Laraine Winter

..GW mediated racial differences at least partially for most treatments and in most health scenarios. Implications are discussed for understanding end-of-life treatment preferences and why races tend to differ...

..Implications for advance care planning are discussed...

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..An interaction between current health status and health scenario supported the relative acceptability of poor-health prospects to sicker individuals, confirming the hypothesis...

..Higher scores indicative of greater deference to GW were associated with stronger life-prolonging treatment preferences in poor-prognosis scenarios. Implications for the role of religiosity in medical decision-making are discussed...

..Some speculation centers on the questionable correspondence between the scenario described in living wills versus the real-life circumstances that typically arise at the end of life...

..Results underscore needs for improved understanding of the dying process and palliative care and for fuller communication between patients and healthcare providers...

..The results imply that such preferences are malleable, changing as health deteriorates. They also help explain disparities between proxy decision-makers' and patients' own preferences as expressed in advance directives...

..To test whether the Tailored Activity Program (TAP) reduces dementia-related neuropsychiatric behaviors, promotes activity engagement, and enhances caregiver well-being...

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..To evaluate the long-term mortality effect of a home-based intervention previously shown to reduce functional difficulties and whether survivorship benefits differ according to initial mortality risk level...

..To test the effects of an intervention that helps families manage distressing behaviors in family members with dementia...

..Optimal treatment to postpone functional decline in patients with dementia is not established...

..We examine 6-month effects of the Environmental Skill-Building Program on caregiver well-being and care recipient functioning and whether effects vary by caregiver gender, race (White or non-White), and relationship (spouse or nonspouse)...

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..g., tube feeding) as more acceptable than do healthier people. Do proxies' substituted judgments reveal a similar tendency, showing greater acceptance when the elder is in worse health?..

..To evaluate the effect of a multicomponent intervention on mortality and the role of control-oriented strategy use as the change mechanism...

..The PCI is a brief, easily administered, and valid self-report measure that can serve as an indicator of caregiver appraisal of well-being in research and clinical practice...

..To test the efficacy of a multicomponent intervention to reduce functional difficulties, fear of falling, and home hazards and enhance self-efficacy and adaptive coping in older adults with chronic conditions...

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..This article describes TAP, its assessments, acceptability, and replication potential...

..This rekindled the discussion on advance care planning and challenged health care providers to design more flexible approaches to end of life care...

..This study examines whether these at-risk groups benefit differentially from an in-home intervention previously found to effectively reduce functional difficulties...

..The purpose of this study was to examine proxy accuracy in relation to two family factors that may influence proxy accuracy: perceived family conflict and type of elder-proxy relationship...

..Effects on caregiver burden, depression, and personal gains were evaluated at 6 months, the main end point. Older care-givers (> or =65) in telesupport reported lower depression than control group caregivers did...

..In addition, larger elder-proxy differences in RBO were associated with more inaccurate substituted judgment...

..DISCUSSION: The CAFU is easily administered, reliable, and valid for evaluating appraisals of dependencies and upsetting care areas...

..67, P<0.05) than those without illness. Findings suggest that challenges of diagnosing acute illness with atypical presentation must be addressed to promote quality of care and the specialized needs for this vulnerable population...

..The study assessed whether SRH reflects changes in internal states, specifically symptoms and affects...

..Relationships between use of these strategies and caregiver and care-recipient characteristics were also examined...

..A social marketing plan provides a framework to map out the steps in recruitment that will be needed and to plan for allocations of time, staff, and resources...

..Personal projects are seen as part of an open motivational system in which social position, cognitive ability, health, and positive mental health are mutually interacting members...

..CONCLUSIONS: A structured multicomponent intervention adapted to individual risk profiles can increase the quality of life of ethnically diverse dementia caregivers. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00177489...