Research Assignment 3

Older women can take several steps to improve their overall health and well being in an effort to remain in their homes late into life. I believe that one of the biggest factors is focusing on personal health. Good overall health should include a balanced, personalized diet and vitamin regimen along with daily physical activity. It isn’t necessary for the elderly to partake in vigorous physical activity, but daily activities like walking, dancing, gardening, swimming, etc. is beneficial for overall health. According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, more than 60 percent of U.S. women do not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity, and physical inactivity is more common among women than among men. For older women, physical activity can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. It can also lower the risk of falling and improve cognitive function. A community can take steps to improve the physical well being of its members.  For example, a community could build safe, accessible walking and bicycle trails or provide community-based programs to meet the needs of older women. I believe that physical health is the key to independence. When an older adult is in good health, he or she will inevitably have more independent than one who is not.

                    There are still things that can be changed to make the nursing home feel less institutionalized. After conducting some research, I found that in 2009, the U.S Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services aimed to “transform nursing homes into environments that are more like [residents’] homes through both environmental changes and resident-centered caregiving.”  Included in that proposal were plans to individualize personal care, giving residents more choice over their daily routines, and a call to de-institutionalize the environment as a whole by removing things like meals served on standard trays.

                    I found numerous alternatives to nursing homes on the AARP website.

        The Village concept supports the needs of older adults medically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. The Beacon Hill Village in Boston is one of the mot prominent examples of a Village concept. The AARP maintains that the elderly can reap many benefits from living in a Village. The biggest benefit is that the living structure “allows older adults to remain in their communities, delaying or even preventing the need for institutional care.” I strayed from the AARP website to research more alternatives to nursing homes. On the U.S. government’s website for Medicare, I found an alternative in the PACE program. PACE stands for the “Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.” The program features medical and social services that can be provided at an adult day health center or at the customer’s home.

                    I was interested to research homelessness in older adults because I rarely associate homelessness to the elderly. According to a study by the National Coalition for the Homeless, elderly homeless persons are more prone to “victimization and more likely to be ignored by law enforcement.” I gathered that older persons and homelessness is a vicious cycle. The longer that the elderly remain homeless, the poorer health they are in. The poorer health they are in, the less apt they are to take care of themselves. The cycle continues as aging takes its horrible toll.