Our Grandparents, Our Parents, Our Future Selves Optimizing Function in Old Age

From the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University Policy Brief series, this report examines ways in which older adults at risk for functional decline and disability can be identified, as well as ways in which these events can be minimized, postponed, or eliminated. The report is based on a lecture by Dr. Thomas Gill is Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Investigative Medicine, and the Humana Foundation Professor of Geriatric Medicine at Yale University and is a leading authority on the epidemiology and prevention of disability among older persons.

Dr. Gill asserts that disability is not an inevitable outcome of physical and cognitive impairments and is often preventable through exercise and physical activity, through fall prevention, and perhaps in the future through pharmacologic treatment. His research looks at the behaviors and circumstances of an older person at risk for disability to determine what kinds of events may push them into frank disability and how to intervene.

Full report