PURPOSE The authors investigate the impact of hearing loss on quality of life in a large population of older adults. DESIGN AND METHODS Data are from the 5-year follow-up Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study, a population-based longitudinal study of age-related hearing impairment conducted in Beaver Dam, WI. Participants (N = 2,688) were 53-97 years old (mean = 69 years) and 42% were male. Diff...

To face the problems of elderly and disabled people in a rural environment, the district of Guéret (department of Creuse, France) has set up the “Home automation and Health Pole”. In association with the University of Limoges, this structure is based on the use of e-technologies together with home automation techniques. In this frame, many international collaborations attempts have started thro...

Balance Function test data alone cannot capture the reaction that a patient has to balance system disease. The present investigation examined the relations among components of the balance function examination (electronystagmography, rotational testing, and platform posturography) and self-perceived dizziness handicap, as quantified by the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI). The DHI is a 25-item...

Smart home technology provides benefits for the elderly in six primary categories: safety, health and nutrition, physical activity, personal hygiene and care, social engagement, and leisure. Safety is about detecting and mitigating, if not removing, hazards from the user’s environment. Social engagement relates to the smart home functions that allow the elderly to combat social isolation, such ...

Self-assessment handicap scales are gaining recognition as objective measures of audiologic intervention, including benefit derived from hearing aid use. A short form of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE-S) comprised of 10 items (5 emotional and 5 social/situational) was administered to 91 new hearing aid users prior to and 3 weeks following hearing aid provision. A significa...

The elderly population in Korea has dramatically increased in recent decades. Since 1970, it has increased by 342%. In addition, housing needs of the elderly are becoming more diverse than in the past, in terms of household types, economic status, health status, education level, family relationships, and housing experiences throughout their lifetimes. Seniors expect to live in a housing option ...

The ‘sandwich generation’ has been conceptualised as those mid-life adults who simultaneously raise dependent children and care for frail elderly parents. Such a combination of dependants is in fact very unusual, and the more common situation is when adults in late mid-life or early old age have one or more surviving parents and adult but still partly dependent children. It can be hypothesised ...

This article provides an introduction to the field of art therapy and the potential it can offer to address the emotional needs of the frail elderly. Two case studies are discussed, and examples of artwork are provided. The case studies and artwork were created under the guidance of an art therapist at a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) site in an urban African American comm...