The BSW Experiential Learning (BEL) Program aims to infuse intergenerational content into the curriculum and recruit students to the field of social work by implementing face-to-face learning opportunities with older adults. This article discusses and compares the experiences of 4 diverse BEL projects that implemented gero-experiential learning…

Age-related challenges to health and well-being among older adults give rise to a distinctive array of risk factors for suicide, calling for a unique approach to suicide interventions. Americans over the age of 65 are disproportionally overrepresented in the number of completed suicides. This paper examines the epidemiology of geriatric suicide,…

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), known as presbycusis, is characterized by progressive deterioration of auditory sensitivity, loss of the auditory sensory cells, and central processing functions associated with the aging process. ARHL is the third most prevalent chronic condition in older Americans, after hypertension and arthritis, and is a…

The education mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to train health professionals to benefit VA and the United States. One approach for achieving that mission, along with VA's research and clinical missions, was the establishment of Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Centers (GRECCs) in 1975. These were developed at VA…

The international community is facing the pressure of aging societies. In the United States of America, we will shortly be facing the aging of baby boomers, a dramatically large population expected to peak as senior citizens in 2030 at 70 million. Global societies are facing a crisis: lack of adequately trained and emotionally oriented personnel…

This paper describes an Elder Specialist Program developed by one school of medicine to sensitize medical students to geriatric psychosocial issues. Elder Specialists participate in panel discussions as part of each geriatric session. As an alternative to traditional senior mentoring programs, the Elder Specialist Program provides all students a…

The purpose of this study is to confirm the working hypothesis on two major models of functioning decline and two corresponding models of rehabilitation program in an older population through detailed interviews with the persons who have functioning declines and on-the-spot observations of key activities on home visits. A total of 542…

The continually rising percentage of the elderly population and the demand for geriatric nursing care are dramatically related. While it is true that most undergraduate programs prepare nurses for the care of geriatric patients, most receive limited academic preparation in the nursing curriculum (Williams & Mezey, 2000). This is particularly…

The aging process is associated with medical conditions that can negatively affect medical fitness to drive. Traditional licensing agency methods to identify at-risk drivers have significant limitations. These include testing of visual acuity and driving tests. Recently, methods have been developed to allow for screening for cognitive decline in…

Important home and community-based issues in the lives of older adults and caregivers relate to end of life. It is well documented that education on end of life, including curricula and textbook content for health and human service professionals, is lacking. This study analyzed another aspect of education: continuing education sessions offered at…

There has been recent international concern that the teaching of geriatrics may be in decline. Research has suggested that support for geriatrics in national undergraduate curricula is the key to effective delivery of teaching in the specialty. We set out to determine the geriatric medicine content in the U.K. generic curriculum, reviewing this in…

The critical need for physicians to become entrenched in the issues of older drivers and public safety is the focus of a training initiative developed as a component of an innovative geriatrics curriculum, Aging (Couple) Across the Curriculum. As the number of aging drivers in the United States rises, physicians can play an important role in…

As the number of older adults in the United States increases, so will the expected number of allegations of elder abuse. Adult protective services (APS) staff are likely to handle much more complex situations, and in growing numbers, due to the presence of chronic and life-limiting conditions of their clients. The APS workers, in this national…

This study examined the relationships between culture and the health status of older Chinese in Canada. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with a cross-sectional, randomly selected sample of 2,272 older Chinese between 55 and 101 years of age in seven Canadian cities. Health status was assessed by the number of chronic illnesses,…

A procedure is described that involves iterative use of univariable optimal discriminant analysis (UniODA) to construct a classification tree model for discriminating observations from different groups. The procedure is illustrated using an application that involved discriminating 125 geriatric and nongeriatric patients on the basis of their…