Meeting the challenges in conducting research in vulnerable older adults with self-neglect-notes from a field team.

Gaining a systematic understanding of possible ways to increase the quality and lifespan of older adults experiencing self-neglect has unique challenges. These challenges include identifying self-neglect in the community and navigating levels of cognitive, physical, and/or psychological difficulties in this population that impact recruitment, consent, and accurate data collection. Conducting quality research under some of the environmental self-neglect conditions such as squalor, animal and insect infestations and no utilities can also challenge planned study protocols and study validity. This manuscript presents details of these overarching challenges and some of the workable solutions noted and implemented by research field-team members who have enrolled over 300 adults experiencing self-neglect for various studies. Usual research methodology must overcome these barriers to work to create consciousness about the self-neglect population. The classic series of cases is still a good alternative when describing self-neglect. Considerations for conducting future self-neglect research are presented.

Benefits of Simulation and Role-Playing to Teach Performance of Functional Assessments.

The use of simulation is an innovative teaching strategy that has proven to be valuable in nursing education. This article describes the benefits of a simulation lab involving faculty role-play to teach baccalaureate nursing students how to properly assess the functional status of older adults. Details about the simulation lab, which involved functional assessments of two elderly community-dwelling residents, are presented, along with student and faculty evaluations of this teaching modality.

Linking classroom learning to the community through service learning.

Service learning is valued as a means of providing education to students and service to the community. The purpose of this article is to describe the incorporation of service learning in an undergraduate baccalaureate level Gerontology nursing course. Details of the service learning experience, community agency partnership, the students' reflections, evaluations from both the students and community agency staff, and faculty challenges are presented. This information may be useful to others who are considering service learning as a strategy for educating students while providing service to the community.