<p> Providing direct caregiving for a loved one is emotionally difficult, and it can be uniquely challenging for male spousal caregivers. As men adjust to their new roles, they are faced with caregiver burdens, which can present complications mentally, physically, and financially. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to develop a grant proposal for a male caregiver support group for older adult caregivers within the greater Long Beach, CA area. The proposed program, entitled the Sure Project, would help caregivers decrease their stress, increase their coping abilities, and provide resources for additional community support. The most appropriate funder identified was the Archstone Foundation, as the goals of the Sure Project coincided with the goals of this foundation. The Long Beach Jewish Family and Children Services agency served as the host agency from this project. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant were not required for the successful completion of the project. </p>

Empirical evidence in the gerontological literature supports the commonly held belief that older adults, overwhelmingly, prefer to remain in their own homes. Despite this fact, older adults residing in the community often express an expectation that they will move in the future. There is a paucity of empirical findings on those factors which are most influential on the expression of an expectation of a future desire to move. Logistic regression was used to analyze data from the third wave of a longitudinal study of elderly Massachusetts residents residing in the community to identify possible antecedents to the expression of an expectation of a future desire to move. The perception that income was not adequate to meet expenses decreased the likelihood of expressing an expectation of a future desire to move for all respondents and for those with children in the area. A living arrangement which was other than alone or with a spouse only was significantly related to the expression of an expectation of a future desire to move for all respondents and for those without children in the area. Positive self-perceived health was found to increase the likelihood that an expectation of a future desire to move would be expressed. A knowledge of the most important factors which contribute to the decision of an older community-dwelling adult to move from their comfortable, familiar surroundings should facilitate the implementation of programs and services which would obviate the need for some unnecessary moves and, consequently, make it possible for them to enjoy a wholesome life in the community for as long as possible.

<p> The purpose of this directed project was to create an aqua aerobics informational brochure for three low- income housing facilities located in Long Beach. The brochure included an explanation of the benefits and values of an aqua aerobics program for older adults. Additionally, it included a schedule of aqua aerobics programs in the Long Beach area, as well as pricing and transportation options if any, between the low-income housing facilities and the pool facilities. The aqua aerobics program will take place in a pool setting accessible to older adults living in these facilities. The objectives of this directed project were to: (a) summarize current research about the benefits of aqua aerobics for older adults for inclusion in the informational brochure, (b) identify aqua aerobics programs in the Long Beach area that can accommodate older adults residing in a low-income housing facility and, (c) create an informational brochure for the service coordinator or manager of three low-income housing facilities to include costs, benefits of exercise, benefits of aqua aerobics, and contact information including location of pool facilities.</p>

This study investigated a sample of Korean elderly in the New York City area who migrated to the United States largely within the past ten years. The study focused on living arrangements of Korean elders, on the pattern of help between adult children and aging parents, and the use of formal services by Korean elderly. / Among major findings, the sample respondents expressed a strong preference for living apart from adult children who had brought them to the United States, mirroring a pattern of intergenerational living arrangements more characteristic of the United States than Korea. Help between generations was reciprocal but a substantial proportion of Koreans turn increasingly to formal agencies for help in time of illness, for income maintenance, housing assistance, and transportation, to supplement help from family and friends. As may be expected, a lack of bilingual communication skills on the part of Korean elders and service providers created a barrier to the use of essential services by older Koreans. Additionally, Korean elders' feeling of stigma in seeking assistance from sources outside families and an insensitive environment of service delivery agencies created a further barrier to the use of needed services. To remove the existing barriers and to improve the delivery of services, the majority of respondents suggested hiring of bilingual and bicultural staffs by traditional American agencies to work with Korean elders. They further suggested a multiservice center be organized for Korean elders and that it should be administered by Korean speaking staff to adequately meet the needs of Korean elders. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-07, Section: A, page: 2215. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

The purpose of the study was threefold: (1) to identify the standards or criteria that women hold for satisfaction with level of living; (2) to identify the financial adjustments that women make in retirement; and (3) to investigate women's satisfaction/dissatisfaction with financial adjustments made in level of living following retirement. / The sample consisted of 40 randomly selected female retirees whose names appeared on the State of Florida's retirement mailing list. Information was gathered by telephone utilizing the Information Inventory and Financial Adjustment Schedule, two instruments devised by the researcher. / Retirees' criteria for a satisfying level of living varied by marital status. Current satisfaction for widows tended to be based on the relationship of pre-retirement satisfaction, i.e., if pre-retirement satisfaction was high then post retirement satisfaction was low. Single/divorced and married retirees who compared their income favorably to that of American families in general tended to express higher levels of satisfaction; however, social comparisons were not significantly related to the satisfaction of the widows in this study. Perception of income adequacy also tended to promote feelings of general satisfaction. In particular the financial ability to visit children and relatives as often as wished was positively related to satisfaction for the total group of retirees. Single/divorced retirees were the only group of retirees whose satisfaction was related to adequacy of income for maintaining their current level of living and for meeting their current needs. / Financial adjustments also varied by marital status. In general, the non-marrieds reduced expenses on necessities more often than did the marrieds. Reasons for reduced spending also varied by marital status. More non-marrieds reduced spending because of lack of funds than did marrieds. The number of adjustments experienced by the retiree was found to influence satisfaction with level of living as was the experience of problems paying bills since retiring. It is inferred by the researcher that "adjustments" and "problems paying bills" are more universally held concepts for the respondents in general than other items used in the questionnaire. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-07, Section: A, page: 2214. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

<p> The older adult population has grown tremendously since the first of the baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) turned 50 in the mid-1990s. Today, more than 63 million households&mdash;over half of the U.S. total&mdash;are headed by someone in their 50s or older. As the aging population continues to grow, there is a need for an increase in assistance with accessing resources that allow older adults to age in place successfully while living on fixed and low-incomes. To meet this need, the Department of Housing and Urban Development constructed a funding program that allows skilled and trained professionals to assist older adults and their families and others in their support systems with accessing resources in both the public and private sectors. However, the program did not include a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment tool that will guide these professionals in meeting individual and community needs. A new comprehensive assessment was developed and administered to ten residents. A comparison of care plans created from the new assessment to care plans created using the current assessment identified needs for all 10 residents that were not reported during a previous assessment. Creating a comprehensive assessment to be used by Service Coordinators working in affordable housing communities will allow for needs to be met at the homes of older adults and promote healthy and successful aging in place.</p><p>

A family caregiver assessment and intervention tool for social service providers

<p> The purpose of this study is to assess the eldercare needs of the faculty and staff of California State University Long Beach (CSULB) and evaluate the need for adult day care services on campus. With the elderly population expected to double by 2050 and CSULB being the third largest employer in Long Beach, it is likely that caregiving will impact the productivity of its workforce. Additionally, the struggle to balance work and eldercare responsibilities will impact the health of the CSULB workforce. </p><p> Results indicate there is not currently a need for adult day care services on campus. However, there is a need for eldercare resources, referrals and access to professional gerontology consultations. Additionally, there is interest in eldercare resources such as seminars on veterans&rsquo; services, assisted living, Medicare, Medi-Cal, reverse mortgage, legal advice, financial advice, advanced directives, power of attorney, long-distance caregiving, supports for the sandwich generation and telecommuting options.</p>

Much work has been done in studying the peptidases of many and varied tissues and it has been the belief of several workers in this field (1,2,3) that the formed elements of the blood constitute the most probable place of origin of serum and tissue peptidases. Following this line of thought a study was undertaken of the characteristics of peptide hydrolysis in the various human blood constituents with regard to any changes due to age. From the work so far concluded and published it appeared that the rate of peptidase activity of the white blood cell layer in senile subjects was significantly higher than in young subjects (4). [...]

For aged people the end of life can be expected to include a period of physical and sometimes mental disintegration. In America these people are often isolated; they become social outcasts. Their plight has grave consequences for the maintaining of community and creates dread of the future in all the community's members. Physiology studies, social science research, and biographical accounts suggest that social attitudes toward disintegration of the frail elderly worsen their morale and physical condition, diminishing the potential of their lives. In Judaeo-Christian doctrine persons are to care for one another universally, regardless of condition. This universalism has not been adequately extended to the end of the life span. Judaeo-Christian doctrine also teaches that all human beings are alienated from the divinity of which they are a part--an alienation which calls for continuous reconciliation with the Creator and with fellow creatures, even to the end of life under physical and mental limitations. Reconciliation is here translated as homecoming, a term which has both a transcendent and worldly significance. The Judaeo-Christian doctrines of universalism and of reconciliation establish an imperative to create an environment for the elderly in which reconciliations can take place. Analysis of space, time and interpersonal needs suggest that the best site for very old people is the good home. A barrier to providing this environment for the frail elderly is identified as a misunderstanding in American society of the values ascribed to intellect and to vocational achievement. These values are valid, but not as criteria of human worth across the life span. A realignment, placing greater value on family, home, homemaking and home-sustaining, would result in different decisions in the care of the disintegrating elderly, and a shift in the focus of technology to support families caring at home for an elder which would allow for a better chance of homecoming, of belongingness, and of greater contentment at the end of life. It should also result in reducing the guilt and anxiety of those charged with care of the elderly and reassurance about their own future.