Progress and Policy Opportunities in Family Caregiver Assessment: Results From a National Survey.

Family caregivers play an essential role in long-term services and supports (LTSS). Despite numerous calls for robust caregiver assessment policies to determine needs and treat them as partners in care planning, there has been limited information about whether or how states assess caregiver needs and strengths, or use caregiver information. Using cross-sectional survey data from the 2015 Process Evaluation of the Older Americans Act National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), this study analyzes caregiver assessment policies and practices in 54 State Units on Aging, 619 Area Agencies on Aging, and 642 local service providers. It examines whether and for what purposes caregiver assessments are used, what domains are included, and how well current policies conform to recommended practice. It also recommends that policy makers who influence NFCSP and other LTSS programs develop caregiver assessment practices using a multidimensional framework including more caregiver-focused domains and utilizing assessment data to measure program outcomes.

Strong, healthy, energized: Striving for a healthy weight in an older lesbian population.

The Office on Women's Health funded five pilot healthy weight intervention studies for lesbian and bisexual (LB) women, which included a program called Strong. Healthy. Energized (SHE). SHE was a 12-session program, targeted toward LB women age 60 and older, which focused on exercise, including a pedometer to track steps; nutrition; stress management; and group discussions. The program enrolled 39 participants. Waist circumference decreased by 3.7% across the group (p < .01). Participants with the lowest one-third baseline step count saw a marked step increase. This intervention was effective in improving health behaviors and short-term health outcomes for older LB women.