Eric Dishman does health care research for Intel — studying technical (and societal) solutions for problems in care for the aging. At TEDMED, Eric Dishman makes a bold argument: The US health care system is like computing circa 1959, tethered to big, unwieldy central systems: hospitals, doctors, nursing homes. As our aging population booms, it’s imperative, he says, to create personal, networked, home-based health care for all.
Source: TED
I was recently invited to review They’re Your Parents, Too!: How Siblings Can Survive Their Parents’ Aging Without Driving Each Other Crazy
by former Time magazine boomer beat reporter Francine Russo.
Color me CRAZY!
I’ve traveled down this road, and reading Francine’s book brought back some all too familiar scenarios from one of the darkest chapters of my life following the death of my mother, and my fathers subsequent decline into dementia.
My own family dynamics were riddled with anger, past resentments, criticism and guilt. I had not experienced a good relationship with my brothers for the 20 years prior to my mothers death, and shared little to no contact with them. I was the child who was “far away” and subsequently faced 4 brothers who refused to share information (with regard to my father) about health, finances, or indeed anything.
Francine’s book greatly helped me to make sense of the psychological dynamics, demands and consequences .
This was a time that exposed past untold stories and a range of very difficult emotions for me. Much of what occurred in my own family was inevitable.
My relationship with my siblings was not worth mending, and I have been able to accept this and move on.
Will you and your siblings be able to reach an understanding and work together, or will the challenges you face tear you apart? They’re Your Parents Too is an indispensable guide for anyone whose parents are aging. N
Francine Russo’s book is filled with expert guidance from gerontologists, family, therapists, elder-care-attorneys, financial planners and health workers. She recounts engaging, helpful stories of sisters and brothers who struggled to find their way through this family challenge as their parents age.
This is a must have book/manual for anyone who is a caregiver for someone who is aging, professionals who are working with families of the elderly and anyone who wants to repair their relationships with their siblings— I highly recommend it. 😀 – Kathy
Professor Tom Kirkwood explaining the research.
A discovery by Newcastle University experts could provide the next step in fighting age related diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Scientists from the University’s Institute for Ageing and Health have used state-of-the-art laboratory techniques and sophisticated mathematical modelling to help crack the problem of why cells age.
The ageing process has its roots deep within the cells and molecules that make up our bodies and experts have identified the molecular pathway that reacts to cell damage and stems the cell’s ability to divide.
The results should help us understand not only ageing itself, but also how cancer cells escape ageing to wreak their destructive power. link to read original release
8 out of 10 people in charge of caring for a relative suffer from anxiety and stress, regardless of their socio-demographic variables. Families, and particularly daughters, assume the “informal care” of dependent elderly people in most of the cases. This follows an investigation carried out by Ruth M ª Calero Pérez and directed by professor José Mª Roa Venegas at the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Granada. [continue reading…]
