For most families with elderly relatives, care within their own home is by far the most preferred option both for the elderly and their carers. However, frequently these carers are the partners of the person with long-term care needs, and themselves are elderly and in need of support to cope with the burdens and stress associated with these duties. When it becomes too much for them, they may ha...

OBJECTIVE To assess the functional capacity and to determine the difference between the means of functional capacity (basic and instrumental activities of daily living) and the age groups of elderly residents in an outlying area in the hinterland of Bahia/Northeast of Brazil. METHOD Analytical study with cross-sectional design and a sample of 150 elderly individuals enrolled in four Health Un...

[Purpose] The newly developed Functional Independence and Difficulty Scale is a tool for assessing the performance of basic activities of daily living in terms of both independence and difficulty. The aim of this study was to examine the predictive validity of the scale for decline of instrumental activities of daily living ability and multiple falls during a 24-month follow-up period. [Subject...

Objectives. To determine the effects on balance and gait of a Wii-Fit program compared to a walking program in subjects with mild Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Methods. A prospective randomized (1 : 1) pilot study with two intervention arms was conducted in an assisted living facility with twenty-two mild AD subjects. In both groups the intervention occurred under supervision for 30 minutes daily,...

Independent Living (IL) is more than a social movement; it is also an analytic paradigm that is re shaping the thinking of rehabilitation professionals and researchers alike. The IL paradigm is contrasted with the rehabilitation paradigm that has dominated disability policy, practice, and research. This article analyzes how the shift from the rehabilitation to the IL paradigm is likely to affec...

BACKGROUND Despite the context of individualization of public policies and promotion of independent living, residential care facilities (RCFs) (called "établissements medico-sociaux" in France) still represent the main system used by disabled people. Through a study of their daily mobility, this article proposes a geographical approach to the examination of factors influencing the social partic...

Personal aids for mobility and monitoring (PAMM), for the elderly are presented. The devices are intended to delay the transition from eldercare (assisted living) facilities to nursing homes. The robotic PAMMs provide support, guidance, and health monitoring. Issues of mobility, sensing, and control as well as experimental data from trials in an assisted living facility using both systems are p...

The purpose of this qualitative study, conducted in Thailand, was to identify strategies for older adults to live alone happily, with dignity, security, and independence. Purposive sampling techniques were used to recruit participants from 12 provinces throughout Thailand. The sample included three groups: older Thai people living alone (n = 1,087), clinician who working with Thai older adults ...

PURPOSE The purpose of this article was to explore staff-family relationships in assisted living facilities (ALFs) as they are experienced by care staff and perceived by administrators. We identify factors that influence relationships and explore how interactions with residents' families affect care staff's caregiving experiences. DESIGN AND METHODS The data are drawn from a statewide study i...

CONTEXT Living wills have a poor record of directing care at the end of life, as a copious literature attests. Some speculation centers on the questionable correspondence between the scenario described in living wills versus the real-life circumstances that typically arise at the end of life. OBJECTIVE To assess the strength of association between responses to a standard living will question ...