Agitation is a significant problem for nursing home residents, their families, and their caretakers. Agitation is defined as inappropriate verbal, vocal, or motor activity which is not explained by needs or confusion per se. It includes behaviors such as aimless wandering, pacing, cursing, screaming, biting, and fighting. The inappropriate nature…

This report from the Select Committee on Aging examines financial, medical, and social issues surrounding terminally ill patients with special emphasis on the elderly terminally ill. The first section discusses topics related to the medical treatment of the terminally ill. Two basic issues are important: the right to have medical treatment and the…

The increasing age of the American population and the current emphasis on cost containment in health care make the 1980s an ideal time for building bridges to span the health care needs of elderly persons in acute care and long-term care. While hospitals often discharge patients to nursing homes as an intermediate step between hospitalization and…

Through asset recovery programs, states can recover from the estates of nursing home residents or their survivors a portion of the expenses the state incurs in providing nursing home care. Estate recovery programs require Medicaid recipients whose primary assets are their homes to contribute toward the cost of their nursing home care in the same…

Due to the need for nurses to use nursing theories in nursing practice, a theory based nursing process for wellness promotion was applied to an individual in a study. The objectives of the study were to: describe the Roy Adaptation Model for the nursing process; utilize the model for organizing and analyzing assessment data; collect psychosocial,…

Selected Department of Defense (DOD) policies were examined concerning nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, particularly in regard to the extent to which these nurse specialists are allowed an independent scope of practice in military hospitals and the degree of physician supervision they require. Discussions were held with…

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of one-on-one therapeutic recreation intervention on independence in leisure behavior of elderly, mentally ill residents residing in a nursing home. The researchers employed an experimental design and used the Comprehensive Leisure Rating Scale (CLEIRS) to measure independence in leisure…

The success of rehabilitative nursing homes has been measured by their ability to return patients to their homes. The rates of reinstitutionalization after discharge are less studied but are basic to the role of alternative levels of care. This research examines the relationship of predischarge factors with long term outcomes of patients…

This Congressional oversight hearing was convened to examine evidence that many of the nation's nursing homes restrict or deny access to the elderly poor and disabled, leaving the 18 million Americans dependent on Medicaid especially vulnerable to neglect and exploitation. Evidence was heard on discriminatory admissions, on the practice of…

Sex education, drugs, and nutrition were sources that a university school of nursing introduced to students from various disciplines. (Author)

The article describes two evaluation methods, with some suggestions about which method is most appropriate for which nursing course. (Author)

This paper explored attitudes toward death and dying revealed through interviews with members of the clergy, the medical profession, funeral directors, nursing home residents, and selected others. The sampling was small and results are not intended to be representative of the groups to which these people belong. Rather, the study may be used as a…

The First National Indian Conference on Aging, sponsored in 1976 by the National Tribal Chairmen's Association, recommended action to correct some of the serious problems detracting from the physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being of the Indian elderly. A principal concern of the Conference was the urgent need for on-reservation nursing…

The costs of human resources consume a disproportionate percentage of the hospital's operating budget when compared to the operating budget of other industries. Within these costs two related issues--nursing shortage and nursing recruitment--are particularly relevant to development of nontraditional staff development roles. Traditionally, staff…

This paper presents results of the first part of a research program designed to test the hypothesis that an hour of extra contact between mother and infant beginning about one half hour after delivery would be associated with more secure attachment of an infant to its mother at one year. In the overall study extra contact infants were also…