Work Aging And Vision

About 25 million Americans are 65 and older. That figure will double during the next 25 years. Over the next 15 years, the baby boom generation will swell the ranks of middle-aged workers. But the numbers tell only half the story. The gradual decline in visual functioning that usually accompanies aging often goes undetected or is deemed untreatable. Older people may have difficulty seeing at night, reading small print, distinguishing similar colors, or coping with glare from a desktop or video display terminal. This report is the summary of a Conference held to identify and describe major research findings related to changing visual capacities and the employment of older workers, to recommend steps that could be taken by businesses to encourage the continued productive employment of older workers, and to identify research topics that have yet to be explored that might bear on this subject.

The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.

It is estimated that by the year 2020 there will be 4.6 million persons who are elderly and blind or severely visually impaired. Vision loss in the elderly is a common problem but is frequently unaddressed. The affected often do not know where or when to go for help and care providers are sometimes equally uninformed. Vision and Aging responds to the needs of this growing population and provides the knowledge and tools necessary to increase the number and accessibility of services available to the visually impaired elderly. This comprehensive book addresses many areas of concern, including the current service network and its existing gaps and the public policy agenda necessary for better meeting the needs of persons who are elderly and visually impaired. With proper care and rehabilitation, many of these elderly can lead active, independent, and productive lives. Social workers and allied professionals will discover what resources are currently available and how to make sure their clients are able to explore the full range of opportunities open to them. Specific strategies to identify, reach, and serve the population are recommended, and changes to improve both public policy and the care system in general are addressed. With its thorough treatment of the subject, including chapters on measurement of rehabilitation outcomes, descriptions of service delivery models, a vision screening questionnaire, and elders'reactions to vision loss, Vision and Aging will be valuable reading for everyone involved in working with the visually impaired elderly. Students, agency administrators and staff, and public policy decision makers are among those from fields such as medicine, health promotion, aging, and rehabilitation who will find useful and practical information in this enlightening book.

Author, activist, and TED speaker Ashton Applewhite has written a rousing manifesto calling for an end to discrimination and prejudice on the basis of age. In our youth obsessed culture, we’re bombarded by media images and messages about the despairs and declines of our later years. Beauty and pharmaceutical companies work overtime to convince people to purchase products that will retain their youthful appearance and vitality. Wrinkles are embarrassing. Gray hair should be colored and bald heads covered with implants. Older minds and bodies are too frail to keep up with the pace of the modern working world and olders should just step aside for the new generation. Ashton Applewhite once held these beliefs too until she realized where this prejudice comes from and the damage it does. Lively, funny, and deeply researched, This Chair Rocks traces her journey from apprehensive boomer to pro-aging radical, and in the process debunks myth after myth about late life. Explaining the roots of ageism in history and how it divides and debases, Applewhite examines how ageist stereotypes cripple the way our brains and bodies function, looks at ageism in the workplace and the bedroom, exposes the cost of the all-American myth of independence, critiques the portrayal of elders as burdens to society, describes what an all-age-friendly world would look like, and offers a rousing call to action. It’s time to create a world of age equality by making discrimination on the basis of age as unacceptable as any other kind of bias. Whether you’re older or hoping to get there, this book will shake you by the shoulders, cheer you up, make you mad, and change the way you see the rest of your life. Age pride! “Wow. This book totally rocks. It arrived on a day when I was in deep confusion and sadness about my age. Everything about it, from my invisibility to my neck. Within four or five wise, passionate pages, I had found insight, illumination, and inspiration. I never use the word empower, but this book has empowered me.” —Anne Lamott, New York Times bestselling author

The WHO World report on ageing and health is not for the book shelf it is a living breathing testament to all older people who have fought for their voice to be heard at all levels of government across disciplines and sectors. - Mr Bjarne Hastrup President International Federation on Ageing and CEO DaneAge This report outlines a framework for action to foster Healthy Ageing built around the new concept of functional ability. This will require a transformation of health systems away from disease based curative models and towards the provision of older-person-centred and integrated care. It will require the development sometimes from nothing of comprehensive systems of long term care. It will require a coordinated response from many other sectors and multiple levels of government. And it will need to draw on better ways of measuring and monitoring the health and functioning of older populations. These actions are likely to be a sound investment in society's future. A future that gives older people the freedom to live lives that previous generations might never have imagined. The World report on ageing and health responds to these challenges by recommending equally profound changes in the way health policies for ageing populations are formulated and services are provided. As the foundation for its recommendations the report looks at what the latest evidence has to say about the ageing process noting that many common perceptions and assumptions about older people are based on outdated stereotypes. The report's recommendations are anchored in the evidence comprehensive and forward-looking yet eminently practical. Throughout examples of experiences from different countries are used to illustrate how specific problems can be addressed through innovation solutions. Topics explored range from strategies to deliver comprehensive and person-centred services to older populations to policies that enable older people to live in comfort and safety to ways to correct the problems and injustices inherent in current systems for long-term care.

Support the very best health, well-being, and quality of life for older adults! Here’s the ideal resource for rehabilitation professionals who are working with or preparing to work with older adults! You’ll find descriptions of the normal aging process, discussions of how health and social factors can impede your clients’ ability to participate in regular activities, and step-by-step guidance on how to develop strategies for maximizing their well-being.