Women and Healthy Aging (Living Productively in Spite of It All)

This book explores what is known about healthy living among older women, emphasizing overcoming illness and adversity. Women and Healthy Aging focuses on common age-related changes and illnesses that frequently occur among women in the later years. It describes these diseases and changes, provides treatment options, highlights preventative measures, and offers suggestions for continued productive living as women age. Since some of the barriers to effective diagnoses, treatments, and implementation of productive living strategies are institutional, two chapters explore public health policies which affect older women and discrimination against older women in health care. This informative book assists health care professionals in the provision of services to older women, helping these professionals become catalysts for enabling older women to “overcome adversity” and continue to lead healthy, productive lives.

Many of the most common diseases and age-related changes that affect older women are not “curable.” In a society which stresses “cure” as the appropriate role for health care professionals, what are these professionals to do with the legions of older women for whom “cures” may not be possible? How can they assist older women in preventing or slowing the occurrences of diseases and age-related changes? When prevention or cure is not possible, how can they assist older women in living productive, meaningful lives?

By addressing specific conditions and diseases, Women and Healthy Aging gives readers focused information on current treatment options, preventative strategies, and suggestions for productive living which are disease- or condition-specific and target older women. Some of the topics covered include menopause, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and sensory loss. Practitioners, educators, and students in the fields of nursing, social work, physical therapy, occupational therapy, gerontology, human services, and medicine will find this book an illuminating source of valuable information and insights into the aging process for women.