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| Image by Daniel Lobo via Creative Commons |
In 2021, I only posted about once a month. Why the drop in productivity?
Skip to the end of this post for information about the reading I have been doing related to the pandemic.
To avoid presenting an archive for the year, I'm going to present a different kind of Top 10.
These five posts were written/published in 2021.
Out of the 13 posts published this year, they received the most views.
2. Supernova: A Film Review July 1, 2021
3. Ten Books: An Essential Library on Aging. April 17, 2021
4. 2020 Report on Older Americans. March 29, 2021
5. Nomadland: Film with a View on Poverty April 29, 2021
These next five posts were published over the life of my blog.
2. Movies about Love and Sex for People 50 Plus April 1, 2013
3. Robert C. Peck's Tasks for Older Adults June 1, 2013
4. Mackay's Swiss Cheese Virus Defense October 31, 2020
5. Biomarkers for Longevity and Health June 8, 2015
Context for Why I Published Fewer Posts in 2021 than Any Year Prior
Since the pandemic started in 2020, I've been reading a lot of academic journal articles, particularly articles from medical journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet, British Medical Journal, Cell, and Nature.
I have been reading academic journal articles about SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 because I have asks my university students to read research related to the pandemic.
- In Fall 2020, I taught a class at USI about the Continuum of Care. Most of the students were preparing to be nursing home administrators. They did research on topics such as masks, goggles, and ventilation. Vaccines were not yet available.
- In Fall of 2021, I also taught Economics of Aging and Social Policies at UE. Those students also looked at COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as well as pandemic-correlated economic and psychological hardships by demographics. I only had three students, so I remember well their chosen topics: women, Native Americans, and Hispanics.
- In Spring of 2021, I taught Death, Dying and Bereavement at USI. My students did annotated bibliographies on how deaths were affecting various demographics. No student focused on one demographic. As a group we would find, read, and summarize publications about deaths related to ages, comorbidities, vocations, race/ethnicity, poverty, etc.
- In the Fall of 2021, I taught Biology of Aging. Most of my students were seniors pre-accepted in the Physician's Assistants program. They wrote annotated bibliographies about long COVID in preparation of writing a research paper about a subtopic, such as myocarditis, loss of smell, POTS, and brain fog. Most of these students were 4.0 students who did outstanding work. I learned a great deal reading their papers and by reading several of the research articles they cited.
- In the Fall of 2021, I also taught Global Aging at USI. Each student studied the effects of COVID-19 on an assigned country and how the pandemic was making age-related challenges even more difficult. For example, one student wrote about the ways that the Hajj in Saudi Arabia made it difficult if not impossible for older Muslims to make their long-planned pilgrimage. Another student described the economic hardships that older adults in Cuba experienced with lockdowns. Yet another student described the mental health crisis among older adults in Pakistan worsening with lockdowns.
However, because I do not have an advanced degree in microbiology, infectious diseases, biochemistry, virology, or even public health, I hesitate to share this research on my blog.
Because I was reading 10 or more research articles a week during 2021, I only published 13 posts this year--14 with this one. Hence, my Top 10 for this year would look a little bit like an archive.
How often will I post in 2022?
Of course, I do not know what 2022 has in store for me. I tend to read as a way to equip myself to face challenges. By looking at my blog, you can see when I got bifocals, when I was diagnosed with osteopenia, and when I started to worry about my mother's need for assisted living care. And you can see when I started reading about COVID-19.
Let's hope that 2022's blog posts are focused more on research about opportunities as well, such as how to find a good deal on flights to London or how to find a flattering outfit to attend my daughter's college graduation.
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