Category: North America
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Health Benefits of Pet Ownership for Seniors
As most pet owners already know, our pets are best friends and considered part of our families. Especially in nursing homes where the elderly suffer from depression, loneliness, and lack of social contacts, pets can be very therapeutic, improve the quality of life, and alleviate emotional and physical problems. Research…
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Aquatics for Life
Inactivity in the elderly has become an ever increasing epidemic in the United States. Politicians as well as insurance and health care providers need to band together to reverse this trend to insure the longevity and quality of life. The elderly are not only at risk for lifetime diseases such…
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Dementia Village: A Unique Place
Dementia can affect anybody and there is no cure for it. It is estimated that in 2050, more than 16 million Americans will have Alzheimer’s, which is the most common form of dementia. Dementia is a disease that affects the mental ability to perform everyday life activities. A person who…
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The Healing Power of Optimism – A Positive Outlook Can Improve Quality of Life and Health
The Benefits of Staying Positive There are many benefits associated with staying positive. This is supported by the fact that a continually growing body of research points to the benefits of viewing things in a positive light rather than negatively. Researchers believe that positive thinkers have no lasting negative effects since…
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Promoting Advance Directives, Reducing Medicare Spending
*This article was extracted from a longer, in-depth, paper written during my internship with a policy forum in Washington, D.C. More and more people are living to the age of 100. As our longevity increases, it is crucial to have an advance directive to make health care decisions, which may…
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Why Growing Old in the U.S. Sucks…and There is Nothing (Something) We Can Do About It
I am close to thirty years old. According to the latest data from the World Bank, I can expect to live another 45 to 50 years (Current U.S. life expectancy 78.7 years). However, the quality of those years is up for debate. Our current baby boomer population, on average, is…
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Caring for the Needs of the Aging Workforce
As the American population continues to age, there is an opportunity and a need to adequately respond to the unique needs of older adults. Ensuring a social structure that considers the needs of the aging is important, particularly as it is projected that by 2030, the number of Americans 65…
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Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s: A Great Threat to the U.S. National Budget
Since the last Presidential Election, the national budget has been a sore spot for Republicans and Democrats, the two major political parties in the U.S. While government programs such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are leading debates on reducing the national budget, politicians are oblivious of a looming threat…
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Fighting Loneliness – Pet Therapy for the Elderly
For many, retirement and old age is a welcome stage of life with few responsibilities, and a lot of time to pursue interests. To others, it brings on that dreaded feeling which no amount of pills and doctor appointments can cure – loneliness. According to AARP, over a third of Americans…
Global Health Aging 