Three experimental homes for the elderly mentally ill : final report

Against a background of increasing numbers of elderly mentally ill people, the Department of Health [Liverpool] established an initiative to develop and evaluate alternative ways of caring for this client group. Three experimental schemes were established, with the Department providing 50% funding for five years. All three units aim to provide a homely and domestic living environment and provide individualised care for clients.Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION; Chapter 2. METHODOLOGY; Chapter 3. OVERVIEW OF THE THREE EXPERIMENTAL HOMES; Chapter 4. THE NEED FOR SERVICES; Chapter 5. STAFF ACTIVITY STUDY; Chapter 6. THE CLIMATE OF CARE; Chapter 7. OUTCOMES OF CARE; Chapter 8. CONCLUSION

Religion as a Cross-cultural Determinant of Depression in Elderly Europeans: Results from the EURODEP Collaboration

Background. The protective effects of religion against late life depression may depend on the broader sociocultural environment. This paper examines whether the prevailing religious climate is related to cross-cultural differences of depression in elderly Europeans. Methods. Two approaches were employed, using data from the EURODEP collaboration. First, associations were studied between church-attendance, religious denomination and depression at the syndrome level for six EURODEP study centres (five countries, N = 8398). Secondly, ecological associations were computed by multi-level analysis between national estimates of religious climate, derived from the European Value Survey and depressive symptoms, for the pooled dataset of 13 EURODEP study centres (11 countries, N = 17739). Results. In the first study, depression rates were lower among regular church-attenders, most prominently among Roman Catholics. In the second study, fewer depressive symptoms were found among the female elderly in countries, generally Roman Catholic, with high rates of regular church-attendance. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were found among the male elderly in Protestant countries. Conclusions. Religious practice is associated with less depression in elderly Europeans, both on the individual and the national level. Religious practice, especially when it is embedded within a traditional value-orientation, may facilitate coping with adversity in later life

An analysis of the growth of leaf area of oil palms in Indonesia

In two cultivar × density trials for oil palms (Elaeis guineensis) planted in Indonesia, single leaf area, number of green leaves per tree, leaf opening rate per year and rachis length of leaves were followed over fourteen years. The data were analysed to determine the time course of canopy leaf area and to predict the moment of canopy closure. Growth functions were fitted to the observed data. Estimates of leaf area index (L) were based on single leaf area, number of green leaves, leaf opening and planting density. The time course of L was modelled on the basis of the fitted functions to the components. The moment of canopy closure was calculated from the planting density and the functions fitted for rachis length. The modelled time course of L was considerably different from the function fitted to the single leaf area data. The expansion of L was not as rapid as expected from the area growth of single leaves and, after maximum L was reached, a steady decline was observed. The continuously declining number of green leaves was the main cause of these two observations. The time course of L differed considerably between the two experiments. Not only were there large differences in the number of green leaves maintained per tree in the experiments but also the final area of single leaves differed between both experiments. The first factor was a result of the management of the experiments, whereas the second factor was most likely influenced by a difference in soil-related factors at the two locations. Leaf areas and numbers of leaves per tree were different for each cultivar, as was L. This was also the parameter most sensitive to planting density. Individual leaf area and leaf number per tree were not affected by planting density, but rachis length was affected by the planting density treatment. The moment of canopy closure was similar in both experiments. Planting density was the main factor that determined the onset of canopy closure

Interobserver reliability of the Italian version of the geriatric mental state examination

The Italian version of the Geriatric Mental State Examination (GMS) was tested for interrater agreement (interobserver). Thirty geriatric patients from psychiatry, neurology and general medical facilities were interviewed by four raters. The mean values of kappa and phi for the analysable items were 0.80 and 0.81. 'Organic' and 'functional' items produced very similar coefficient value

Paranoid symptoms and hallucinations among the older people in Western Europe

Objective It is not clear whether the prevalence of psychosis increases with age. We studied the age-specific prevalence of psychotic symptoms in older people in Western Europe. Methods Older people without dementia (age 65-104 years, N = 8762) from the western part of Europe in the EURODEP concerted action took part in psychiatric examinations. Results In total, 2.4% of the men and 2.9% of the women had psychotic symptoms. Using a multilevel logistic regression model that included gender and age as a continuous variable, we found that a 5-year increase in age increased the prevalence of psychotic symptoms (odds ratio 1.2 95% confidence interval 1.06-1.3, p = 0.001). A second multilevel regression model showed that wishing to be dead, depressed mood, functional disability, not being married and cognitive impairment measured with Mini mental state examination were all associated with psychotic symptoms whereas gender was not. Conclusion The prevalence of psychotic symptoms in non-demented older people increases with age, and these symptoms are associated with other psychopathology, social isolation and problems with daily living. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd