Shared decision making about placement and medical interventions can be empowering to older persons, relieve burdens on older person and family, and facilitate better surrogate decision making later. Potential dangers of shared process include coercion, conflicts of interest, and disagreements between family members. New legal concepts could help…

Home care programs emerged as an essential component of health care for the elderly and are generally based on hospital or community models. These models coexisted in Manitoba as elsewhere, but services were uncoordinated, fragmented, restrictive, duplicative, and not universally available. In September 1974, a comprehensive home care program was…

Rural elderly in Australia lack access to health and welfare services, compounded by an increasingly aging population and downsizing of services. Successful strategies can be found in U.S. retirement communities and the Australian Community Aged Care Package program. However, these strategies often compete with a drive toward cost-effectiveness.…

Despite a real sense of need, the development and application of technology for the elderly has progressed very slowly. This report explores reasons for this slow progress; examines how the process can be moved along; looks at what must be known about aging and the future to assure appropriate technological application; considers how to translate…

Triage is unique because it includes several functions under a single health care delivery model. Clients' morale improved with their sense of control. Family support systems were enhanced. Costs were reasonable as was the reimbursement system. (JAC)

When elderly persons can no longer care for themselves, they usually have only two primary options: care at home by unpaid relatives or high cost care in a nursing home; it is clear, then that a new system is needed that will offer older people more options. This report presents the major policy questions America faces in the search for a better…

Describes targeting policies of four Social Health Maintenance Organization sites which deliver integrated, prepaid, acute, and chronic care to Medicare beneficiaries. Analyzes complexities of operationalizing targeting systems in four different settings. Notes that selection criteria for targeting expanded benefits and their implementation affect…

The application of technology to the problems of the elderly will reduce the costs of care by providing additional help to the elderly so they can remain independent and will enhance the quality of life. Technology is divided into health care technology and ecological technology. (Author/ABB)

Explores the potential impact on demand for health services workers of the sweeping changes in industry structure currently underway. Demand is expected to grow in response to the increasing number of elderly people; growth prospects to 1995 for the industry's wage and salary workers are uncertain because of changes in both the financing and…

The introduction to this Technical Committee Report describes the committee's procedures, provides an overview of long-term care, and enumerates assumptions and values identified by the committee as important factors in the formation of recommendations. Four major findings and seven key issues of the committee are also listed. Eight…

This document, one in a series developed to provide technical assistance to 22 Long-Term Care Gerontology Centers, initially discusses several definitions and models of geriatric day care and its relationship to institutional care. The second section focuses on the development of adult daycare, including admission and program policies, funding…

Discusses the factors contributing to existing patterns of utilization of health care systems for the aged in poor health. Identifies trends in the demographic characteristics of the aged African American population that may affect ways to modify the existing systems to meet the needs of African American aged. (JS)

This edition of the Role of Market Forces program note suggests empirical and descriptive analyses required to complement new areas of health policy emphasis and direction. Eight areas and related questions involving health economics are outlined: (1) rural health care; (2) medical malpractice and insurance; (3) supply, productivity, and…

The first section of this Technical Committee Report provides a brief summary of the major health problems of the elderly. Problems are categorized under the general headings of health maintenance, chronic illness, mental illness, multiple impairments, demographic characteristics, manpower (geriatric medicine, nursing, and other health…

This document, one in a series developed to provide technical assistance to 22 Long-Term Care Gerontology Centers, is designed to be a financial resource guide. Current major funding sources are detailed, followed by an examination of the issues and problems associated with current financing systems. Programmatic issues associated with Medicare…