Judith Graham - KFF Health News

Aging alone ─ without a spouse, a partner or children ─ requires careful planning. New programs for this growing population offer much-needed help.

There is a large population of older adults with physical problems that prevent them from leaving home. Many have significant medical and practical needs that go unmet.

Diverse networks of friends, former co-workers, neighbors, and extended family are often essential sources of support for older adults living alone. Often it is the elderly caring for the elderly.

In a health care system that assumes older adults have family caregivers to help them, those facing dementia by themselves often fall through the cracks.

Older men who find themselves living alone tend to have fewer close personal relationships than older women. They’re vulnerable, physically and emotionally, but often reluctant to ask for help.

Rising health care costs are fueling anxiety among older Americans covered by Medicare. They’re right to be concerned.

The White House has launched an initiative on women’s health. Studying the health of older women, a largely neglected group in medical research, should be a priority.

A sedative shouldn’t be the first thing tried to help people with dementia who exhibit distressing behaviors. A new website is a comprehensive, free resource that offers guidance to caregivers.

Many older adults who need hospital care are getting stuck in ER limbo — sometimes over a day. The long waits for seniors who are frail, with multiple medical issues, lead to a host of additional medical problems.

It’s estimated that an older patient can spend three weeks of the year getting care — and that doesn’t count the time it takes to arrange appointments or deal with insurance companies.