THE EDITORS OF PSYCHOLOGY AND AGING ARE SOLICITING MANUSCRIPTS FOR A SPECIAL SECTION CALLED AGING AND DECISION-MAKING: HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE. Manuscripts that address the basic theme of aging and decision-making as applied to health and health care will be considered.
Advances in basic science, clinical care, and public health have extended the human lifespan and identified unprecedented opportunities for preventing and treating disease. Medicare and other insurers currently offer numerous options to finance all aspects of health care, including long-term care. Direct to consumer advertising by the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, the spread of health-related information via the Internet, and the ubiquitous presence of alternative treatments, exercise regimes, and diets contribute to the complexity of decision making. The process of choosing one health care option over another—the act of making a decision – presents a host of social, cognitive, and emotional challenges, all of which may be affected by the aging process.
Topics of interest for the special section include: decisions about health promotion, health behavior (e.g., diet, exercise, sleep, smoking, alcohol consumption), disease prevention (e.g., screening, immunization), treatment seeking, treatment initiation, treatment preference, treatment adherence, treatment discontinuation and decisions concerning the purchase of health insurance or long term care insurance. If you are interested in contributing to this section, please contact Paul Duberstein. (Paul_Duberstein@urmc.rochester.edu) by September 15, 2009. Include a tentative title and a brief synopsis of the planned manuscript. All solicited manuscripts will be peer-reviewed. The tentative deadline for submissions is December 31, 2009. The special issue will be published in 2010.
