With an aging Baby Boomer population and increasing numbers of childless and unmarried senior citizens, nearly one-quarter of Americans over age 65 could become “elder orphans,” according to new research.
A case study and literature review by Maria Torroella Carney, M.D., chief of geriatric and palliative medicine at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, found that 22 percent of Americans over age 65 are at risk of entering their senior years alone and unsupported by family, leaving them vulnerable.
“We have a sense that this will be a growing population as society ages and life expectancy increases, and our government and society need to prepare how to advocate for this population,” said Carney, senior author of the research, which was completed in collaboration with colleagues from the health system and Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.
[For more of this story, written by Janice Wood, go to http://psychcentral.com/news/2...r-orphans/84668.html]
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