The effects of using comprehensive geriatric assessment with 24 community-based elderly individuals with mental retardation/developmental disabilities were evaluated. The evaluation found significantly greater numbers of medical and dental diagnoses than were found by the subjects' previous medical evaluations. (Author/DB)

Notes that practice of geriatrics frequently involves interdisciplinary team and that behavior of team members exists on functional continuum, from adaptive to maladaptive. Sees danger of team members with maladaptive behavior, and persons colluding with this behavior, negatively influencing care. Categorizes common maladaptive behavior patterns…

"Positively Aging (TM)" is a middle school curriculum designed to provide effective gerontology teaching materials for math and science, teach students about making life-defining decisions, and help students develop sensitivity about aging. Preliminary evaluation of the 12 interdisciplinary units shows they improved student attitudes about aging.…

The effectiveness of social work education can be improved by including applied research in field work experiences. The systematic approach to problem study developed through research training can be applied to real-world practice problems encountered in field settings. (Contains 35 references.) (SK)

The use of interventions claiming to prevent, retard, or reverse aging is proliferating. Some of these interventions can seriously harm older persons and aging baby boomers who consume them. Others that are merely ineffective may divert patients from participating in beneficial regimens and also cause them economic harm. "Free market…

This article describes a Delphi study to identify research priorities of gerontological social work practitioners and to compare these priorities with those of social work academic researchers. A national expert panel of 52 gerontological social work practitioners completed questionnaires to delimit a set of high-priority research topics. Findings…

This paper provides insight into the reasons underlying medical students' interest in geriatrics. Semi-structured interviews, informed by attitude theory, were conducted with first-year medical students who indicated that they were not interested in geriatric medicine and those who indicated that they were moderately to very interested in…

We considered whether positive and stable self-stereotypes of stigmatized group members can influence functioning (in contrast, stereotype threat theory suggests these influential self-stereotypes are limited to ones that are negative and situational). Specifically, we examined older individuals' positive age stereotypes after a life-threatening…

Mental health needs of older persons are projected to grow significantly over the course of the next years. Consequently, the need for training counselors to work with the aging population is presented. Addressed are 4 curriculum models, as well as areas of training related to geriatric counseling, that can be incorporated into counselor training…

This paper describes development, implementation, and evaluation strategies of a longitudinal geriatric curriculum, the Senior Mentor Program (SMP). The rationale for exposing undergraduate medical students to healthy, community-dwelling older adults is to use the relationship and activities as vehicles for improving knowledge of aging and…

This report analyzes a program designed to help educate physicians at the residency level in ways of understanding and treating older adults in a context broader than an acute or chronic care setting. The program involves the collaboration between a well-established multi-purpose senior center and a multi-purpose community hospital affiliated with…

The various ways an interdisciplinary approach can be used in secondary and college level home economics courses on the aged are presented. Self-teaching modules, the fine arts, films, and plays are explored as avenues of learning. (BP)

The authors tested the discriminative effectiveness of two psychiatric screening instruments for a gerontological population. Results show that while one scale was more correct in identifying the impaired group, the second was more correct in identifying the unimpaired subjects. (SE)

The gruesome fate of geriatric patients can be improved by teaching methods originally designed for children. (Editor)