The Top Ten Fears of Elderly Adults

Many of the fears that aging adults experience relate to the biggest challenge they say they face: staying active. According to a recent survey conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care network, seniors worry about the future, beginning with the loss of their independence.*

    1.    Loss of independence.

    2.    Declining health.

    3.    Running out of money.

    4.    Not being able to live at home.

    5.    Death of a spouse or other family member.

    6.    Inability to manage their own activities of daily living.

    7.    Not being able to drive.

    8.    Isolation or loneliness.

    9.    Strangers caring for them.

    10.    Fear of falling or hurting themselves.

“We regularly see seniors who are literally trapped in their homes because they are too weak to perform many of the activities they need to remain safe and independent, or to even enjoy life,” says Home Instead Senior Care Co-Founder and CEO Paul Hogan. “That’s why staying active is viewed by so many as vital to healthy aging.”

Home Instead Senior Care's New Year Resolutions for seniors 

Now that the Christmas excesses are behind us, many people of all ages are ready to start anew and make their New Year's resolution. To help seniors live a healthier and more active life, Home Instead Senior Care, a trusted source of home care for seniors recommends the following New Year's resolutions:

* Start exercising - It is never too late to start exercising and for seniors, regular exercise can help improve your health and overall quality of your life. It also helps improve your balance which will help you avoid injuries from falls and keep you independent and mobile.

* Assess your medical health - Prevention really is better than cure and visiting your doctor will help identify any potential health problems allowing you to take steps to prevent or treat illness early.

* Make new friends - After the death of a spouse or loved friends and family members, many seniors find themselves alone. Being lonely is hard on our health and affects our immune systems so it is so important seniors reach out to people. Developing new friendships can ward off depression and make life feel worthwhile again.

* Learn new things - You are never too old to learn new things - research actually shows that training and learning reignites the brain and improves memory. Many local schools and colleges offer adult learning programmes that you may be interested in, such as language classes.

* Fall proof your home - 82% of accidents to people over the age of 75 are fall related. A home visit by an occupational therapist will help identify risk factors and tell you what to do to make your home safer. For example you may want to avoid throw rugs or have cracks and uneven pathways repaired.

For further information on tips to keep seniors healthy log onto www.seniorsbayarea.com or call (877) 808-2700.

Disability Rates for Elderly Increase After 20-Year Decline

The disability rate among U.S. seniors is on the rise, a surprise considering the rate had been falling since the 1980s.

Researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of California, Berkeley, said the trend, if it continues, could seriously impact quality of life for seniors in the coming decades. The findings are troubling, the study authors add, because they suggest the steady decline in disability rates among older adults may have ended.

The study identified a 9 percent increase between 2000 and 2005 in non-institutionalized adults 65 and over reporting difficulty with basic activities of daily living, such as dressing, bathing and in-home mobility.

“The combination of increasing disability rates plus a growing population of older adults emphasizes the importance of prevention of the many chronic conditions giving rise to disability in the first place,” said lead author Esme Fuller-Thomson of the University of Toronto. “There is evidence, for example, that the doubling of obesity rates over the last three decades may be linked to rising disability in older people, yet the obesity problem is largely preventable.”

While people are living longer, many also are living sicker, the authors said.

Almost One-Third of Adult Population Plays Caregiving Role

Caregiving is still mostly a woman’s job, and many women put their careers and financial futures on hold as they juggle part-time caregiving and full-time job responsibilities. That’s the reality reported in the new report, “Caregiving in the U.S. 2009.”

The study found that 29 percent of the U.S. adult population, or 65.7 million people, are caregivers for adults, the elderly and children with special needs, including 31 percent of all households. Those caregivers provide an average of 20 hours of care per week.

Among other findings:

• Most care for a relative (86 percent), most often a parent (36 percent).

• Seven in 10 caregivers provide care for someone over age 50. One in seven caregivers provides care, over and above regular parenting, to a child with special needs.

• Caregiving lasts an average of 4.6 years.