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K C Buckwalter

Publications and source records attributed to K C Buckwalter.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Researching and evaluating model geriatric mental health programs. Part III: Statistical analysis issues.

The third and final article in this three-part series on researching and evaluating geriatric mental health programs focuses on statistical analysis issues. Analysis of data from experimental and quasi-experimental studies is discussed involving inferential statistical techniques such as t test, analysis of variance, chi-square, and analysis of covariance, and interrupted time series techniques.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Suicide among elderly white men: development of a profile.

1. Older white men have the highest suicide rate in the nation; a linear increase of suicide occurs with each passing year of chronological age. 2. Elderly who attempt suicide are more likely to communicate their intentions less frequently and to use violent and lethal means. 3. Chronic sleep problems, pain, degenerative illness, or clinical depression may be experienced by older white men at suicidal risk; somatic complaints including imaginary symptoms can mask depression. 4. Educational programs, outreach mental health programs, and enhanced consultation/coordination improve case findings and early intervention. Holistic nursing care, including pain alleviation, depression assessment, and simple comfort measures, are imperative in suicide prevention in the elderly.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Staff stress on an Alzheimer's unit.

Nurses working with the elderly encounter many complex and potentially stressful care situations. Nowhere is this more true than for nursing home staff who work in highly demanding, labor- and client-intensive jobs. A number of factors contribute to the high levels of stress found among nurses who work with the elderly, including continual exposure to physical and emotional pathology and death, and conflict with families, co-workers, supervisors, and representatives from other departments or professions (Goldin, 1985; Klus, 1980). When the stress level in a long-term care facility becomes overwhelming, role conflict, ambiguity, poor self-esteem, and burnout may ensue (Goldin, 1985; Heine, 1986; Klus, 1980; Morrow-Winn, 1985). The process of burnout is characterized by a progressive loss of idealism, energy, and purpose that eventually leads to emotional overextension and exhaustion (Price, 1984).

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Abuse among rural mentally ill.

Each American adult has the right to make individual decisions. These decisions include preferences in lifestyle, occupation, diet, housing, health-care treatment, and allocations of financial resources. The right to autonomous decision making is not limited to young or middle-aged adults, nor is it limited to those occasions during which the individual has the capacity to personally participate in the decisions (US Congress, 1987). The right also applies to elderly, incapacitated, mentally ill, or dependent adults. Because of this autonomy, no individual must suffer physical, psychological, or financial coercion. Based on these rights, all 50 states have enacted statutes to protect dependent adults and to authorize government intervention in cases of suspected adult abuse (Hunzeker, 1990). Iowa is one of the states that has enacted dependent adult abuse legislation, and in 1988, health-care practitioners in Iowa became mandatory reporters of adult abuse (Iowa Code, 1992). As mandatory reporters, all nurses who treat, counsel, examine, or attend dependent adults must observe the physical status and interpersonal relationships of their clients and significant others to identify potential conflict or injury. Categories of abuse recognized by the Iowa law include physical, sexual, and financial abuse, neglect by self, and neglect by another (Figure).

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Medication management, antidepressant drugs, and the elderly: an overview.

1. Several factors may affect an elderly client's use of medications: polypharmacy, potentially leading to interactions; over-the-counter drugs taken without a physician's knowledge; noncompliance or poor compliance with medication regimens; and ageist beliefs. 2. Psychiatric nurses must be aware that the signs and symptoms they observe may be the result of normal physical or biological aging, psychosocial changes, disease-related changes, medication side effects, or a drug interaction. 3. Nurses must ask two questions when psychotropic drugs are used with elderly clients: What will be the onset, duration, magnitude, and characteristic action of a specific drug in an individual; and What are the characteristics of an "ideal" medication?

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Researching and evaluating model geriatric mental health programs, Part I: Design of mental health evaluation studies.

The first article in this three-part series on researching and evaluating geriatric mental health programs focuses on issues related to the design of studies for summative evaluations of geriatric mental health programs. Experimental and quasi-experimental designs are discussed in terms of their advantages and disadvantages, and threats to internal validity are highlighted.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Family involvement with communication-impaired residents in long-term care settings.

This article describes the outcomes of a study involving family members of communication-impaired long-term care residents in a collaborative nursing/speech language pathology intervention designed to increase the residents' communication ability. Family members provided memorabilia and artifacts or produced audio or video tapes, for use in conjunction with a speech therapy enhancement program (STEP). Findings revealed that, despite a minimal improvement in speech ability, there was a dramatic increase in family members' satisfaction.

Communication Devices for People with Disabilities↗
PubMed1991

Mental health services of the rural elderly outreach program.

This paper describes an elderly outreach program (EOP) designed to identify and provide mental health services to the rural elderly. The project integrates a variety of health, mental health, and human service agencies in the planning and delivery of services. Five referral sources are identified and described as well as the assessment, treatment, and referral process. Outcomes are discussed in terms of: characteristics of persons served, ability of the project to identify and deliver mental health services, treatment effectiveness, and cost effectiveness of the project. The EOP seems to have prevented an increase in need for mental health care among Iowans that might have occurred in the program's absence.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Whole disease care planning: fitting the program to the client with Alzheimer's disease.

Care of the person with a chronic dementing illness is best approached from a conceptual perspective. As the "whole disease care planning" model demonstrates, care is logically derived from knowledge of the client's premorbid characteristics, and intervention strategies develop from following the individual's daily routine and simplifying it as the disease progresses. Although it is impossible to discuss the entire scope of care planning for demented adults in a brief article, this information can help nurses determine which intervention strategies to pursue based on the sociocultural background of clients and their level of functional loss. The desired outcomes at all levels of care include maximizing the potential for safe function by controlling for excess disability and providing appropriate levels of assistance; participation in activities as desired by the client; and minimizing discomfort and maximizing expressions of comfort.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

Caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease. Recommendations for nursing education.

1. Most educational programs for healthcare professionals stress acute rather than chronic care and provide little education or training related to caregiving of persons with dementia. 2. Long-term care facilities employ a minimum of licensed staff with the bulk of direct caregiving done by nursing assistants. 3. Licensed nurses and nursing assistants who work with the cognitively impaired should have specialized training and education in caring for persons with AD or other dementias. 4. Annual ongoing training and education should be provided for all caregivers of persons with a dementing illness.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Iatrogenesis in the elderly. Drug-related problems.

Drug reactions are generally related to the influence of age, toxicity, side effects, immunologic reactions, idiosyncratic reactions, drug-drug interactions, and drug-disease interactions. In addition to age-related changes, the elderly are susceptible to the incidence of adverse drug reactions because of polypharmacy, incorrect self-administration of drugs, omission of drugs, taking another's prescriptions, use of over-the-counter drugs, and medication errors by health-care personnel. To prevent or predict adverse drug reactions, the gerontologic nurse can obtain thorough drug histories, educate clients and health-care providers, use nursing measures to alleviate symptoms, and be astute for the potential for problems through drug review.

Aged↗