Elderly, Aging & Death

As more and more people live into old age, the need for geriatric care is rising as never before. Parts one through four of this six-part series explain how to manage common and serious health problems among elderly populations, while parts five and six provide insights into effective communication among healthcare professionals and their patients. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. 6-part series, 25-28 minutes each.

A longer life span is not a fountain of youth. As future generations routinely join the ranks of the centenarians, America must retool its youth-oriented culture into something more elder-friendly than it is now. This timely two-part series addresses the multifaceted issue of maintaining a good quality of life over the long haul, as the senior-set becomes the dominant demographic segment in a nation where a premium is still placed on being young. 2-part series, 29 minutes each.

At 79, Anna Nelson still lives alone, not far from her daughter, Jamie. But as Alzheimer's disease begins to set in, how much longer can the fiercely independent Anna be relied on to live safely by herself, with only a daily visit from her daughter? This program follows Jamie as she attends an Alzheimer's support group, tours residential care facilities, and finally sits down with her mother to consider assisted-living options for her final years. A Discovery Channel Production. (23 minutes)

After an overview of skin anatomy and physiology, this program describes the techniques necessary for making accurate assessments of elderly patients with new or ongoing skin conditions. The video also defines specialized terminology and suggests post-assessment courses of action. An intelligent and accessible look at the fundamentals of skin care for senior citizens. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. A part of the series Aged Care. (26 minutes)

In the drive to save lives, American medical technology prolongs the dying process for many, creating a number of end-of-life scenarios that have done much to rob death of its dignity and significance. This Fred Friendly Seminar, moderated by Harvard Law School's Arthur Miller, brings together a diverse group of panelists, including Yale professor Sherwin Nuland, author of How We Die; bioethicist Arthur Caplan, of the University of Pennsylvania; Rabbi Maurice Lamm, of Yeshiva University; and Anna Quindlen, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist. Together they confront medical and cultural issues such as advance directives, palliative care, physician-assisted suicide, the need to re-spiritualize the dying process, and the overall difficulty of discussing death. A Discussion Guide and other resources are located online at www.fredfriendlyseminars.org/bid. (60 minutes)

As they get older, most men will experience benign prostatic hyperplasia, a non-malignant enlargement of the prostate gland. This program offers timely facts about a condition frequently left undiscussed until severe urinary discomfort forces the sufferer to the doctor's office. The symptoms of BPH, current drug and surgical interventions, and future treatment options are all covered, as well as the life-saving importance of an annual prostate exam for men over 50. Commentary is provided by Dr. Claus Roehrborn, of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Dr. J. Curtis Nickel, of Kingston General Hospital, Ontario. (23 minutes)

Effective employee communication is vitally important in every area of health service delivery and care. This program, filmed with a focus on the aged-care environment, covers verbal and nonverbal communication, formal and informal communication, conflict resolution and negotiation, and staff-to-staff and staff-to-management communication. A valuable training and professional development resource. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. A part of the series Aged Care. (25 minutes)

Effective communication with elderly people living in residential care is key to the delivery of high-quality treatment that not only meets the physical needs of patients, but also their mental, emotional, social, and spiritual needs. This program examines the basic elements of communication and how they can be adapted to older people who are living with hearing, vision, speech, and cognitive losses. The video also looks at effective communication methods for those from culturally diverse backgrounds. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. A part of the series Aged Care. (28 minutes)

America's burgeoning senior citizen demographic is attracting great numbers of health care professionals to the allied fields of geriatric medicine. This two-part series is designed to help care providers communicate more effectively with their elderly patients, patients' family members, and health care colleagues by examining typical conflicts that may occur in an aged-care setting and then modeling how to properly address such conflicts. 2-part series, 19-20 minutes each.

For years, Laura Schmidt helped cancer patients come to terms with their mortality. She even had a degree in thanatology, the study of death and dying. Then, at the age of 51, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This ABC News program follows Laura through her final months as she applies her knowledge and experience to her own case, squarely addressing end-of-life issues to create a good death that would leave herself and those caring for her at peace. Interviews conducted with her husband and others after Laura passed away provide additional insights into the end of life even as they add closure to the story of a caring person who had the courage to model the very behaviors she had instilled in so many others. (27 minutes)

Though aging has its challenges, depression and its frequent companion, substance abuse, need not be among them. This program dispels the myth that there is something inherently depressing about aging. It explores the complex relationship between depression, alcohol, and substance abuse, showing how knowledge of symptoms, family support, and early treatment can restore the capacity for pleasure and contentment in most seniors' lives. Interviews with spouses, family members, social workers, and geriatric psychiatrists are combined with candid, firsthand accounts. (57 minutes)

In this program, NewsHour correspondent Susan Dentzer reports on life and death in Sun City, Arizona, a vibrant retirement community where hospice is the preferred form of end-of-life care. Dartmouth Medical School's John Wennberg and others consider the desire of many senior citizens with terminal illnesses to make peace with death rather than fight it. They also confront the fact that statistics show no direct correlation between costly ICU interventions and patient longevity. As America's elderly population doubles over the next 35 years, will more seniors opt for meeting the end in the Sun City way? (15 minutes)

All through medical school, internship, and residency, doctors are trained to be healers. What can they contribute to the care of patients whose illnesses are beyond their help? This ABC News program examines the crusading efforts of oncologist Dr. Michael Carducci, of Johns Hopkins Medicine, to create an exemplary program of palliative care for people with terminal conditions. The importance of supporting patients and their families in the making of sound end-of-life decisions is stressed. (48 minutes)

In Europe and America alike, senior citizens are poised to become the defining demographic group. What is the Western medical community doing to better serve this vital population? To find out, this documentary travels to Germany, a progressive locus of geriatric research and elder-care innovation. Topics include anti-aging therapies, quality-of-life issues, post-hospitalization rehabilitation programs, courses that promote independence and overall well-being, senior-friendly household appliances, and remarkable genetic experiments with worms that have succeeded in doubling the creatures' life spans and improving their health. A Deutsche Welle Production. (26 minutes)

Most people are unwilling to confront aging-even many seniors live in denial of it. Some fear losing their independence and autonomy, while others simply can't accept the graying of their hair. This program explores the varied landscape of aging in America, presenting the realities-physical, medical, emotional, and economic-of growing old in a youth-obsessed society. Whether they are well off in retirement, financially marginalized, in good health, or terminally ill, the film's participants provide moving and provocative commentary and raise several challenging questions. What exactly is the healthy way to grow old? Is age a disease to be battled or a beautiful stage of life to be embraced and celebrated? Perhaps most importantly, how can we reverse our society's neglect of the elderly? (74 minutes)