Purpose: To learn about African American older adults' knowledge and perceptions of brain donation, factors that relate to participating or not participating in a brain donation research program, and methods to increase African American brain donation commitment rates in the context of an Alzheimer's disease (AD) research program. Design and…

The purpose of this article is to stimulate discussion and research about patient suffering and caregiver compassion. It is our view that these constructs are central to understanding phenomena such as family caregiving, and that recognizing their unique role in the caregiving experience provides new directions for intervention research, clinical…

Purpose: To better understand the experiences and potential unmet need of persons who die in long-term care. Design and Methods: We conducted after-death interviews with staff who had cared for 422 decedents with dementia and 159 who were cognitively intact and received terminal care in U.S. nursing homes (NHs) or residential care-assisted living…

Purpose: Despite growing research on assisted living (AL) as a residential care option for older adults, the social ramifications of residents' transitions to AL are relatively unexplored. This article examines family involvement in AL, including family structures of residents, types of involvement from family members living outside the AL…

Purpose: We designed this study to examine the end-of-life (EOL) experience in long-term care (LTC) based on input from key stakeholders. Design and Methods: The study consisted of 10 homogeneous focus groups drawn from a purposive sample of LTC residents (2 groups; total n = 11), family caregivers (2 groups; total n = 19), paraprofessional staff…

Purpose: This article reports the results of a randomized, controlled evaluation of Partners in Caregiving in a Special Care Environment, an intervention designed to improve communication and cooperation between staff and families of residents in nursing home dementia programs. Design and Methods: Participants included 388 family members and 384…

Purpose: There is a growing consensus that quality of care for frail elders should include family and be evaluated in terms of patient-centered, family-focused care (PCFFC). Family caregivers are in a unique and sometimes sole position to evaluate such care. In the context of caring for physically frail elders, this study examined the extent to…

Purpose: Barriers to family involvement in the nursing home with the potential for change through intervention are examined, including transportation, caregiver health, relationships with staff, and resident characteristics. Design and Methods: Data were collected for 93 family caregiver-resident pairs by means of telephone interviews and chart…

Purpose: The objective of this study is to develop an instrument to evaluate satisfaction with care for older adults in capitated environments. Although satisfaction with care is now widely accepted as an important outcome measure, there are relatively few satisfaction measures developed or validated on older persons. Because many older persons…

Discusses the role of geographic distance in the quality of parent-child relationships. Reviews research findings, presents exploratory analyses of two research projects, and organizes key concepts (structure, association, affection, value consensus, functional assistance, and the normative base of each) regarding the relationship of distant child…

Explored types of support black churches and families provide and how support relates to the well-being of elderly blacks (n=98). Findings indicated that family networks were perceived as more supportive than the church network but that church support contributed to feelings of well-being. (ABL)

The Family of the nursing home patient can be a powerful treatment resource when productive involvement is maximized. This research looked at the quantity and quality of resident-family interactions before and after placement. Results indicated continued involvement of families. However, quality of visits was a major problem for many families.…

This report is one of a series of publications initiated and sponsored by the Chicago Mayor's Office for Senior Citizens (MOSC). It assesses the status and needs of elderly homeowners, blacks, persons of Polish origin, persons living in the community of Rogers Park, persons in residential hotels and public housing elderly. (Author)

Explored the meaning of grandparenthood to grandparents, the importance of grandparenthood across the life cycle, and the relationship between grandparenthood and mental health. Derived five dimensions of grandparenthood meaning: (1) centrality, (2) valued elder, (3) immortality through clan, (4) reinvolvement with personal past, and (5) spoil.…

Describes the Elderly Support Project designed to teach families better home care of the mentally and physically impaired elderly. Findings supported the procedures as valuable for promoting continuing home care, better mental status, and improved behavior of elderly clients by offering families alternative positive responses. (Author/JAC)