Describes an experiment in the use of art classes as a stimulus to participation and enjoyment in a home for the elderly. (JOW)

As part of the adult education program of Mountain View-Los Altos (California) High School District, elderly patients at skilled nursing care facilities take classes in poetry. The poetry classes are therapeutic in nature, satisfying a real need for these very ill elderly people to express their frustrations, hopes, fears, and joys. All of the…

Describes an exchange program between a cooperative nursery school and a nursing home in which children were paired with nursing home residents. Discusses selecting and preparing child and adult participants, planning and supervising group and class activities, and teaching children about death and illness. (CB)

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)

This document addresses the dilemma faced by families with an aging or disabled member and the stress associated with the role of family caregiver. Emotions experienced by family caregivers, especially when the caregiver is an adult child caring for an elderly or frail parent, are discussed and feelings of desertion, dependence, and sibling…

Describes a public library outreach program for institutionalized senior citizens, including the rationale, local environment, management of the program, and individual literacy discussion sessions. The many positive results both to the participants and to the library are described. An annotated list of materials tested in several group situations…

The demand for long term care is growing as the population in need of services becomes older and frailer, and as the nature of the family, the economy, and the health care system changes. To investigate the long term care system, its characteristics, trends, financing, policies, availability, and quality of care, 700 health care professionals,…

This manual was developed by the staff of the Read Aloud Programs for the Elderly of the Seattle Public Library. It is based on a year's experience of conducting read-aloud programs in nursing homes and is meant to be a guide for setting up similar programs in other library systems. The first half of the manual, addressed to program managers,…

Investigated 288 persons admitted to nursing homes for problems and problem management before admission. Found that multiple problems existed; primary caregivers were close family members. Extended family and friends were helpful, community resources were rarely used. Men were caregivers for nearly two-thirds as many persons as were women.…

Learned helplessness often precedes depression. The elderly are more likely than the general population to be faced with uncontrollable events which may bring on learned helplessness. Intervention by gerontological counselors has been useful in reducing effects of helplessness. With pseudohelplessness, persons act helpless in order to control…

To broaden the scope of a letter writing unit for seventh graders, a real-life component brought together two groups who could learn from one another, youngsters (who usually did not have living or nearby grandparents) and the elderly in a convalescent home. Students selected their pen pals on the basis of biographical data and similar interests…

The quality of life of nursing home residents may be enhanced by providing them with opportunities to participate in social activities involving different age groups and community-dwelling age peers. To obtain descriptive data, and to investigate the relationships between patterns of social interaction and subject characteristics, time-sampled…

This coursebook is intended for use by the instructors presenting a workshop on preventing injuries in the elderly that was developed as a field test of a larger 10-module training program for staff of long-term health care facilities, senior center and adult day care staff, and home health aides. The curriculum guide served as a blueprint for the…

At the University of California-San Francisco, a multidisciplinary teaching group from dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and social/behavioral sciences leads a multidisciplinary student team in a clinical experience in a nursing home. The program provides specialized experience in geriatric care and encourages teamwork. (MSE)

This paper offers documents from and descriptions of a collaborative project in clinical placements of student nurses in nursing homes as part of a nursing education program. The original project participants were the College of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts/Boston (UMass/Boston); the division of Nursing at the University of…