Listen now (43 mins) | Caring For and Writing About Older Adults, Frailty, Prisoners, People Suffering from Long Covid, the Neglected, Houseless, and Uninsured
As a 76-year-old, I can say that in the last year my health suddenly worsened for no reason for which my doctors have an explanation. So the idea of a sudden 'tipping" interests me greatly. I still have to work for a living. Therefore, my health needs to be good enough to work because I cannot live on Social Security. No one can. The frustration of being disabled by chronic fatigue and muscle weakness with accompanying limitations on movement is driving me nuts. Interesting interview. I will share it with my doctor.
Wow! Thank you both so much for an incredibly moving and fascinating interview. Dr. Bedard’s breadth and depth of experience with vulnerable populations is remarkable, as is her compassion and the deep thinking she brings to every situation. (The piece on Biden is terrific, BTW—so glad you flagged it.)
One thing that struck me was a common thread, running through each topic discussed, demonstrating the many ways in which the most vulnerable are often least supported, and how difficult this seems to be to address. As one example, when I listened to the segment on Long Covid and the LISTEN study approach, it led me back to thinking about the segment on aging, along with the piece on Biden.
In that regard, this comment from Dr. Bedard stood out: “it's really not a disease framework, it is a syndrome framework and it's a framework that says many, many small injuries or stressors add up to create a lot of stress and change in a body and trauma for our body.” I don’t know whether a LISTEN-type study has been tried with older folks (and their caregivers, as relevant) who are in a phase of life where coping with these stresses is front and center, but it strikes me that it could be very useful.
As one example, health care provision, at least where I live in NYC, seems generally to be set up to address needs on an episodic basis. Thus, as older people start having more problems, the process of getting care becomes unmanageable. One example I see with many friends, now in their 80s and 90s, is that their lives become preoccupied with the logistic complications attendant to a seemingly endless schlepping to multiple in-person appointments not suitable for telemedicine (good aid though that is). They just accept it, as they accept so much else, but wouldn’t it be great to have a LISTEN approach that would reach out proactively and ask the patients themselves what would be helpful—and then enact changes accordingly?
Anyway, LOTS of great food for thought here. Thanks so much to both of you!
As a 76-year-old, I can say that in the last year my health suddenly worsened for no reason for which my doctors have an explanation. So the idea of a sudden 'tipping" interests me greatly. I still have to work for a living. Therefore, my health needs to be good enough to work because I cannot live on Social Security. No one can. The frustration of being disabled by chronic fatigue and muscle weakness with accompanying limitations on movement is driving me nuts. Interesting interview. I will share it with my doctor.
Wow! Thank you both so much for an incredibly moving and fascinating interview. Dr. Bedard’s breadth and depth of experience with vulnerable populations is remarkable, as is her compassion and the deep thinking she brings to every situation. (The piece on Biden is terrific, BTW—so glad you flagged it.)
One thing that struck me was a common thread, running through each topic discussed, demonstrating the many ways in which the most vulnerable are often least supported, and how difficult this seems to be to address. As one example, when I listened to the segment on Long Covid and the LISTEN study approach, it led me back to thinking about the segment on aging, along with the piece on Biden.
In that regard, this comment from Dr. Bedard stood out: “it's really not a disease framework, it is a syndrome framework and it's a framework that says many, many small injuries or stressors add up to create a lot of stress and change in a body and trauma for our body.” I don’t know whether a LISTEN-type study has been tried with older folks (and their caregivers, as relevant) who are in a phase of life where coping with these stresses is front and center, but it strikes me that it could be very useful.
As one example, health care provision, at least where I live in NYC, seems generally to be set up to address needs on an episodic basis. Thus, as older people start having more problems, the process of getting care becomes unmanageable. One example I see with many friends, now in their 80s and 90s, is that their lives become preoccupied with the logistic complications attendant to a seemingly endless schlepping to multiple in-person appointments not suitable for telemedicine (good aid though that is). They just accept it, as they accept so much else, but wouldn’t it be great to have a LISTEN approach that would reach out proactively and ask the patients themselves what would be helpful—and then enact changes accordingly?
Anyway, LOTS of great food for thought here. Thanks so much to both of you!
Thanks Susan. It is always great to get your feedback and the specifics of what you found worthwhile.