Lessons on Aging from Three Nations: Volume II The Art of Caring for Older Adults (Society and Aging Series)

ABOUT THE BOOK The global phenomenon of the aging of societies during a period of outstanding scientific, economic, and technological advancements is a blessing for humanity. These fundamental changes, however, create new needs and problems in all areas of life, often difficult to address. In some countries, the trend is toward compression of the period of age-related morbidity fewer years of living with disabilities but the absolute numbers of elderly people living with disabilities are increasing worldwide. This book highlights a series of global threats, problems, and challenges in the areas of care and caregiving, through the prism of three multicultural nations: the United States, Israel, and Australia. The contributors to this book, experts in their fields, focus on the art of caregiving at the national level, including the interface between family and state responsibilities, policies and practices in the provision of services, and the demands for education and training, as well as the problems and difficulties faced by family caregivers. One section is devoted to the art of letting go and the agonizing conditions that can be related to end-of-life care, often faced by elderly patients, families, and their professional caregivers. By examining some of the most pressing challenges confronting all aging societies and drawing from the experiences of their own, diverse societies, the authors provide directions, suggestions, and promises for solutions for policymakers, advocacy groups, and the private sector ways of improving the quality of care for recipients and easing the burden of caregivers. This is the second of two edited volumes on aging and caregiving. The first, Lessons from Three Nations Volume I: The Art of Aging Well, examines positive aspects of and successful adaptations to aging. This second volume focuses on challenges and concerns for families, policy makers, and governments in caregiving and end-of-life issues. In this way, we hope to provide cl