Human factors researchers at Florida State University have identified ways to improve electronic voting accuracy among older voters while also shortening waiting time at the polls. The results of their study were published in the fall 2007 issue of Ergonomics in Design.

Many Americans have a soft spot for Botswana, developed while reading the best-selling #1 Ladies Detective Agency series. But few have had a chance to do any sleuthing of their own in that African country.

According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), 2006 statistics from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) indicate that there were an estimated 1.1 million people treated at U.S. hospital emergency rooms for head injuries related to common products found around the home. The number of head injuries is actually greater, since many people are treated at doctor’s offices, immediate care centers, or do not seek any medical treatment.

Paramedics with extended skills can provide a safe and effective alternative to standard ambulance transfer and hospital treatment for older people with a minor injury or illness, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

For better or worse, baby boomers approach retirement with more complex marital histories than previous generations. Temple University researcher Adam Davey, Ph.D. has found the impact of these events -- divorces, widowhood, and remarriage – can predict if a child will provide more involved care in the future.

China’s efforts to control population growth in the present may cause problems for the county’s senior citizens in the future.

The first nationally representative survey on the prevalence of sexual activity among older Americans provides a portrait of the intimate lives of people ages 57 to 85.

The first comprehensive national survey of sexual attitudes, behaviors and problems among older adults in the United States has found that most people ages 57 to 85 think of sexuality as an important part of life and that the frequency of sexual activity, for those who are active, declines only slightly from the 50s to the early 70s.

Rather than prolonging life, preventive treatments in elderly people may simply change the cause of death – the manner of our dying, say doctors in this week’s BMJ.

Older adults who cannot read and understand basic health information appear to have increased mortality rates over a five-year period than those with adequate health literacy, according to a report in the July 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Lesions commonly seen on MRI in the brains of older patients may be a sign of potentially more extensive injury to the brain tissue, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Duke University Medical Center, in Durham, NC.

A new study appearing in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society compares the efficacy of three programs designed for reducing falls and improving quality-of-life among the elderly; education, home safety assessment and modification (HSAM) and exercise training.