Emerging and currently available technologies offer great promise for helping older adults, even those without serious disabilities, to live healthy, comfortable, and productive lives. What technologies offer the most potential benefit? What challenges must be overcome, what problems must be solved, for this promise to be fulfilled? How can federal agencies like the National Institute on Aging best use their resources to support the translation from laboratory findings to useful, marketable products and services? Technology for Adaptive Aging is the product of a workshop that brought together distinguished experts in aging research and in technology to discuss applications of technology to communication, education and learning, employment, health, living environments, and transportation for older adults. It includes all of the workshop papers and the report of the committee that organized the workshop. The committee report synthesizes and evaluates the points made in the workshop papers and recommends priorities for federal support of translational research in technology for older adults.

The book examines key topics such as interpersonal and family relationships in old age, media portrayals of aging, cultural variations in intergenerational communication, and health communication in old age.

Does a longer life mean a healthier life? The number of adults over 65 in the United States is growing, but many may not be aware that they are at greater risk from foodborne diseases and their nutritional needs change as they age. The IOM's Food Forum held a workshop October 29-30, 2009, to discuss food safety and nutrition concerns for older adults.

Providers serving older adults face a growing problem. Older adults are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with service quality citing deficits in provider communication and relationship skills. The author argues this dissatisfaction is largely related to three widespread issues: ageism, use of professional jargon, and age-related changes in the older adult. To address these concerns, Dr. Storlie advocates adoption of an evidence-based, person-centered approach to communication. The benefits of person-centered communication are many. They can increase older adult satisfaction with provider services, enhance mutual respect and understanding, improve accuracy of information exchanged, positively impact service outcomes, increase compliance with provider recommendations, and reduce the frustration and stress often experienced by both provider and older adult. Rare to this genre, readers are introduced to several under-explored topics within the field of communication, along with methods for applying concepts from research findings into these topics to enhance the quality of interpersonal communication. Topics include the role of mental imagery in the communication process, the influence of neurocardiology on relationships, and controversial findings from research into quantum physics. The book concludes by highlighting progress made in narrowing the interpersonal communication gap and forecasts how communications-oriented technological advances might improve quality of life for 21st century older adults and the providers who serve them. Utilizing interdisciplinary case studies to illustrate common problematic situations, this book provides detailed exercises that explain how providers can integrate person-centered communication into their practices to improve provider-older adult interactions. Written in a style designed to maximize learning, it helps providers find the information they need, understand what they read, and apply what they've learned to improve professional communication. Person-Centered Communication with Older Adults is an essential guide for today's healthcare professionals and other aging-services providers, and also for the educators who help to prepare the providers of tomorrow. - Presents a conceptual framework for understanding respect-based, person-centered communication - Teaches specific communication skills to aging services providers and educators to assist in effectively communicating with older adults - Includes numerous case studies to help in identifying common problematic situations and describing practical ways to integrate positive communication - One of the first books to integrate scientific, evidence-based findings with a personal approach that includes important new information on neurocardiology

This essential volume explores the vital role of communication in the aging process and how this varies for different social groups and cultural communities. It reveals how communication can empower people in the process of aging, and that how we communicate about age is critically important to – and is at the heart of – aging successfully. Giles et al. confront the uncertainty and negativity surrounding "aging" – a process with which we all have to cope – by expertly placing communication at the core of the process. They address the need to avoid negative language, discuss the lifespan as an evolving adventure, and introduce a new theory of successful aging – the communication ecology model of successful aging (CEMSA). They explore the research on key topics including: age stereotypes, age identities, and messages of ageism; the role of culture, gender, ethnicity, and being a member of marginalized groups; the ingredients of intergenerational communication; depiction of aging and youth in the media; and how and why talk about death and dying can be instrumental in promoting control over life’s demands. Communication for Successful Aging is essential reading for graduate students of psychology, human development, gerontology, and communication, scholars in the social sciences, and all of us concerned with this complex academic and highly personal topic.

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.