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Geriatric palliative care news
Feeling safe, being heard and staying connected are important to children receiving end-of-life care
The needs of children approaching the end of life extend beyond pain relief and the management of physical symptoms. Children may worry about losing loved ones, wish to stay in touch with friends and seek reassurance that ...
Nov 12, 2026
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Food insecurity screen validated in young families may not fit older adults
The U.S. population age 80 and older is projected to double over the next two decades, yet few of the tools health systems use to screen for food insecurity, transportation barriers and other social needs have been validated ...
Nov 12, 2026
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Sudden confusion in the hospital may signal higher dementia risk later in life
Hospitalized older adults can suddenly become disoriented and struggle to make sense of their surroundings. This condition, known as delirium, disrupts attention, awareness and clear thinking. The confusion can set in abruptly ...
Canine companionship, with a catch: Health effects of big-city dog ownership differ by location
How neighborhoods support healthy aging is a key question for aging societies. Yet little is known about how dog walking, an everyday activity, interacts with the neighborhood environment in dense Asian cities.
Nov 11, 2026
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America's long-term care system needs help: Can Europe provide a model for how to improve it?
For millions of Americans, long-term care presents enormous financial, logistical and emotional challenges. Private long-term care insurance is prohibitively expensive or simply unavailable, and most older Americans aren't ...
Nov 11, 2026
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Growing older in Japan: Gender and living arrangements linked to mental health
As traditional multigenerational households have become less common, increasing numbers of older adults are living alone or with only their spouses. Over the last few decades, Japan has been experiencing two major demographic ...
Nov 10, 2026
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Kidney care trial challenges default dialysis planning for older adults with frailty
Dialysis should not necessarily be regarded as the default option for older people with kidney failure, the first randomized study of its kind in the world, led by the University of Bristol, has found.
Nov 5, 2026
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New NHS-ready medication risk tool could cut falls and delirium in older people
Researchers have developed a new tool to help doctors and pharmacists identify older patients at risk of delirium and serious falls associated with taking multiple anticholinergic medications.
Nov 5, 2026
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Pediatric palliative care addresses the unique needs of seriously ill children and their families
Pediatric medicine generally entails caring for patients at the beginning of their lives—performing newborn checkups, treating childhood illnesses and supporting adolescents in their health as they move toward adulthood.
Nov 3, 2026
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Medicare spending rises after private equity buys hospices
A study of for-profit hospices acquired by private equity firms found that Medicare spending rose by 5.9% per hospice stay after acquisition, compared with similar for-profit hospices that weren't acquired. The increase was ...
Nov 2, 2026
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Can Australia's social welfare system handle future aged care needs?
As Australia's population ages, nine in 10 older Australians applying for aged care receive social welfare payments. Researchers from Flinders University and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) ...
Nov 2, 2026
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Nursing decisions to navigate when dying patients become unresponsive
Flinders University research published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing has examined how specialist palliative care nurses navigate these complex decisions and found they draw on clinical expertise, ethical judgment, close ...
Oct 30, 2026
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A new framework for safe, patient-centered prescribing of obesity medications in older adults
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has released a new framework to assist clinicians in safely prescribing obesity medications in older adults. Organized around a series of cases, the framework offers a practical approach ...
Oct 30, 2026
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Video decision aid increases advance care planning in seniors with chronic kidney disease
Among older adults with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), a video decision aid increases advance care planning (ACP) documentation in the electronic health record, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine ...
Oct 28, 2026
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Weakness and mobility loss in aging are not just muscle problems
An older patient mentions that climbing the stairs has become harder. They have stopped carrying the groceries in from the car. Last month, they had a fall in the kitchen.
Oct 26, 2026
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AI chatbots can be a valuable health resource for older adults—if they embrace 'informed skepticism'
It's easy to stereotype older adults as tech-averse or novice tech users. Yet a growing number of adults age 60 and older are embracing artificial intelligence, using it for entertainment, planning trips and even accessing ...
Oct 26, 2026
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Hip fracture in older adults is far more than an orthopedic injury
Nearly half of the oldest adults died within one year of sustaining a hip fracture. A new doctoral thesis from Umeå University shows that not only the risk of sustaining a hip fracture, but also mortality following the injury ...
Oct 23, 2026
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Dehydration, UTIs and cognitive health: Getting enough to drink is complicated for people with brain disorders
For older adults with dementia or Parkinson's disease, staying hydrated can be more complicated than simply drinking more water.
Oct 22, 2026
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Caregiving gap grows as women devote more years to aging adults
Women in the United States can expect to provide seven years of care over their lifetimes to aging family members or friends—up from six in 2011, University of Michigan research shows.
Oct 21, 2026
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How hurricanes affect hospitalizations and deaths among older adults using electricity-dependent medical devices
New research in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society indicates that older adults who rely on electricity-dependent medical devices—such as ventilators, respirators and dialysis machines—may face substantial health ...
Oct 21, 2026
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Older breast cancer survivors fall through Medicare home health gap
Among the increasing number of women who survive breast cancer, many older, long-term survivors remain frail. A new study out today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that in a given year, over half of ...
Oct 20, 2026
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What medical students learn from talking to care home residents
For a first-year medical student, visiting a care home was daunting. There was no medical history to take or diagnosis to make. The task was to get to know an older resident through conversation.
Oct 20, 2026
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Home sensor system could spot loneliness in older adults
Loneliness is common in older adults, and the mental and physical health risks associated with the condition are difficult for medical professionals to recognize and treat. To address this need, researchers from Virginia ...
Oct 19, 2026
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Pennsylvania's aging prisons weren't built for today's extreme weather—leaving women and seniors at risk
When outdoor temperatures spike to 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius), or drop to -9 F (-23 C), like they did across Pennsylvania last year, people locked up in jails and prisons cannot simply turn on the air conditioning ...
Oct 17, 2026
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Study: Food prescription programs for food-insecure older adults work best when fresh food is delivered to their door
People who eat fresh food are healthier than those who don't. That simple fact is the basis of food prescription programs that make fruits, vegetables and other foods free for people who are food insecure.
Oct 15, 2026
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