Articles: community-health-services.
-
The Dominican Republic needed to assess its aging population to develop an understanding of its needs and expand opportunities for integrating the elderly into society. The two articles included here offer a perspective on how this small nation undertook such a task. First, a Kansas State University study found the country's elderly poor, hungry, and uninvolved. Under a new national strategy, which redefines the aged as an asset rather than a liability, the country is working to coordinate efforts of diverse organizations to include the aged in their projects--no small feat in a developing country.
-
We report the work of two community teams who care for people with AIDS/HIV related illness, the characteristics of patients referred, and the impact of the teams on four aspects of quality of life. Data was collected on 140 patients (85 St. Mary's Home Support Team, 55 Bloomsbury Community Care Team) who were referred to and remained in the care of these teams until death. ⋯ Patient anxiety, also a commonly severe problem at referral, improved significantly throughout care. Pain control was less commonly severe at referral and improved significantly throughout care. Practical aid, in contrast, was rarely a severe problem at any stage of care.