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All the practices that help keep individuals safe from the coronavirus put them at risk for isolation, especially older adults. According to the National Poll on Healthy Aging, which surveyed more than 2,000 individuals, the number of individuals older than 50 who sometimes or often feel isolated has more than doubled, based on responses to a similar poll taken in 2018.
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— Kate Jackson, editor |
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Safe But Lonely
Staying close to home and avoiding crowded places can help older adults reduce their risk of COVID-19. But a new national poll suggests it comes with a cost, especially for those with health challenges.
In June of this year, 56% of people older than 50 said they sometimes or often felt isolated from others—more than double the 27% who felt that way in a similar poll in 2018. Nearly one-half of those polled in June of this year also said they felt more isolated than they had just before the pandemic arrived in the United States, and one-third said they felt they had less companionship than before.
The new findings come from the National Poll on Healthy Aging, which is done for the University of Michigan (U-M) Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation with support from AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center. Both the 2020 and 2018 polls on loneliness involved a national sample of more than 2,000 adults aged 50 to 80.
“As the pandemic continues, it will be critical to pay attention to how well we as a society support the social and emotional needs of older adults,” says John Piette, PhD, a professor at the U-M School of Public Health who worked with the poll team. “The intersection of loneliness and health still needs much study, but even as we gather new evidence, all of us can take time to reach out to older neighbors, friends, and relatives in safe ways as they try to avoid the coronavirus.”
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Cannabis-Drug Interactions: A Special Risk for Older Adults
Older adults who take multiple medications are at greatest risk for cannabis-drug interactions. Read more »
Using Motivational Interviewing to Prevent Falls
When gathering information from patients, the right questions can make all the difference. Read more »
Tai Chi for Older Adults With Back Pain
Recent studies support tai chi as a treatment for chronic back pain. Its safety relative to other exercises makes it an attractive alternative for older adults with back pain who have other conditions, such as osteoporosis and arthritis. Read more » |
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Mobility for People Aging in Place
Two new products from Lexia.Solutions, UpLift Seating and UpLift Entryway, are designed to improve access for people who use wheelchairs in home and to attend live events. UpLift Seating is a venue-housed relocatable platform that can be deployed by a single staff person anywhere in a facility. UpLift Entryway is a relocatable platform that allows people in wheelchairs to lift themselves unassisted in and out of facilities. Learn more »
Fever Detection
During the pandemic, thermal scanners are more important than ever to protect individuals in health care facilities. ThermalPass is a medical grade device that detects body temperature of people walking at a normal pace through the system to help accelerate the screening processes at high-traffic public locations, providing audible and visual alerts when a higher than normal body temperature is found. Learn more » |
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A resource for professionals looking for new opportunities, as well as those physicians just curious to see what's out there, our Physician Recruitment Center gives physician recruiters a powerful tool to fill partnership opportunities, academic appointments, and hospital staff positions. To support your product marketing or recruiting needs, e-mail our experienced account executives today at sales@gvpub.com for more information or call 800-278-4400! |
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The Toll on Caregivers
According to a report in the Washington Post, more than 17.7 million Americans tend to loved ones with disabilities and older adults, putting them at risk for the stress and anxiety that typically accompany long periods of caregiving.
An Inadequate Response to the Pandemic
COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 75,000 adults who lived in nursing homes and other long term care facilities, and the risk is likely to grow in this flu season. Time reports on what the administration has and has not done to protect facility residents and staff and details what steps need to be taken to safeguard the health of this at-risk population.
Antidepressants May Prove Beneficial for Alzheimer’s Disease Patients
According to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a class of antidepressants, may decrease production of amyloid, the protein identified in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Psychiatrist Yvette Sheline, MD, after noticing that some individuals with depression had lower brain amyloid, began investigating the connection and looked into the medications used to treat the depression. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the study, published in the journal Neurology.
Parkinson’s Disease Boosts Risk of COVID-19 Mortality
Researchers with the University of Iowa Health Care report that a study involving roughly 80,000 patients indicates that those with Parkinson’s disease have a 30% increased risk of dying of COVID-19 than do those without the disease. Thus, researchers stress the importance of social distancing and the use of masks for patients with this neurodegenerative condition. Science Daily reports on the study. |
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