Long-Term Care for the Rural Elderly. Abstract, Executive Summary and FinalReport

摘要

Long-term care of the rural elderly is currently in the midst of an era of changeas new options are introduced and rural institutions adapt to the changing circumstances of rural America. This conference was designed to provide a forum for sharing current research, exploring innovative options for enhancing the rural long-term care environment, assessing the implications of actual and potential health care reform initiatives, and developing and disseminating a research and policy agenda. The conference led to the development of seven guiding principles for rural long-term care; community focus of control, non-linear models of care, client-centered philosophy of care, family-centered decision making, access to information, cooperation among providers, and redefinition of health professional roles. Within this rubric, a series of programmatic recommendations and key research questions were providers, and redefinition of health professional roles. Within this rubic, a series of programmatic recommendations and key research questions were developed for five key rural institutions: rural families, home and community based services, senior centers, nursing homes and hospitals. Two publications were produced; a position paper, 'Contemporary Directions in Long-Term Care for the Rural Elderly' (1000 copies distributed) and book, Long-term Care for the Rural Elderly, to be published by Springer Publishing Company in August, 1996.