Generational differences in acceptance of technology.

The twofold purpose of this study was to first determine if telemedicine would offer a time efficient use of faculty mentoring of students performing traditional history and physical examinations on elders residing in an independent living facility (ILF). The second purpose was to determine if differences exist between the two groups' perceptions of technology: from telemedicine to cell phones. Two groups consisting of two generations participated in a telemedicine distance mentoring study.

Predictors of complementary and alternative medicine use among older Mexican Americans.

To determine predictors of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use, we used a cohort of 1445 non-institutionalized Mexican Americans aged 65 and older from the first wave (1993-1994) of the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly, followed until 2000-2001. The main outcome was use of any CAM (herbal medicine, chiropractic, acupuncture, massage therapy, relaxation techniques or spiritual healing) in the past 12 months and was assessed at 7 years of follow-up. Potential predictors of CAM use at baseline included sociodemographics, acculturation factors, and medical conditions.

Telehealth distance mentoring of students.

The challenge to the healthcare system lies in maintaining an adequately trained home care workforce of healthcare professionals in a time when government funding for educational geriatrics programs is limited, and academic centers are emphasizing faculty productivity that may limit their time dedicated to teaching and training healthcare students. Telemedicine presents an opportunity to study its educational potential using limited faculty resources. Is telemedicine technology appropriate for teaching skills needed to obtain a history and perform a physical examination on the elderly who choose to remain living in the community? We used telemedicine instruments to enable faculty to study the potential for teaching students the skills needed to perform a history and physical examination in an elderly person.

Complementary and integrative approaches to dementia.

This is a review that evaluates complementary and alternative approaches to dementia and places them into an integrative framework. While many therapies in popular use have yet to be supported by "best-evidence" trials or meta-analysis, conventional treatments for dementia are clearly suboptimal. This encourages both health care providers and patients' families to expand their search for options for this difficult condition.

Ethnic differences in herb and vitamin/mineral use in the elderly.

Background: Little information exists on herb and vitamin-mineral supplement use in very old people and whether use varies by ethnicity.

Objective: To examine the prevalence and predictors of herb and vitamin-mineral supplement use in a tri-ethnic sample of adults aged > or = 77 years.

Methods: In-home interviews in 1997-1998 assessed medications use and sociodemographic and health factors in community-dwelling elderly non-Hispanic white (n = 125), black (n = 112), and Hispanic (n = 128) adults.