PURPOSE This study explored the quality and functioning of terminally ill elders' social relationships and their impact on elders' consideration to hasten death. DESIGN AND METHODS In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 96 terminally ill elders. Logistic regression was used to determine whether aspects of social relationships significantly predicted the consideration to hasten ...

Acceptance of functional decline accompanying chronic illness is challenging for all elders, and even more so for African-American elders. This study examined functional status and the number, types, and acceptance of chronic conditions in 16 African-American and 46 White elders. African-American elders reported better functioning but resembled Whites in number of chronic conditions and accepta...

BACKGROUND Few studies have addressed depression among Puerto Rican and Dominican elders. This study examined the prevalence of depressive symptomatology and associated situational factors, among a representative sample of Hispanic elders in the state of Massachusetts and a neighborhood comparison group of non-Hispanic whites (NHWs). METHODS Participants included 715 Hispanic elders (429 Puer...

Indices of behavioral competence (activities of daily living [ADLs], instrumental activities of daily living [IADLs], use of outdoor resources, leisure activity level) as well as emotional adaptation (subjective well-being, future orientation) were used to investigate the psychosocial consequences of age-related vision impairment in a threefold manner: (a) comparison of visually impaired and un...

BACKGROUND Dental caries is becoming an ever-growing challenge as the number of elders maintaining their teeth increases. There is a need for low-cost, effective preventive interventions to retain natural teeth for elders. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to evaluate evidence based interventions for dentate elders, specifically the adjunct therapies of fluoride, chlorhexidine, xylitol...

Games are often considered a pastime for the youth, and most digital games are specifically designed to appeal to this demographic. Recently however, there has been an increased focus on “serious games” intended to produce positive effects for elders (i.e., older adults aged 65 and above). Digital games have been shown to have potential beneficial effects on elders' cognitive abilities (e.g., [...

PURPOSE Researchers often use the term "successful aging" to mean freedom from disability, yet the perspectives of elders living with late-life disability have not been well described. The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of successful aging among a diverse sample of community-dwelling elders with late-life disability. DESIGN AND METHODS Using qualitative grounded theory metho...

Hispanics are a rapidly growing population in Massachusetts, but little is known about the health, nutrition, and economic situation of the elder segment of these groups. In this report, we examine factors associated with poverty and the use of food assistance programs, using data from an NIA-funded project on Hispanic elders in Massachusetts. Poverty is shown to be a major problem with differe...

The exclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) elders from queer and gerontological theories has resulted in the silencing of LGBT older adults and their experiences. Historically, this silencing has left LGBT elders without adequate social or material supports and has isolated them from both the LGBT and the older-adult communities, as well as the agencies serving those commun...

In this paper we describe the effect elder-friendly design had on elder acceptance of a technology designed to enhance online security. This elder-friendly alternative interface was developed for an anti-phishing toolbar that was previously found usable by students but rejected as unfathomable by elders. We recruited five elders to use both the toolbar instantiation and the elder-friendly inter...