2^nd International Conference on Aging & Gerontology - ICAG 2017 June 26-27,2017

Hotel Venue - Hilton San Diego Mission Valley

Biography:

Elizabeth Kessler has been graduated from University of Houston as a Doctor of Philosophy in English, with the concentrations including American Literature and Chicana Literature. Later she pursued her interest in the use of culinary material in literature and ageing in literature and film. She has taught at California State University, Northridge and University of Houston, Central Campus. Currently enrolled in an MS degree program in Gerontology at the University of Florida

Abstract:

Despite the belief that the elderly do not think about intimacy and sexuality, research shows that they not only think about sexual activities, they indulge in them. However, before we examine sexuality as such, we must investigate the importance of intimacy and the issue of touch for well-being and healthy aging. Each of the characters to be discussed in this presentation displays a need to love and be loved physically and emotionally. A view of healthy sexuality involves Baby Boomers who, in their 70s, still experience their sexual needs and most are unashamed to discuss them openly. While they were in their teens and early 20s, they led the sexual revolution, openly campaigning for “love not war,” leaving home to live in communes, and disdaining the older generations’ attitude toward love and sexuality. With this in mind, it is not surprising that the aging boomers are now leaders in the research field for ways to stay active and virile. Women, conversely, must deal with the effects of menopause, ageist attitudes, and coping with losing their husbands or partners and thus not always having easy access to healthy sexual activities.

Love, intimacy, and sexuality are factors that contribute to healthy aging and must be dealt with appropriately. Denial of the need for sex when the sex drive continues into one’s senior years can create depression, guilt, and frustration on the part of the elderly and can deprive them of a joy they can still experience despite their age. Fortunately for many, The Golden Girls brought sex and women’s, as well as men’s, desire to talk about, participate in, and enjoy the pleasures of sex. In The Golden Girls, older women, Blanch, Dorothy, Rose, and Sophia talk about their encounters and tackle other taboo topics. After the show left the air, sexuality became more popular on television, but it did not incorporate older actors as main characters. Thanks to The Golden Girls, Grace and Frankie aired three seasons ago, and they, too, have broken ground with radical discussion of the older male’s and female’s need for companionship, love, sexuality, intimacy, and personal gratification.

Thus, sex is not only for the young, and that is being conveyed in Grace and Frankie tastefully and humorously and seriously, taking into consideration other problems that can also interfere with having a physical relationship—dementia and the guilt it creates in the patient’s husband. While this is a step in the right direction, there are still other obstacles the elderly in today’s more permissive and sexually visible society must learn to avoid and prevent and adult children must learn to accept their parents’ and/or grandparents’ dynamic sexuality.

Biography:

Diane Chau, is a practicing Geriatrician in San Diego, CA. Dr. Chau graduated from Drexel College of Medicine in 1994 and has been in practice for 21 years. She com­pleted a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at UCSD Medical Center. Dr. Chau also practices as the Medical Director of a Geriatrics focused Community Living Center at VA San Diego Health Care in San Diego, CA, and a Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly. She is an Associate Professor of Health Sciences Medicine at UCSD where she is the Project Director for the Geriatric Education Center Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Project.

Abstract:

Objectives:

• Understand how to define and classify pain in older adults
• List social and environmental factors affecting the perception of pain and its treatment common to older adults
• Recognize the scales available to assess pain
• List medical and non-medical treatments available for pain

Demographics:

• Median successful aging increased
• 65 years represents about 36 million; by 2020 54million
• Fastest growing segment of the population is > 85 years
• Currently 5 million, 20 million by 2050
• 1900’s - 3 million elderly (1 in 25 Americans), by 2020, 54 million (1 in 6 Americans)
• 2011 - first baby boomers reached 65

Mechanism of Pain Based on Pathophysiology:

• Nociceptive pain: Results from stimulation of pain receptors.
• Somatic: damage to body tissue, well localized
• Visceral: from viscera, poorly localized, may have nausea
• Neuropathic pain: Results from dysfunctions or lesions in either the central or peripheral nervous systems.
• Mixed pain syndromes: multiple or unknown mechanisms (e.g. headaches, vasculitic syndromes).
• Psychogenic Pain: somatoform disorders, conversion reactions.

Challenges of Pain Treatment in Geriatrics:

• The healthy to hospice span.
• A healthy retiree is no longer an individual who decreases their lifestyle activities.
• The "baby-boomers" in their 60s and 70s are "baby boomers"; they have a functional active lifestyle.
• The older old 80’s to 90’s are diverse. Functional ability, living situation, social support, restricted finances should  be considered.