The article describes the Project on Aging, which was undertaken by the Virginia Commission for the Visually Handicapped to avoid the institutionalization of elderly blind persons. (Author/DLS)

A Finnish nursing home's team development process included brainstorming on the characteristics of good teams, profiling of team members' nursing skills, analysis of tasks, and identification of ways to improve work quality and information flow to residents. Team building required clarification of work structures, determination of the…

Evaluates a brief educational program designed to increase staff awareness of intergenerational speech modifications, such as elderspeak and strategies to enhance communication. After the training, Certified Nursing Assistants reduced their use of elderspeak including terms of endearment, inappropriate collective pronouns, and shortened sentence…

Notes that recent studies challenge assumption that Medicaid requires impoverishment; although two-thirds of elderly poor are not covered by Medicaid, many nursing home Medicaid recipients retain sizeable assets. Asserts that magnitude of asset spenddown is much smaller than previously believed. Discusses these findings and explores their…

Evaluated role expectancies in essential nursing services of nursing home professional and relatives of residents. Although findings revealed significant agreement between groups, areas existed where families deemed themselves responsible for task but staff expectations were incongruent. Provides analysis of this process and discusses steps to…

Field tested Minimum Data Set (MDS) for Resident Assessment and Care Screening in two states. Findings and clinical input resulted in retention of 40 percent of original items, modification of 40 percent, elimination of 20 percent. MDS provides structure and language for understanding long-term care, design care plans, evaluate quality, describe…

Of 189 nursing homes, 83 percent reported that Medicare's hospital Prospective Payment System (PPS) affected patient needs, 53 percent said it affected patients and services provided, and 25 percent said it affected referrals to hospitals. PPS effects depended on facility factors of size, Medicare certification, tax status, and on local market…

Notes that United States currently has about 15 research institutes or departments affiliated with nursing homes, and several others are under consideration. Summarizes results of short survey of these institutes. Advantages for both nursing home and research of having research institute in nursing home are discussed along with problems that…

Examined clinical and social-structural factors contributing to hospitalization of nursing home residents. Using participant observation and event analysis of acute-illness episodes, concluded that 48.2 percent of nursing home patient (N=215) hospitalizations could have been avoided. Identified insufficient numbers and training of nurses, lack of…

Utilizes the socio-environmental perspective to compare feelings of communication apprehension and perceived loneliness between nursing home and non-nursing home residents. Finds that communication apprehension consistently and significantly predicts perceived loneliness for non-nursing home residents, but fails to predict perceived loneliness for…

Used data from 1982 and 1984 National Long-Term Care Surveys to track cohort of disabled elderly persons residing in community in 1982 over the two years that followed. In contrast to persons who did not use nursing homes, persons who entered nursing homes had a four- to five-fold risk of spending down to Medicaid eligibility. (Author/NB)

Recruited families of residents of dementia unit of nursing home to lead programs and activities. Found family volunteers complemented staff efforts to provide a varied and enriched environment for the residents and volunteers felt the experience was an extension of their continuing involvement. (Author/ABL)

Statistics on place of death, validated against longitudinal evidence on entrance into nursing homes, shows the "final" rate of institutionalization to have risen in Sweden between 1938 and 1975. Issues concerning who is institutionalized and why appear more important than precise measurement of rates of institutionalization. (Author/NB)

This study involved 530 nursing staff working in 25 for-profit and nonprofit nursing homes, 2 of which failed to meet residential care standards. Nursing home climate in failed homes was perceived as being significantly lower in human relations and higher in laissez-faire and status orientation dimensions that the climate in the successful homes.…

Long-term care ombudsman programs are charged with resolving complaints and solving problems of elderly persons in long-term care settings. Conducted content analysis of annual ombudsman program reports sent to Administration on Aging from 49 states in 1990. Found substantial variation in documented information at both state and local levels and…