Gerontology Commons^™

A Formative Evaluation Of Select Evidence-Based, Healthy Aging Programs For Seniors In East Central Illinois, Kathleen Raynor

Student Research – Stevenson Center

This study serves as a formative evaluation of two evidence-based, healthy aging programs that are funded by the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging (ECIAAA). The first, the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, is a six-session course designed to alleviate symptoms of chronic health issues in older adults and encourage participants to act as self-advocates in regard to their health. The second program, A Matter of Balance, attempts to reduce fear and risk factors related to falls in older adults over the course of eight sessions. The methodology of this study involves focus groups with former participants of these programs …

Is The Geriatric Impact Ipad Test A Valid Measurement Of Cognitive Function In Older Adults?, Heather Elise O'Dell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The number of older adults will rapidly increase within the next generation (Brookmeyer, Johnson, Ziegler-Graham, & Arrighi, 2007). Alzheimer’s disease risk increases with age, especially after age 60 (NIA, n.d.). Aging leads to a decrease in functional independence, and this side effect is exacerbated by cognitive decline (Johnson, Lui, & Yaffe, 2007). Executive function is a predictor of Alzheimer’s disease onset and progression (Zhang, Han, Verhaeghen, & Nilsson, 2007). The Geriatric ImPACTTM test is a potential new and more convenient testing methods than traditional methods used. The purpose of this research is to validate the Geriatric ImPACTTM test by comparing …

Finding A Financial Planner, Emily G. Brown Jd

Pension Action Center Publications

This fact sheet provides information on how to find the right financial planner to help you meet your retirement planning goals. This fact sheet suggests things to consider prior to picking a financial planner and answers questions like:

• What do financial planners do?
• How do you know if you need a financial planner?
• How do you find the right financial planner?
• What type of professional title does a financial planner have?

Plenary Session Iii – Policy Track: Focus On Innovation, Emily Shea, Jessica Cicchini, Bryan Reimer, Meghan Verena Joyce, Nora Moreno Cargie, Betsey Crimmins

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

Dr. Cicchini will describe the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and how its work can inform efforts in Massachusetts to promote older driver road safety. Dr. Reimer will describe innovations in research and the implications for policy. Nora Moreno Cargie will discuss how corporate and philanthropic partners can support innovative policy developments. Meghan Verona Joyce will describe Uber’s innovative partnership with government partners as a model for other entities to consider as they face regulatory challenges. Betsey Crimmins will discuss the legal and elder justice innovations needed to keep older MA adults safe and mobile.

Plenary Session Iii – Medical Track: Reporting At-Risk Drivers To Massdot Medical Advisory Board, Michele Ellicks, Marjorie Weinberger, James Ellison, Debra Kerrigan, Jatin Dave

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will address counseling the at-risk driver, healthcare provider responsibility and liability, clinician resources to provide older drivers, and procedures for reporting. This session will also include information on recognizing the sense of loss and grief experienced by someone who must relinquish a driver’s license.

Plenary Session Iii – Mobility Track: Successful Models For Senior Transportation In Massachusetts, Theadora Fisher, Jayne Colino, Tim O’Day, Erica Girgenti, Janet Seckel-Cerroti

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will discuss examples of replicable, successful programs that address the transportation needs of seniors in Massachusetts, including Council on Aging programs, a partnership with a regional transit authority, and a medical escort program.

Plenary Session Ii – Medical Track: Substance And Medication Use, Mary Maguire, Michele Matthews, Stephen J. Walsh, Joanne Thomka

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will provide information on drivers’ use of prescription medications, poly-pharmacy, alcohol, “medical” marijuana, and illegal drugs and the impact these substances may have on one’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.

Plenary Session Ii – Mobility Track: When The Wheels Fall Off, Jean Patel Bushnell, Lissa Kapust, John Paul, Don Blackburn

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session captures the consumer experience throughout the transition process, their struggle to maintain control and solutions to help them preserve independence and identity.

Plenary Session Ii – Policy Track: Policies That Work, Kathrin Boerner, Jake Nelson, Richard Marottoli, Tom Meuser

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will describe policies related to medical fitness to drive and medical reporting. Jake Nelson will provide an overview of the research related to medical fitness to drive. Best practices will be highlighted by Dr. Meuser, and clinical geriatric issues will be discussed by Dr. Marottoli.

Plenary Session I – Medical Track: Identifying Medically At-Risk Drivers, Janet Jankowiak, Brian Ott, Ann Hollis, Elin Schold-Davis, Eugene Scanzera

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will focus on assessing and identifying medical conditions that may impact one’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. The session will include information on Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, changes in vision, reaction time, and cognition.

Plenary Session I – Mobility Track: The Transition From Driver To Passenger And The Role Of Senior-Friendly Transportation Options, Nina Silverstein, Jana Hunkler, Helen Kerschner, William Henry, Noah Berger

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will explore the challenges faced by older adults as they transition from driving to transportation options; introduce the strategies of travel training and mobility management for senior transportation; present the concept of supportive senior-friendly transportation and the role of volunteers and volunteer driver programs in supporting that vision; and address risk management concerns in the provision of senior transportation.

Plenary Session I – Policy Track: Policies That Work, David Stevens, Marian Ryan, Kay Khan, Harriette L. Chandler, Patricia Jehlen

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will discuss policy formation, implementation, and enforcement issues related to older driver safety. Policymakers Representative Khan and Senators Chandler and Jehlen will discuss the process of getting evidence-based laws enacted, while Middlesex D.A. Marian Ryan will describe enforcement issues and concerns. Moderator David Stevens will talk about advocating for socially just and evidence-based policies impacting older adults.

Aging In Place: Perceptions Of Older Adults On Low Income Housing Waitlists, Angela L. Lavery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many American older adults with low incomes wait years for affordable housing or housing assistance. Insight is needed on the concerns of older adults who need to move but cannot. In addition, within the study of aging in place, there is a paucity of research regarding older adults with low incomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of aging in place from the perspective of older adults with low incomes, and to understand the process in making the decision to move to agesegregated housing. The purpose incorporated an examination of potential oppressive factors that …

401(K) Plan Expenses, Anne Becker, Jeffrey Arnold

Pension Action Center Publications

Under a 401(k) plan, your benefit is your vested account balance. This account balance reflects the contributions you make to the plan, the contributions your employer makes to the plan on your behalf (if any), and investment gains and losses.

Many 401(k) plan participants are responsible for choosing how to invest their account balances. If you direct the investment of your 401(k) plan account balance, it is important to understand that fees and expenses may substantially reduce the growth of your 401(k) plan account balance over the course of your working life. The Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that paying …

What Does Living Alone Really Mean For Older Persons? A Comparative Study Of Myanmar, Vietnam, And Thailand, Bussarawan Puk Teerawichitchainan, John Knodel, Wiraporn Pothisiri

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Background: Rapid development and social change in Asia have led many to assume that the proportion of elderly people living alone is rising and that they tend to live in destitute situations. These assumptions often lack empirical validation. Objective: We address the trends and correlates of solitary living among older persons in Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand. We examine the extent to which this form of living arrangement equates with their financial stress, physical and social isolation, psychological distress, and met need for personal care. Methods: We analyze 2011-12 national surveys of older persons from the three countries. We employ descriptive …

Your Former Employer’S 401(K) Plan, Jeanne Medeiros Jd

Pension Action Center Publications

When you leave a job where you have participated in a 401(k) plan, you may have a number of different options about what to do with the money in that account. This fact sheet explains those options and offers guidance about the pros and cons of each option.

Here are some frequently asked questions answered in this face sheet:

Q. Can I leave my money in my former employer’s plan?

Q. What are my other options?

Q. If I decide to withdraw the account balance from my former employer’s plan, how do I do that, and how long should it …

Fall Prevention Among Older Adults Living In The Community, Clarissa Silva Lopez

Theses & Dissertations

Older adults are within the fastest population growth rate in the United States, and as the population ages, the potential for falls increases (DHHS, 2011). This was a mixed-method explanatory study that investigated the perceptions of older adults regarding the usefulness, adequacy, and positive experience of fall information among older adults living in the community when received from healthcare professionals during physician’s office visits. The research questions were: 1. What is the relationship among perceptions of usefulness, adequacy, and positive experience of fall information among older adults? 2. Is there a difference in the perceptions of usefulness and adequacy among …

Careers In Aging: Increasing Interest And Investigating Career Paths, Paul Cunnington

Masters Theses

This qualitative study explored the perspective of young professionals on how to increase interest in choosing a career in the field of aging and how their own career path led to their current employment in the field of aging. Fifteen professionals in the field of aging, ranging in age from 23 to 34, participated in semi-­‐structured interviews. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Results confirmed prior research that professionals working in the field of aging come from a variety of disciplines. Participants noted attractive aspects of a career in the field of aging, including flexibility and mobility. To increase …

Protect Your Retirement Income: Documents To Keep And Questions To Ask, Pension Action Center, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Pension Action Center Publications

No matter what kind of pension or retirement plan your employer offers, you should keep certain documents indefinitely to ensure that you receive the retirement benefits you have earned.

This fact sheet was produced as part of the Pension Action Center’s investor education program, made possible thanks to a grant from the Investor Protection Trust, a nonprofit organization devoted to investor education, and support from the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Reporting Practices, Knowledge And Opinion Of Policy Regarding Drivers With Dementia Among Arkansas Neurologists And Geriatricians, Erika Martin Gergerich

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: States have various policies regarding a physician's ability or responsibility to report at-risk drivers with dementia to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Some states have mandatory reporting policies, others have optional reporting policies and some have no policy regarding this issue. Arkansas has no reporting policy regarding drivers with dementia to the DMV. Therefore, physicians in Arkansas face the risk of liability if they report a patient against their will to the DMV in good faith. Neurologists and geriatricians are often in a position to diagnose and treat individuals with dementia. Research Questions: The following three research questions …