As the number of older adults in the United States increases, so will the expected number of allegations of elder abuse. Adult protective services (APS) staff are likely to handle much more complex situations, and in growing numbers, due to the presence of chronic and life-limiting conditions of their clients. The APS workers, in this national…

Purpose: This research investigates what factors affect the degree to which nursing home performance explains variance in residents' change in status of activities of daily living (ADL) after admission. Design and Methods: The database included all residents admitted in 2002 to a 10% random sample of nursing homes in the United States.…

Purpose: The Veterans Affairs or VA health care system is in the process of significantly expanding home health care (HOC) nationwide. We describe VA HHC use in 2003 for all VA HHC users from 2002; we examine whether VA utilization across a broad spectrum of services differed for a sample of VA HHC users and their propensity-score-matched…

Purpose: The Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) curriculum was developed as an adjunct to other educational initiatives that were part of Ontario, Canada's Alzheimer Strategy. GPA emphasizes that an individual's unique personal history has a direct application to the interpretation of and response to their behavior. It incorporates strategies into…

Introduction: This study uses a cross-sectional approach in terms of evaluating attitudes toward the elderly among health sciences students. The aim of this study was to measure attitudes among final year pregraduate students of seven health care careers. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with final year students of medicine (M),…

Reviews the present status of geriatrics in academic medicine and suggests that an understanding of academic medicine is needed in order to secure the institutionalization of geriatric medicine. Offers some predictions on the future of geriatric medicine. (JAC)

The Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock is addressing one of the most pressing policy issues facing the United States: how to care for the burgeoning number of older adults. In 2001, the Institute created the Arkansas Aging Initiative, which established seven satellite centers on…

Cost-effective methods have been developed to help busy emergency department (ED) staff cope with the growing number of older patients, including quick screening and assessment tools to identify those at high risk and note their specific needs. This survey, from a sample of key informants from all EDs (n=111) in the province of Quebec…

Discusses the Compression of Morbidity hypothesis, which maintains that the age of onset of significant disability may be moved upward by postponement of chronic illness. Objections to the thesis are examined, a series of qualitative and quantitative confusions are discussed, and predictions for the future offered. (Author/JAC)

This guide provides basic information about the use of reality orientation, particularly with an elderly population. The concepts of reality orientation can be learned quickly and can be used in any setting with patients having a variety of diagnoses. (Author)

Reviews recent histories of geriatrics which suggest that early physicians contributed to the degradation of old age by labeling it a disease. Records of the Boston Almshouse Hospital indicated that assessments of the elderly's morbidity were prompted as much by doctors' desires for self-advancement as by the elderly's needs. (JAC)

Describes how, as the population of elderly people continues to grow, medical schools are beefing up geriatrics programs to prepare students for their future patients. (EV)

The Comprehensive Periodic Assessment Form is an innovative way to document a patient's rehabilitation progress. This nonnarrative, semi-graphical form digests onto one page many sheets of progress notes. Mobility, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), mental, and medical status over time can be ascertained at a glance. Useful for the aged patient…

The aging population of the world has dramatically been increasing thereby creating the need to assess and address the emotional feelings of the elderly. The intent of this qualitative study was to capture the essence or the lebenswelt of the Filipino elderly's sense of belongingness. This was accomplished by capitalizing on the power of conscious…