Purpose To assess the effects of an interdisciplinary intervention on the trajectories of functional recovery among older patients with hip fracture during 2 years after hospitalization. Design and Methods In a randomized controlled trial with 24-month follow-up, 162 patients [greater than or equal to]60 years were enrolled after hip-fracture…

Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility of the BRIGHTEN Program (Bridging Resources of an Interdisciplinary Geriatric Health Team via Electronic Networking), an interdisciplinary team intervention for assessing and treating older adults for depression in outpatient primary and specialty medical clinics. The BRIGHTEN team collaborates "virtually"…

Derived from Buddhism, mindfulness is a unique approach for understanding human suffering and happiness that has attracted rapidly growing interest among health care professionals. In this article I describe current thinking about the concept of mindfulness and elaborate on why and how mindfulness-based interventions have potential within the…

Purpose: We test the efficacy of an intervention based on the transtheoretical model to increase the intake of fruits and vegetables and to describe differences in psychosocial variables based on the achievement of the 5 A Day Program target. Design and Methods: This study is a randomized controlled trial comparing a 12-month fruit and vegetable…

Purpose: Turnover among direct-care workers (DCWs) continues to be a challenge in long-term care. Both policy makers and provider organizations recognize this issue as a major concern and are designing efforts to reduce turnover among these workers. However, there is currently no standardized method of measuring turnover to define the scope of the…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine scale dimensionality, reliability, invariance, targeting, continuity, cutoff scores, and diagnostic use of the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF) over time with a sample of 177 English-speaking U.S. elders. Design and Methods: An item response theory, Rasch analysis, was conducted with…

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…

Gatekeepers, or nontraditional referral sources, have proven to be an effective means of case finding and outreach for mental health needs of isolated senior citizens. A two-year project administered by county public health department found the gatekeeper concept to be an effective means of case finding in the public health setting. (ABL)

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…

Purpose: More than 14 million persons are projected to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) by the year 2020; therefore, it is not surprising that the literature contains numerous caregiver intervention studies. What is surprising is that although minority elders represent one of the fastest growing segments of the older population, they are…