Aging Baby Boomers Research Articles

Art and Music Programs Prove Their Worth

Art and Music Programs Prove Their Worth

How Intelligent Knowledge Systems Will Improve Operations and Safety in the Future

Guest editorial In an era of high workforce turnover, capturing operational knowledge is vital to improving safety and achieving operational excellence. Modern solutions must address not only the replacement of paper-based processes, but also contextually weave together multidisciplinary information in a form that provides a holistic view of equipment across an operation. Going forward, the oil and gas industry should have intelligent, automated systems designed to capture data, learn from events, optimize production, and prevent safety-related incidents. The time is now for this step change in the industry as these fully integrated systems will become as necessary and as expected as the use of tablets and laptops. Trends and events in the oil and gas industry in recent years have shown that the focus on operation, maintenance, and safety requires more integration and embedding into operational processes. The industry has been aware of the issue of staff turnover for some time and the causes are not just aging baby boomers, but a change in working trends. The retention of employees is no longer assured through incentives, such as a good pension package, and the modern workforce recognizes that their skills are highly transportable. Lives are built more around portability, and information that would encourage one to realize new ambitions is more readily available than ever before. What attracted and retained previous generations of the workforce no longer has the same appeal. The industry must adapt to this new status quo and protect against the increasing risk that vital, safety-related information could disappear from an organization. With increased staff turnover, the risk that an organization might not keep required information is particularly high in activities that are not part of daily operations. Less frequent occurrences, such as an operation startup or coming out of a turnaround process, may leave the company particularly vulnerable. Information may be especially limited when it comes to taking long-life, rarely cycled equipment in and out of operation. However, it is under such less frequent conditions that accidents are more likely to occur. To combat the loss of knowledge retained by staff, intelligent systems should be not only work-process driven but also capture valuable information. These systems must be used by both seasoned and new employees and to capture and harness knowledge about various aspects of operations. They should learn, be intelligent, and make the knowledge they contain clearly available to operators as they work. In this way, when there are transitions, abnormal conditions, or opportunities for improvement, operators and engineers have ready access to the background and information gained from the past 20 years of accumulated knowledge. Such a system is a living, breathing application beyond anything that has been used in the industry to date.

Women's Health, Pharmacology, and Aging

Heidi Collins Fantasia, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, is an Assistant Professor at in the College of Health Sciences, School of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA and a women’s health nurse practitioner at Health Quarters, Beverly, MA. Women make up the majority of aging persons in the United States and worldwide. Based on the standard definitions that apply to developed countries, women leave middle age and start the elderly phases of their lives between ages 60 and 65 (Lonsdale & Baker, 2013). According to U.S. Census data for 2010, approximately 80 million persons were age 45 to 64, and 40 million persons were 65 and older (Howden & Meyer, 2011). Between 2000 and 2010, the fastest growth occurred in populations of persons older than age 45: the population of persons age 45 to 64 grew at a rate of 31.5%, and the population of persons age 65 and older grew at a rate of 15.1%. This growth is reported to be a direct effect of the aging Baby Boom generation (Howden & Meyer, 2011).

Financial Preparations for Aging of BabyBoomers and Pre-BabyBoomers in Korea

Financial Preparations for Aging of BabyBoomers and Pre-BabyBoomers in Korea

Physical activity as a coping strategy for smoking cessation in mid-life and older adults

Smoking prevalence for those ages 45–65 is higher than the national average and the number of mid-life and older smokers is expected to increase as baby boomers age. Cessation, even after age 65, confers health benefits. Both physiologic and psychological mechanisms support use of physical activity (PA) as a coping tool for quitting and improving health. This study focused on use of PA for coping with urges to smoke, factors associated with use, and whether use of PA was associated with abstinence at 12months for 799 smokers ages 50 and older. Only 11.6% used PA for coping, with walking the most common PA. Females were more likely to use PA relative to males. Though in the predicted direction, use of PA was not significantly associated with 12-month abstinence. Male gender and higher baseline self-efficacy to quit were associated with 12month abstinence. Encouraging use of PA during smoking cessation does not impede quitting and may improve health outcomes. Further research on whether PA increases abstinence with a larger sample of mid-life and older adults is indicated.

Willingness to pay for public transportation options for improving the quality of life of the rural elderly

Transportation for the rural elderly is an increasing concern as baby boomers age and young people continue to exit rural communities. When the elderly are no longer able to drive, they rely on alternative forms of transportation, including public transportation systems. Currently, such systems are usually not good substitutes for driving a private car, especially in rural areas. Because expanded rural transportation systems would likely be funded by taxpayers, an understanding of their preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for non-medical transportation options is essential. To help understand WTP and preferences, a choice experiment survey was administered to taxpayers in three counties (Atascosa, Polk, and Parker) in Texas. Results indicate taxpayers’ value transportation services for the elderly and are willing to support them. They value more flexible options over base levels of the attributes presented, but they may not always prefer the most flexible options. Respondents’ WTP for the same transportation attribute was similar across counties, but differences in socio-demographic coefficients suggest that transportation systems may need to be customized to meet local needs. Furthermore, county residents’ WTP may not cover the cost of desired improvements to the transportation systems.

No longer hip: losing my balance and adapting to what ails me

Viewing personal narrative as a way to cope with personal issues and public troubles, as well as to provide companionship and comparative life experiences for those going through their own troubles, the author tells a story about adapting to the chronic pain and deterioration of osteoarthritis of the hip. Coping with degenerative but non-life-threatening aches and pain, which are likely to increase as baby boomers age, is an important part of our lived experience of health and ageing, and worthy of examination in our research and stories. Calling on medical and psychosocial literature, the author contextualises her story of learning to live with arthritis as a relational and bodily process with implications for ageing well. Her goal is to incorporate arthritis into her storyline, rather than fighting it or giving in to it. She hopes to stimulate conversation about our ‘conditions’ as a way to work through and cope well with what ails us rather than letting our ailments become who we are – to ourselves and with others.

Housing type, location of residence and health status in Australian baby boomers: Results from the Australian Baby Boomer (ABBA) Study

Baby Boomers are working and living longer than their pre-war counterparts, and are more likely to live in high density urban housing. This paper examines the relationship between housing type, working status and location of residence on health status in Baby Boomers. We investigated location of residence and housing type in 1009 participants of the Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia (ABBA) Study to identify any predictors of, or correlations between, these variables and health status. Current workers were less likely to report depression than retirees. We found a significantly higher rate of diabetes, obesity and hypertension in retirees than in current workers however rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension were higher than predicted in current workers. The rates of chronic disease are higher than previous estimates and provide evidence to inform health promotion programs designed to increase physical activity and improve eating habits in baby boomers.

The Greater St. Louis LGBT Health and Human Services Needs Assessment: An Examination of the Silent and Baby Boom Generations

This study sought to understand differences and similarities between lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Baby Boomers and members of the Silent generation in the greater St. Louis region in relation to perceived barriers to service use, LGBT identity disclosure, experiences of violence and victimization, and mental health. An online survey was completed by 118 Baby Boomers and 33 Silents. Baby Boomers were found to perceive more barriers to health care and legal services, have fewer legal documents in place, feel less safe in their communities, and have experienced an increased rate of verbal harassment compared to their predecessors. Differences may be attributed to higher levels of LGBT identity disclosure among Baby Boomers across their lifetime. These findings support the current work of Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders Metro St. Louis, with implications for other communities, and shed light on the need for continued advancement in the development and implementation of programs as LGBT Baby Boomers age.

English

Senior cohousing creates socially, financially, and environmentally sustainable communities for the second half of life. Common facilities include housing for a caregiver whom residents hire as needed. Members provide mutual assistance for each other (co-caring) that encourages wellbeing and aging in place. Like multi-generational cohousing these are intentionally cooperative neighbourhoods where each household owns its small but complete home and spacious common facilities are shared. Well-established in Europe, senior cohousing is new to North America and the UK. This paper focuses on Harbourside Cohousing under development in Sooke, BC, and on the innovative Royal Roads University course that attracts new members to the cohousing and raises awareness of aging options in the larger community. Harbourside will be the second senior cohousing in Canada, the first with a care-giver suite, and the first to require a short course on Aging Well in Community as a prerequisite for membership. Experiential learning in the course helps people to get out of denial about growing older. They explore how cocaring can ensure social connection with their community and help them stay in cohousing and out of institutional care as they age. They become a force for change in the larger society redefining aging and elder housing. Co-caring is a grassroots model of neighbourly mutual support that can help reduce social isolation and promote positive, active aging. It encourages independence through awareness that we are all interdependent. In a senior cohousing community, giving and receiving cocare is entirely voluntary. Members may choose to support each other through such activities as doing errands, driving, cooking, or going for a walk with a neighbour. Being good neighbours helps people age well in community and have fun doing it! The course on aging well in community and the participatory development process at Harbourside are creating community two years before move-in. The paper concludes with lessons learned from this prototype and suggests how to begin scaling up senior cohousing as� a� radical� social� innovation� to� respond� to� the� ‘silver� tsunami’� of� aging� baby� boomers.

Exploratory Single-System Analyses of Moderation-Based Brief Treatments With Middle-Aged and Older Heavy Drinkers

As baby boomers age, identifying effective and efficacious interventions for older adults (OA) with alcohol use disorder is vital for the ongoing viability of the health care system. Brief alcohol use disorder interventions with OA have yet to be examined in the context of studies with high internal validity. Post-hoc, exploratory, single-system analyses were performed on 10 OA and 13 middle-aged problem drinkers who had participated in a randomized controlled trial. Their trajectories were compared to peer age groups who received no treatment. Although OA appeared to respond to most interventions, some interventions yielded greater response than others. Implications are discussed.

The impact of chronic hepatitis C on resource utilisation and in-patient mortality for Medicare beneficiaries between 2005 and 2010

As baby boomers age, chronic hepatitis C (CHC) will become increasingly important in Medicare eligible group. To evaluate trends in Medicare resource utilisation for CHC. We analysed the Medicare in-patient and out-patient data from 2005 to 2010. For each patient, all claims with CHC as a principal diagnosis were added up and yearly CHC-related spending was calculated. A total of 48,880 out-patient claims for 21,655 CHC patients and 4884 hospital admission claims for 3092 patients were included. The number of in-patient (1.5-1.6/year) or out-patient (2.2-2.3/year) visits per patient did not change over time, nor did the demographic characteristics of the CHC population. The majority of this population was eligible for Medicare based on disability and the average number of diagnoses per in-patient claim (from 8.11 in 2005 to 8.60 in 2010) and per out-patient claim (from 2.18 in 2005 to 2.71 in 2010) increased (both P < 0.0001). The average total yearly spending per patient increased in the out-patient setting from $488 in 2005 to $584 in 2010 (P = 0.0132) and did not change in the in-patient setting (from $22,245 in 2005 to $23,383 in 2010, P = 0.14). In the multivariate analysis, the number of diagnoses and conditions per claim and the number of in-patient or out-patient procedures per year were the important independent predictors of increased resource utilisation. Most Medicare beneficiaries with chronic hepatitis C who sought in-patient or out-patient care in 2005-2010 had received Medicare for disability. Although the total resource utilisation did not change, the proportion of patient's responsibility increased.

Novel Wearable Technology for Assessing Spontaneous Daily Physical Activity and Risk of Falling in Older Adults with Diabetes

As baby boomers age and their expected life span increases, there is an unprecedented need to better manage the health care of elders with diabetes who are at increased risk of falling due to diabetes complications, frailty, or other conditions. New clinical and research tools are needed to measure functioning accurately and to identify early indicators of risk of falling, thus translating into more effective and earlier intervention. The objective of this pilot study was to validate a significant change in hardware and algorithm to track activity patterns using a single triaxial accelerometer through validation of timed up and go and standard measures of balance and gait. We recruited a convenience sample of eight older adults with diabetes and peripheral neuropathy (age, 77 ± 7 years old) who were asked to wear the sensor for imposed daytime activity performed in our gait laboratory. Subjects were stratified into risk of falling categories based on Tinetti scores. We examined the accuracy of the suggested technology for discrimination of high- versus low-risk groups. The system was accurate in identifying the number of steps taken and walking duration (random error <5%). The proposed algorithm allowed accurate identification and stratification of those at highest risk of falling, suggesting that subjects with high risk of falling required a substantially longer duration for rising from a chair when compared with those with low risk of falling (p < .05). Our new single triaxial accelerometer algorithm successfully tracked postural transition, allowing accurate identification of those at high risk of falling, and could be useful for intermittent or even continuous monitoring of older adults with diabetes. Other potential applications could include activity monitoring of the diabetes population with lower extremity disease and of patients undergoing surgical procedures or as an objective measure during rehabilitation.

Retirement Abroad as Women’s Aging Strategy

Understanding the culture and lifestyle choices of retirees has never been so crucial. The aging baby boom population bubble means that by 2030 eighteen percent of the U.S. will be 65 or over. The lifestyle decisions of these individuals will have far-reaching implications culturally, politically and economically. Since more women are living their post-retirement lives alone and in economically challenging situations, this paper examines the mobility of older women in the form of international retirement migration as a strategy to ameliorate levels of economic and general well-being. Historically people have retired abroad for various reasons, but current practices suggest that retiring permanently in a foreign country has become an increasingly popular aging strategy. Retiring abroad does not come without serious challenges, however, as the strains of navigating the aging process are interwoven with living in a foreign culture. Based on research done in Mexico, and southern France, this paper highlights the efforts put forth by aging women to avoid the well-trodden path of retirement before them and to forge a new path, choose a new homeland, and perhaps, reinvent themselves a bit along the way.

Baby boomers’ mobility patterns and preferences: What are the implications for future transport?

The demographic grand challenge of population ageing will be reflected in most areas of society and, to a great extent, in the area of transportation as well. It will have an impact on, for example, travel demand, infrastructure needs, traffic safety and the climate. The post-World War II cohorts, the so-called “baby boomers”, will comprise a large share of tomorrow's older population, and it is expected that they will differ from their parents’ generation when they grow old. In order to better understand how the ageing baby boomers may affect future travel demand, the travel behaviour and expectations of Danish baby boomers were analysed based on 1772 standardised telephone interviews. In general, the baby boomers reported being healthy, independent and highly (auto)mobile. They were also optimistic regarding their level of mobility, capability to use a variety of travel modes and ability to lead an independent life in the future. However, there were significant gender differences in terms of present and expected car use in old age, which were somewhat similar to those observed in older cohorts. In addition, different sub groups of baby boomers could be identified based on their future expectations: the so-called Flexibles, Independents and Restricted subjects. The segments showed significant differences in current travel behaviour and living conditions, as well as some similarities to former segments of older road users. The results indicate that the baby boomers are likely to be strong consumers of the transport system also as they age, but that the group is also heterogeneous. Thus, overly optimistic scenarios about independent baby boomers who differ from the previous generations and whose need for external support in old age will be minimal may be unrealistic.

Drinking patterns of older adults with chronic medical conditions.

Understanding alcohol consumption patterns of older adults with chronic illness is important given the aging baby boomer generation, the increase in prevalence of chronic conditions and associated medication use, and the potential consequences of excessive drinking in this population. To estimate the prevalence of alcohol consumption patterns, including at-risk drinking, in older adults with at least one of seven common chronic conditions. This descriptive study used the nationally representative 2005 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey linked with Medicare claims. The sample included community-dwelling, fee-for-service beneficiaries 65 years and older with one or more of seven chronic conditions (Alzheimer's disease and other senile dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, diabetes, heart failure, hypertension, and stroke; n = 7,422). Based on self-reported alcohol consumption, individuals were categorized as nondrinkers, within-guidelines drinkers, or at-risk drinkers (exceeds guidelines). Overall, 30.9 % (CI 28.0-34.1 %) of older adults with at least one of seven chronic conditions reported alcohol consumption in a typical month in the past year, and 6.9 % (CI 6.0-7.8 %) reported at-risk drinking. Older adults with higher chronic disease burdens were less likely to report alcohol consumption and at-risk drinking. Nearly one-third of older adults with selected chronic illnesses report drinking alcohol and almost 7 % drink in excess of National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines. It is important for physicians and patients to discuss alcohol consumption as a component of chronic illness management. In cases of at-risk drinking, providers have an opportunity to provide brief intervention or to offer referrals if needed.

Australian baby boomers retiring ‘early’: Understanding the benefits of retirement preparation for involuntary and voluntary retirees

The first of the baby boomers have reached retirement age, but some have retired ‘early’ with varying degrees of personal choice. Preparation for retirement can lead to well-being in later life, but few studies have considered the preparations of involuntary retirees or the pathways that link their preparations with retirement outcomes. This research draws on a sample of 304 retirees from the Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia Study (2009) to examine how preparedness for retirement relates to voluntary and involuntary retirees' life satisfaction and how this relationship is explained by psychological, activity-based, and economic theories. Preparedness predicted life satisfaction for voluntary and involuntary retirees and each of theoretical pathways was supported. Although those retiring involuntarily were less prepared than voluntary retirees, their preparatory behaviours were still associated with life satisfaction. These results suggest that retirement policy and planning initiatives should aim to facilitate a holistic approach to retirement planning for future retirees, particularly those facing an early and unexpected retirement.

Exercise Training for Peripheral Arterial Disease

Exercise Training for Peripheral Arterial Disease

Call for Action: Caring for the United States' Aging Cancer Survivors

The United States is undergoing significant societal shifts that will have profound implications for the professional practice of oncology nurses, including the aging of the nation's baby boomers and an anticipated increase in cancer survivors. Understanding of the confluence of those factors and their impact on survivors' physical and psychological outcomes remains limited. Nurses may be aware of advances in general survivorship care but may not have the specific knowledge and skills to meet the distinctive needs of older adult cancer survivors. The authors call for a paradigm change in nursing practice, which will increase awareness across professional specialties that survivorship care for older adults is a professional obligation of all nurses.

Increased Tuberculosis Burden Due to Demographic Transition in Korea from 2001 to 2010

BackgroundNotified tuberculosis (TB) cases in Korea have not decreased over the last decade (2001-2010).MethodsTo clarify the reasons, we analyzed an annual report on notified tuberculosis patients and age-specific population drift in Korea.ResultsCompared to the age-specific notified TB cases between 2001 and 2010, distinctive features in notified TB cases and new cases increased markedly in people aged 45-54 years and in patients over 65 years old, whereas those between 15-34 years in 2010 decreased drastically. In particular, notified TB individuals over 65 years old occupied 29.6% of the cases in 2010, which was 1.5 times higher than that in 2001. The main reason not to decrease in notified TB patients for the last decade (2001-2010) was due to the increasing elderly population as well as the aging of baby boomers, which have a higher risk of TB development.ConclusionKorea needs to pay attention to the older population in order to successfully decrease the burden of TB in the future.