Attitudes of Muslims Living in the United States Toward Long-Term Care Decisions and Diagnosis Disclosure for Elderly Family Members.

This study explored the attitudes of Muslims living in the United States toward long-term care decisions and diagnostic disclosure. Members of six mosques in New Jersey aged 40 and older agreed to participate in a telephone interview. Respondents were read medical scenarios and asked to indicate their preferences from a list of responses. Scenarios were: if they or a family member were disabled, who would they prefer to care for them; would they use a Muslim nursing home for themselves or loved one; who should be informed first if an individual had cancer or would die very soon (the individual or the individual's family); and whether these diagnoses should be disclosed to the individual's family without the individual's consent. If disabled, 62% (n = 103) of participants would prefer care at home, and 65.7% (n = 108) would prefer care at home for a disabled loved one. If there were a Muslim nursing home, 78.3% (n = 103) of participants would consider this facility for themselves and 76% (n = 127) would consider it for a loved one. Fifty-six percent (n = 93) of participants believed the individual should be informed first of a cancer diagnosis, and 54.6% (n = 89) believed the individual should be informed first if their death was imminent. Disclosing an individual's cancer diagnosis to family members without the individual's consent was acceptable to 49.7% (n = 83) and disclosing his or her imminent death was acceptable to 55.1% (n = 92). Participants were from 21 countries. Participants from Western countries were most likely to believe individuals should be informed first about their cancer diagnosis or imminent death.

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment for Older Patients: A National Survey of Osteopathic Physicians.

CONTEXT: The mission of the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO) emphasizes "the integration of osteopathic principles, practices and manipulative treatment in patient care." Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) can be used to address serious conditions affecting older persons (≥65 years). However, the percentage of osteopathic physicians who use OMT in older patients, the differences in conditions for which OMT is used, and the OMT techniques used in older patients compared with younger patients are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine the use of OMT by osteopathic physicians in older patients compared with younger patients. METHODS: Members of the AAO were invited, via 3 e-mail messages sent over the course of a 4-month period, to participate in an anonymous online survey. The survey asked physicians to report the percentage of patients by age group (<65 years, 65-79 years, and ≥80 years) to whom they provided OMT, the types of musculoskeletal and system-based conditions for which OMT was used, and the specific OMT techniques used. RESULTS: A total of 197 of 629 AAO members (31.3%) responded to the survey. Respondents indicated that OMT was used at approximately the same rate in all patients in the 3 age groups. Osteopathic manipulative treatment was frequently used to manage a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, with the exception of osteoporosis, in all patients in the 3 age groups. The system-based conditions most often managed with OMT were respiratory and neurologic conditions. Various OMT techniques were used to treat patients in the 3 age groups; however, high-velocity, low-amplitude (HVLA) was usually avoided in patients aged 65 years or older. CONCLUSION: Osteopathic physicians who used OMT in their practice administered OMT for a variety of musculoskeletal and system-based conditions in patients of all ages. Various OMT techniques were used by these physicians for patients of all ages, with the exception of HVLA, which was mainly used in patients younger than 65 years.