Defining the Health Problems of the Elderly

Ouslander, Jose ph G.; Beck, John C.

doi:10.1146/annurev.pu.03.050182.000415

Cited by 30 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Our purpose is not to suggest that researchers are consciously avoiding the elderly, and we recognize the many difficulties inherent in studying elderly subjects 9,18,19 . The multiple diseases, disabilities, and polypharmacy that characterize the health status of many older people complicate research methodology with many potentially confounding variables.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of the Age Structure of “Age‐Relevant” Articles in Four General Medical Journals

Clarfield

Friedman

1985

J American Geriatrics Society

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The authors analyzed clinical research articles (1980 to 1982) in four general medical journals: New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, and British Medical Journal. Of the 1943 articles surveyed, 38.2% were judged to be clinically "relevant" to the elderly. "Relevant" articles were further analyzed to determine whether they contained enough older subjects to enable the reader to draw any inferences about the particular disease or diagnostic or treatment modality studied. Criteria for "age sufficiency" included: mean age of study group (means) greater than or equal to 60 years; if means was less than 60 years, two SD or the range included at least one patient aged 70 years; and greater than or equal to 20% of the study group was older than 60 years. Overall, slightly more than 50% of clinically relevant articles had too few older subjects by the authors' quite liberal age criteria. No statistically significant differences were found among the four journals. Of the age-relevant articles, 25.5% had a mean age of sample studied of greater than or equal to 60 years, 10.9% of greater than or equal to 65 years, 5.6% of greater than or equal to 70 years, and 2.3% of greater than or equal to 75 years. The average age of all subjects studied for three conditions commonly found among the elderly was calculated: coronary artery disease (51.7 years); hypertension (49.8 years); and cancer (52.9 years). The authors concluded that many of the original articles of these four journals did not include (for 1980 to 1982) enough older subjects in their study samples to enable readers to draw any valid inferences about the older population itself.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of the Age Structure of “Age‐Relevant” Articles in Four General Medical Journals

Clarfield

Friedman

1985

J American Geriatrics Society

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“…Seventy percent of the U.S. elderly rate their health as "good" (Soldo 1980;Verbrugge 1984), and these self-ratings correlate well with physician assessments and with survival rates (Ouslander & Beck 1982;Shanas & Maddox 1985). Fewer elderly people on Niue rate their health as highly, about one-half (48%) of the survey respondents describing their health status as "good."…”

Section: International Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Studies have shown that older peoples' and physicians' rating of health status are similar (Ouslander & Beck 1982;Wilson & Netting 1987). There is no reason to assume that ratings by Niuean elderly will be less accurate than selfreports by other older people.…”

Section: Content Of the Questionnairementioning

confidence: 99%

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Health and functional status of the elderly in a Polynesian population

Barker

1989

J Cross-Cultural Gerontol

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A health survey was conducted on a random sample of the elderly living on Niue Island in the Southwest Pacific, an island experiencing both the demographic and epidemiological transitions predicted to become common throughout the Third World in the next decades. One-quarter of the respondents reported having no medical impairments and one-third experience no diminution in functional capacity. Visual and auditory losses were common as were respiratory conditions and chronic degenerative disorders. Mobility was a central aspect of functional status. Few striking differences in health and functional status exist between Niuean elderly and their counterparts in the United States. The small but significant proportion (16%) of Niuean elderly who are very frail represent a challenge to the organization and delivery of current health and welfare services.

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“…Data from the National Nursing Home Survey show primary diagnoses of 185.1 per 1000 for those 65-74 years for mental disorders not including senility or related symptoms (Ouslander and Beck, 1982). In addition, very high percentages of the institutionalized elderly have major functional limitations which are likely to have MH sequelae (Somers, 1978).…”

Section: The Use Of Social Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental health and public health: Strengthening a working relationship

Goldstein¹

1989

J Primary Prevent

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This paper sets out some reasons for the relatively slight interactions between the fields of mental health and public health. These reasons include the problematic nature of case definition in the mental health field, the vague etiologic concepts in mental health, the stigma attached to mental illness, numerous ongoing professional conflicts, and the perceived failure of the community mental health center movement in the 1960s and '70s. The public health field is, itself, a broad based endeavor which is currently suffering from a large loss of financial resources. This has resulted in public health taking on a defensive posture which is implicitly inhospitable to mental health. The remainder of the paper specifies some areas in which contact between mental health and public health might be most productive, given the reality of the aforementioned constraints.

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Defining the Health Problems of the Elderly

Cited by 30 publications

References 53 publications

Survey of the Age Structure of “Age‐Relevant” Articles in Four General Medical Journals

Survey of the Age Structure of “Age‐Relevant” Articles in Four General Medical Journals

Health and functional status of the elderly in a Polynesian population

Mental health and public health: Strengthening a working relationship

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