U.S. census data indicates that about 3.5 million Americans relocated for a new job last year, a 10 percent dip from 3.8 million in 2015, reports the Wall Street Journal . The numbers have been trending lower overall, even as the U.S. population has expanded by almost 20 percent since 1999. Underlying factors cited by experts include depressed value for homes, limited job openings, and prohibitively high housing costs in areas where jobs are plentiful. Family reasons or the existence of a better job nearby are other factors playing into employees' reduced willingness to move. The University of Connecticut's Thomas Cooke notes people with children are less likely to move following a divorce than they were in prior decades, as more parents choose shared-custody arrangements. He also says adults increasingly make decisions with their children's input, partly out of a reluctance to disrupt their routines and friendships. Moreover, the Pew Research Center says women are contributing more to family incomes, making it difficult to replicate a family's standard of living if only one spouse has a new job in a different city. Also contributing is a growing population of adult caregivers of aging parents. Meanwhile, Colorado career coach Aimee Cohen says relocation packages have become less generous, and there is little certainty about the duration of a new job.

Best Buy has agreed to pay $800 million to purchase GreatCall, which provides smartphones and emergency-response systems for seniors, reports ThinkAdvisor . GreatCall currently has more than 900,000 subscribers who use its Jitterbug mobile phones and wearable devices to stay connected to family and friends. The acquisition will position Best Buy to land a bigger share of the fast-growing senior-services market. GreatCall devices will be part of Best Buy's new Assured Living unit, which sells networked products such as smart doorbells and bed sensors in 21 markets to remotely monitor the health and safety of aging Americans. "We know technology can improve the quality of life of the aging population and those who care for them," says Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly. GreatCall offers two mobile phones under the Jitterbug brand, as well as wearable devices under the Lively label, which GreatCall bought in 2016. Best Buy was the first retailer to sell GreatCall's products, which connect users to caregivers, concierge services, or emergency staff. Best Buy says the deal should close by the end of the third quarter.

A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found persons with dementia had an increased prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD), reports Psychiatry Advisor . The researchers analyzed 421 studies, of which 55 met the necessary criteria for review. A pooled MDD prevalence rate of 15.9 percent was observed among participants with dementia aged 58.7 to 87.8 years old. This rate was deemed consistent with the results of a previous meta-analysis of 25 studies of depression in dementia, estimating a pooled prevalence rate of 12.7 percent. Outcomes showed that 24.7 percent of those with vascular dementia had depression, compared with 14.8 percent of those with Alzheimer's and 21.5 percent of those with dementia with Lewy bodies. Among participants with mild dementia, 22.1 percent had depression, versus 11.6 percent of subjects with moderate dementia. The researchers reached the conclusion that "the high prevalence of depression in dementia has important clinical implications and supports recommendations that clinicians should be vigilant for MDD in dementia." The meta-analysis also determined the current screening tools and diagnostic criteria for MDD are sufficient for effectively diagnosing MDD in most persons with dementia.

The steady increase in financial fraud against seniors in Maine prompted the conception of a state-run pilot program that would train bank employees to identify suspicious activity in return for greater protection from legal liability for reporting it, according to the New York Times . Its success led to the Senior Safe Act, signed into law in May, which gives banks that accept such training more certainty that they would not be penalized for disclosing account information to authorities. "As baby boomers hit their milestones and retire, there's been a growing focus on what we can report," says the American Bankers Association's Robert G. Rowe. "The law gives us safe harbor to report suspicious activity." The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that one in five older consumers say they have been the victim of some form of financial abuse. Types of fraud targeting seniors range from erasing and substituting different information on a check to check duplication to unauthorized debit charges to submitting fake checks for deposit. As such activity ramps up, banks are expanding their warnings, monitoring, and education efforts. For example, Texas' First Financial Bank certifies "fraud-busting" personnel after they are trained to spot potentially fraudulent actions. Meanwhile, more aggressive consumer education is likely to proliferate under the Senior Safe Act.

Nationwide, states are forcing pharmaceutical companies to disclose and justify price hikes, reports the New York Times . The drug manufacturers, in turn, are challenging the state laws as a violation of their constitutional rights. The bipartisan efforts by states come as the White House is pressuring drug companies to freeze prices and slash out-of-pocket costs for consumers struggling to pay for drugs. Twenty-four states have passed 37 bills this year to curb rising prescription costs, reports Trish Riley, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy. Under a new Connecticut law, for example, drug companies must justify price increases for certain drugs if the price rises by at least 20 percent in one year or 50 percent over three years. Additionally, pharmacy benefit managers must publish the amount of rebates and other price concessions they get from drug companies.

Several pending lawsuits seeking to determine whether employers are breaking the law by posting job ads targeting younger workers could help improve job opportunities for older Americans, according to National Public Radio . One suit filed by the Communications Workers of America claims that T-Mobile, Facebook, and other companies discriminate by excluding older workers from seeing their ads. In December, a Facebook official contended that tailoring ads is not unlawful, provided the recruitment campaign overall is designed to reach all demographic groups. Although workplace civil rights law bans discrimination against workers 40 and older, employee advocates say recruiters sometimes exclude older workers by narrowing how and where they seek candidates. Other recent lawsuits have challenged whether an employer can recruit exclusively on college campuses and the legality of capping the number of years of experience an applicant can have. "We see that this is one of the factors that keeps older workers out of the job market after a job loss," says the Communications Workers of America's Jody Calemine. She calls targeted advertising a new frontier for discrimination. "Hiring discrimination is very difficult to prove, because the applicant is on the outside looking in," notes AARP Foundation attorney Laurie McCann. In such cases, applicants do not allege the employer discriminated against them personally, but that the recruiting process itself is biased. "The issue is whether or not workers can even get into the courthouse door to challenge that practice that clearly screens out older workers," McCann says.

A 2017 survey by AMN Healthcare found nearly 50 percent of millennial nurses, 35 percent of those in Generation X, and 12 percent of baby boomers plan on becoming advanced-practice nurses, reports Modern Healthcare . Their main goal is to become nurse practitioners, who generally are more autonomous and well-suited to look after less acute cases and fill care gaps left by the shortage of primary-care doctors. However, registered nurses (RNs) are in short supply, and AMN's Marcia Faller says this education trend could worsen the shortfall. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says seven states will have RN shortages continue through 2030 as the aging population and need for chronic disease management fuels demand. The poll also found 17 percent of millennial RNs plan to look for a new nursing job while the economy is rebounding, versus 15 percent of Gen Xers and 10 percent of boomers. Ten percent of millennials said they would pursue travel nursing, while only 6 percent of Gen Xers and 5 percent of boomers agreed. Faller stresses that nursing leaders must foster a workplace with a positive culture, and 68 percent of millennials said culture benefits quality of care compared to 62 percent of Gen Xers and 57 percent of boomers. Millennials are more supportive overall of their leadership and value one who supports career development. "More organizations need to ensure that RNs are working at the top of their license," Faller notes.

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report says 25 percent of American adults have a serious disability, reports Politico Pro . Mobility, cognition, and the ability to live independently are the most common classes of disability, and they are most prevalent among older people, women, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and residents of Southern states. Furthermore, the percentage of adults with a disability climbs as their annual income decreases. Disabilities involving mobility are five times more frequent among people ages 45 to 64 living below the federal poverty level compared to those with incomes at twice the poverty level. "At some point in their lives, most people will either have a disability or know someone who has one," says the CDC's Coleen Boyle. "Learning more about people with disabilities in the United States can help us better understand and meet their health needs."

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab recently participated in a summit in Portland, Maine, committed to fighting social isolation among older adults in rural communities, reports MIT News . The 2018 Connectivity Summit on Rural Aging was hosted by Tivity Health in collaboration with AgeLab, Health eVillages, and the Jefferson College of Population Health. Attendees worked to find actionable concepts to reduce the effect of social isolation and enable better health for seniors in rural areas. The AgeLab researches business and policy innovations in the longevity economy and opportunities to improve quality of life for older adults and their caregivers. It also organizes and upholds outreach and community groups for seniors and professionals in the field of aging. The summit was informed by the results of a new national Tivity Health survey showing that 29 percent of rural older adults experience daily social interaction, and many are dealing with physical impairments including vision loss, hearing loss, and loss of mobility. Furthermore, 66 percent of seniors in rural areas say they want public officials in their states and the business community to do more to address their needs. "My vision when launching this summit two years ago was to ensure that actions, not just words, would empower stakeholders to work together to reverse the effects of social isolation," says Tivity Health CEO Donato Tramuto. "I am pleased that less than two years later we have successfully created a movement that has mobilized actions to support older Americans by addressing the impacts of social isolation."

Some schools and care communities are turning to virtual reality (VR) technology to better train caregivers for people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, reports the Chicago Tribune . Leaders of Chicago Methodist Senior Services want to train all employees with a program from Los Angeles-based Embodied Labs. The program involves multiple virtual characters as they go through various scenarios. One character is a math teacher in her 60s advancing through the stages of Alzheimer's. Workers wear headsets to explore the teacher's world, hear sounds as she would, and hear her thoughts. A camera on the headset also lets participants move the avatar's hands by moving their own. "You are there and you are observing this and you have a deep sense of feeling of what's happening," says Neelum Aggarwal with the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center. He advised Embodied Labs on the creation of the virtual teacher character and the scenarios she experiences. "We know when there's an emotional connection to something, that whole experience is enhanced and virtual reality seems to be able to do this," Aggarwal notes. He says Rush is trialing the Embodied Labs program with 60 medical, pharmacy, and nursing students. Their levels of empathy and bias, and beliefs about aging, will be measured before and after participating in the VR modules, and they will discuss their impressions together.