The rising number of geriatric patients with complex, chronic, and often multiple health conditions presents numerous policy challenges. RAND has conducted the most comprehensive examination of the quality of medical care provided to the vulnerable elderly and coordinates interdisciplinary research centers to develop and study innovative clinical and health services interventions to improve health care outcomes for geriatric patients.
The monetary cost of dementia in the United States ranges from $157 billion to $215 billion annually, making the disease more costly to the nation than either heart disease or cancer. The greatest cost is associated with providing institutional and home-based long-term care rather than medical services.
In a study on 568 adults between 25 and 80 years of age, hypotheses were tested on the specific relationships between individual differences in working memory, episodic memory, and semantic memory, and 6 main components of decision-making competence.
This survey measures family members' experiences of nursing home care, and the results contribute to the understanding of quality of care in nursing homes.
The Minimum Data Set (MDS) is a standardized assessment that is completed on all residents admitted to Medicare certified nursing homes in the US.
This article reports on research mentorship in the context of interdisciplinary geriatric research based on experiences with the RAND/Hartford Program for Building Interdisciplinary Geriatric Research Centers.
Few patients 75 years of age and older participate in clinical trials, thus whether adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer (CC) benefits this group is unknown.
Care provided by physicians was substantially supplemented by nurse care managers, as measured by Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders quality indicators.
Geriatricians were more efficient than other physicians in managing hospitalized elderly adults with medical DRGs frequently managed by geriatricians. This efficiency did not compromise patient outcomes.
The aim of this study was to develop a measure of social care outcome, an equivalent to the quality-adjusted life year (QALY) in health, which could be used in a range of circumstances.
This study assessing trends in late-life disability in the emerging economy of Taiwan showed that limitations in seeing, hearing, and instrumental activities of daily living declined.
The Building Interdisciplinary Geriatric Health Care Research Centers initiative created centers that brought together individuals from a wide range of disciplines and helped them collaborate to develop new projects or build on existing efforts.
Vulnerable older adults enrolled in plans that use nurse care managers receive, on average, 69% of recommended care for geriatric conditions, compared with 53% for elders in plans without nurse care managers.
Better quality of care for falls and urinary incontinence was associated with measurable improvement in participant-reported outcomes in less than 1 year.
Having a usual source of care was associated with lower depression prevalence and higher realized access among community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries.
Recently, late-life disability rates have declined in several countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation, but no national-level trend analysis for England has been available.
This study evaluates the effects of a multicomponent intervention to reduce fecal incontinence and urinary incontinence.
This descriptive study of nursing home characteristics found that facilities targeted by a CMS improvement initiative typically have fewer nurses and nurse aides and higher rates of quality of care citations.
This pilot study suggests that a practice-based intervention can increase referral to Alzheimer's Association chapters and improve quality of dementia care.
Evaluate adjuvant chemotherapy use and outcomes for older patients with stage III colon cancer from well-defined population-based settings and health care systems.
The proportion of people ages 50-64 who reported needing help with personal care activities increased significantly from 1997 to 2007. The proportions needing help with routine household chores indicating difficulty with physical functions were stable. These patterns contrast with reported declines in disability among the population age 65 and older. Particularly concerning among those ages 50-64 are significant increases of limitation in specific mobility-related activities, such as getting into and out of bed.
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