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,…

The Geriatric Scholar Program (GSP) is a Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) workforce development program to infuse geriatrics competencies in primary care. This multimodal educational program is targeted to primary care providers and ancillary staff who work in VA's rural clinics. GSP consists of didactic education and training in geriatrics…

This study evaluated the effect of a transformative learning (TL) intervention on functional health literacy and diabetes knowledge in older African Americans. Twenty participants from senior community centers completed a six-session intervention. The short-form Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (s-TOFHLA), Literacy Assessment for…

Geriatric patients are at increased risk for complications from delirium or falls during hospitalization. Medical education, however, generally places little emphasis on the hazards of hospitalization for older inpatients. Geriatricians conducted a faculty development workshop for hospitalists about the hazards of hospitalization for geriatric…

Purpose: We describe and evaluate a project designed to pilot test an evidence-based clinical intervention for assessing and treating depression in older adults in rural primary care clinics. Project ADAPT--Assuring Depression Assessment and Proactive Treatment--utilized existing primary care resources to overcome barriers to sustainability…

The objective of this study was to compare enhanced access to geriatric assessment and case management to usual home care service provision for the frail elderly. This was a demonstration project, with randomized allocation to control or intervention groups of frail elderly persons who had been referred to the Home Care service in Winnipeg. Of the…

Background: Persons with an intellectual and developmental disability frequently face barriers in accessing preventive services in community-based health care systems. As they age into middle years, they are at increased risk for functional decline. This paper presents a description of an advanced practice nurse (APN) intervention used in a pilot…

Purpose: The psychiatric home visit is an effective intervention for elderly patients who otherwise would not receive mental health services. Home visits also have potential to be useful for training. Here, the current practice of home visits in geropsychiatry fellowship programs is examined. Design and Methods: The directors of 55 current…

Purpose: This article reviews the effectiveness of a new training program for improving nursing staffs' detection of depression within long-term care facilities. The course was designed to increase recognition of the Minimal Data Set (MDS) Mood Trigger items, to be brief, and to rely on images rather than didactics. Design and Methods: This study…