Gayle Hersch | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

Testing therapeutic life review offered by home care workers to decrease depression among home-dwelling older women.

The purpose of the study was to test a psychosocial intervention, therapeutic life review, offered by home care workers to decrease depression among home-dwelling older women. A quasi-experimental, one-group time-series design measured the effect of a once-a-week, 40-minute therapeutic life review intervention, delivered for six weeks by home care workers, on the depression scores of women 65 years and older, compared to their scores during the ten weeks prior to the intervention. Over time, depression scores improved with a significant decrease in depression immediately following the six-week intervention. Based on these findings, we concluded that home care workers can deliver a community-based psychosocial intervention that decreases depression in their home-dwelling clients.

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Functional outcomes and daily life activities of African-American elders after hospitalization.

OBJECTIVE: African-American elders were recruited from a transitional unit after hospitalization and tracked for 6 months in the community after discharge to (a) examine functional outcomes on the unit and in the community and (b) identify patterns of participation in daily life activities. The International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH-2) framework provided the structure to examine the connections among body systems, functional outcomes, and social participation for this population that has been underrepresented in past research. METHOD: A mixed design combined qualitative and quantitative methods, including qualitative interviews to document personal adaptive experience, a standardized functional assessment to identify functional outcomes, and a structured format to record activity participation. RESULTS: Findings revealed that 11 of the 17 participants improved their functional outcomes after discharge. Three patterns of activity participation identified were self-care, self-care and household management, and mixed activities. Contextual influences were diverse family support arrangements. CONCLUSION: Complex relationships were identified among body systems, functional outcomes, and daily life activities that were influenced by individual values and support arrangements.

Activities of Daily Living↗