Purpose: Of all Canadian and American men who live to age 75 years, about half can expect to live to age 85. Our objective is to examine how clinical diagnoses made before age 75 relate to a man's survival to age 85 years. Design and Methods: Since 1948, a cohort of 3,983 young men (mean age of 31 years at entry) has been followed with routine…

Purpose: Despite growing awareness of elder abuse, cases are rarely prosecuted. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an elder abuse forensic center compared with usual care to increase prosecution of elder financial abuse. Design and Methods: Using one-to-one propensity score matching, cases referred to the Los Angeles County…

Purpose: This study examined the associations between participant and site characteristics and retention in a multisite cardiovascular disease risk reduction project. Design and Methods: Data were derived from the Special Diabetes Program for Indians Healthy Heart Demonstration Project, an intervention to reduce cardiovascular risk among American…

Purpose: We examined race/ethnicity and cultural context within hypothetical end-of-life medical decision scenarios and its influence on patient-proxy agreement. Design and Methods: Family dyads consisting of an older adult and 1 family member, typically an adult child, responded to questions regarding the older adult's preferences for…

Previous research has shown that only nursing home "short stayers" will return to the community. Analyzed data to predict factors important both to discharge and tenure. Independent variables included age, sex, past residence, prognosis, and family ties. Results point to prognosis as a key predictor both of discharge and of tenure.…

Evaluated medical residents and discovered that although they considered detection and treatment of comorbid depression to be important, they knew few of the diagnostic criteria and etiological factors, rarely screened patients for depression and viewed current treatments as only marginally efficacious. Discusses implications for graduate…

Caregivers of family members with dementia of the Alzheimer's type were surveyed for their experiences with early symptoms, obtaining a diagnosis, home care, and institutionalization. At each stage in the process of providing care there are new and different stresses that can be ameliorated by appropriate professional assistance. (Author)

Describes the first 16 months of operation of a nursing home based community-oriented rehabilitation unit that utilized an interdisciplinary team approach in its admission evaluation and in its patient management decision making. Of the 27 patients discharged to homes, 23 were still in their homes after an average post-discharge period of eight…

Describes the demographic features and clinical diagnoses in a sample of 58 demented urban black outpatients. Results indicate that probable Alzheimer's disease was the most common cause of dementia whereas probable vascular dementia was uncommon. A multiple etiology dementia was identified in more than one-third of the patients. (RJM)

Purpose: This study explored the psychosocial dynamics of short hospice stays (less than 2 weeks) of cancer patients age 65 and older. Design and Methods: In-depth interviews with 59 caregivers of 50 patients were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded by using Atlas ti software. Results: A descriptive typology is presented. A late diagnosis (n = 22…

Conducted chart review of inpatient dementia patients cared for by neurology, psychiatry, medicine, and surgery services at university hospital. Found differences in symptom profiles, hospital utilization trends, medical comorbidity, and post-hospitalization dispositions. Examined how patients entered hospital system, were assigned to different…

Using a social antecedent model of psychopathology, three samples (African Americans, African Caribbeans, Caucasians) were compared. Symptoms of depression, psychoses, and agitation among nursing home patients were studied. Although there were appreciable interracial differences in sociodemographics, there were minimal clinical differences and no…

Explores nature of physician decision making in the case of elderly who reside in the community. Interviews with 40 physicians revealed 3 dilemma sources: (1) how much to intervene in patients' lives to reduce risk; (2) structural, moral, and medical limits to patient advocacy; and (3) assessing vulnerability and quality of life when pondering…