Manual on Psychosocial Issues and Community Resources for the Elderly

摘要

This manual is one of a number of teaching aids developed by an interdisciplinary gerontology training program for health professions students. The purpose of the manual was to provide information that would sensitize health care professionals to the special needs and problems associated with serving the elderly. The first section briefly delineates the psychosocial problems and lists appropriate interventions that can be carried out directly or delegated to other service providers. Topics include home vs. institutional care, stresses on caregivers, management of financial affairs, Medicare and Medicaid, elderly abuse, dementia and its stress on the family, and involuntary treatment. The second section outlines medical practice issues of particular relevance to older people and their families. Topics include the family physicians role in the nursing home, the role of the social worker in family practice, ethical and legal burdens of withholding treatment, determination of incompetence, and providing care in a rural setting. Appendices include specific guidelines for choosing services such as retirement homes and nursing homes, home care services, detection of elderly abuse, as well as a directory of service providers in the Seattle Area. The manual serves as a prototype for a reference manual for health professionals in other communities.