Choosing an appropriate depression assessment tool for chinese older adults: a review of 11 instruments. The best tools take into account cultural differences.

The purpose of this article is to compare the advantages and limitations of developed depression assessment tools and provide recommendations for clinical staff to select an appropriate tool for use with Chinese older adults. A total of 7 Western tools translated into Chinese and 4 tools developed specifically for assessing Chinese older adults were found in 12 articles. Variability in instrument psychometric properties and cutoff scores is discussed. A reasonable strategy to efficiently assess depression in Chinese older adults is to first administer the Single Question or Geriatric Depression Scale-4 (GDS-4). If depression is likely, the Chinese GDS-15 could be used to increase the probability of identifying depression in Chinese older adults.

Minor children and adult care exchanges with community-dwelling frail elders in a St. Lucian village.

OBJECTIVE: Research on care of community-dwelling frail elders typically includes formal health service providers and adult members of the informal care system. Involvement of children and adolescents with elder care is largely undocumented. The aim of this article is to describe children's involvement in elder care. These findings are part of an ethnographic community study that examined common Western assumptions about elder care in a St. Lucian village. METHODS: Data were obtained in a four-phase, 5-year, community-based ethnographic field study that included in-depth network analysis of elder households. RESULT: One hundred eighty-eight informal caregivers assisted 14 elder networks in obtaining the things they needed to live through provision of 355 care activities. Forty-five children (ages 3(1/2) to 16) provided 111 of 355 (31%) care activities. The frail elders gave adults and children community member caregivers 196 and 94 benefits, respectively. DISCUSSION: Minor children are integrally involved in reciprocal exchanges for elder care in this village. Although they do not provide all of the same care activities as adults, they clearly assist elders, especially with running errands. Elders emphasized different motivational mechanisms for involving minor children and adults in their care networks.

Gendered elder care exchanges in a Caribbean village.

Caregiver gender research often translates into caregiver accounts of the care they provide for an elder parent or spouse, limiting an understanding of other community members'involvement and the actual gendered elder care activities performed and caregiver benefits received. This article describes women's and men's actual involvement in elder care. These findings are part of a four-phase ethnographic community study that includes in-depth network analysis of elder households. One-hundred and forty-three informal adult caregivers assisted 15 elders in obtaining the things they needed to live, providing 244 care activities. One-hundred and three women provided 194 care activities, and 40 men performed 50 care activities. In exchange, the frail elders gave the women caregivers 132 benefits and the men 54 benefits. Women and men differed in the amount and type of care involvement, as well as their motivational mechanisms for involvement in elder care.

Cross-cultural health education: materials on the World Wide Web.

Language differences between health providers and consumers create a central barrier to the delivery of health education. This article presents the results of an analysis of more than 75 bi/multilingual health sites available on the Internet. The review criteria and a summary of the key features of the best sites are presented. Limitations common to most sites are identified. Recommendations and caveats in the use of bilingual health information sites are introduced.