BY SUSAN M. MATHEWS, PhD, RN, MSBE What happens when you make a promise to yourself and to your mother “I will never…put you in a nursing home?” Does life get in the way of those plans and promises? I posit that it does, and painfully so. My mother is 96 years old and has […]
BY SUSAN M. MATHEWS, PhD, RN, MSBE A July 2017 report published by the Population Research Bureau provides both good and bad news about our aging society and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementias. It is undeniable that the absolute number of Americans with dementia is increasing, however, the proportion of those with dementia […]
In some ways, the Jetson family gave us a look at what is becoming our technologically supported life. BY SUSAN M. MATHEWS, PhD, RN, MSBE In two short years, the American population of those 65 and older will number 65 million. It’s a staggering number that demands some out of the box thinking, especially when […]
Sorting Out Common Challenges Of Aging BY SUSAN M. MATHEWS, PhD, RN, MSBE It’s a hidden killer of the elderly and a serious public health challenge, as loneliness is causing widespread declines in physical and cognitive capacity. Loneliness plagues older women especially, because they are more likely to outlive their male loved ones. This state […]
BY SUSAN M. MATHEWS, PhD, RN, MSBE Autonomy, our right to make decisions for our own bodies, is the most powerful of all principles in medical ethics. Autonomy is what drives focus on advance care planning: considering, communicating and documenting end of life care preferences. Dying is draining, both physically and emotionally. A key stressor […]