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Biomedical subjects

E M Brody

Publications and source records attributed to E M Brody.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Predictors of falls among institutionalized women with Alzheimer's disease.

Falls among elderly residents are a major concern of facilities caring for the aged. A group of institutionalized women with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (N = 60; mean age 83) were studied longitudinally and evaluated annually on 21 variables of physical, social, emotional, self-care, and cognitive functioning. A substudy of falls they experienced used data from two such annual evaluations. Clinical ratings by the interdisciplinary team estimated 1) the women's changes in function during the preceding year and 2) the current levels of the women's functioning. Separate regressions for each of the two years returned identical significant patterns indicating that ratings of physical vigor were significantly related to number of falls. Those women who had been among the most vigorous in the group but who had shown significant declines in the preceding year were the most vulnerable to falls; women who had been rated as the least vigorous but whose levels of vigor had been stable during the year tended to have fewer falls. Falling therefore appears to be related to the process of decline in vigor among those in the group whose levels of vigor were higher initially. There were corresponding significant declines in emotional and cognitive scales.

Accidents↗
PubMed1984

Senile dementia: public policy and adequate institutional care.

Increasing costs of institutional care for the aged have occasioned a variety of government cost containment measures. People with senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT) will be the principal group to suffer from cutbacks. SDAT patients are usually eligible for Intermediate Care Facilities (ICFs), rather than Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and therefore for lower reimbursement. Because such patients require heavy care and are the ones most likely to be Medicaid-dependent, nursing homes are being provided with incentives to prevent admissions. At the same time, community services to aid overburdened caregivers are grossly inadequate. Costs to other parts of the health systems are increased by backups in acute hospitals when nursing home beds cannot be found. SDAT and Medicaid eligibility are the principal causes of such "administratively necessary" backup days, but in the main Diagnostic Related Groups (DRGs) may close even that temporary resource. Thus, virtually all avenues of care are shrinking for those who need them most.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Women's changing roles and help to elderly parents: attitudes of three generations of women.

Data on the effects of women's changing roles on attitudes toward responsibility for care of elderly adults were gathered from three generations of women (N = 403). Elderly women, middle-generation daughters, and young-adult granddaughters were compared on responses to Likert-scaled attitude items relating to gender-appropriate roles and care of elderly persons (including filial responsibility and acceptability of formal and informal supports). Significant generational differences occurred on attitude items relating to sharing of child care, parent care, and household tasks by men and women, but majorities of all generations were in favor of such sharing. The oldest generation was most receptive (and the youngest the least receptive) to formal services for elderly persons, but all three generations agreed that old people should be able to depend on adult children for help. Values about family care of elderly adults have not eroded despite demographic and socioeconomic changes.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

What older people do about their day-to-day mental and physical health symptoms.

In four detailed "yesterday" interviews, old people (n = 132) were studied to identify their day-to-day mental and physical symptoms. Previous reports have described the nature, frequency, and severity of the symptoms reported. This paper describes the actions taken by old people to alleviate discomfort from their symptoms. Some action was taken to treat four fifths of the complaints but virtually none of the symptoms were reported to health care professionals. Among the authors' findings are that about 20 per cent of the drug doses taken by the interviewees could not be identified and the remaining 80 per cent were divided equally between prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. It is evident that there is a world of day-to-day health experiences and practices of which health care professionals are unaware. Sensitive questioning is needed to elicit information about that world from elderly patients, who in turn are often in considerable need of health education from professional sources.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Physical and mental health symptoms of older people: who do they tell?

A research study was designed to develop information about the day-to-day symptoms of older persons that often are not reported to professionals. As one aspect of the research, the subjects (N = 132) were asked: 1) if they had had any of a predetermined list of 20 symptoms during the previous month; 2) to whom did they report these symptoms; and 3) if no one had been told, what was the reason for not reporting. About half of the subjects had experienced difficulty in sleeping, tiredness, nervousness, feeling blue, unsteadiness on feet, and forgetfulness. A slight majority told someone (a professional, family member, or friend) about their symptoms, but a large proportion did not tell anyone. Most symptoms (56 percent) were not reported to health professionals. When another person was told, usually the recipient of the information was as likely to be a family member or friend as a professional. Reasons for not telling anyone included: the symptom ws "no big deal"; "nobody cares"; "nothing can be done about it"; and "don't want to bother people." The data are discussed in terms of the implications for health education of older people and family members, and for the attitudes and behaviors of health professionals.

Aged↗
PubMed1976

Behavioral observations of mentally impaired aged: those who decline and those who do not.

Behavioral observations were conducted on aged mentally impaired females in an institutional environment on a weekly basis for a 2-year period. An eight-category taxonomy was used to rate the complexity level of the subjects' behaviors. Although the average weekly performance showed significant linear decline over the 2 years, half the subjects remained stable in the level of their behavioral functioning. In comparison to subjects exhibiting declines in level of functioning, the stable subjects evidenced less serious medical conditions, had better comprehension of their situations, were more socially reactive, manifested fewer neurotic conditions, and had greater control over impulses and aggression at the beginning of the project.

Aged↗
PubMed1976

5. Basic data requirements for geriatric institutions and services.

Long-term care institutions are being patterned inappropriately on the medical model. They have evolved as a patchwork of other types of institutions and as yet have no clear value system of their own. The characteristics of the populations served, the reasons for admissions, their psychological and social deprivations, and the fact that institutional care is essentially a living arrangement point to a greater emphasis on enrichment services, i.e., those going beyond survival, subsistence, and medical maintenance. Data sets for long-term care should therefore be oriented to a social/health model. Assessment methods for evaluating social behaviors that are indicators of services needed are underdeveloped. Orderly methods of evaluating the individual's social support system also require development to aid in determining the type of care needed (whether in the community or in institutions). In addition, data about future generations of older people could provide guidelines to future needs. Though social change is determined by the values of policy makers and the community, data are essential to the formulation of objectives and directions within that framework.

Aged↗
PubMed1975

Characteristics of mentally-impaired aged profiting from individualized treatment.

This study investigated subjects' characteristics which related to improvements from individualized treatment of mentally impaired aged. Project variables (158) were reduced to 12 Q-type factors. The excess disability (ED) criteria were partialled into experimental/control influences (EDe/c) and residual ED variance. Statistical regressions were run on the EDe/c criteria vs. age and the 12 Q-factors. Age significantly predicted post-treatment ED functioning in both conditions. Younger subjects (ages 65-82) profited most in both groups. After the statistical removal of age in the regression, Factor Q-3 still retained a significant relationship to EDe/c for the experimentals. The correlations indicate the importance of social capabilities, irrespective of age level, with regard to improvements due to ED treatments. For the control subjects, Q-12 and Q-5 showed significant independent relationships to the criteria. Subjects' competence appeared most important for EDe/c gains made without treatment.

Activities of Daily Living↗