More than 20 years ago, the concept of using the Montessori Method as a treatment for dementia was discussed in the pages of "Montessori Life" (Vance, Camp, Kabacoff, & Greenwalt, 1996). At that time, research was just beginning on this topic. Since that initial article, the use of the Montessori Method with older adults with…

Nursing Assistants (NAs) are the largest workforce in nursing homes, but often lack adequate preparation for their role. The Living Classroom (LC) is an integrated learning approach, whereby a NA program is delivered in a nursing home (NH) in collaboration with a community college. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of the LC.…

This study explored the health care service needs and the major correlates of quality of life among 127 community-dwelling elderly Chinese immigrants in a western Canadian city. Participants were interviewed in their homes by trained, bilingual interviewers employing a structured questionnaire that covered a wide range of topics including health…

The overall use of acute care services by nursing home (NH) residents in Canada has not been well documented. Our objectives were to identify the major causes of hospitalization among NH facility residents and to compare rates to those of community-dwelling seniors. A retrospective cohort was defined using population-level health administrative…

This article explores facilitators and barriers to the impact and sustainability of a learning initiative to increase capacity of long-term care (LTC) homes to manage the mental health needs of older persons, through development of in-house Psychogeriatric Resource Persons (PRPs). Twenty interviews were conducted with LTC staff. Management…

A British Columbia survey of 45 intermediate care residents and 45 nurses found significant differences between residents' and staff perceptions of the importance of activities and residents' level of choice. Staff members' erroneous assumptions may result in procedures that restrict residents' choice of activities. (SK)

Hospitalization is a sentinel event that leads to loss of independence for many seniors. This study of long-stay hospitalizations (more than 30 days) in seniors was undertaken to identify risk factors for not going home, to characterize patients with risk factors who did go home and to describe one year outcomes following home discharge. Using…

Presents innovative method of using research findings to improve quality of life in long-term care institution. Describes impact of action research in developing service. Examines program implementation in terms of how groups of residents, staff, and families worked to enhance their social environment by strengthening supportive relationships,…

Nurses in long-term care facilities indicated that about 30 percent of residents presented noise-making behavior. From descriptions, typology of noise-making was identified: purposeless and perseverative noise-making, noise-making in response to environment, noise-making to elicit response from environment, "chatterbox" noise-making,…

Evaluates the effectiveness of a peer counseling training program in a nursing home in Victoria, B.C. The goal was to expand the number of helpers available and involve more residents in their self-care. The results indicated that the training model used is an effective method of teaching helping skills. (Author/JAC)

Reports data on admissions, discharges, and changes in health status of eight admission cohorts to nursing homes in a jurisdiction with universally-insured nursing home and home care services. The findings are compared to U.S. studies and disclose differences which may reflect differences in payment mechanisms and admission policies. (Author/JAC)

Board games called Games of Rapport are being developed at the University of Alberta. The first, "Angels and Devils," is designed for play by nursing home residents. Results of a study involving "Angels and Devils" show that board games are useful in communicating rehabilitative objectives and sources of conflict. (Author/BEF)

Describes a peer counseling program in a 300-bed long-term care facility which uses training materials specifically developed for older people. Shows how the peer counseling program functions and provides anecdotal comments from both participants and a staff member, along with an outline of the training components. (Author/ABL)

Developed database on ethnic elderly persons; examined extent of communication problems they face in hospitals, nursing homes, and homes for aged in Metro Toronto; and reported on institutional response. Nursing home supervisors (n=77) reported that communication was essential to health care needs of ethnic elderly individuals. Most health care…

This paper focuses on the role of religion and ethnicity in providing social support for elderly Dutch Canadian Catholic and Calvinist parents and in establishing ethno-religious retirement and long-term care facilities. The data come from a 1995 survey of elderly Dutch Canadian immigrants (N=79) and their adult children (N=364) examining…