Focus on Family publishes guide to caring for aging loved ones

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--An exhaustive, 551-page guide to caring for aging loved ones is being published by Focus on the Family.

"The Complete Guide to Caring for Aging Loved Ones" will deal with the aspects of successful aging from the viewpoint of the whole person -- physical, mental, emotional, relational and spiritual.

At the end of the 20th century, doctors began to formally study the effects of religion and spirituality on successful health and aging, notes Walter L. Larimore, a medical doctor from Colorado Springs, Colo., and author of the book's forward.

"Now, after publication of more than 1,200 medical studies on the subject, it is generally recognized that religious beliefs and practices are associated with a wide variety of healthy outcomes," Larimore writes.

The book covers issues including family dynamics in caregiving; helping your elder cope; finding health, medical and social services; protecting aging loved ones from elder abuse; and facing your loved one's death.

The guide took three years to produce and was written by a team of writers and physicians.

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