a common language, or enjoy a tradition or holiday. Another tactic is to provide opportunities
for older adults among the everyday life of a larger community—such as the parks in Miami where older adults play dominoes, or the parks in Washington, D.C., where seniors play chess. Culturally specific volunteering opportunities and multi-generational residen- tial communities also help prevent isolation. Bringing people of diverse cultures
together to exchange and enjoy over a common bond is another solution. Dr. Pérez-Stable mentions music as a big draw—with the benefit that music, partic- ularly singing together, shows promise in boosting cognitive health and social bonds. Food—cooking, learning, or eating—is an- other activity where people can celebrate
their own cultures and encounter others’, in a way that’s low-stress and fun. Good news for senior living communities,
even as they welcome more diversity and change in their residents, is that community itself may have a healing effect. “Interactions, no matter how mundane, can
be healthy,” Dr. Pérez-Stable said. “There’s good evidence that quality of life and health is not as dependent on families—families can get dispersed or be dysfunctional. It depends on getting back to more communities.”
Emerging Areas of Interest A factor with significant impact on quality of life in aging is substance abuse—and it’s getting more complicated. Opioid abuse has disproportionately affected older and poorer white people, but that is beginning
to change, Dr. Pérez-Stable said. He also points to the problem of benzodiazepines, which in some communities may be pre- scribed longer-term than they are needed. Differing perception of and reaction to
pain itself among different minority groups can contribute to problems in diagnosis and treatment—for instance, an NIMHD-fund- ed study showed that Hispanic people can be more sensitive to pain than white people, yet Hispanic people were less likely to report their pain. And dealing with recreational cannabis
use is already flummoxing both communi- ties and researchers. Dr. Pérez-Stable points to both this and alcohol, and the differences in cultures in their use, as important subjects that need study, particularly with possible connection to cognition and falls.
THE PERFECT FIT CUSTOM MADE FINANCING SOLUTIONS
nhireit.com | 615.890.9100 | Leaseback
| Construction
| Mezz
|
Joint Venture JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
ARGENTUM.ORG 45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
