OBJECTIVES Financial decision-making (FDM) is crucial for independent living. Due to cognitive decline that accompanies normal aging, older adults might have difficulties in some aspects of FDM. However, an improved knowledge, personal experience and affective decision-making, which are also related to normal aging, may lead to a stable or even improved age-related performance in some other asp...

To many people, home is a sanctuary. For those people who need special medical care, they may need to be pulled out of their home to meet their medical needs. As the population ages, the percentage of people in this group is increasing and the effects are expensive as well as unsatisfying. We hypothesize that many people with disabilities can lead independent lives in their own homes with the a...

Facilities variously known as independent living centers, disabled living centers, disability information centers, and resource centers now exist in many parts of the world. Although occupational therapists offer valuable perspectives on quality of life, knowledge of assistive technology, and a holistic view of clients' needs, occupational therapy is not always a part of these centers. Occupati...

This study examined the influences of individual and social risk factors on alcohol and marijuana use among a sample of foster care adolescents. Data were collected through baseline structured interviews with 320 adolescents (aged 15-18 years) who resided in foster care placements and participated in a larger evaluation study of an independent living program. Approximately 40% of the adolescent...

A study was conducted to assess how a new metric, average in-home gait speed (AIGS), measured using a low-cost, continuous, environmentally mounted monitoring system, compares to a set of traditional physical performance instruments used for mobility and fall risk assessment of elderly adults. Sixteen participants were recruited from a local independent living facility. In addition to having th...

Recent years have seen a growth in research on retirement/lifestyle migration to Spain, however this has tended to focus on the reasons for moving, as well as the lifestyles adopted as part of a healthy and active retirement. However, ageing in Spain can bring challenges as a person's resources for independent living diminish. This paper draws on narrative interviews with vulnerable older Briti...

BACKGROUND Early intervention (EI) services are designed to promote the development of skills and enhance the quality of life of infants and toddlers who have been identified as having a disability or developmental delay, enhance capacity of families to care for their child with special needs, reduce future educational costs, and promote independent living (NECTAC, 2011). EI services are regula...

Comparisons of well-being across heterogenous households necessitate that households' incomes are adjusted for differences in size and composition: equivalence scales arecommonly used to achieve this objective.Equivalence scales with constant elasticity with respect to family size have been argued to provide a good approximation to a large variety of scales (see, e.g., B. Buhmann, L. Rainwater,...

BACKGROUND The role of technology to facilitate independent living for people with dementia is not fully realized, with initial attempts (e.g. tracking devices) being considered unacceptable from a practical and ethical perspective. The aim of this study is to create acceptable and effective prototype technologies to facilitate independence for people with dementia through a user-centered desig...

PURPOSE To examine perceptions about aging well in the context of cognitive health among a large and diverse group of older adults. DESIGN AND METHODS Forty-two focus groups were conducted with older adults living in the community (N = 396; White, African American, American Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Hispanic). Participant descriptions of "someone who you think is aging well" were analy...