Articles: aged.
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The growing number of aged in the United States will continue to increase the demand for medical services, including emergency care. In a medium-sized city, 22% of 14,400 emergency medical service responses were to patients over 65 years of age. ⋯ Men were more likely to suffer a cardiac condition; women, an injury. Elderly patients were 1.7 times more likely to require paramedic-accompanied transportation to hospital.
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Comparative Study
Knowledge of and compliance with drug regimens in the elderly.
In an interview study of 545 patients recently discharged from The Johns Hopkins Hospital, data were collected on the patients' knowledge of their diseases, knowledge of drug purpose, and compliance with the prescribed drug regimen. The interrelationships of these variables were compared in patients under age 65 and patients aged 65 or older. ⋯ Knowledge of and compliance with drug regimens may reflect doctor-patient relationships. Understanding the patterns of drug use offers a potential for appropriate strategies in clinical practice.
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Loss is a common occurrence in the lives of the elderly. One of the most profound losses is the death of a spouse. Yet, infrequent and predictable as this event is for older adults, we know very little about the grieving process or the resolution of grief among this age group. ⋯ A beginning theoretical integration and discussion of key concepts related to bereavement and the elderly is provided. This discussion is summarized in a proposed model. This paper concludes with suggestions for nursing research and practice.