Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Social distance towards a person with Alzheimer's disease
- Author:
- WERNER Perla
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(2), February 2005, pp.182-188.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study examined determinants of behavioral discrimination (i.e. social distance) against persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a total of 206 Jewish Israeli adults (mean age = 59.7) using an experimental vignette methodology, varying in the severity of the disease. Information regarding participants' preferences for social distance from a person with AD was elicited. The effects of emotional reactions, perceptions of dangerousness of the person depicted in the vignette, personal experience with the disease, and perceptions about the susceptibility of developing AD were examined. Results of the study provide partial support for an extended version of the attribution model, in that prosocial feelings were found to decrease the behavioral discrimination against the person described, whereas feelings of rejection increased the discrimination. A direct, unmediated effect of the severity of the disease on social distance was found, as well as a direct effect of familiarity with someone with the disease. Findings of this study stress the importance of increasing government and advocacy initiatives that would provide the lay public with accurate knowledge about the disease, its symptoms, and treatments. These campaigns should be aimed at clarifying misconceptions and communicating empathetic feelings towards people diagnosed with AD.
The effects of an enhanced environment on nursing home residents who pace
- Authors:
- COHEN-MANSFIELD Jiska, WERNER Perla
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 38(2), April 1998, pp.199-208.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Reports on a study which sought to enhance the well-being of older nursing home residents in the USA who pace and wander by enriching their nursing home environment. Visual, auditory, and olfactory stimuli were added to the nursing home unit environment. Results found that participants seemed to prefer the enhanced environments by choosing to spend more time in them, and by sitting on benches in those environments. There was a trend toward less trespassing, exit-seeking, and other agitated behaviours being exhibited in the enhanced environment, and residents were observed to manifest more pleasure in it.
Alzheimer's disease and the law: positive and negative consequences of structural stigma and labelling in the legal system
- Authors:
- WERNER Perla, DORON Israel (Issi)
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 21(11), 2017, pp.1206-1213.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objective: To explore the meaning and consequences of labelling on structural stigma in the context of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the legal system. Method: This qualitative study was made up of three focus groups including social workers and lawyers (n = 26). Participants were asked to report their experience in circumstances in which persons with AD and their family members engage with the legal system. Thematic analysis using the constant comparative method was used. Results: The discussions in the focus groups raised two overall themes. (1) The significance of the medical diagnostic labelling of AD in the legal system and (2) the consequences of labelling of AD within the legal system. This last theme included four sub-themes: (a) negative consequences of labelling; (b) reasons associated with negative consequences of labelling; (c) positive consequences of labelling; and (d) reasons associated with positive consequences of labelling. Conclusion: Findings of the study provide a first foundation for future research on the meaning and consequences of labelling in legal cases involving persons with AD. They suggest that increasing judges' knowledge about AD and reforming the existing ‘status-based’ legal capacity legislation might benefit by limiting the legal weight given today to the medical diagnosis. (Edited publisher abstract)
Factors influencing intentions to seek a cognitive status examination: a study based on the Health Belief Model
- Author:
- WERNER Perla
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(9), September 2003, pp.787-794.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim of the present study was to examine the factors influencing intention to seek a cognitive status evaluation in the presence of memory problems. A convenience sample of 186 community-dwelling adults (mean age=64) were interviewed face-to-face using measures derived from the Health Belief Model. Participants' intentions to be examined were higher when presented with scenarios describing family history of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Perceived barriers and cues to action were significant predictors of intention, accounting for 24% of the variance. These findings suggest the need to develop effective educational strategies to improve knowledge about AD and decision-making concerning cognitive status examinations.
Perceptions regarding the use of physical restraints with elderly persons: comparison of Israeli health care nurses and social workers
- Author:
- WERNER Perla
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16(1), February 2002, pp.59-68.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
In view of the difficulty involved in decision-making regarding the use or removal of physical restraints and the recent pattern encouraging the use of interdisciplinary teams for elder care issues, the present study compared the perceptions of Israeli nurses and social workers in health care settings regarding the use of physical restraints. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 50 nurses and 69 social workers working in long-term and acute care settings. The findings indicated that participants in all professions attributed moderate to low importance towards the use of physical restraints. Social workers' perceptions were similar to those of nurses in psychiatric hospitals and slightly more favourable to the use of physical restraints than those of nurses in nursing homes. Patients' safety (as reflected in the scores of the items related to protecting an older person from falling and protecting an older person from pulling out a catheter) was the most important reason for using physical restraints for both groups. Increased attention should be given to the role of social workers as team members in the process of decision-making regarding the use or removal of physical restraints, especially as mediators between the elderly person, family members and staff members.
Typology of disruptive vocalizations in older persons suffering from dementia
- Authors:
- COHEN-MANSFIELD Jiska, WERNER Perla
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 12(11), November 1997, pp.1079-1091.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Verbal and vocal disruptive behaviours (VDB) are important clinical features in dementia because they frequently signal discomfort experienced by an elderly person and because they are disturbing to caregivers; thereby affecting the care of elderly persons manifesting them. This article describes a typology of VDB, the Typology of Vocalisations - TOV. The article reports interrater reliability of the typology and validates it against Ryan's classification of verbal and vocal disruptive behaviours. Critical dimensions of the typology are examined and used for its refinement. Finally, use of the TOV for matching individuals to the most effective intervention is demonstrated.
Emotional reactions of lay persons to someone with Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- WERNER Perla, DAVIDSON Michael
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(4), April 2004, pp.391-397.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Information about the nature of public reactions to people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) can help reduce stigmatization associated with the disease. The aim of this study was to examine emotional reactions to persons with AD, and its correlates. A total of 150 Jewish Israeli adults (mean age=59.9) were interviewed face-to-face regarding their emotional reactions to people with AD using a vignette methodology. Only a third of the participants gave the correct label. The person described in the vignette elicited more positive than negative emotions. Gender and perceived threat were the most important factors associated with emotional reactions. Findings suggest the need to expand the efforts to increase the recognition of AD by lay persons, and to address the negative emotions of several risk groups, such as male adults and those with greater concern about developing the disease.
The willingness to enter a nursing home: a comparison of Holocaust survivors with elderly people who did not experience the Holocaust
- Authors:
- LETZER-POUW Sonia, WERNER Perla
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 40(4), 2003, pp.87-103.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Factors influencing the willingness to enter a nursing home were examined among Holocaust survivors (N = 94) and elderly persons who did not experience the Holocaust (N = 74). No differences were found between the groups regarding their willingness to enter a nursing home. Attitudes toward nursing homes were the main factor influencing the decision-making process for both groups. Income was an additional factor for Holocaust survivors, while living situation and education were additional factors for the other group. Holocaust survivors who tried to avoid memories of the Holocaust, were less willing to enter a nursing home, than survivors who made less of an effort to avoid such memories. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)
Anxiety disorder and accompanying subjective memory loss in the elderly as a predictor of future cognitive decline
- Authors:
- SINOFF Gary, WERNER Perla
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(10), October 2003, pp.951-959.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim of the study was to empirically investigate the hypothesis that anxiety in the elderly, secondary to loss of memory, predicts future cognitive decline. The participants were 137 elderly subjects with no depression or cognitive impairment from a community geriatric assessment unit, 45% with anxiety. In addition to demographic characteristics, cognitive status was assessed using the Mini Mental State Examination; depression was assessed by Tucker's short Interviewer-Assisted Depression Rating Scale; anxiety by Sinoff's Short Anxiety Screening Test and Activities of Daily Living function by Shah's modified Barthel's Index. At follow-up 37 persons had dropped out, leaving 100 participants for final analysis. Mean re-examination time was 3.2 years with no group differences. The mean MMSE and modified Barthel scores decreased significantly more in those with anxiety. A relative risk of 3.96 for developing future cognitive impairment was found. Regression analysis showed that only anxiety was a significant predictor of cognitive decline. By path analysis, a more parsimonious model showed anxiety to have both a direct and an indirect effect on predicting future cognitive decline, and that the effect of loss of memory on cognitive decline was via anxiety. Anxiety is inter-related and inseparable with loss of memory and its presence is a strong predictor for future cognitive decline, directly or indirectly via depression. It appears that loss of memory is the initial problem with consequent development of anxiety. Therefore, anxiety, like depression, is probably an early predictor of future cognitive decline and even possible future cognitive impairment.