pak2020

Among the many new technologies on the market, virtual reality offers plenty of possibilities for exploration as it can be used in different industries including senior care. The technology has arrived at the right time with mobile devices already being widely used by the elderly. Although they generally lag behind their younger counterparts, users aged 65 and older said that owning a smartphone offers ‘a liberating experience’. Smartphones are also the core of many VR headsets. They can either be connected directly to the wearable or wirelessly to render virtual reality images. However, there are particular features that make a [...]

As the nation grapples with a devastating opioid epidemic, concerns have primarily focused on young people buying drugs on the street. But America's elderly also have a problem. Over the past several decades, physicians have increasingly prescribed seniors pain medications to address chronic pain from arthritis, cancer, neurological diseases and other illnesses that become more common in later life. A recent study found that in 2011, 15 percent of seniors were prescribed an opioid when they were discharged from the hospital; three months later, 42 percent were still taking the pain medicine. Excerpted from an article in the Chicago Tribune, [...]

The Weill Cornell T32 Training Program in Behavioral Geriatrics, led by Cary Reid MD, PhD and Holly Prigerson, PhD, is accepting MD and PhD postdoctoral trainees who seek careers that bridge biomedical and innovative social and behavioral approaches to improve care and health outcomes in older adults. The goal of the program is for trainees to become independent investigators capable of conducting patient oriented research to improve quality of life and quality of care of the ever increasing number and proportion of older Americans. Weill Cornell Medicine's Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Translational Research Institute on Pain in Later Life and [...]

Concerns surrounding harmful side effects and medication interactions associated with prescription medications has led to increasing support of the use of OTC medications and nonpharmacological multimodal therapies to treat chronic musculoskeletal pain. Musculoskeletal pain is a common occurrence affecting many older adults. It is estimated that one in four older adults will suffer chronic nonmalignant musculoskeletal pain. With the increase in the geriatric population (35 million people who are aged 65 and older), the number of individuals suffering from musculoskeletal pain has grown exponentially.1 In light of this trend, it is extremely important to have a pain management strategy that helps [...]

People who have reached their later years may think it's primarily a time to relax, not to increase their physical activity. Not so. Previous research has suggested that exercise can improve memory and reverse muscle loss in older adults, among other benefits. And a study out Monday finds that a regular program of physical activity reduces the time spent with mobility-limiting disability. Researchers took more than 1,600 sedentary people between 70 and 89 years old who had some functional limitations, but who could walk about a quarter of a mile in 15 minutes or less, unassisted by another person or a [...]

A successful former businessman develops a sudden fear of driving. A longtime homemaker is convinced she never has enough groceries in the house. It’s a pattern familiar to many of us with aging parents: the overwhelming worry or constant nervousness over day-to-day tasks, from taking medications to parking the car. Left untreated, this anxiety-related agitation in the elderly can disrupt sleep and eating, exacerbate chronic medical conditions, and ultimately contribute to a downward spiral of fear and isolation. Anxiety occurs in older Americans with surprising frequency. In fact, some reports estimate anxiety affects between 10 and 20 percent of the older [...]

Drug addiction is not restricted to the young. Donna Weber, now 53, turned to painkillers after undergoing simple surgery. Then a long, tortured path to divorce made her anxious and depressed. Soon, she found herself on a candy-colored pill roller coaster. Unlike street drugs, the pharmaceutical pills were easy to obtain legally. She got them from emergency rooms, dentists, psychiatrists, even plastic surgeons. “I went to doctors with exaggerated truths,” explained Ms. Weber, who once had four doctors. “I said I hurt more and more.”   Excerpted from an article by Constance Gustke for the New York Times. To read the [...]

America’s opioid epidemic has reached crisis proportions, enough so that last week the United States Surgeon General took the unprecedented step of sending a letter to 2.3 million American health care professionals asking them to take a pledge to “turn the tide” on the opioid crisis. Relieving pain is an essential element of good care, and we are appropriately reminded that the use of these powerful medications requires precision, caution, and perspective. Excerpted from an article by Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, President of The John A. Hartford Foundation. She is nationally and internationally recognized as a leading expert in geriatrics, [...]

People in America today can expect to live longer than ever before. Once you make it to 65, the data suggest that you can live another 19.3 years, on average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For many, then, senior living includes carefully managing chronic conditions in order to stay healthy. Making healthy lifestyle choices, like quitting smoking and losing weight, can help you avoid senior health risks, though “you also need to be physically active and eat a healthy diet," explains Jeanne Wei, MD, PhD, executive director of the Reynolds Institute on Aging at the University [...]

It’s become a popular belief that many people become addicted to opioid pain medication after surgery. According to a recent national survey, one in ten pain patients believe they became addicted or dependent on opioids after they started taking them for post-operative pain. But a large new study in Canada found that long term opioid use after surgery is extremely rare, with less than one percent of older adults still taking opioid pain medication a year after major elective surgery. The study, published in the journal JAMA Surgery, looked at over 39,000 “opioid naïve” patients (no opioid prescriptions in the prior [...]