Mobility is fundamental to active aging and is intimately linked to health status and quality of life. Although there is widespread acceptance regarding the importance of mobility in older adults, there have been few attempts to comprehensively portray mobility, and research has to a large extent been discipline specific. In this article, a new…

Purpose of the Study: Although considerable attention has been paid to the relationship between later-life depression and cognitive function, the relationship between a history of psychiatric problems and cognitive function is not very well documented. Few studies of relationships between childhood health, childhood disadvantage, and cognitive…

Purpose: This study examines the structural relationships between social activities and trajectories of late-life depression. Design and Methods: Latent class analysis was used with a nationally representative sample of older adults (N = 5,294) from the Longitudinal Study on Aging II to classify patterns of social activities. A latent growth curve…

Purpose: To validate a survey research measure of subjective income, as measured by perceived income adequacy, in an international context. Design and Methods: The study population comprised persons aged 50 years and older in 12 countries from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (n = 28,939). Perceived difficulty in making ends…

Purpose: With the rapid growth in the older inmate population and the economic impact of end-of-life treatments within the cash-strapped prison system, consideration should be given to inmate treatment preferences. We examined end-of-life treatment preferences and days of desired life for several health scenarios among male inmates incarcerated…

Purpose: Dietary variation is important for health maintenance and disease prevention among older adults. However, oral health deficits impair ability to bite and chew foods. This study examines the association between oral health and foods avoided or modified in a multiethnic rural population of older adults. It considers implications for…

One third of older adults fall each year, placing them at risk for serious injury, functional decline, and health care utilization. Despite the availability of effective preventive approaches, policy and clinical efforts at preventing falls among older adults have been limited. In this article we present the burden of falls, review evidence…

Purpose: Previous research on nursing home resident quality of life (QOL) has mainly been cross-sectional. This study examined the association between changes in QOL and changes in resident clinical factors. Design and Methods: A longitudinal study of resident QOL was conducted in two nursing homes. Self-report interviews using a multidimensional…

Purpose: Many older patients with common chronic conditions also experience chronic pain. We examined how chronic pain affects patients' difficulty with recommended self-management activities and the potential intervening role of self-efficacy (the level of confidence in one's own ability to perform a specific task). Design and Methods: We…

Purpose: This research provides state policy makers and others interested in developing needs-based reimbursement models for Medicaid-funded assisted living with an evaluation of different methodologies that affect the structure and outcomes of these models. Design and Methods: We used assessment data from Medicaid-enrolled assisted living…