Amy L. Ai, Ph.D., is a professor in the College of Social Work and a Faculty Affiliate of the Institute for Successful Longevity. She is also Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, American Psychologist Association, and Association of Psychological Science. In 2020, the American Psychological Association’s Division 56 (Trauma Psychology) honored her with its Outstanding Science Award. Professor Ai will give a presentation on her research December 6 as part of the ISL Brown Bag Series.

 More and more people 65 and older are fortunate to be receiving their first doses of Covid-19 vaccine with more doses hopefully released soon for the rest of the population. If you are one of the lucky pioneers with the first approved vaccines, congratulations on getting a dose, or doses, as this is the first step down a long road toward rolling back the pandemic.

If you are like me, you have valuable data assets stored in electronic devices such as computers, smartphones, and tablets.  As more and more of our transactions have become electronic our heirs may face enormous challenges recovering that information after we die or become incapacitated.  The challenges are increasing with two-factor authentication (2FA) processes guarding our devices and accounts.

Accessible transportation is essential for successful aging, because quality of life cannot be sustained unless older adults have reliable and affordable access to social, medical, and other essential services. This is why Dial-A-Ride is vital to many older adults and why my research team created a prototype mobile app for Dial-A-Ride users.

There is another serious epidemic silently spreading in America: senior invisibility.  Nearly everyone except for essential workers experienced “early retirement” from everyday activities, at least for a while, when stay-at-home orders went into effect across the country.

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Driving a car means maintaining independence for many older adults — driving allows you to shop, see friends and family, keep up with medical appointments, and avoid social isolation. But sometimes staying safe behind the wheel as you age can be a challenge.

The presidential contest is fully underway, and many of the candidates fit the definition of “older adults,” those age 65+ years.  In the past I’ve been queried about candidates for high office (such as former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien) who are of pensionable age.  Usually the concerns of the journalist are not that the candidate might die in office, but rather that they may become demented and whether we should have either an age limit on candidates or some form of fitness testing.

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are included in many new vehicles.  They feature such functions as blind-spot detection (sadly, usually only available with a high-end package), forward-collision warning and braking, lane-keeping warning and steering guidance, adaptive cruise control and the now required (in all new 2018 vehicles) backup camera.

 We have so many ways to communicate with each other today that didn’t exist 50 years ago, such as through the Internet and with mobile phones, yet we report greater social isolation and loneliness than ever before.  Research studies suggest that about a quarter of the U.S.