instead of abuse, forms an obvious focus in studying changes before irreversible damages are made to the families over time to examine the family cohesion factors as well as to identify interpersonal or helping relationships among elder parents and adult children, in particular during the time of sickness when an older person requires intensive care. Such occasions reveal the impacts of family dynamic on the vulnerability of elder neglect. It is under this background, Family Council and Central Policy Unit, commissioned the Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies of Lingnan University to undertake the study, in April 2010, with …

Massachusetts’ Home Care Programs And Reasons For Discharge Into Nursing Homes, Cathy M. Wong, Nina M. Silverstein

Gerontology Institute Publications

Home and community-based services (HCBS) are a range of long-term care services intended to enable older adults and persons with disabilities to “age in place” in their own homes and communities. Previous studies well document that older adults prefer receiving HCBS rather than institutional care at a nursing home. One study concluded that 84 percent of older Americans, aged 50 years and older, want to remain in their homes for as long as possible. Medicaid is a major source of funding for long term care. Currently, a large proportion of Medicaid funds in most states has been spent on institutional, …

Fun With Numbers: Disclosing Risk To Individual Investors, Christian A. Weller

Gerontology Institute Publications

This paper discusses the need for better information on investment risks. The information should be relevant, concise, and accessible to individual investors. More and better information on factors that are likely to influence an investment’s performance and investors’ decisions should eventually lead to better investment decisions – more savings and higher retirement incomes. This paper presents a number of ways to disclose risk to individual investors. There are three numerical and three visual representations to risk. The discussion centers on the pros and cons of each risk representation. All risk descriptions show relevant information, are concise, and more or less …

Risk Factors For Driving Cessation Vary By Race And Ethnicity, Elizabeth Dugan, Frank Porell, Chae Man Lee

Gerontology Institute Publications

Driving is related to our identity and independence as well as allowing us to get needed goods, services, and social opportunities that enrich daily life. Yet with increasing age, the risk for developing threats to medical fitness to drive increases. Driving cessation is related to a long list of negative outcomes, such as: depression, social isolation, diminished access to health care, and diminished quality of life. We investigated risks for driving cessation, paying close attention to racial differences. This study used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), 1998-2008. The study included N=46, 528 older people (age 65 and …

Baby Boomers At Work: Growing Older And Working More, Eve M. Brank

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

In the current chapter, I will first detail the legal framework for workplace age discrimination and court case examples that have largely mirrored race and gender discrimination law. Next, I will discuss the psychological research that details the consequences of age discrimination with a particular focus on the combined effects of stereotype assimilation and notions of deservingness of respect. Last, I will suggest that until we know the causes of age discrimination, we cannot legitimately address its consequences the same way we have addressed other forms of discrimination. Specifically, I will argue that legislating against age discrimination is inherently different …

Estimation Of The Centre Of Mass From Motion Capture And Force Plate Recordings: A Study On The Elderly, Sebastien Cotton, Michele Vanoncini, Philippe Fraisse, Nacim Ramdani, Emel Demircan, Andrew P. Murray, Thierry Keller

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The estimation of the centre of mass position in humans is usually based on biomechanical models developed from anthropometric tables. This method can potentially introduce errors in studies involving elderly people, since the ageing process is typically associated with a modification of the distribution of the body mass. In this paper, an alternative technique is proposed, and evaluated with an experimental study on 9 elderly volunteers. The technique is based on a virtual chain, identified from experimental data and locating the subject's centre of mass. Its configuration defines the location of the centre of mass, and is a function of …

The Elder Economic Security Initiative™: The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index For Colorado, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report addresses income adequacy for Colorado’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) methodology. The Elder Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status and health status. The costs are based on market costs for basic needs of elder households and do not assume any public or private supports.

Massachusetts State Public Worker Retirees: How Are They Doing?, Ellen A. Bruce, Lauren A. Martin

Gerontology Institute Publications

Although much has been made of the Massachusetts State Retirement System’s funding and abuses, little has been written about the benefits it provides. A retirement system should be judged first on whether it meets its goal of providing for workers in retirement.

The Elder Economic Security Initiative™ Program: The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index For Washington, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report addresses income adequacy for Washington’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) methodology. The Elder Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status and health status. The costs are based on market costs for basic needs of elder households and do not assume any public or private supports.

The Elder Economic Security Initiative™: The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index For Iowa, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report addresses income adequacy for Iowa’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) methodology. The Elder Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status and health status. The costs are based on market costs for basic needs of elder households and do not assume any public or private supports.

First Elderly Client In Therapy: Factors That Influence Student Interest In Geropsychology, Cristina E. M. Filippelli

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

In the coming decades, the elderly population in United States (U.S) is expected to grow significantly (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996). Consequently, the number of older individuals seeking mental health services will be greater than at any other time in the history of the U.S. The field of clinical psychology, however, is unable to meet the mental health needs of the current elderly population, and this gap is expected to widen in coming years. There is an ongoing discussion within the field of professional psychology as to how to train more clinicians to work with the elderly population (Gatz …