Founded in 1991 by Dr. Kenneth Rockwood, Geriatric Medicine Research (GMR) has pioneered an interdisciplinary approach to the study of aging, frailty and dementia that has allowed us to work with artists, philosophers, linguists, sociologists, applied mathematicians and data miners, just to name a few.

Innovative work being done by the GMR team here at Dalhousie University/Capital Health  includes tools and services to allow for a more responsive system of care for aging patients, as well as work into the effects of social vulnerability on health and mortality. We have also initiated a specialized clinic to help elderly patients understand the benefits and risks of treatments available to them.

Recent work has also begun to help better understand and provide for the needs of those who care for our expanding population of dementia patients, and we currently head up a cross-Canada network for knowledge translation in the field of dementia research.

GMR has a long history of research collaborations with groups as close as Ontario and as far flung as China.  We hope you will take a minute to look explore our site, the varied work we do, and the many groups who work with us.

Check out their blog here.

Marcia Stefanick talks about the medical differences between men and women and how the different chemical makeups of the different sexes can affect a person’s health and longevity. During the final quarter of the Stanford Mini Med School, some of the most timely and important topics in contemporary medicine and the biosciences are addressed. Stanford Mini Med School is a series arranged and directed by Stanford’s School of Medicine, and presented by the Stanford Continuing Studies program.

This area of the CAKEns website is available only to registered members. To renew your membership, simply click here and choose the appropriate subscription.  The Members Forum has a host of great ongoing conversations around the area of aging.  Join today and get involved!

Some of the stories in the latest edition’s Health Section cover topics like:  

• assisted living best practices
• elder abuse conference
• ethics guidelines in research
• smartphone apps to help caregivers and seniors
• long-distance care giving

This is just a sample from one section of this great daily resource. You can subscribe to the GANS Ageing News Daily – look for the SUBSCRIBE button on the top right side of the page.

They have links and resources for: 

• Living a Healthy Life as a Senior
• Getting the Best Out of Retirement
• Finding Independent Living Services
• Finding Care Outside Your Home
• Finding End-of-Life Care (Palliative Care)
• Exploring Legal Matters Concerning Your Health

Click here to visit their site.

• a possible Alzheimer’s ”vaccine” (from @50plus)
• controlling your online image (from @swhitbo)
• learning about health care and ageing in Cuba (from @globalageing)
• multi-tasking and ageing (from @seniors4living)

and much more including videos and links to articles from around the world.

Visit the paper here and subscribe to have it delivered to your inbox daily!

Notifbutwhen.ca

Are you a caregiver for someone with dementia who drives or recently stopped driving? Do you know someone in this situation? There is a new resource available for driving and dementia in Nova Scotia that helps caregivers understand when it may be time to hang up the keys, and offers useful information and strategies around this topic.

Did you know that in Nova Scotia, more than 5,000 people with dementia continue to drive, and that this number is expected to double over the next 10 years?

A recent public health campaign was designed to open lines of communication between people with dementia, their caregivers, and health care professionals when it comes to the difficult issue of driving. Geriatric Medicine Research in Halifax, in partnership with the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia, invites you to take part in a short anonymous survey about driving and dementia.

The survey asks about your experience caring for a person with dementia who currently drives or recently stopped driving. All responses are anonymous and cannot result in any direct action or ramifications for you or the individual with dementia. The results of this survey are critical to help design future programs to support people with dementia and their caregivers as they navigate the issue of driving and dementia.

For more information, and a link to the survey, click here.

Age-Friendly Communities Funding

The Department of Seniors invites applications from municipalities that:

• Assist communities with strategic planning that supports applying age-friendly thinking to improve the physical and social environment
• Assist communities to promote healthy, active ageing by creating or adapting structures and services to be accessible for people of all ages

All municipal units in Nova Scotia are eligible to apply for an Age-Friendly Communities Program grant. Successful applications will receive up to 50 per cent of their project cost, to a maximum of a $5,000 grant, where the municipality matches the fund’s contribution.

The closing date for submission of proposals is 4:30 pm on May 16, 2011.

Positive Aging Funding

The Department of Seniors invites applications from non-profit community organizations to create projects that advance the goals and actions outlined in Nova Scotia’s Strategy for Positive Aging, with a focus on health, well-being and community participation.

• grants of up to $10,000 are available
• projects must involve seniors in the planning and delivery of the project

The closing date for submission of proposals is 4:30 pm on April 21st, 2011.

For more information and to download applications, go to the website.

The full report is available on the website . The website contains a collection of evidence-based sleep resources for healthcare providers and caregivers of persons with dementia.

Downloadable patient education brochures about evidence-based sleep interventions are also provided. A PowerPoint presentation on the findings of this project and on sleep problems in persons with dementia can be accessed in the archives of the Canadian Dementia Resource and Knowledge Exchange website.

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The paper is updated every day with new stories, links and more!