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…

A communication and aging course could potentially enhance both gerontological care providers' understanding of older persons' communication needs, and the older students' communication proficiency. Regardless of the theory of social adaption to aging that the course embraces--disengagement, activity-personality, social exchange, or fundamental…

This report provides information on the content, impact, and characteristics of over 50 model intergenerational programs across the United States. It is organized along a continuum starting with programs involving the most physically capable and mobile persons and moving toward those in which the older person is in increasing need of support and…

Although informal assessments of caregiver training and support groups have been positive, empirical evidence of their beneficial impact is needed. To evaluate a group program for families of elderly parents, a pre/postmeasure, experimental/control group design was implemented. Adults participating in two workshops on "Your Aging…

Older adults have specific physical education needs that should be addressed by physical educators. As the need for programs increases, physical educators must be trained to use research to set standards for safe and effective participation. (FG)

Evaluated the impact of adding a brief unit on aging to the first-year curriculum of a school of osteopathic medicine. Analyses revealed a mild but significant improvement in knowledge and attitudes with respect to the elderly. Subjective responses to the program were very positive. (Author)

Investigates paranoia in older adults. In cross-sectional analyses, symptoms were strongly associated with black race, lower income and education, less exercise, and more depressive symptoms. In longitudinal analysis, three years following initial interview, symptoms were predicted by baseline paranoid symptoms, education and depressive symptoms…

To help dispel myths and stereotypes about the elderly, young children should learn about the elderly and the aging process. Children need to see old age as a part of the total life cycle and can benefit from having contact with senior citizens volunteers in the classroom. (MDM)

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…

Future orientation has been proposed as contributing to unfavorable perceptions of older patients. Students from a dental hygiene program were questioned about their general attitudes toward older people, older people as patients, their own future, the future for older adults, and about their social/familial contact with the elderly. (Author/MLW)

Describes three community-based service-learning activities developed by the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Services. The interdisciplinary program provides field experience for medical and graduate students as well as community medical services for the elderly. Objectives and evaluations of the programs are presented. (Author/JAC)

Purpose: Sentence completion exercises require students to give open-ended responses to prompts. The first purpose of this article is to describe the method of sentence completion to assess middle-school children's attitudes and beliefs about aging. The second purpose is to describe the patterns of characteristics that children associate with…

Noting that early children's literature plays a major role in the development of children's attitudes, this annotated bibliography lists over 100 early childhood picture books which contain positive portrayals of older adults. The books selected portray aging as a natural and lifelong process of growing and developing; present similarities between…

This document, a policy statement adopted by the New York State Board of Regents in 1986, describes program options to implement each of six policy directions adopted by the Regents and to be coordinated by the Center for Educational and Cultural Opportunities for the Aging. The six policy directions are (1) involve the elderly as active…

A study was conducted to analyze the content of stories in several basal reading systems widely used in primary grade reading instruction. The investigation was in terms of the relative frequency of main characters who are elderly, the portrayal of elderly characters in relation to other characters in the stories, the incidence of aging themes,…