Illustrates the major demographic, health and social shifts that are now occurring in American society. Demonstrates how these factors will affect the roles of family members as caregivers to the elderly. Identifies shifts and provides suggestions for education and policy. (Author/BH)

Examines the effectiveness of special care units (SCUs) for Alzheimer's disease by summarizing published studies on SCUs. Presents and discusses the many potential sources of bias that pose special problems for SCUs for Alzheimer's disease research. Proposes strategies for conducting and interpreting future outcome studies in this research…

Native language videos and brochures, which incorporated culturally specific perceptions of dementia, caregiving, and help-seeking for seven groups of a minority, were developed and tested. These tools proved to be culturally appropriate and, when used in combination with discussion, helped increase awareness of Alzheimer's disease and sources of…

Methodological issues in geropsychological assessment research are discussed and illustrated through recent investigations. Cross-sectional studies are needed to extend and diversify age norms, and short-term longitudinal studies should be planned to assess the predictive validity of test outcomes and diagnostic profiles of older adults. (SLD)

This article addresses the international community's differing attitudes on mandatory retirement. The authors explored various factors, such as sociodemographics and political ideology and the latter's predictive value for attitudes on compulsory retirement. Education proved the strongest sociodemographic predictor. Most Americans opposed mandated…

The article addresses special problems of aging in persons with mental disabilities, including needs of persons living out their lives in institutions, normalized services for community residents, early preparation for aging, and appropriate residential placement. (DB)

This issue on preventive health care and health promotion for older adults includes 14 articles on history and definition, development of guidelines, responsibility, implementation of programs for the elderly and how it differs from that for other populations, programs for minorities, access to health care information, and a description of a…

Has two principle thrusts: a reflection on the graying of American society and a perspective on its implications for social work education. Calls for social work educators to reassess their role in contributing to society and individuals dealing with the issues of aging. Discusses the phenomenon of the "third age" of members of society.…

Uses Cronbach's alpha and correlational methods, including factor analysis, to evaluate the performance of four short scales measuring psychosocial aspects of well-being (depression, quality of life, sense of coherence, social support) in two samples of community-dwelling persons ages 75 and over. All scales exhibited good range, high internal…

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 was designed to test the effectiveness and acceptance of multimedia home safety programming by community-dwelling seniors. Design and Methods: A prototype CD-ROM was produced that required no reading or computer skills because the program included an audio narration of content and directions for operating the program on a…

These two curriculum modules are self-contained units focusing on older women of color (primarily African-American) and rural minority elders. The modules were developed as a product of a Model Gerontology Career Development Program in Institutions of Higher Education in Rural Areas through a consortium of colleges, universities, and agencies…

This background paper, prepared by two members of the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Strengthening the Geriatric Content of Medical Education, addresses the progress made in physicians' geriatric and gerontological education. The report appears in six chapters. After a brief introduction on health care reform and medical education, geriatric…

Social and health service utilization have been the subject of numerous studies, but most have examined service utilization from the perspective of the type of service delivered to older adults. To determine the factors that predict overall utilization of services, data that had been collected in 1975 for the General Accounting Offices' survey of…

Evidence concerning the contributions of social networks to the subjective well-being of older persons is inconsistent, reflecting the conceptual complexity of social networks and supports. In order to investigate the relative importance of different types of social ties and supports, the distinction between objective and subjective dimensions of…