Reports the service and facility feature preferences for retirement housing of middle and upper income elderly. Mandatory services and activities which require physical exertion were rejected, while security, convenient retail services, public transportation, and emergency health services are preferred. Underscores the importance of supportive…

Conducted chart review of inpatient dementia patients cared for by neurology, psychiatry, medicine, and surgery services at university hospital. Found differences in symptom profiles, hospital utilization trends, medical comorbidity, and post-hospitalization dispositions. Examined how patients entered hospital system, were assigned to different…

Discusses the feasibility of delivering combined health and social services to an elderly population. The social/health maintenance organization (S/HMO), incorporating features of health maintenance organizations with community social services, will be financed on a prepaid, capitated basis through premium contributions from Medicare, Medicaid,…

Describes the development of a mobile geriatric outreach team. The importance of thorough, interdisciplinary assessment and the offering of active, brief psychotherapy are stressed. Community education programs and consultations to the aging network reach the senior community and other referral sources. Preliminary program evaluation data are…

Death rates among those referred to project services were lower within the first six months after enrollment, and the mortality rate difference was maintained throughout the first year. Death rate differences were related to specific long-term care services recommended and received, and to initial functional health status. (Author)

Purpose: In response to concerns among policymakers and others that increases in the availability of publicly funded formal services will lead to reductions in self- and informal care, this study examines the relationship between the extent of formal in-home care received and levels of self- and informal care. Design and Methods: Two-stage least…

Offers survey-derived demographic, disability characteristic, living setting, and health and social service receipt and need information on 7,823 developmentally disabled persons age 53 and older. Additional information is presented by age groups and residential settings. Both similarities and dissimilarities were noted between elders in general…

The growth in the demand for long-term care services and accompanying cost implications have spurred interest in alternatives to nursing homes. The rationale for such alternatives is a mixture of prevention, displacement, and deinstitutionalization; none may result. The alternative may prove to be additive rather than substitutive. (Author)

Alternatives to long-stay patient back-ups include building more beds of all types, changes in placement policies, and continuing hospital care for older adults. Manitoba's policies have resulted in redistributing the health dollar towards the geriatric patient. (JAC)

The Community Care Organization-Milwaukee, sought to provide care at less cost and with higher resultant quality of life than nursing home care. Most frequently used services were transportation and nutrition. Much of the cost savings resulted from reduced hospitalization and nursing home utilization. (Author)

Examines the importance of economic factors in physician and other health service utilization among older adults living in Bermuda. Using data from a national survey of 500 Bermudian elders, findings reveal economic factors to be unrelated to the use of physician services directly, but to be significant determinants of the use of other health…

Purpose: This study assesses whether the stagnation of old-age (80+) mortality decline observed in The Netherlands in the 1980s continued in the 1990s and determines which factors contributed to this stagnation. Emphasis is on the role of smoking. Design and Methods: Poisson regression analysis with linear splines was applied to total and…

Purpose: We estimated the effect of a voucher benefit on the demand for personal assistance by Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older who had functional disabilities. Design and Methods: We performed a secondary data analysis on 645 Medicare beneficiaries from the Medicare Primary and Consumer-Directed Care Demonstration (a randomized…

Compares adult and elderly clients of a Crisis Intervention Service in an urban metropolitan area, which included a telephone counseling/referral service and a mobile intervention team for home assessments. Findings indicated the importance of using a biopsychosocial model, particularly in the assessment of elderly persons. (JAC)

The British National Health Service faces a future in which demand for health services will outpace supply. A public nursing home service may prove to be an economical service. Alternative sources of revenue and cooperation between the public and private sector are needed. (JAC)