My Mother's Hip: Lessons from the World of Eldercare

Because people are living longer, they are much more likely to suffer from osteoporosis and the resulting bone loss. As a result, hip fractures in the elderly make up a modern epidemic: some 400,000 fractures occur annually, mostly among the aged. An anthropologist by training, Margolies (clinical research director, Hip Fracture Research Project of South Florida) provides both a personal narrative of her experiences caring for her mother, who suffered a hip fracture, and a well-documented factual presentation of the medical and health issues related to eldercare in America. She writes that her "mother's hip is every mother's hip," and this is certainly true: many of us will be able to identify with the author as she details her mother's journey through a difficult and flawed healthcare system. Topics addressed in the nonbiographical chapters include hip fracture, nursing homes, advance directives, daughters as caregivers, prolonging life, and residential design for the elderly. Although her text is at times a bit strident, the author provides valuable lessons. Enthusiastically recommended for public and health sciences libraries.-Linda M.G. Katz, Drexel Univ. Health Sciences Libs., Philadelphia Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.


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