Gerontology competencies: Construction, consensus and contribution.

The Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) in 2014 approved the first integrative "Gerontology Competencies for Undergraduate and Graduate Education"©. This article describes the background, thought development, guiding framework and consensus process for its construction. A modified Delphi method utilizing seven review rounds within three developmental cycles, with gerontology educators from 30 institutions, achieved input and consensus. The comprehensive framework has ten major domains, employs three categories each including multiple selective competencies. Six Category I competencies are essential orientations to gerontology. Four Category II competencies are "interactional" processes of knowing and doing across the field. Category III provides eight selective competencies for sectors where gerontologists may work. From educators' feedback, gerontology characteristics emerged: multi-system approaches; interdisciplinary; communication of older adults' "voices" and strengths; research utilization. The discussion includes the contribution of competency-based gerontology to students and aging workforce development as well as next steps, outcome measurement, levelling and accreditation.

California's Behavioral Health Services Workforce is Inadequate for Older Adults.

The Workforce Education and Training component of California's Mental Health Services Act, which passed in 2004, has infused funding into the public mental health system. However, funding has not kept pace with an existing behavioral health workforce shortage crisis, the rapid growth of an aging population, and the historical lack of geriatric training in higher education for the helping professions. This policy brief draws on recent study findings, state planning documents, and a review of the literature to describe gaps and deficiencies in the behavioral health workforce that serves older adults in California. The brief offers recommendations to the following specific audiences for improving workforce preparation and distribution: state policymakers and administrators; educational institutions, accrediting bodies, and licensing boards; and county mental health/behavioral health departments and their contracted providers.

Older Californians and the Mental Health Services Act: Is an Older Adult System of Care Supported?

This policy brief summarizes findings from the first study to evaluate how California's public mental health delivery system has served older adults (60 years of age and over) since the passage of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) in 2004. Study findings indicate that there are unmet needs among older adults with mental illness in the public mental health delivery system. There are deficits in the involvement of older adults in the required MHSA planning processes and in outreach and service delivery, workforce development, and outcomes measurement and reporting. There is also evidence of promising programs and strategies that counties have advanced to address these deficits. Recommendations for improving mental health services for older adults include designating a distinct administrative and leadership structure for older adult services in each county; enhancing older adult outreach and documentation of unmet need; promoting standardized geriatric training of providers; instituting standardized data-reporting requirements; and increasing service integration efforts, especially between medical, behavioral health, aging, and substance use disorder services.

Mental Health Services for Older Adults: Creating a System That Tells the Story.

In 2004, voters in California approved Proposition 63 for passage of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). From that time until 2014, over $13 billion in the state's tax revenue was allocated for public mental health services. There is very little information available to answer critical questions such as these: How much of this amount was spent in the interests of older adult mental health? What benefits were gained from services delivered to older adults? This policy brief promotes recommendations for specific age-relevant indicator utilization and for an expanded system of uniform and transparent data for all types of MHSA-funded programs. These two policy directions are necessary in order to document the older adult mental health care services provided and to track outcomes at the state level for MHSA programs. A third recommendation centers on assuring that the mental health workforce is prepared to utilize and report age-relevant data indicators.

Competencies in European gerontological higher education. An explorative study on core elements.

This study explores whether there is a common core of competencies in European gerontology education programs by doing a cross-comparison of five undergraduate-level programs. Content analysis of competency profile documents at the five European educational programs were studied using thematic analysis. Study results document that there indeed is a common core of elements in gerontological educational programs. Three clusters which included a total of 15 categories were identified. The clusters were labeled professional attitude, communication skills, and service provision. Clusters and categories varied across the five programs. One program in particular included fewer clusters and categories. This may reflect a difference in focus in the program but could also reflect a less elaborately formulated competency profile document. The results of this study show that, at least at the level of formulating competencies, there is a strong agreement on the major components that are important for a gerontologist at the undergraduate level.

A Practice Improvement Education Program Using a Mentored Approach to Improve Nursing Facility Depression Care-Preliminary Data.

Depression is common in nursing facility residents. Depression data obtained using the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 offer opportunities for improving diagnostic accuracy and care quality. How best to integrate MDS 3.0 and other data into quality improvement (QI) activity is untested. The objective was to increase nursing home (NH) capability in using QI processes and to improve depression assessment and management through focused mentorship and team building. This was a 6-month intervention with five components: facilitated collection of MDS 3.0 nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and medication data for diagnostic interpretation; education and modeling on QI approaches, team building, and nonpharmacological depression care; mentored team meetings; educational webinars; and technical assistance. PHQ-9 and medication data were collected at baseline and 6 and 9 months. Progress was measured using team participation measures, attitude and care process self-appraisal, mentor assessments, and resident depression outcomes. Five NHs established interprofessional teams that included nursing (44.1%), social work (20.6%), physicians (8.8%), and other disciplines (26.5%). Members participated in 61% of eight offered educational meetings (three onsite mentored team meetings and five webinars). Competency self-ratings improved on four depression care measures (P = .05 to <.001). Mentors observed improvement in team process and enthusiasm during team meetings. For 336 residents with PHQ-9 and medication data, depression scores did not change while medication use declined, from 37.2% of residents at baseline to 31.0% at 9 months (P < .001). This structured mentoring program improved care processes, achieved medication reductions, and was well received. Application to other NH-prevalent syndromes is possible.

Bringing it to the community: successful programs that increase the use of clinical preventive services by vulnerable older populations.

This policy brief reports the findings of a systematic review conducted by the Community Health Innovations in Prevention for Seniors (CHIPS) project. The project identified successful programs for increasing the use of two or more clinical preventive services for vulnerable, underserved populations ages 50 years and older within community settings. The CHIPS project also used the RE-AIM Framework to evaluate the readiness and feasibility of implementing these programs within real-world settings. Policy recommendations focus on expanding and sustaining clinical preventive services in the community and reaching diverse populations, bridging the traditional silos of clinical care and community-based services, and providing financial incentives to clinical providers and community-based organizations to support preventive services coverage.

Preparing the workforce for healthy aging programs: the Skills for Healthy Aging Resources and Programs (SHARP) model.

Current public health and aging service agency personnel have little training in gerontology, and virtually no training in evidence-based health promotion and disease management programs for older adults. These programs are rapidly becoming the future of our community-based long-term care support system. The purpose of this project was to develop and test a model community college career technical education program, Skills for Healthy Aging Resources and Programs (SHARP), for undergraduate college students, current personnel in aging service and community organizations, and others interested in retraining. A multidisciplinary cross-sector team from disciplines of public health, sociology, gerontology and nursing developed four competency-based courses that focus on healthy aging, behavior change strategies, program management, an internship, and an option for leader training in the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program. To enhance implementation and fidelity, intensive faculty development training was provided to all instructors and community agency partners. Baseline and postprogram evaluation of competencies for faculty and students was conducted. Process evaluation for both groups focused on satisfaction with the curricula and suggestions for program improvement. SHARP has been piloted five times at two community colleges. Trainees (n = 113) were primarily community college students (n = 108) and current aging service personnel (n = 5). Statistically significant improvements in all competencies were found for both faculty and students. Process evaluation outcomes identified the needed logical and component adaptations to enhance the feasibility of program implementation, dissemination, and student satisfaction. The SHARP program provides a well-tested, evidence-based effective model for addressing workforce preparation in support of healthy aging service program expansion and delivery.

Assessing care of vulnerable elders--Alzheimer's disease: a pilot study of a practice redesign intervention to improve the quality of dementia care.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether a practice redesign intervention coupled with referral to local Alzheimer's Association chapters can improve the quality of dementia care. DESIGN: Pre-post intervention. SETTING: Two community-based physician practices. PARTICIPANTS: Five physicians in each practice and their patients aged 75 and older with dementia. INTERVENTION: Adaptation of the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders (ACOVE)-2 intervention (screening, efficient collection of clinical data, medical record prompts, patient education and empowerment materials, and physician decision support and education). In addition, physicians faxed referral forms to local Alzheimer's Association chapters, which assessed patients, provided counseling and education, and faxed information back to the physicians. MEASUREMENTS: Audits of pre- (5 per physician) and postintervention (10 per physician) medical records using ACOVE-3 quality indicators for dementia to measure the quality of care provided. RESULTS: Based on 47 pre- and 90 postintervention audits, the percentage of quality indicators satisfied rose from 38% to 46%, with significant differences on quality indicators measuring the assessment of functional status (20% vs 51%), discussion of risks and benefits of antipsychotics (32% vs 100%), and counseling caregivers (2% vs 30%). Referral of patients to Alzheimer's Association chapters increased from 0% to 17%. Referred patients had higher quality scores (65% vs 41%) and better counseling about driving (50% vs 14%), caregiver counseling (100% vs 15%), and surrogate decision-maker specification (75% vs 44%). Some quality indicators related to cognitive assessment and examination did not improve. CONCLUSION: This pilot study suggests that a practice-based intervention can increase referral to Alzheimer's Association chapters and improve quality of dementia care.

California Geriatric Education Center logic model: an evaluation and communication tool.

A logic model is a communications tool that graphically represents a program's resources, activities, priority target audiences for change, and the anticipated outcomes. This article describes the logic model development process undertaken by the California Geriatric Education Center in spring 2008. The CGEC is one of 48 Geriatric Education Centers across the nation, funded by the U.S. Health Resources Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions. Engaging this diverse group of stakeholders to develop a logic model has added substantial value to program planning, implementation, and evaluation of key performance outcomes.

Changing the course of geriatrics education: an evaluation of the first cohort of Reynolds geriatrics education programs.

PURPOSE: To describe geriatric training initiatives implemented as a result of Reynolds Foundation grants awarded in 2001 (and concluding in 2005) and evaluate the resulting structure, process, and outcome changes. METHOD: Cross-sectional survey of program directors at 10 academic institutions augmented by review of reports and secondary analyses of existing databases to identify structural and process measures of curriculum implementation, participation rates, and students' responses to Association of American Medical Colleges Medical School Graduation Questionnaires about geriatrics training. RESULTS: All 10 institutions reported structural changes, including newly developed or revised geriatric rotations or courses for their trainees. Most used online Internet educational materials, sent students to new training venues, incorporated geriatric case discussions, implemented standardized patients, and used digital media. On average, each institution trained more than 1,000 medical students, 500 residents, 100 faculty, and 700 nonfaculty community physicians during the award period. Reynolds institutions also provided geriatrics training across 22 non-primary-care disciplines. Eight schools implemented formal faculty development programs. By 2005, students at Reynolds-supported schools reported higher levels of geriatrics/gerontology education and more exposure to expert geriatric care by the attending faculty compared with students at non-Reynolds schools. Innovations and products were disseminated via journal publications, conference presentations, and the Portal of Geriatric Online Education. CONCLUSIONS: The investment of extramural and institutional funds in geriatrics education has substantially influenced undergraduate, graduate, and practicing physician education at Reynolds-supported schools. The full impact of these programs on care of older persons will not be known until these trainees enter practice and educational careers.

Building institutional and faculty capacity in higher education gerontology academic programs.

Directors of California State University (CSU) gerontology, geriatrics, and aging studies (GGA) academic programs were surveyed regarding CSU capacity to fulfill demographic and legislative mandates to prepare professional personnel for work with the state's aging population. Program directors affirmed the importance of providing GGA education and training to meet these needs which will require GGA program growth in core and breadth courses, students, faculty, and scope. National guidelines for GGA program development and possible future accreditation and licensure were noted. The CSU currently does not support such growth. The number of GGA programs remained at 1997 levels and unevenly distributed across the state. Faculty time assigned to GGA was less than half of that presently required. Program directors rated GGAprogram and curriculum strength as modest, and CSU fiscal and administrative support as low. Program directors strongly supported faculty development innovations to prepare more present and future GGA faculty for building the capacity of higher education GGA programs.

Preparing patients and caregivers to participate in care delivered across settings: the Care Transitions Intervention.

OBJECTIVES: To test whether an intervention designed to encourage older patients and their caregivers to assert a more active role during care transitions can reduce rehospitalization rates. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental design whereby subjects receiving the intervention (n=158) were compared with control subjects derived from administrative data (n=1,235). SETTING: A large integrated delivery system in Colorado. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older admitted to the study hospital with one of nine selected conditions. INTERVENTION: Intervention subjects received tools to promote cross-site communication, encouragement to take a more active role in their care and assert their preferences, and continuity across settings and guidance from a transition coach. MEASUREMENTS: Rates of postdischarge hospital use at 30, 60, and 90 days. Intervention subjects' care experience was assessed using the care transitions measure. RESULTS: The adjusted odds ratio comparing rehospitalization of intervention subjects with that of controls was 0.52 (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.28-0.96) at 30 days, 0.43 (95% CI=0.25-0.72) at 90 days, and 0.57 (95% CI=0.36-0.92) at 180 days. Intervention patients reported high levels of confidence in obtaining essential information for managing their condition, communicating with members of the healthcare team, and understanding their medication regimen. CONCLUSION: Supporting patients and caregivers to take a more active role during care transitions appears promising for reducing rates of subsequent hospitalization. Further testing may include more diverse populations and patients at risk for transitions who are not acutely ill.

Building academic geriatric capacity: an evaluation of the John A. Hartford Foundation Centers of Excellence initiative.

Almost 15 years ago, the John A. Hartford Foundation began its Centers of Excellence (CoE) program. In summer 2002, a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the CoE program was conducted. The evaluation used previously collected quantitative data from surveys of program directors and graduates of fellowship programs, as well as interviews and surveys of currently funded CoEs. Since its inception, the CoE program has supported 163 geriatrics fellows, of whom 63% entered academic geriatrics. Almost half of these graduating fellows have gone to new academic institutions. CoEs have also supported 222 faculty, including some who were in disciplines other than geriatrics. The vast majority (82%) have remained in academics, and nearly two-thirds are currently in geriatrics. As the priorities and needs of the institutions and geriatrics programs changed, most centers shifted their CoE priorities. These changes predominantly took two forms: a refocus from one activity to another or an expansion of outreach or levels of support. Based upon this formal evaluation, the Hartford-supported CoE program has been successful in strengthening academic geriatrics, particularly in attracting, developing, and retaining geriatrics faculty.

Disciplinary split: a threat to geriatrics interdisciplinary team training.

In 1995, the John A. Hartford Foundation launched an initiative to strengthen geriatric interdisciplinary team training (GITT) for advanced practice nursing and masters-level social work students and residents in internal medicine and family practice. As part of the national evaluation of the initiative, case-study and cross-case designs were employed using quantitative and qualitative data to examine the influence of cultures, regulations, and attitudes of individual disciplines on interdisciplinary training efforts at the first eight GITT programs. This evaluation found that attitudinal and cultural traditions of the different health professions faculty and students (disciplinary split) remain as important obstacles to creating an optimal interdisciplinary team-training experience. In general, physician trainees participated least enthusiastically in GITT. In part, this lower level of enthusiasm may have been the result of inconsistent medicine faculty support of the program. At all but one program, physician trainees also had shorter GITT training experiences than other disciplines. In addition, the disparity in level of training by discipline of GITT participants may have contributed to attitudinal barriers to interdisciplinary training. Discipline-specific regulatory and accreditation barriers also impede interdisciplinary training. Nevertheless, GITT experiences at some clinical sites, especially home visits, appeared to promote interdisciplinary training. Some barriers to creating and implementing GITT programs may be best approached at the level of accrediting agencies and certifying organizations. Others will require local and national efforts of leaders in the different disciplines to model and support good team care.

Organizational issues in establishing geriatrics interdisciplinary team training.

The John A. Hartford Foundation-supported geriatrics interdisciplinary team training (GITT) initiative was a bold attempt to create a new educational agenda for the health professions. Although some components of GITT were previously in place at the eight institutions that participated in the Hartford initiative and at other institutions (e.g., Department of Veterans Affairs), never before has geriatrics interdisciplinary team training been so systematically planned, implemented, or evaluated. This paper focuses on four organizational factors essential to the establishment of a geriatrics interdisciplinary team training program: (1) organizational readiness to implement GITT, including the needs and existing resources of the organization; (2) partnerships, specifically the relationships between academic and clinical organizations; (3) institutional support, the tangible and intangible sources of support necessary at multiple levels within the organization; and (4) structure, the administrative and organizational requirements for team training programs. An analysis of these four factors and the influences upon them can help facilitate the successful implementation of interdisciplinary training programs at institutions considering this educational approach.

Implementation of consultative geriatric recommendations: the role of patient-primary care physician concordance.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect on primary care physicians' implementation and their patients' adherence behaviors of patient-physician concordance about recommended geriatric health care. DESIGN: Case-series, independent interviews of patients and their physicians about their perceptions of the patients' health and the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling older patients (n = 111) who received consultative outpatient CGA and their primary care physicians. MEASUREMENTS: Concordance variables were generated using physician and patient responses to 10 questions on health- and CGA-related perceptions. An overall concordance score was generated by summing the total number of items on which patients and physicians agreed. Measures of the two dependent variables (physician implementation of and patient adherence to CGA recommendations) were by self-report. RESULTS: In multiple logistic regression analyses, overall concordance between patient and physician proved to be a significant and powerful predictor of physician implementation of (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.6-4.6, P <.001) and patient adherence to (OR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.7-4.2, P <.001) CGA recommendations, controlling for patient and physician gender and age, patients' functional status, duration of the patient-physician relationship, and frequency of visits in the previous year. Further analysis revealed that mutual patient-physician concordance on health-related perceptions was a significant predictor of these outcomes, whereas individual patient or physician perceptions were not. CONCLUSION: Concordance between older patients and their primary care physicians is a powerful predictor of physician implementation of and patient adherence to outpatient consultative CGA recommendations. Future research should focus on ways physicians can assess and negotiate patient-physician agreement on geriatric healthcare recommendations.

Guidelines for managing Alzheimer's disease: part I. Assessment.

Family physicians play a key role in assessing and managing patients with Alzheimer's disease and in linking the families of these patients to supportive services within the community. As part of comprehensive management, the family physician may be responsible for coordinating assessments of patient function, cognition, comorbid medical conditions, disorders of mood and emotion, and caregiver status. Suggestions for easily administered and scored assessment tools are provided, and practical tips are given for supporting primary caregivers, thereby increasing efficiency and quality of care for patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Guidelines for managing Alzheimer's disease: Part II. Treatment.

Once the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease has been made, a treatment plan must be developed. This plan should include cholinesterase inhibitor therapy to temporarily improve cognition or slow the rate of cognitive decline, management of comorbid conditions, treatment of behavioral symptoms and mood disorders, provision of support and resources for patient and caregiver, and compliance with state-mandated reporting requirements for driving impairment and elder abuse. The primary caregiver can be a valuable ally in communication, management of care, and implementation of the care plan. Patient symptoms and care needs change as Alzheimer's disease progresses. In the early stage of the disease, the family physician should discuss realistic expectations for drug therapy, solicit patient and family preferences on future care choices, and assist with advance planning for future care challenges. In the middle stage, the patient may exhibit behavioral symptoms that upset the caregiver and are difficult to manage. When the patient is in the advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease, the caregiver may need support to provide for activities of daily living, help in making a difficult placement decision, and guidance in considering terminal care options. Throughout the course of the disease, routine use of community resources allows care to be provided by a network of professionals, many of whom will be specialists in Alzheimer's disease.