Search results for ‘Publisher:"american society on aging"’ Sort:
Results 11 - 20 of 106
An evidence-based exercise and behavior management program for dementia care
- Authors:
- LOGSDON Rebecca G., TERI Linda
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 34(1), Spring 2010, pp.80-83. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
Individuals with dementia have often been excluded from exercise programs. Reducing Disability in Alzheimer’s Disease (RDAD) was developed and evaluated with community home health providers to train family caregivers to implement an exercise and behavioural problem-solving program for their care recipients with dementia. Reducing Disability in Alzheimer’s disease consists of 12 hour-long sessions, conducted in the home of the caregiver and care recipient. Each session includes a combination of exercise (with the patient and caregiver together) and caregiver training about dealing with the emotional and behavioural consequences of AD (with the caregiver privately).This article briefly reviews the research evidence supporting the efficacy of RDAD, and focuses on the practical application of the program to increase physical activity and enhance behavioural and affective outcomes in community-based agencies and settings.
Voices of the elders: on creating aging-friendly communities from a member of the 'target population'
- Author:
- LEITCH Anne
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 33(2), Summer 2009, pp.66-67. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
The article is a reproduction of a post to the 'CollaborationCafé', an online forum for participants in Creating Aging-Friendly Communities, a free Web-based international conference produced by the University of California at Berkeley’s Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services in collaboration with Community Strengths. The writer laments her experience in a gated senior community when she instead wants to be engaged with the more world. She urges 'the experts' to design communities that can meet a person's needs while maximizing the individual's ability to contribute to the collective continuity of a community.
Caregiving as a process of changing identity: implications for caregiver support
- Authors:
- MONTGOMERY Rhonda J., KOSLOSKI Karl
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 33(1), Spring 2009, pp.47-52. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
The effort to support informal caregivers has not been a straightforward matter, primarily because most efforts to intervene have not addressed the variability in the caregiving experience. Caregiver Identity Theory views the caregiving career as a series of transitions that result from changes in the caregiving context (e.g., changing activity patterns, changes in the health of the care recipient). The identity change process can be thought of as entailing five possible phases of accommodation. Phase one occurs when the caregiver begins to perform caregiving activities that have not been part of his or her familial or friendship role in the past. Phase two occurs when the caregiver realises that his or her caregiving activities are starting to extend beyond the scope of the initial family or friendship role. Phase three may require activities with which neither the caregiver nor the care recipient is comfortable and that cause the caregiver to leave the caregiving role. As caregiving requirements increase, a further shift in identity is required (phase four), with caregiving coming to dominate the role relationship. Finally, phase five is reached when the care recipient is moved to a different setting and the caregiver turns over the primary responsibility for care to formal care providers. Implications for practice are discussed.
Uncertainties in dementia: what do people with dementia experience?
- Author:
- MAST Benjamin T.
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 33(1), Spring 2009, pp.30-36. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
A number of questions, challenges, and controversies exist in the research and practice community related to the feasibility of gaining access to the experience of dementia. Before investigating what individuals experience, we must consider the very feasibility of eliciting their experiences because the cognitive impairments of dementia may interfere with accurate self-assessment and the recollection and communication of experience. A renewed emphasis on personhood in dementia must address these challenges in gaining access to the experience of people with dementia across the stages of the condition. In early dementia, resolving questions surrounding the awareness of the affected person is critically important to understanding the experience of dementia, while the more severe cognitive and communication impairments of the later stages add additional challenges.
Don't forget about me! Decision making by people with dementia
- Authors:
- WHITLATCH Carol J., MENNE Heather L.
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 33(1), Spring 2009, pp.66-73. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
Research shows they are able to provide consistent responses to questions about a variety of preferences, even in advanced stages. Maintaining the autonomy of people with dementia is a difficult balancing act for their families and friends, who face many tough decisions. These decisions are often made on behalf of impaired relatives who at some point will become unable to make decisions on their own and vary depending on stage and type of illness. While maintaining the dignity, autonomy, and personhood of people with dementia is critical, it is equally important to balance the needs and preferences of the person with dementia with the ability of the family caregiver to ensure that those preferences are reflected in the care received. Although there are no easy answers to these challenges, this paper proposes alternatives and options to help families make decisions throughout the progression of a family member's dementia.
Dementia care for veterans: enhancing comprehensive, coordinated services
- Authors:
- COOLEY Susan G., ASTHANA Sanjay
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 34(2), Summer 2010, pp.57-63. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
There are significant numbers of veterans with dementia and the numbers are growing along with the aging veteran population. Care for veterans with dementia is decentralized throughout the network of US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare facilities. There are no separate VA eligibility criteria for dementia care; the standard criteria on eligibility for VA healthcare services apply. Some VA facilities have developed specialized dementia care programs, such as an outpatient dementia clinic or an inpatient dementia unit. In all areas of healthcare, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) emphasizes the principles and processes of continuous quality improvement. VA medical facilities are encouraged to consider employing an assigned dementia care coordinator. Programmes around challenging behaviour, multiple staff education modalities and research are described. Dementia care planning will remain a priority within the VHA in the coming decades
Losing function, staying connected: family dynamics in provision of care for people with dementia
- Authors:
- PODGORSKI Carol, KING Deborah A.
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 33(1), Spring 2009, pp.24-29. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
As the symptoms and care needs of the person with the condition change throughout the course of dementia, family dynamics manifest themselves and are affected in a number of ways. It is during the early and middle stages that families often realize that they can no longer care for their family member without assistance, and some families recognize the need for support for themselves as well. Examples of dilemmas and controversies are given and illustrated with case studies. Despite the gaps in understanding of family relationships across the long course of dementia, it is clear that families demonstrate strong bonds of attachment and a high degree of resilience as they cope with this devastating condition. It appears that the strength of family ties prior to the onset of dementia and the family member’s motivation for providing care are two of the most powerful predictors of outcomes for both the person with dementia and the caregiver.
Social work and aging: the challenges for evidence-based practice
- Authors:
- MCCALLION Philip, FERRETTI Lisa A.
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 34(1), Spring 2010, pp.66-71. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
There has been growing interest among social workers in evidence that would support practices that address the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of aging, illness, and care giving. To move an evidence-based intervention from research to day-to-day social work practice is difficult. There have been achievements in using evidence-based, aging-focused social work practice. Three areas are highlighted: psychosocial; case/care management; and multi-modal interventions. Social work services addressing aging and care giving needs would benefit from greater access to evidence-based practices. While some of those evidence-based practices are already available, there are efforts to build such evidence, and there is a readiness to consider how practices shown to be effective in some situations may be applied to other problems and other populations. However, evidence-based practice in social work has tended to be narrowly focused on psychosocial issues when its interests are much broader and the changes needed in the lives of clients often involve environmental, public policy, and health system concerns. Engagement in the 'sciences' of local implementation and translation is needed to supplement more traditional research efforts.
Moving beyond place: aging in community
- Authors:
- THOMAS William H., BLANCHARD Janice M.
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 33(2), Summer 2009, pp.12-17. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
The current practice of institutionalising older people in need of care is undesirable because it consumes large quantities of financial capital while it also destroys reservoirs of social capital. Aging in place, with its dwelling-centric approach, relies heavily on dollar-denominated professional and paraprofessional services while offering older people little or no opportunity to create or deploy reserves of social capital. Aging in community presents a viable and appealing alternative to both approaches. Different types of communities are discussed.
Transforming mental health care for older veterans in the Veterans Health Administration
- Authors:
- KARLIN Bradley E., ZEISS Antonette M.
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 34(2), Summer 2010, pp.74-83. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
Older adults often lack familiarity with mental health symptoms and services and may hold negative beliefs about mental health care that can prevent them from seeking treatment. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) operates the largest and one of the most elaborate mental health care systems in the nation and perhaps the world. The recent history of the system is described. One successful new model for providing mental health care to older veterans that has been nationally implemented in the VHA is the integration of a full-time mental health provider on each of the more than 130 VA home-based primary care (HBPC) teams. Another major psychogeriatrics initiative involves the integration of a full-time mental health provider in VA community living centers (CLC), formerly designated as nursing home care units. It is critical that increasing national attention be devoted to the mental health needs of older Americans and that policies and processes be developed to extend the reach and potential impact of mental health care for older adults.