Communication For Successful Aging

This essential volume explores the vital role of communication in the aging process and how this varies for different social groups and cultural communities. It reveals how communication can empower people in the process of aging, and that how we communicate about age is critically important to – and is at the heart of – aging successfully. Giles et al. confront the uncertainty and negativity surrounding "aging" – a process with which we all have to cope – by expertly placing communication at the core of the process. They address the need to avoid negative language, discuss the lifespan as an evolving adventure, and introduce a new theory of successful aging – the communication ecology model of successful aging (CEMSA). They explore the research on key topics including: age stereotypes, age identities, and messages of ageism; the role of culture, gender, ethnicity, and being a member of marginalized groups; the ingredients of intergenerational communication; depiction of aging and youth in the media; and how and why talk about death and dying can be instrumental in promoting control over life’s demands. Communication for Successful Aging is essential reading for graduate students of psychology, human development, gerontology, and communication, scholars in the social sciences, and all of us concerned with this complex academic and highly personal topic.

This text employs a communication perspective to examine the aging process and the ability of individuals to adapt successfully to aging. It continues the groundbreaking work of the first edition, emphasizing a life-span approach toward understanding the social interaction that occurs during later life. The edition provides a comprehensive update on the existing and emerging research within communication and aging studies and considers such topics as notions of successful aging, positive and negative stereotypes toward older adults, and health communication issues. It raises awareness of the barriers facing elderly people in conversation and the importance such conversations have in elderly people's lives. The impact of nonrelational processes, such as hearing loss, are considered as they impact relationships with others and affect the ability to age successfully. The book is organized into 14 chapters. Each chapter is written so that the reader is presented with an exhaustive review of the pertinent and recent literature from the social sciences. As in the first edition, when the literature is empirically based, the communicative ramifications are then discussed. Readers of this volume will gain greater understanding of the importance of their communicative relationships and how significant they remain across the life span. Developed for students in communication, psychology, nursing, social gerontology, sociology, and related areas, Communication and Aging provides important insights on communication to all who are affected by the aging process.

This collection highlights the current efforts by scholars and researchers to understand the aging process as it relates to the health of older adults. With contributions from international scholars in communication, psychology, public health, medicine, nursing, and other areas, this volume emphasizes communication as a critical research, education, policy, and practice issue for the design, provision, and evaluation of health and social services for older adults. Organized into sections addressing communication developments in the healthcare arena, issues in provider-patient communication, and the relationships between family communication and health. The chapters cover critical topics related to successful aging, such as Alzheimer's disease, managed care and older adults, communication issues of severe dementia, and healthcare decision-making within families. The editors have designed this volume to be accessible to a broad audience, including scholars and students of aging and communication, healthcare practitioners with older clients, and aging individuals and their families who are pursuing strategies for successful aging. The chapters represent the highest levels of current scholarship on communication, aging, and health, providing a strong foundation for future research. Each contribution also addresses the applied implications of this research, offering practical guidance to readers dealing with these issues in their own lives. As a whole, Aging, Communication, and Health represents a major advance toward understanding the importance and application of communication for successful aging.

This book explores communication in older adulthood, particularly in the areas of interpersonal, intercultural, and mass communication, and includes coverage of communication using new technology. The book synthesizes existing research and builds a case for more positive attitudes towards aging and for the power of communication to shape such attitudes. A succinct mix of the conceptual and the practical, the authors acknowledge the importance of theory yet also emphasize that communication and aging is inherently an applied field of study. Chapters include profiles of older adults and their significant achievements, literary and artistic depictions of aging, and information boxes that discuss myths about aging and keys to aging successfully. There are also numerous exercises and activities to help engage readers. While retaining the structure of previous editions, the content of this version has been substantially updated, including the addition of the Communicative Ecology Model of Successful Aging (CEMSA) in Chapter 4. The authors provide enhanced coverage of diversity of race, culture, age, and sexual orientation as well as more diverse ways of "doing aging." There is also more focus in this edition on older adults' romantic lives, spirituality, and their use of media and technology. Forward thinking in approach and coverage, this book is ideal for courses in communication, gerontology, nursing, and family studies.

Emerging and currently available technologies offer great promise for helping older adults, even those without serious disabilities, to live healthy, comfortable, and productive lives. What technologies offer the most potential benefit? What challenges must be overcome, what problems must be solved, for this promise to be fulfilled? How can federal agencies like the National Institute on Aging best use their resources to support the translation from laboratory findings to useful, marketable products and services? Technology for Adaptive Aging is the product of a workshop that brought together distinguished experts in aging research and in technology to discuss applications of technology to communication, education and learning, employment, health, living environments, and transportation for older adults. It includes all of the workshop papers and the report of the committee that organized the workshop. The committee report synthesizes and evaluates the points made in the workshop papers and recommends priorities for federal support of translational research in technology for older adults.

The book examines key topics such as interpersonal and family relationships in old age, media portrayals of aging, cultural variations in intergenerational communication, and health communication in old age.

This book explores communication in older adulthood, particularly in the areas of interpersonal, intercultural, and mass communication, and includes coverage of communication using new technology. The book synthesizes existing research and builds a case for more positive attitudes towards aging and for the power of communication to shape such attitudes. A succinct mix of the conceptual and the practical, the authors acknowledge the importance of theory yet also emphasize that communication and aging is inherently an applied field of study. Chapters include profiles of older adults and their significant achievements, literary and artistic depictions of aging, and information boxes that discuss myths about aging and keys to aging successfully. There are also numerous exercises and activities to help engage readers. While retaining the structure of previous editions, the content of this version has been substantially updated, including the addition of the Communicative Ecology Model of Aging (CEMSA) in Chapter 4. The authors provide enhanced coverage of diversity of race, culture, age, and sexual orientation as well as more diverse ways of "doing aging." There is also more focus in this edition on older adults' romantic lives, spirituality, and their use of media and technology.Forward thinking in approach and coverage, this book is ideal for courses in communication, gerontology, nursing, and family studies.

The chapters in this collection, chosen from among the invited plenary speakers, top research papers, and ideas discussed at the ICA 2015 meeting in San Juan, explore the multiple ways communication affects, reflects, and directs our life transition.