Current News for Consumers

Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits Information

Starting January 1, 2006, Medicare prescription drug coverage becomes available to everyone with Medicare who enrolls in a plan. Click here for more information.

AARP Releases Physical Activity Booklet

AARP has recently published a “Physical Activities Workbook”. Based on the “Be Active for Life Handbook” which won a 2004 Silver Award from the National Health Information Awards program. Of those people who’ve already used the workbook, 82% said it encouraged them to be more active, and 72% said it helped them set goals. Many health and fitness professionals use the workbook in their programs and classes. The workbook is divided into easy-to-manage sections. Following the sections on getting started, safety issues, and readiness, you’ll find the section that matches your stage readiness to begin your physical activity program.

How to order:

• First copy is free. Call 1-888-OUR-AARP (1-888-687-2277) to request a copy.
• Extra Copies are $1 each. Mail checks payable to AARP, along with a written request that includes publication title, quantity, and stock number (D561) to: AARP, P.O. Box 93119, Long Beach, CA 90803-3119. Include the title, stock number, and quantity on your check.

The Challenge to Come: The Care of Older Adults

Are you interested in cutting-edge research and best practices in the care of older adults? This live webcast investigates how changes in life expectancy have changed patient populations, the implications of this related to practice, and resources available to improve professional practice in the care of the older adult. Join us live for this exciting presentation featuring: Terrie Wetle, PhD, Immediate Past President of GSA and Associate Dean of Medicine for Public Health and Public Policy, Brown University; Nancy A. Stotts, RN, EdD, FAAN, Professor of Nursing, University of California San Francisco; Diana J. Mason, RN, PhD, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Nursing; and Mathy Mezey, RN, EdD, FAAN, Director of the John A. Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing. Follow this link to the New Look at the Old series and more information about the broadcast and how to register: www.NursingCenter.com/AJNolderadults

This first in a series of 15 Webcasts was a collaborative effort between the American Journal of Nursing, the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and PRIMEDIA Healthcare, sponsored in part through a grant from Atlantic Philanthropies. The broadcast series is designed to improve the care and well being of older adults from a multidisciplinary standpoint.

If you have any questions about the broadcast or the print series, please contact Katherine Kany, Project Manager.

The EPA Aging Initiative is offering a listserve that will enable the EPA to share information about news and events regarding EPA's efforts to protect the health of older adults from environmental hazards. The listserve will share selected press announcements and opportunities for you to be involved with the National Agenda for the Environment and the Aging. To sign up for the listserve, please go to the homepage of the EPA website and follow the simple steps to join.

Choosing Where to Live When You Can’t Stay Home Alone
There often comes a time when elders or their families must consider residences for the elders other than their own homes. This is always a very difficult decision and too often there is little help, and little information, to help families make a good choice... [more]

Stereotypes About Aging
An appreciation of aging in the United States is limited by stereotypes of the older person that are deeply entrenched in the minds of many persons. These misconceptions limit elders’ opportunities and often their quality of life. In a book, “Live Long, Die Fast: Playing the Aging Game to Win,” Dr. John H. Bland presents common stereotypes and dispels them with the facts... [more]

Beware of Misusing Medications
Medications extend life and offer a more active, higher quality of life for many older persons. But many people don’t use prescribed medications correctly. On the other hand, medications are all too often inappropriately prescribed, especially to older persons. Over-prescription of medications can cause serious health problems from side effects and interactions among the drugs, with food, or with alcohol ... [more]

National Caregiver Survey

The National Alliance for Caregiving is pleased to announce that it has received funding from the MetLife Foundation to update its National Caregiver Survey, in collaboration with AARP. The last national caregiver survey was published by the Alliance and AARP in 1997 and was the benchmark study from which data on working caregivers, Alzheimer's caregivers, and Baby Boomer women caregivers were taken. Media demand for updated information was a primary impetus for the update.

The new study will again be a random digit dial statistically representative national telephone survey, with oversampling for Black, Hispanic and Asian American caregivers. Due out by the end of this year, the survey will break new ground by including caregivers of disabled people between the ages of 18 and 50. It will also focus on long-distance caregiving, caregivers using the Internet, and the role of assistive technology.

For more information, contact Gail Hunt