Aging happens to people as well as societies.  Every day brings us new knowledge about what aging means to people as individuals as well as participants in an aging society.  Research in aging will grow in importance as more people live longer and seek answers to questions about their quality of care and quality of life. Translating research into practice is a growing and realistic concern for those of us aging in contemporary society.  The purpose of this book is to explore some of the major issues raised by aging and translating research on aging into practice.

The book is organized into three sections: education and lifelong learning, eldercare and care giving, and long-term care administration.  Following the introduction, which provides a brief overview, each chapter presents issues and perspectives on a specific topic related to that section.  A short epilogue with a review of main research implications concludes the book.

This book offers practical and useful information on a variety of topics.  However, more research is needed on aging in contemporary society.   Translating research on aging into practice will continue to provide new challenges and solutions.  Contemporary and future researchers are encouraged to get involved and participate in these meaningful and worthwhile opportunities.

Darlene Yee-Melichar, Ed.D., CHES, is Professor of Gerontology in the College of Health and Human Services at San Francisco State University, where she is also Coordinator of Long-Term Care Administration and Director of the Health, Mobility and Safety Laboratory.  She has presented and published extensively on her areas of interest in healthy aging, long-term care administration, and safety research and education.  She has served as a consultant for the NIH Office for Protection from Research Risks, as a member of the Advisory Committee for Research on Women's Health for the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, and as a grant reviewer for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH Research Enhancement Awards Program.  She also serves on the DHHS-OWH Minority Women's Health Panel of Experts and the Multicultural Involvement Committee of the American Association of Health Education.  She has been active on the Board of Directors for the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, Consortium for Learning and Research in Aging of the California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, San Francisco Senior Center, Senior Focus, and Smart Silvers Alliance.  She is an elected Charter Fellow of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, elected Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and elected Fellow of the Research Consortium of the American Association of Health Education.  She received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging in 1998; she received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2001.

Dr. Andrea Renwanz Boyle currently serves as an Associate Professor in the San Francisco State University School of Nursing where she is also the Director of the Family Nurse Practitioner Program and Director of the Community Outreach RN-MSN Program.  Dr. Renwanz Boyle received her MSN Degree from Boston University and a DNSc degree from the University of California, San Francisco. She has worked in the field of primary care for 31 years as an Adult Nurse Practitioner where she has provided care to older adults and elders in internal medicine and family practice settings. A member of Sigma Theta Tau, International Nursing Honor Society and Sigma Xi, National Scientific Honor Society, Dr. Renwanz Boyle is currently conducting research in the area of evidence-based practice. Her work has been presented at numerous national and international scientific meetings.

Part I: Education and Lifelong Learning * Healthy Aging and Lifelong Learning/Patricia DeVito * Assessing the Continuing Education Needs of RCFE Administrators/Cristina M. Flores * Fitness and Aging: A Multidimensional Curriculum/Scott M. Lohmann * Oral History, Its Roots and Relation to Narrative Gerontology/Victoria S. Cormack

Part II:Eldercare and Caregiving * Chronic Pain Assessment and Management/Edwin P. Cabigao * A Study of Family Caregiving/Eileen Cordova * Anemia in the Hemodialysis Population: An Evaluation of a Newly Oral Heme Iron Polypeptide (HIP) Supplement/Sana Ghaddar * Assessment of Alcohol Misuse in the Elderly/Harvey Davis and Andrea Renwanz-Boyle

Part III: Long-Term Care Administration * Empowerment and Long-Term Care: A Contradiction in Terms/David Hahklotubbee * Impact of Job Satisfaction and Management Principles on Nursing Home Administrator Retention/Lianne C. Jemelian   * The Relationship Between Independent Seniors’ Knowledge and Perceptions about Assisted Living Facilities/Lisa Luna