Background and objectives: Although randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been performed to alleviate loneliness among older people, little is known about how they have been implemented, or whether they are effective in real life. Our RCT-based model, "Circle of Friends" (CoF) proved to be effective in improving the wellbeing, health…

Attention to preparing social workers for our aging society has increased with concern that there may be insufficient professionals to meet the need. Interest in training gerontologically-savvy social work students had led to the development of models to achieve this end. This article reports on a collaboration among a university's school of…

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to develop measures of end-of-life (EOL) care processes in nursing homes and to validate the instrument for measuring them. Design and Methods: A survey of directors of nursing was conducted in 608 eligible nursing homes in New York State. Responses were obtained from 313 (51.5% response rate) facilities.…

Purpose: A national quality report card for nursing homes, Nursing Home Compare, has been published since 2002. It has been shown to have some, albeit limited, positive impact on quality of care. The objective of this study was to test empirically the hypothesis that nursing homes have responded to the publication of the report by adopting cream…

Focuses on: (1) components of a basic core of knowledge essential for all people working in the field of aging; (2) knowledge essential for professions related to biomedical science, human services, social and physical environment; and (3) knowledge essential for clinical psychology, nursing, nutrition, and social work. (Author)

A training curriculum on mental health and aging was developed and disseminated to 32 natural caregivers throughout a frontier state using a train-the-trainer model. Those certified as trainers included social workers, religious professionals, volunteers, long-term care employees, nurses, home health workers, and professional and informal…

Reviews research on the effects of educational programs on the subjective well-being of older adults. Describes the constructs of happiness, morale, and life satisfaction by specifying their location on temporal, cognitive, and affective dimensions. Recommends outcome measures and research designs for assessing and upgrading educational…

This publication contains three papers concerning the role of information systems in the field of social gerontology. The first, A Prototype Gerontological Information Program, describes research carried out at Syracuse University on the kinds of information needed by individuals in human service delivery and older persons' organizations, and…

This document, one in a series developed to provide technical assistance to 22 Long-Term Care Gerontology Centers, addresses the application of evaluation procedures within centers and their component programs and projects, including: (1) interdisciplinary education and training; (2) service and practice model development; (3) research; (4)…