Despite the increasing public demand for enhanced care of older patients and those with life-threatening illness, health professionals have had limited formal education in geriatrics and palliative care. Furthermore, formal education in interdisciplinary team training is limited. In order to remedy this situation, proactive interventions are being…

Interdisciplinary health care training is advocated by numerous government and philanthropic organizations. Educators in the health professions are increasingly offering training in interdisciplinary health care in a variety of contexts, including ambulatory settings. This paper describes a three-year program to teach skills in interdisciplinary…

In gerontology and geriatrics, learning often requires both the acquisition of new facts and a change in attitude towards elderly persons. Games, in addition to stimulating a desire to learn, are powerful instruments to change attitudes. This paper introduces games currently being used by the Gateway Geriatric Education Center to teach…

As the population continues to age there remains an unmet need in preventing, identifying, treating, and managing mental/behavioral health problems among older adults. The purpose of this paper is to describe educational and training programs offered through three Geriatric Education Centers: (1) the Meharry Consortium Geriatric Education Center,…

Chronological age is a marker in time but it fails to measure accurately the performance or behavioral characteristics of individuals. This paper models the complexity of aging by using a system model and a human function paradigm. These models help facilitate representation of older adults, integrate research agendas, and enhance remediative…

Most people over 65 take many prescription and nonprescription medicines. Because the body is changing and more medicines are taken, many older adults experience harmful reactions to the medicines they take. This booklet, written in both English and Spanish (on facing pages), was developed to help older adults learn more about medicines, recognize…

Professionals and paraprofessionals working in long term care facilities for institutionalized older people come from various educational backgrounds. To investigate the learning needs of long term care employees in gerontology, and to determine the validity of the Foundations for Gerontological Education Project as it relates to long term care…

This article presents four models of education for older adults and examines their assumptions and implications for curriculum development. It also examines the role of higher-education in meeting the needs of old people. (Author)

Psychological research on human subjects published in the Journal of Gerontology from 1963 through 1974 was summarized along a variety of dimensions, including subject selection procedures, sample characteristics, data analysis techniques, research design, author characteristics, and area of psychological research. (Author)

Several dimensions of impulse control (i.e., delay of gratification, reflectivity, and motor control) were related to intelligence, mental status, and adjustment among 91 institutionalized aged women. The findings suggest that impulse control in its various forms has a consistent and significant relationship with indices of adaptation. (Author)

Patients (n=45), ages 61-89, were assessed after 36 months of day treatment by the private Adult Day Treatment Center. It appears selective combinations of day treatment, group process, and group therapy offer an approach to the reduction of anxiety, the improvement of interpersonal relationships, and the maintenance of independent living. (Author)

This study suggests that the feelings of isolation experienced by some older people may be more likely than their actual lack of interaction. Data were collected from 163 subjects, aged 60 and older, by interview. Significant differences were obtained for the age and income variables and two of the proximity variables. (Author)

Discusses the idea that self-esteem is a crucial factor in successful aging and that to make self-esteem possible for older adults we must appraise and understand the ongoing person/environmental transactions that occur. (Author)

The article discusses the occupational therapist's role in helping the older person adjust to the changes and challenges of later life. (JS)

This document presents the transcripts of testimony and prepared statements from the Congressional hearing on the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act. Opening statements from members of the Select Committee on Aging, Representatives Matthew J. Rinaldo, George C. Wortley, and Christopher H. Smith, are presented. Background information on the…