Purpose: Making good consumer decisions requires having good information. This study compared long-term-care recommendations among various types of health professionals. Design and Methods: We gave randomly varied scenarios to a convenience national sample of 211 professionals from varying disciplines and work locations. For each scenario, we…

Purpose: When cognitively impaired nursing home residents exhibit agitated and aggressive behaviors during bathing, nursing home caregivers are in a unique position to improve residents' experience. This report addresses whether certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who received training in a person-centered approach with showering and with the…

Single-subject reversal designs were used in teaching elderly nursing-home residents to change dependency behavior and to reacquire and maintain self-feeding skills. Fast control of self-feeding was obtained. Results are discussed. (Author)

Presents an intervention, used in the Netherlands, that empowers clients in residential care homes. The intervention comprises a standardized survey-feedback procedure in which residents' opinions on life and care in their particular home are gauged, discussed, and reported. Explores instrument validity, reliability, and its use in the home. (RJM)

Describes a workshop in which family members and friends of persons with dementing disorders who live in nursing homes develop stories of these residents' lives. The workshop is product-oriented, is not meant as a support group, and works best in organizations emphasizing individualized care. Stories should help staff members better understand…

Purpose: This article describes, and provides data on, an innovative, comprehensive, dementia-specific training program designed to teach direct care staff in assisted living residences to improve care and reduce problems in residents with dementia. Design and Methods: STAR--which stands for Staff Training in Assisted living Residences- provides…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the decision-making abilities of residents in assisted living regarding abuse and neglect. Design and Methods: Twenty-seven residents in assisted living facilities were recruited for this descriptive study. Participants were administered an interview to assess baseline knowledge of support…

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)

Reanalyzed data from a study on respite care's effects by focusing on the linear relationship between amount of respite use and probability of nursing home placement at the end of the treatment period. Results indicate a significant negative relationship between the amount of respite use and nursing home placement. (RJM)

Purpose: Decisions concerning end-of-life care depend on information contained in advance directives that are documented in residents' charts in the nursing home. The availability of that information depends on the quality of the chart and on the location of the information in the chart. No research was found that compared directives by the manner…

The position of the "home for the aged" in the total social support network of West Germany is controversial. Senior citizen housing provides a more favorable atmosphere for older adults. Old age homes will have to offer better conditions and more independence. (JAC)

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 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)

Characteristics of the target population, services, and potential source of helpers are determining factors in the cost effectiveness of home health services. Welfare of patients in the experimental group was improved, and lower probability of residential care helped keep costs down. (JAC)

The number of individuals needing noninstitutional long-term care is not large. Costs of expanded publicly funded home care benefits can be controlled. Efforts to mobilize additional volunteer time are politically and humanly desirable to complement ongoing family care and to help secure expanded public benefits. (Author/RC)