In this issue:
- AGS Hot Weather Safety Tips for Older Adults
- New Patient Education Forums Available
- New Research Posted on Aging in the Know
- The Open Road: America Looks at Aging
Hot weather is more likely to cause health problems in older adults than in younger ones. Thanks to some of the physical changes that occur as we age, older adults can't cool down as well as younger ones. And they're less likely to feel hot or thirsty, even when they're getting dangerously warm or need to drink more To help keep older people safe this summer, the AGS Foundation for Health in Aging has provided some helpful tips on avoiding, recognizing, and handling health problems due to high heat and humidity. These include:
- Finding an air conditioned place to stay (this could be a library or mall) when it's hot outside
- Drinking lots of water or other drinks that don't contain caffeine or alcohol
- Wearing a hat outdoors
Heat-related problems include:
- Dehydration
- Heat Stroke
- Heat Exhaustion
To learn more, please visit
http://www.healthinaging.org/public_education/hot_weather_tips.php
The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging has released 7 new Patient Education Forums on
- Asthma
- Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease
- Diabetic Foot
- Dry Skin
- Exercise
- Medication Management
- Smoking Cessation
Patient Education Forums (PEFs) are short and authoritative fact sheets in Question & Answer format. Our PEFs are designed to help you communicate more effectively with your health care providers about common problems of older adults. All PEFs (we currently have 40) are available at for viewing and in downloadable printer-friendly format on the Foundation's web site.
To view all available Patient Education Forums, please visit:
http://www.healthinaging.org/public_education/pef/
Aging in the Know offers a "New Research" section that includes research summaries based on the latest aging studies published in The
Journal of The American Geriatrics Society (JAGS). These summaries are intended to help you to better understand the often complicated language of modern medicine and to keep older adults and their caregivers up-to-date on cutting-edge geriatrics research.
The following new summaries are now available:
June 2005
- Loss of Bone Mass Differs Between African-American and Caucasian Women
July 2005
- High Blood Pressure and Diabetes Can Impair Both Mental and Physical Function in Older Adults
- Vision Problems Make it Difficult to Take Medications Properly
For more information please visit:
http://www.healthinaging.org/agingintheknow/research.asp
This public television documentary, produced and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Nina Gilden Seavey, explores the opportunities and obstacles that America faces as the Baby Boomers near retirement age. Underwritten by The Atlantic Philanthropies and the National Council on the Aging (NCOA), "The Open Road" uses insightful stories of ordinary people in the US who are confronting social, economic and cultural issues as they move into the "third stage" of their lives. Four nationally-recognized experts on "creative aging" provide commentary. The documentary premiered on select public television stations in July, and will be aired on dozens more during August. Contact your local public station for dates and times, or visit
http://www.theopenroadfilm.com/press/open_road_stations.pdf for schedule information. To learn more about The Open Road, please visit
www.theopenroadfilm.com.
