Independence for Older Americans Act

Independence for Older Americans Act - Title I: Task Force on Independence for Older Americans - Establishes a Task Force on Independence for Older Americans in the Department of Health and Human Services to: (1) coordinate Federal research on conditions and diseases leading to dependence among the elderly; (2) establish mechanisms for the use of research results in improving the quality of life for older Americans; and (3) review and evaluate public and private spending on such research. Authorizes appropriations for such Task Force.

Title II: Geriatric Research and Training Centers - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute on Aging to enter into cooperative agreements with, and make grants to, public and private nonprofit entities for the development of at least 15 Claude D. Pepper Comprehensive Independence Centers for geriatric research and training of researchers and for the demonstration and dissemination of the applications of such research. Authorizes appropriations for such centers.

Title III: Availability of Information to Health Professionals, Older Americans, and the General Public - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to prepare a comprehensive plan for a National Independence for Older Americans Information Program.

Provides for the establishment of an information clearinghouse, a toll-free telephone communications system, and public information campaigns concerning the maintenance and improvement of the health and independence of older Americans.

Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.

Title IV: Prevention of and Recovery from Chronic Illness - Requires the National Institute on Aging to support research, and report to the Congress, on the most effective: (1) techniques of geriatric assessment; (2) method of targeting comprehensive geriatric assessment to appropriate populations of older persons to determine their health care needs; and (3) means of providing for such needs to maximize health and independence.

Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) model techniques to aid in the prevention and rehabilitation of older persons from frailty and other mobility problems; and (2) model curricula for the health professions for training in the use of such techniques. Authorizes the National Institute on Aging to establish up to five demonstration programs at Comprehensive Independence Research Training and Demonstration Centers to prevent the loss of mobility and to help frail older persons regain independence, using existing and experimental techniques. Directs the Secretary to conduct research on the extent to which falls are associated with the loss of an individual's confidence in functioning independently and his or her need for long-term care. Requires the Secretary to develop and report to the Congress on the development of: (1) model techniques to aid in the recovery and rehabilitation of older persons from chronic and debilitating illness; and (2) model curricula for the health professions for training in the use of such techniques.

Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.

Title V: Research on Health, Retirement, and Independence - Directs the Secretary to: (1) commence a ten-year health and retirement history survey and; (2) establish an advisory panel on data collection to review existing government surveys and census data to coordinate information on the health and retirement status of older Americans.

Requires the National Center for Health Statistics to: (1) include persons age 75 and over in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; (2) develop questions related to health promotion and disease prevention for older persons for inclusion in the National Health Interview Survey and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; and (3) develop questions related to the health promotion and disease prevention practices of health care providers with special relevance to older persons for inclusion in the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

Directs the National Institute on Aging to request proposals from individual and team investigators on behavioral, social, and environmental mechanisms for promoting the health and independence of older Americans.

Authorizes appropriations for carrying out this title.

Title VI: Authorization of Appropriations for NIH - Authorizes FY 1991 appropriations to be added to the National Institute on Aging and other institutes in proportion to their current spending levels on aging research.