Premium
Behavioral Improvement in Long‐Term Geriatric Patients during an Age‐Integrated Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program *
Author(s) -
ABRAHAMS JOEL PETER,
WALLACH HOWARD F.,
DIVENS SHIRLEY
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1979.tb06035.x
Subject(s) - psychosocial , medicine , rehabilitation , socialization , quality of life (healthcare) , gerontology , activities of daily living , physical therapy , nursing , psychiatry , psychology , developmental psychology
A study was made of the effects of a psychosocial rehabilitative program on the behavioral functioning of elderly chronically ill patients. High school students served as remotivation and socialization therapists in a supervised structured process designed to improve the quality of life for the participating nursing‐home residents. The participants were 12 long‐term patients whose ages ranged from 62 to 99 years (mean, 73.2 years). The effectiveness of the program was evaluated by means of the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), a questionnaire designed to assess the effect of a physical illness on daily activities, psychosocial skills and mental status. The results demonstrated that the rehabilitative program had a significant impact on several dimensions of the lives of the participants. As a consequence of the interaction with the students, there was an increase in social interaction, a reduction in daytime sleeping and an increase in mobility. The results reported here extend the successful use of remotivation techniques to areas of overt behavioral functioning not previously assessed.