Purpose: Although declines in memory and attention are hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD), noncognitive symptoms are prevalent. Over 80% of individuals will experience neuropsychiatric symptoms, which complicates symptom profiles. Research indicates a community-integrated response to dementia crisis can reduce negative consequences…

Purpose: To expand knowledge concerning the significance of kin relationships in caregiving, this study assessed predictors of the timing of institutionalization for persons with dementia. The focus was on whether use of adult day care by wives and daughters holds the same implications for placement. Design and Methods: Guided by a caregiving…

Purpose: There is a dearth of research on older adoptive parents caring for minor children, despite a growing number of such adoptions finalized each year. This study offers a large-scale investigation of adoptive families headed by older parents. We describe these families and explore how preadoptive kinship between the adoptive parent and the…

Examined effectiveness of a comprehensive discharge planning protocol in a double-blind study with 80 acute care patients age 75 and older. According to functional status measures, placement at 2 and 4 weeks post-discharge was deemed appropriate for 87 percent of all patients. Length of hospital stay was reduced for treatment group patients.…

Increased admissions from hospitals to nursing homes over six-month period resulted in reduced number of hospital nonacute patients requiring long-term care placement. Nursing homes shifted admissions patterns to accept more persons from non-hospital settings, hospital admissions declined, and number of nonacute patients in hospitals increased.…

Examined use of Geriatric Consultation Team in acute care hospital among 185 older veterans. Intervention patients were more likely than controls to have recommendations concerning discharge planning and long-term care. Groups had similar discharge placements. Preadmission location, functional status, mental status, occurrence of hospital-acquired…

Examined public and private costs for nursing home applicants participating in Virginia Nursing Home Pre-Admission Screening Program. Found that applicants diverted to community care were less dependent and had greater informal supports than those admitted, and that public and private payments for community care were lower than for nursing home…

Surveyed discharge planners at 49 acute care hospitals to ascertain problems they perceived in placing elderly patients. Selected hospital characteristics and placement practices and the ways in which they are associated with hospital back-up (sometimes called administratively necessary days) and delays in placement were analyzed. (Author/JAC)

Commissioned scholarly papers and undertook anthropologic observation to examine legal and ethical issues for patients, family, and caregivers during discharge planning. Proposed policy suggestions in which conflicting interests were recognized but in which patients' rights to autonomous decision making in discharge planning were strongly…

Extended study of social network analysis and labeling theories into residential care homes (RCHs). Findings suggest that, when members of intense social networks decide to move elderly persons into RCHs, placement is needed and that, although likelihood of returning home from RCHs is affected by sociocultural characteristics, functional and…

Purpose: This study identifies the relative importance of reasons for institutionalization endorsed by caregivers of patients with dementia; examines the relationship between caregivers' reasons for institutionalization and indicators of caregiver and patient physical and emotional functioning measured in the prior year; and compares, on these…

Purpose: We estimate the independent contribution of crime victimization to nursing home placement in a cohort of older adults who were community dwelling at baseline. Design and Methods: The data come from an observational cohort study of 2,321 community-residing older adults who were members of the New Haven Established Populations for…

Describes sub-acute diagnostic and treatment nursing home program for difficult to manage older adults with medical and psychiatric illness. Notes that assessment and discharge can be completed within seven months, and that among sample population studied, almost equal percentages were discharged to state institutions, remained in the study home,…

Examined placement of 248 older mentally ill persons into independent settings, community-based programs, or level III or level IV nursing homes. Risk of institutionalization increased as cognitive skills and family support declined. Consistent predictor of placement was prior residence. Number of medical problems and need for nursing or…

Examined nursing homes that have both special care units and traditional units to determine factors that cause homes to place cognitively impaired residents on specialized units. Wandering, other problem behaviors, and Medicaid status were not significant predictors of placement. Logistic regression results indicated that functional status was…