Presents an overview of topics and concepts appropriate for a secondary course on death and dying including stress, environments within which death occurs, those models explaining the emotional impact of death, treatment of dying patients, and concepts for students. (DC)

Studied effects on nursing home residents playing a discussion-stimulating board game called "Angels and Devils." Results indicate a high incidence of sensory deprivation and social isolation effects. These do not correlate with length of institutionalization, amount of social contact, or degree of medical restriction. (Author)

Describes a program in which elementary school pupils regularly visit elderly residents of a nursing home to read aloud to them. (GT)

Patterns of friendship among intellectually intact nursing home patients were studied about relationships with other nursing home residents, staff, volunteers, and friends outside the institution. Findings demonstrated two-thirds of the patient-respondents named residents as friends, two-thirds named staff, and one-half named volunteers. Presented…

Analyzed relationship between cognitive impairment and use and cost of health care, examining data from 1981-1982 Long-Term Care National Channeling Demonstration Project. Results indicated a substantial cost difference between money spent on home, institutional or nursing home care for cognitively intact and cognitively impaired persons.…

Compared psychological well-being of elderly nursing home residents who participated in reminiscence and current topics group discussions with control group of residents. Rated participants' happiness/depression, activity, mood, and functional levels before and after intervention. Intervention had significant effect only on happiness/depression…

Found that experience-based educational intervention in which medical students interview volunteer nursing home residents significantly changed medical students' responses to two geriatric patient vignettes. Concluded that use of elderly volunteers in practice interviews helped to sensitize students to problems of aging and taught them empathic…

Administered life satisfaction questionnaire to 199 French-speaking older adults in Montreal, living in nursing homes and in the community. Found that elderly persons living in regular community housing, in low-cost community housing, and in high self-determination nursing homes had similar levels of life satisfaction, and more satisfaction than…

In this theme issue, 18 articles discuss the motivation for and benefits of working with old and dying people, nursing homes, ethical issues, and the training of home health care workers. Employee recruitment and retention and the economics of health care for the frail elderly are also addressed. (JOW)

Examined burnout among nursing assistants (n=245). Found that both stressor and appraisal variables influenced feelings of burnout. Stressor variable, frequency of disturbing patient behaviors, best explained feelings of reduced Personal Accomplishment. Appraisal variable, reaction to patient behaviors, best explained Emotional Exhaustion. Found…

Monitored room changes in four nursing homes over one-year period. Used participant observation; repeated interviews with residents, family members, and nursing home staff; and event analyses to develop detailed case studies of room change decision-making process. Resulting model of room change process and factors influencing process involved five…

Nursing staff (n=166) in four nursing homes participated in quasi-experimental study to measure knowledge and attitudes about urinary incontinence and compliance with toileting protocols. Intervention group (n=96) showed slight increase in knowledge; their attitudes remained positive over four testing times. Compliance with protocol was only 72…

Examined relationship between place of residence and use of formal services prior to entering nursing home among older persons (n=131) within 30 days of admission. Found no residential differences in percent reporting use of formal services, number of services received, kinds of services used, or average length of time services had been received.…

Describes the author's psychology class, in which she required students to do service work with a resident in a nursing home. Reports that students met for a minimum of eight hours with the resident and wrote both a history of the person and a reflection on the project. States that half of the students decided to continue volunteering after the…

Examined possible predictors of physician nursing home practice including residency experiences. A survey of 170 family physicians found physicians with an active nursing home practice were more likely to reside in a small community, have a hospital practice, see more outpatients, and work more hours but not necessarily residency experience of…