Examines survey data from a metropolitan community to investigate comparative rankings of needs of older persons by service providers and their elderly target population. Training in gerontology, serving elderly clients exclusively, and having direct contact with elderly clients as line staff were not predictors of knowledge of elderly needs.…

Geriatric outpatients were involved in a group resocialization program. Comparison is made between experimental groups whose leader used group intervention techniques, and groups where leader played a nonintervention role. Experimental group members showed changes toward more active problem-solving approaches, while group members remained fixed at…

In a needs assessment of 84 rural health care professionals (44.1% physicians, 15.5% pharmacists, 14.3% nurses, 26.1% other), 39% considered their geriatrics knowledge above average. They were interested in learning more about Alzheimer's/dementia, medication use, and adverse effects. Preferred methods were videotapes, CD-ROM, and an…

Evaluated behavioral and cognitive methods, relative to control condition, for treating 27 elderly insomniacs. Both treatment methods produced significant improvement on main outcome measure of awakening duration. Stimulus control yielded higher improvement rates than either imagery training or control condition on awakening duration and total…

In an Italian university, a multidisciplinary course in nursing home care focused on use of the Resident Assessment Instrument. Students learned to use it effectively and developed decision-making and problem-solving abilities using concepts of comprehensive geriatric assessment and multidisciplinary teamwork. (SK)

Developed interview-based Geriatric Depression Rating Scale (GDRS) and administered 35-item GDRS to 68 older adults with range of affective disturbance. Found scale to have internal consistency and split-half reliability comparable to those of Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and Geriatric Depression Scale. Concurrent validity, construct…

A survey to determine the extent of gerontological and geriatric education for a specific allied health sciences school received responses from 27 of 60 faculty. A substantial number of courses infused aging-related information into the course content, particularly at the graduate level. (Author/JOW)

The present study explored the validity of treating suicide ideation as a surrogate endpoint that can serve as a proxy for suicide in clinical intervention research with suicidal seniors. Two criteria; that suicide ideation is modulated by the proposed intervention and that modulation of suicide ideation leads to a quantitative reduction in…

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-Expanded (BPRS-E) is a widely used outcome measure that assesses change in psychiatric symptoms. The focus of the present study was to clarify and determine the factor structure of the BPRS-E with geriatric and nongeriatric psychiatric inpatients. Two previous studies found different factor structures for the…

Reports findings from a preliminary survey of the growing phenomenon of endowed faculty positions in social gerontology and geriatric units in institutions of higher learning in the United States. There has been a distinct upsurge since 1980 in the number of endowed chairs and professorships in gerontological units. Identifies and describes…

Found no significant differences in burden for relatives of demented and depressed patients admitted to geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit. Although at follow-up depressed patients were more improved than demented patients, their caregivers did not experience any greater decrease in burden. Families of depressed patients may require as much…

Medical records of older outpatients treated at 15 university teaching hospitals were reviewed to evaluate how their medical problems were managed in university-based internal medicine practices. The finding suggests either that these patients were extremely atypical or that their geriatric problems were unrecognized. (Author/MLW)

Data on dental faculty involvement in geriatric programs, didactic and clinical academic curricula, and other aspects of ongoing geriatric educational activities in dental schools are reported and the prospects for future activities are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Reports the results of a state-by-state (N=27) survey of mental health services available for older persons and compares the extent of need and existing federal mandates. Results show 52 percent of respondents provide mental health services for older adults, while 22 percent include older adults with the general public. (Author/JAC)

Examined the relationship between age and perceived health status in 660 adults. Number of symptoms was the strongest predictor of perceived health status employed in this analysis, followed by age, education, and race. Persons over 60 tend to perceive their own health in a significantly more positive fashion. (Author/JAC)