MATURE MARKET HEADLINES updated 7/27/2000
Supreme Court Ruling Angers Grandparents
An Internet survey of grandparents found 78 percent of them profoundly disappointed with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a Washington State law that protected a grandparent's right
to visit their grandchildren.
Although the court ruling only applies to Washington state, grandparents nationwide expressed concern that a court would view parental discretion as more important than considering what is in the best interest of the child.
"What is good for the emotional health of the child should take precedent," commented one survey respondent.
One surprising finding in the survey was that 72 percent of the respondents know someone who has experienced difficulty visiting a grandchild due to parental interference after the child's parents divorced or separated. While only 29 percent of the respondents felt that parental discretion regarding grandparent visitation rights is more important than a grandchild's wishes, parental discretion was supported more strongly if the child's biological parents are living together with the child as a family. In other words, 41 percent felt that parental discretion should be respected when the child's nuclear family is intact.
The survey was conducted by GRANDtimes.com, a weekly Internet magazine for older adults. Reece Halpern, the publisher, noted that "Many survey respondents recognized the complex nature of the issue and expressed hope that state laws would consider both the best interest of the child and the legitimate exercise of parental discretion." Halpern added, "The survey results reflect a tension between traditional family values and the
unpleasant realities often associated with divorce."
Most grandparents agreed with the perspective expressed by one respondent that "Children have a right to an extended family." However, the respondents' support for grandparent visitation rights was tempered with an
awareness that there are extenuating circumstances in many cases. Survey results are available at GRANDtimes.com
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
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Help for Grandparents Who Raise Grandkids
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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U.S. Administration on Aging Targets Minority Health Concerns
Jeanette C. Takamura, Assistant Secretary for Aging in the Department of Health and Human Services, has announced the availability of $1 million to address health disparities among minority elder populations. The funds are made available through an intra-agency agreement between the Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to expand CDC's Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health 2010 (Reach 2010) initiative.
The proposed demonstration projects will initially permit four communities to develop science-based, community demonstration projects which address health disparities in older, racial and ethnic minority populations. The projects will target disparities in the areas of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and immunizations among African-American, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Hispanic American and American Indian or Alaskan Native populations.
These planning grants are intended to enable grantees to organize and prepare the infrastructure necessary for implementation of their identified strategy to reach target populations. The projects will establish networks and partnerships to ensure that disease prevention and health promotion information and strategies are targeted to vulnerable and at-risk minority elders.
The AoA is the only federal agency dedicated exclusively to policy development, planning and the delivery of home and community-based services to older persons and their caregivers through a national network of 57 State Units on Aging, 655 Area Agencies on Aging, 225 Tribal and Native organizations representatives 300 American Indian and Alaskan Native Tribal organizations, and two organizations serving Native Hawaiians, plus thousands of service providers, adult care centers, caregivers, and volunteers.
The deadline for proposals is Monday, August 21, 2000. For the program announcement and application kit, readers should visit the Administration on Agings website at www.aoa.gov
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
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AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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The Complete Eldercare Planner
Knowing when and how to help our aging loved ones can be very difficult. Most of us are inadequately prepared, emotionally and otherwise, to face the complex issues associated with caring for them. Can my mom still responsibly make her own decisions? How do I find quality in-house eldercare? What about medication costs? How do I emotionally and financially provide for my own family, in addition to my parents?
"The Complete Eldercare Planner", 2nd edition (Times Books, $19.95, May 2000) by Joy Loverde, an eldercare
expert, provides a clear and informed roadmap to navigating this unique and sometimes traumatic experience.
This user-friendly guidebook thoroughly explains challenges often faced by caregivers--such as opening up a dialogue about eldercare with family members, establishing a network of professional care providers, and implementing health insurance safeguards. In addition, it details a variety of step-by-step plans to effectively deal with these issues, and offers "action checklists" that help make executing a plan easier.
Fully revised to include the latest websites and other resources, THE COMPLETE ELDERCARE PLANNER includes helpful forms for recording vital medical, financial, and personal information that can be quickly accessed during an emergency. Other topics include:
- How to accumulate eldercare resources
- How to tell when your elder needs help
- How to offer long-distance assistance
- How to recognize the mental and physical symptoms of caregiver burnout
- How to partner with instead of parent your elder
- How to calculate and budget for short and long-term expenses
- How to sort through legal matters
- How to secure your elder’s insurance coverage
- How to modify your elder’s home to accommodate their lifestyle needs
- How to detect sign of elder abuse and neglect
- How to minimize isolation and inactivity
- How to talk about sensitive subjects including death and dying
- How to identify sources of bereavement support
Joy Loverde writes a monthly eldercare column for Today's Chicago Woman and Careguide.com, and her Chicago-based consulting firm, Silvercare Productions (www.elderindustry.com) offers eldercare planning workshops to employers, associations, hospitals, women's groups, family members, clergy, and others.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
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AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Herbal Combo Appears to Improve Adult Memory
A landmark clinical trial has found that a unique combination of Panax Ginseng and Ginkgo biloba extracts can
significantly enhance mental performance in healthy, middle-aged people. The study showed the unique Gingko biloba/Ginseng formulation can promote fast, accurate thinking, improve short and long-term memory retention and reduce mental fatigue.
“These results suggest that individuals functioning in a fast-paced and demanding environment can improve their ability to process and retain new information and work with better mental efficiency”, says Professor Keith Wesnes, principal investigator and developer of a Computerized Cognitive Assessment System, a validated testing method accepted by the FDA and used to assess the effect of cognitive enhancing products.
The group of volunteers receiving the active herbal combination had statistically significant improvements in cognitive function compared to the control group receiving placebo. This study was supported by Pharmaton Natural Health Products, a division of Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
“While previous research has documented the effects of Gingko biloba on memory in older people, this study clearly shows that this specific formulation of standardized Ginkgo biloba and Ginseng extracts enhanced
mental performance in a younger healthy population,” says Dr. Barbara Levine, Co-Director of the Human Nutrition Program at The Rockefeller University. “It’s also important for consumers to understand that research is product specific – meaning that the results seen in this study can’t necessarily be applied to all
Ginkgo/Ginseng combinations.”
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Herbs May Be Harmful to Health and Vision
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Vision Correction: LASIK versus PRK
LASIK surgery is far better at correcting farsightedness than photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), ophthalmologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have discovered. The researchers reported their findings in the 2000 issue of Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society.
The researchers found that the LASIK procedure to correct hyperopia, or farsightedness
- caused less discomfort
- allowed a speedier recovery
- required no pain medication afterward
- the eye stabilized more quickly after LASIK when compared with PRK.
The most notable difference between PRK and LASIK was the degree of postoperative pain. In PRK, the laser is used directly on the surface of the eye. In LASIK, the laser is used under a protective flap of tissue.
PRK was consistently associated with significant postoperative pain that required systemic medication in every case. The onset of pain after PRK was typically 36 hours after surgery, lasting up to 72 hours. In contrast, LASIK was associated with minor and transient discomfort that did not require systemic medication. Post-LASIK discomfort occurred in the first few hours after surgery and did not interfere with patients' activities.
In LASIK, vision was recovered within hours and stabilized between one week and a month. In contrast, there was significant delay in vision recovery and stabilization after the PRK procedure. The study was funded by an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness in New York.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
Is Nearsightedness Surgery Shortsighted?
Nearsighted Cure Is Not Too Far Away
Age-Related Sight Loss Higher for Whites
These Symptoms Indicate Vision Problems
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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