The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology¬ published a study recently that showed that pets can serve as important sources of social and emotional support for äóìeveryday people,äó not just individuals facing significant health challenges. In a press release they reported that: pet owners were just as close to key...
Author Archives: anthony
Another Case for Caregiver Support Groups
On July 20, we wrote about the need for employer caregiver affinity groups. Fran Melmed writing for TLNT reported on the need for more caregiver affinity groups in the workplace. Citing the Pew Internet Projectäó»s latest study on the social life of health information, Pew found that caregivers use social...
Coaching Into Care Can Help Vets
Coaching Into Careæworks with family members or friends who become aware of their Veteranäó»s post-deployment difficultiesäóîand supports their efforts to find help for the Veteran. This is a national clinical service providing information and help to Veterans and the loved ones who are concerned about them. The program was formerly...
Antipsychotic Drugs Called Hazardous for the Elderly
A government audit has revealed that nearly one in seven elderly nursing home residents, nearly all suffering dementia are given antipsychotic drugs even though the medicines increase the risks of death and are not approved for such treatments. More than half of the antipsychotics paid for by Medicare in the...
Many Lost When It Comes to Financial Planning for Retirement
Nearly 60% of Americans over the age of 50 are worried about the costs of long-term care, while only 16% feel prepared financially, according to a recent study by Sun Life Financial and conducted by Kelton Research.æ Bob Klein, Sun Life’s vice president of Strategic Planning and Linked Benefits says...
New Quality Site
A consolidated site to compare a host of quality reports on your hospital is now available. Robert Wood Johnson has launched the National Directory for Comparing Health Care Quality. No new quality data is available but it pulls together a host of publicly available quality reports into one site.æ Through...
Lithium May Prevent Parkinson’s Disease
Michael J. Fox, Parkinson’s Sufferer The Journal of Neuroscience Research reports that the drug lithium has been found to greatly prevent the buildup of the toxic proteins and brain cell loss linked to Parkinson’s disease. Commonly used to treat bipolar disorder, it has demonstrated a neuroprotective effect in diseases such...
New Administration Wellness Strategy Announced
Government health officials recently announced the National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy (PDF), a plan aimed at increasing the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life.æ This Strategy envisions a prevention-oriented society where all sectors recognize the value of health for individuals, families, and society and...
$3 Trillion in Lost Benefits Suffered by Caregivers
A new Met Life study shows that almost 10 million adults over the age of 50 are becoming caregivers for their own parents, resulting in a loss of $3 trillion in wages, pension and Social Security benefits for time taken off from work. The MetLife Mature Market Institute, the National...
Technology Does Not Necessarily Improve NH Care According to Residents
A new study suggests that comprehensive health information technology (HIT) does not lead to any measurable positive or negative effects on the health outcomes of elderly nursing home residents.æ The study evaluated the impact of implementing a comprehensive HIT system on resident clinical, functional, and quality of care outcome indicators...