HIST 223: Old Age in the Modern Age (HC): Background

A Companion to Medical Anthropology examines the current issues, controversies, and state of the field in medical anthropology today. Provides an expert view of the major topics and themes to concern the discipline since its founding in the 1960s. Covers environmental health, global health, biotechnology, syndemics, nutrition, substance abuse, infectious disease, and sexuality and reproductive health, and other topics.

The Encyclopedia of Aging contains concise, readable explorations of hundreds of terms, concepts, and issues related to the lives of older adults, as well as timely coverage of the many new programs and services for the elderly. This new edition brings readers up-to-the-moment significant advances in biology, physiology, genetics, medicine, psychology, nursing, social services, sociology, economics, technology, and political science.

This encyclopedia comprehensively addresses one of the most critical components of human intelligence: memory. The volumes provide a breadth of information invaluable to family members, friends, and caretakers of individuals who suffer from various memory disorders, including descriptions of major disorders, explanations of specific memory deficits, strategies for memory improvement, and information on the parts of the brain that access and store memory as well as the types of tests used to assess memory loss. Also included are biographies of key contributors to the field of cognitive psychology, and to the area of memory in particular.

The Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology describes a wide variety of cultural practices surrounding health and illness around the world and provides an overview of important topics in medical anthropology.

Nearly every family is affected by aging issues, whether of parents, grandparents, partners, siblings, in-laws, or other family members. The ravaged economy, issues with Medicare and Social Security, longer life spans, and complications related to failing health and dementia are creating more families living together with elders. Understanding and addressing the multifaceted challenges of aging and family dynamics is more important than ever before.

Meeting a growing need, this authoritative reference and text comprehensively examines the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors in health and illness in older adults. The volume explores how and why some people adapt more successfully than others to age-related stressors such as chronic illness, disability, and loss, and identifies ways to promote coping and resilience. Key topics include how aging affects the cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune systems; the influences on adult development and health of personality, emotions, social support, and religiousness; and effective interventions in healthcare settings.

An authoritative and comprehensive guide to the major issues, challenges, methods, and approaches of global public health. This encyclopedia will cover all dimensions of the field, from details of specific diseases to the organization of social insurance agencies. A significant percentage of the articles will cover public health aspects of diseases and conditions. Other articles will survey aging, diet, injuries, ethical and legal subjects in public health, measurement and modeling, consumerism, anthropology and sociology, economics, the history of public health, and global issues.

This online handbook focuses on geriatric patient care and has robust entries on the following themes: drug therapy, disease prevention, quality of life, social issues, elder abuse, health care, and more.