Reducing the Financial Fatigue of Caregiving There are many rewards of caring for a loved one, but caregiving can also come at a cost. According to several studies, the average female caregiver loses more than $324,000 during their lifetime in wages, pensions and Social Security benefits, due to their caregiving responsibilities. Read more
Recognizing the Signs of Financial Abuse It is important for all of us to know the signs of financial exploitation so we can help prevent this from happening to our loved ones, such as our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles or dear friends. There are several warning signs to look for and then to question further. Read more
Taking ACTION to Manage Dementia Care Caring for a loved one with dementia can oftentimes go hand-in-hand with challenging situations that may lead us to feel stress and uncertainty about how to manage our loved one’s care. It can become overwhelming, especially for one person, but there are steps we can take to minimize the burden and make progress. Action planning gives us guidance and support to meet our caregiving needs and manage our loved one’s care by breaking down larger goals into small, manageable steps towards solutions to potential challenges. Read more
7 Tips to Help a Loved One Bathe If our loved ones need assistance with bathing, it can be an uncomfortable experience for them to involve us, but it may be necessary for their health and well-being. We should be open with our loved ones about their bathing needs, and, if necessary, enlist the assistance of a doctor in stressing the importance of receiving help in this area. We can ask our loved ones their preferences regarding who they would like to have help them with this task. If the task falls to us, we can follow these tips to help make the experience go smoothly. Read more
Babysitting as Grandparents If asked to take on a childcare role with grandchildren, grandparents may begin to feel worried and stressed about these new responsibilities. But while many areas of childcare may have changed from the past, many areas have remained the same over time. With some conversation and ground rules set, the babysitting experience can be rewarding for grandparents, and a godsend for working parents. Read more
Rose Centers for Aging Well Rose Centers for Aging Well, a subsidiary of Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, exists to promote successful aging for Northeast Ohio’s adults by offering opportunities, programs and services that foster choice and independence. Rose Centers provides home-delivered meals to homebound older adults as well as hot lunches and social, health and wellness programming in senior centers throughout the area. Read more
3 Ways to Help an Older Loved One With Spring Cleaning With the arrival of spring comes the season of cleaning, decluttering and organizing the household. If we are caring for an older loved one, giving them a hand with their annual spring cleaning may not only make for a meaningful Easter gift, but can also help keep them safe and protected in their home. Read more
A self-reliant umbrella: Defining successful aging among the old-old (80+) in Shanghai The Chinese old-old (80+) population has steadily increased in recent years; however, limited studies have examined how this group ages. The purpose of this study is to explore how the old-old in urban China define successful aging. Guided by grounded theory, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with community-dwelling old-old participants (N = 97). Participants identified self-reliance as the goal of successful aging, which was supported by four proactive behaviors: physical activity, financial security, community connectedness, and willing acceptance of reality. In our model, we conceptualized these four proactive behaviors to constitute the ribs of an umbrella, supporting a canopy to protect the pole of self-reliant successful aging. This study offers new understanding of the dynamic and nuanced ways that the old-old in urban China age successfully and of their valiant efforts to maintain self-reliance. Read more
Well-being in dementia: a cross-sectional dyadic study of the impact of multiple dimensions of strain on persons living with dementia and their family care partners. Background and Purpose:The impact of dementia-related stressors and strains have been examined for their potential to threaten the well-being of either the person with dementia or the family care partner, but rarely have studies considered the dyadic nature of well-being in dementia. The purpose of this study was to examine the dyadic effects of multiple dimensions of strain on the well-being of dementia care dyads. METHODS: Using multilevel modeling to account for the inter-relatedness of individual well-being within dementia care dyads, we examined cross-sectional responses collected from 42 dyads comprised of a hospitalized patient diagnosed with a primary progressive dementia (PWD) and their family care partner (CP). Both PWDs and CPs self-reported on their own well-being using measures of quality of life (QOL-Alzheimer's Disease scale) and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale). RESULTS: In adjusted models, the PWD's well-being (higher QOL and lower depressive symptoms) was associated with significantly less strain in the dyad's relationship. The CP's well-being was associated with significantly less care-related strain and (for QOL scale) less relationship strain. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the impact of dementia on the well-being of PWDs or CPs may require an assessment of both members of the dementia care dyad in order to gain a complete picture of how dementia-related stressors and strains impact individual well-being. These results underscore the need to assess and manage dementia-related strain as a multi-dimensional construct that may include strain related to the progression of the disease, strain from providing care, and strain on the dyad's relationship quality. Read more
The influence of acculturation level and family relationships on quality of life among U.S. Chinese older adults The present study examined the influence of acculturation level and family relationships (i.e., positive family support and negative family strain) on quality of life (QOL), using the data from the Population Study of ChINese Elderly (PINE) in Chicago (N = 3159). Controlling for sociodemographic variables and health status, it was found that individuals’ acculturation level and positive family support were positively related to QOL, whereas negative family strain was negatively associated with QOL. More importantly, higher acculturation levels were associated with increased protective effects of positive family support and reduced risk effects of negative family strain on QOL among U.S. Chinese older adults. Read more
