Time once again for a run down of some of the new and noteworthy articles in the current literature. Most of these are from the May/June issues; I have included a couple articles electronically available now in anticipation of print publication, as well (all from the last 4 weeks). As always, please keep in mind this in no way a comprehensive list; simply items that have caught my attention from a selection of peer-reviewed journals. Most links lead to abstracts (unless otherwise indicated); from there you can choose what’s worth a.) paying for; b.) a pilgrimage to your nearest medical library; or c.) downloading via the full-text access you possibly have at your disposal.
Category: Elder Abuse/Neglect
Stanford School of Medicine has an interactive tutorial for improving communication with elderly patients from differing cultures. It’s free of charge and is specifically meant for clinicians. Using three scenarios/situations common to first contact with a patient, you will be given options from which to select an appropriate response. All information in the scenarios comes from either the patient’s medical chart, or from information you gather as you see the patient for this first visit. While few answers are wrong, one answer uses more cultural sensitivity and maintains issues related patient dignity more than others. Explanations with the answers will provide information related to each response. Additional information is provided in the Summary section.
Here’s a really interesting multimedia site on financial expoitation of the elderly: from Dallasnews.com, Mary Ellen’s Will: The Battle for 4949 Swiss. The site provides the viewer with the story of Mary Ellen Bendtsen and includes case details, transcripts from interviews and video footage. Pay special attention to notes in the right hand column of each section–they will guide you to resources and information related to financial exploitation and other issues discussed in the story. Even the viewer feedback is fascinating on this site…
Categories
Elder Abuse
Nurse.com is offering 1 CEU for their offering Elder Abuse: Mistreatment of Older Americans on the Rise. Cost of the course is $10 and is in the standard article-posttest format.
From the Center of Excellence in Elder Abuse and Neglect: Caregivers, People with Dementia and Elder Abuse. This podcast “discusses recent research at UC Irvine on dyads of people with dementia and their caregivers. Did abuse commonly occur? What are the strongest predictors of abuse?”
Dr. Laura Mosqueda, Director of Geriatrics and Professor of Family Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, is a leader in the area of clinical identification and response to elder abuse. She is a frequent lecturer on the topic and I have personally been very impressed with both her presentations and publications (particularly her work on bruising in the elderly).