The future of financing for long-term care: the Own Your Future campaign

The purpose of this study was to examine the outreach effort and impact of a joint federal-state campaign, Own Your Future, promoting awareness and planning for long-term care (LTC) in the state of Washington. The study applied survey methodology to evaluate the extent of campaign dissemination, evidence of its impact on LTC planning behaviors, and barriers to purchasing private LTC insurance. A total of 3,198 survey responses from a randomly selected community sample and a Washington State employee sample (ages 51 to 71) were analyzed. Results indicated that the impact of the campaign was limited, both with respect to awareness of the campaign itself and to initiation of LTC planning behaviors. Quantitative data revealed a high prevalence of health-related problems (e.g., obesity, diabetes), inadequate knowledge of basic LTC-related information (e.g., cost, payers), and negative attitudes toward purchasing LTC insurance among respondents. Qualitative analyses suggested that respondents perceived significant problems related to affordability and accountability within the current LTC insurance industry. These possible barriers to the purchase of LTC insurance suggest targets to be addressed by policy makers seeking to find ways to offset the public costs of LTC.     

Estimating reference ranges from stratified two-stage samples

We present methodology for estimating age-specific reference ranges by using data from two-stage samples. On the basis of the information obtained in the first stage, the initial sample is stratified and random subsamples are drawn from each stratum, where the selection probabilities in this second-stage sampling may be different across strata in the population. The variable for which the reference ranges are to be established is measured at the second phase. The approach involves maximum likelihood estimation of the parameters of the age-specific distributions and separate estimation of the population stratum probabilities. These are combined to yield estimates of the quantiles of interest. The issue of variance estimation for the estimated quantiles is also addressed. The methodology is applied to the estimation of reference ranges for a cognitive test score in a study of non-demented older Japanese-Americans.     

Young families under stress: assessing maternal and child well-being using a mixed-methods approach

Supporting parents has been reinforced as central to improving children's lives. Assessment of needs, however, is crucial to the provision of effective support. This paper focuses upon the assessment of well‐being of mothers and their children in 162 young families experiencing stress in south‐east England and Northern Ireland. A mixed‐methods approach to assessment was adopted and the strengths of using face‐to‐face interviews alongside standardized measures are explored.     

大开眼界看朝阳

<正>来中国留学已经一段时间了,去过的地方也不少,可是给我留下最深印象的却是一个很多人都不知道的城市——辽宁的朝阳。在辽宁生活的时间里,我一直觉得辽宁是一个很普通没有什么吸引力的地方。但参加了沈阳师范大学特色班的"留学生辽宁文化考察活动"以后,我忽然发现,原来在这     

Training Area Agencies on Aging Case Managers to Improve Physical Function,Mood, and Behavior in Persons With Dementia and Caregivers: Examples from the RDAD-Northwest Study

The Reducing Disability in Alzheimer’s Disease (RDAD) program has been shown to be an effective tool for teaching caregivers strategies to improve mood, behavior, and physical function in persons with dementia. This paper describes how RDAD has been translated and implemented for use by Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) case managers across Washington and Oregon. Modifications to the original RDAD program as part of its community translation included decreasing the number of in-person sessions while preserving all educational content; involving caregivers in exercise activities for themselves as well as acting as exercise coaches for care-receivers; and enrolling persons with cognitive impairment due to mixed etiologies. This paper describes these changes and their rationale, the challenges faced by community agencies recruiting for and delivering evidence-based programs, and illustrates the actual RDAD implementation process through several brief case examples. Case examples also illustrate how RDAD-Northwest can be useful with care-receivers with a range of cognitive impairment severity, family caregiving situations, and levels of mood and behavioral challenges.     

The Future of Financing for Long-Term Care: The Own Your Future Campaign

The purpose of this study was to examine the outreach effort and impact of a joint federal-state campaign, Own Your Future, promoting awareness and planning for long-term care (LTC) in the state of Washington. The study applied survey methodology to evaluate the extent of campaign dissemination, evidence of its impact on LTC planning behaviors, and barriers to purchasing private LTC insurance. A total of 3,198 survey responses from a randomly selected community sample and a Washington State employee sample (ages 51 to 71) were analyzed. Results indicated that the impact of the campaign was limited, both with respect to awareness of the campaign itself and to initiation of LTC planning behaviors. Quantitative data revealed a high prevalence of health-related problems (e.g., obesity, diabetes), inadequate knowledge of basic LTC-related information (e.g., cost, payers), and negative attitudes toward purchasing LTC insurance among respondents. Qualitative analyses suggested that respondents perceived significant problems related to affordability and accountability within the current LTC insurance industry. These possible barriers to the purchase of LTC insurance suggest targets to be addressed by policy makers seeking to find ways to offset the public costs of LTC.