Notes that despite the frequent claims of the superiority of interdisciplinary teams over more usual care patterns, systematic studies of the effectiveness of geriatric interdisciplinary teams are rare. Illustrates the difficult conceptual and methodological problems encountered by investigators. Suggests future research directions. (Author/ABL)

Evaluated behavioral and cognitive methods, relative to control condition, for treating 27 elderly insomniacs. Both treatment methods produced significant improvement on main outcome measure of awakening duration. Stimulus control yielded higher improvement rates than either imagery training or control condition on awakening duration and total…

In an Italian university, a multidisciplinary course in nursing home care focused on use of the Resident Assessment Instrument. Students learned to use it effectively and developed decision-making and problem-solving abilities using concepts of comprehensive geriatric assessment and multidisciplinary teamwork. (SK)

Developed interview-based Geriatric Depression Rating Scale (GDRS) and administered 35-item GDRS to 68 older adults with range of affective disturbance. Found scale to have internal consistency and split-half reliability comparable to those of Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and Geriatric Depression Scale. Concurrent validity, construct…

The LIFE SPAN geriatric interdisciplinary curriculum trains health occupations students in team dynamics, problem solving, assessment, and care planning to prepare them for interdisciplinary teams that provide holistic health care for older adults. (SK)

The University of Louisville's School of Dentistry, through student research fellowships, seeks to promote interest in geriatric dentistry by sponsoring gerontological research. In addition to increasing student interest, it provides an opportunity to work in the field in the summer, and research findings enrich the curriculum. (SK)

Examples from Canada and the United States are used to explore social values such as individualism vs. collectivism; definition and solution of social problems; social construction of the "crisis" of aging; and public debate and moral discourse as a process for developing public policy. (SK)

A survey to determine the extent of gerontological and geriatric education for a specific allied health sciences school received responses from 27 of 60 faculty. A substantial number of courses infused aging-related information into the course content, particularly at the graduate level. (Author/JOW)

Discusses the roles of Lebanese health care systems and the American University of Beirut. Notes that morbidity burdens of geriatric populations can overwhelm health infrastructures already unable to meet prevention and treatment needs of a younger population with relatively low-cost, easy-to-prevent, easy-to-treat illnesses. Expresses Lebanon's…

An interdisciplinary geriatrics team training institute focused on cutting-edge health care themes had 30 participants. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation showed that participants sought specific, work-applicable insights; the focus on new approaches was critical; and careful attention to educational program marketing was needed. (SK)

Purpose: The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is widely used in clinical and research settings to screen older adults for depressive symptoms. Although several exploratory factor analytic structures have been proposed for the scale, no independent confirmation has been made available that would enable investigators to confidently identify scores…

Elderly persons (N=310) attending outpatient psychiatric clinics were given an interview on the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale (T. L. Brink et al., 1982; J. A. Yesavage et al., 1983) and received an independent psychiatric evaluation. A 3-step binary logistic regression showed that 2 items measuring positive affect and 2 others measuring…

Warfarin dosing for thromboprophylaxis in post-operative patients is time-consuming. Warfarin-dosing nomograms can be used in post-operative arthroplasty patients, but warfarin requirements are lower in frail older people. We modified an existing post-arthroplasty nomogram to a frail-friendly version and evaluated its performance in a frail…

The present study explored the validity of treating suicide ideation as a surrogate endpoint that can serve as a proxy for suicide in clinical intervention research with suicidal seniors. Two criteria; that suicide ideation is modulated by the proposed intervention and that modulation of suicide ideation leads to a quantitative reduction in…

This descriptive study examined the conceptions and misconceptions students in health professions have regarding older people. The research was conducted in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The findings revealed that students in health professions, as a whole, demonstrated a high degree of stereotypic misconceptions and poor knowledge about aging and older…