Aging & Caregiving

I could not be more blessed… I am convinced that laughter adds time to one’s life.
Norman Lear, receiving the Carol Burnett Award at the 2021 Golden Globes

Video

Mandy Moore of NBC’s “This Is Us” on her character’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease

Mandy Moore, who plays Rebecca Pearson on NBC’s “This Is Us,” talks about her character’s multi-episode Alzheimer’s storyline, which was an honoree in the 2020 Sentinel Awards presented by Hollywood, Health & Society.

Media

Norman Lear, George Takei, Marla Gibbs Show They’re “Still in the Game” in New Campaign

Mimi Kennedy and George Wallace also joined USC’s #RethinkAging initiative to encourage more stories about older adults.

Research

Aging & Caregiving Studies

With funding from The SCAN Foundation, we’ve worked to change cultural narratives around aging through studies of TV content. Through our TV Monitoring reports, we’ve analyzed shows for representations of aging, older adults & caregiving in prime time.

Video

Aging Well with Community: Ernie and Sandy

We worked with The SCAN Foundation and 44 Blue Productions to highlight Ernie and Sandy’s journey with aging and caregiving.

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Aging Well with Community: Seung and Grace

We worked with The SCAN Foundation and 44 Blue Productions to highlight Seung and Grace’s journey with aging and caregiving.

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Aging Well with Community: Angela and Sarah

We worked with The SCAN Foundation and 44 Blue Productions to highlight Angela and Sarah’s journey with aging and caregiving.

webinar

OK Boomer: Fighting Ageism in the Entertainment Industry

In July 2020, we organized a panel on the fight against ageism in the entertainment industry. Guest speakers included Mike Royce, co-developer and executive producer/writer for One Day at a Time; Ashton Applewhite, an expert on ageism; and Judy Tate, a four-time Emmy Award-winning writer.

Webinar

Older Adults & Caregiving in the Age of Covid-19

Hollywood, Health & Society presented a virtual talk focusing on older adults and the challenges of caregiving during the pandemic. The panel, which included Dr. Bruce Chernof of The SCAN Foundation, was part of a series of discussions via Zoom on a variety of topics affected by COVID-19.

Panel

Women in Their Prime Time

With the help of featured guest speakers Norman Lear and Rita Moreno, our March 2018 panel discussion “Women in Their Prime Time: Aging In (and Out of) Hollywood” examined the striking scarcity of roles for older women on TV—and older adults in general.

Panel

Telling Life Stories

Our panel “Telling Life Stories: Crisis and Care at the Beginning, Middle and End” drew a full house to the WGAW, where writers and producers from four leading network, cable and streaming TV shows—joined by experts and local storytellers— explored the issues of aging and health care.

Video

Jane Fonda on Changing Hearts and Minds

Jane Fonda is still working to make the world a better place. The actor, 83, was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2021 Golden Globes. “We are a community of storytellers,” she said. “Stories have a way of changing our hearts and minds. They can help us see each other in a new light.”

Event

Hope’s Heroes

We joined with the SCAN Foundation on New Year’s Day in their campaign to honor family caregivers, who represent all backgrounds and ages. The foundation’s Rose Parade float celebrated these everyday heroes who are an important part in the lives of family and loved ones.

Video

A New Take on Getting Older

Baby Boomers are now well into their 60s, and older adults are better educated, live healthier and active lives, and have a longer life expectancy. So isn’t it time we tossed aside outdated ideas about getting older in America?

Older Adults Tip Sheets

The Cost of Caregiving

Palliative Care

Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of serious illness. That includes pain and other symptom management, but also family needs, coordination of care, and emotional support.

What Is Person-Centered Care?

Person-centered care is a team-based approach where a person’s values and preferences guide all aspects of their health care, supporting their realistic health and life goals.

Aging With Dignity

The face of American society is changing with people living longer than ever before. Yet right now our nation lacks a system of care and support that enables older adults to age with dignity, independence and choice in the face of increasing health and daily needs.

Person-Centered Care

Health care that puts people first means helping those with significant health conditions live the life they want to live—and not spend all their time inside a doctor’s office or hospital.

Aging in Community

According to the U.S. Census Bureau report, the older adult population will continue to grow significantly in the coming years as a result of the aging “baby boom” generation. This will affect families, businesses and health care providers.

Family Caregiving

More than half of adults who reach age 65 will—at some point—need a high level of support with basic daily activities, such as walking, eating, bathing and getting out of bed. They may also need help with paying bills, taking medications regularly, and scheduling and getting to appointments and social activities.

Older Adults With Chronic Health Conditions

With the increase in longevity and our society’s expansive aging population, more people are living with chronic health conditions, which can make it challenging to perform the activities of daily living.

Functional Homes for Older Adults

As people age, their mobility and physical strength diminish and many aspects of a home that were once functional become difficult. One solution is to remodel the space to accommodate these challenges.