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The Gerontology Institute: The First Years, 1984-1987, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gerontology Institute Publications

During the first years of its existence, the Gerontology Institute has worked with older people to convert "retirement years" into opportunities for continuous growth and learning, while simultaneously seeking to re-examine social, political, and economic roles for elders in society. It is hoped that through such engagement of older individuals, the Institute has inspired a more positive attitude in society towards its aging population.

A Preliminary Analysis Of Beneficiary Discharge Status And Post-Hospital Placement Before And After The Implementation Of Medicare's Prospective Payment System, Anne Marguerite Wilkinson

Dissertations and Theses

In recognition of the inherently inflationary nature of retrospective reimbursement, the Reagan Administration enacted legislation that substantially changed Medicare's hospital reimbursement system. The Prospective Payment System (PPS) mandated paying hospitals a fixed payment, set in advance, based on the patient's diagnosis rather than retrospectively paying for all services delivered to a patient. Critics contend that PPS introduces incentives for hospitals to conserve resources during the hospital stay and to shift care to less costly settings, both potentially affecting quality of care to the elderly. The question addressed by this dissertation is whether there were changes in the discharge health status …

State Health Care Legislation For The Uninsured, 1985-1987, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

The percentage of persons in the United States without health insurance that do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare has been increasing steadily since 1979. Growing numbers of single-parent households, full-time workers becoming part-time, jobs without benefits, and early retirement are a few of the factors contributing to the problem of the medically uninsured.

City Club Of Portland Information Report On Hiv/Aids Problems And Issues, City Club Of Portland (Portland, Or.)

City Club of Portland

No abstract provided.

Aids And New England Hospitals, Jesse Green, Neil Wintfeld, Madeleine Singer, Kevin Schulman

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Centers for Disease Control projects that nine thousand persons with AIDS will be alive in New England in 1991, representing a sevenfold increase from 1986. Our analysis indicates that more than 2 percent of medical/surgical beds in New England will be used for AIDS care by 1991, representing 766 fully occupied hospital beds. The direct cost of providing hospital care to New England's AIDS patients is projected to be $195.2 million in 1991, reflecting 3 percent of all hospital inpatient costs in the region.

AIDS treatment is very unevenly distributed among hospitals in New England. Just twenty hospitals (8 …

U.S. Women And Hiv Infection, P. Clay Stephens

New England Journal of Public Policy

Women are inadequately provided with HIV services and education and are differentially denied access to these. Divisions of race, ethnicity, economic class, and religion, among others, are compounded by sexual discrimination within each of these categories.

Review of current data on women with AIDS reveals that the reporting methods used convey a false impression that women are not at significant risk. Moreover, the persons indirectly affected by AIDS are predominantly women — mothers, sisters, partners, family members, teachers, and human service workers. Thus, AIDS is more of a women's issue than the statistics imply.

Women, as a gender-defined class, face …

Aids: An Overview, Loretta Mclaughlin

New England Journal of Public Policy

"We stand nakedly in front of a very serious pandemic, as mortal as any pandemic there ever has been," said Halfdan Mahler, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO). "I don't know of any greater killer than AIDS, not to speak of its psychological, social and economic maiming. Everything is getting worse and worse with AIDS and all of us have been underestimating it, and I in particular. We're running scared. I cannot imagine a worse health problem in this century." When asked to compare AIDS to other epidemics, such as smallpox, that have infected and killed over the course …

Hiv Antibody Testing: Performance And Counseling Issues, Michael Gross

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article assesses the performance of currently used tests for exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the infectious agent associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); suggests, in view of that information, guidelines for counseling people seeking HIV antibody testing; and evaluates the claim that because antibody test results will effect behavior change in those who are infected, all members of high-risk groups should be tested.

HIV testing is likely to yield a high proportion of false-positive results in low-risk populations and infants born to infected mothers. A negative result may not establish freedom from infection in high-risk groups or the …

Neuropsychiatric Complications Of Hiv Infection: Public Policy Implications, Alexandra Beckett, Theo Manschreck

New England Journal of Public Policy

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects the central nervous system (CNS), causing symptoms in most persons with AIDS-related complex (ARC) and AIDS, and in a significant proportion of those classified as asymptomatic seropositive. The most common clinical syndrome secondary to CNS infection is known as HIV encephalopathy. When sufficiently disabling, HIV encephalopathy is known as AIDS dementia, and must be reported to the Centers for Disease Control as a case of AIDS.

AIDS dementia is a complex of cognitive, affective, behavioral, and motor symptoms which varies widely in its presentation. In some persons, cognitive impairment predominates, manifesting in a loss …

Medical Care Of Aids In New England: Costs And Implications, Stewart J. Landers, George R. Seage Iii

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article presents an overview of cost issues related to AIDS. Data from the Massachusetts Cost of AIDS Study are combined with epidemiological projections to estimate the cost of treating people diagnosed with AIDS in New England. Aggregate inpatient, ambulatory, and home care costs are estimated to be $96.9 million and $524.8 million through 1987 and 1991, respectively. These estimates represent a relatively small percentage of total health care costs for all illnesses over the same time period.

The authors find that the cost of treating AIDS does not affect all health care providers uniformly and therefore argue that appropriate …

Aids Initiatives In Massachusetts: Building A Continuum Of Care, Nancy Weiland Carpenter

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Health Resource Office was officially established within the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in August 1985 to coordinate policy, education, research, and service response to the AIDS epidemic, and to focus attention on the social and economic impact of the disease. The actual work of the office was begun earlier, in October 1983. This article reviews the activities of the Health Resource Office from October 1983 through June 1987 in allocating resources for AIDS and ARC programs and services. It then describes the conceptual model that evolved during this period for the continuum of services needed to reduce HIV …

Call To Action: A Community Responds, Larry Kessler, Ann M. Silvia, David Aronstein, Cynthia Patton

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article will examine the early formation of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, and what it has become. It will examine particular philosophical and organizational conflicts, some unique to AIDS organizing, that have influenced the direction the group has taken. It will try to tease out some of the factors that have made the organization successful in delivering services, providing education, and affecting city and state policy. It will also examine some of the unresolved conflicts that threaten the organization.

Aids Public Policy: Implications For Families, Elaine A. Anderson

New England Journal of Public Policy

Much has been written about the AIDS crisis in the past few years. However, relatively little of this discussion has focused on AIDS as it may affect families. This report emerged from the 1987 Groves Conference on Marriage and the Family. It is a version of the chapter on public policy in AIDS and Families (ed. Eleanor Macklin, Hayworth Press, forthcoming, summer 1988), prepared by the conference's Task Force on AIDS and Families. The book details the probable impact of AIDS on individuals, families, and communities and delineates the implications for relevant professionals, organizations, and public policy. Those individuals who …

New England And National Resources: For People With Aids, Arc, Or Hiv Infection, Their Families, And Friends, Diane Fentress, Betsy Anne Youngholm

New England Journal of Public Policy

A listing of resources and services, compiled in 1988 for this issue, for people with AIDS, ARC, or HIV, as well as their families and friends.

Publications Of The Center For Applies Urban Research 1971-1986, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

CUAR publications, 1971-1986.

From Social Welfare To Welfare Society: A Humane World Beyond Social Welfare?, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In the 1980's, the relationship of social welfare activities to the future has been dramatically altered. Until the conservative ascendency of the Reagan government, the future of social welfare was defined largely in terms of the incremental welfare state, characterized by gradual expansion of tax supported programs and benefits, with periodic policy refinements and extensions of benefits and coverages to new populations. Since 1980, all sorts of "doom and gloom" has been spread--mostly linked to short-term developments. This paper is an effort to propose a moderately optimistic alternative future for one segment of the social welfare system--personal care services. In …

Private Human Services In Welfare Society, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper is an effort to propose a moderately optimistic future for the personal care sector of human services. It is proposed that the best available future scenario for personal care services between now and the year 2019 is to concentrate on privatization of service delivery on a small-scale basis. Government, in this model should be limited largely to three roles: 1) source of venture capital; 2) regulation of service delivery; and 3) income maintenance for the poorest populations. In this future, the main burden of personal care services will be carried by the private sector. Dramatic improvements in the …

The Nucleus Of A Public Health Strategy To Combat Aids, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Since acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was first identified in I98I, its rate of spread among a primarily young and vibrant population has chilled the medical and lay communities. Today, the public response is sober and oriented toward the examination of specific policies that could lessen the impact of the disease. After six years' experience it is now feasible to propose a strategy for combating AIDS. Consensus around the policies outlined in this article should form the nucleus of the public health strategy to combat AIDS before the intervention of an effective vaccine or treatment.

Health Care For The Poor In Omaha-Douglas County: Problems And Policy Options, Jeff Luke, David R. Dimartino, Vincent J. Webb, Jan Clifford

Publications

The health-care system in Omaha-Douglas County is on the verge of dramatic changes because of federal cutbacks, expanding cost-containment efforts, and an increasingly competitive medical market. As a result, problems are now arising because of increasing difficulties in providing health care to the poor.

Caur Annual Report: 1984-85, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

The Center for Applied Urban Research (CAUR) continued to provide research, technical assistance, and training services to state and local governments, foundations, and nonprofit organizations during fiscal year 1985. The CAUR continued to be involved in international research activity through the Omaha-Manila Applied Projects Program. Nebraska communities that received CAUR assistance include: Omaha, Lincoln, Scottsbluff, Nebraska City, Wayne, Gothenburg, Chadron, Alliance, and LaVista. State agencies served include: the Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Health. Nonprofit organizations that benefited from work performed at CAUR include: the Community Housing Resources Board; …

Review Of Applied Urban Research 1984, Vol. 12, No. 05, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

This issue of Review of Applied Urban Research features "Health Care Professionals' Views of Omaha Hospice Use," by Carole M. Davis, Marjorie J. Corrigan, and Susan Stensland.

At the request of the Community Resources and Service Committee of the Omaha Hospice Organization, this study was made to determine the knowledge and/or use of hospice concepts and programs by health care professionals. These persons were selected for the survey because of the vital role they play in educating potential clients about hospice philosophy and available programs.

Industrial Resources: Bath County - Owingsville, Kentucky Library Research Collections

Bath County

"Resources For Economic Development: Owingsville, Kentucky" prepared by the Owingsville Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Department of Economic Development, Division of Research and Planning, 1984. The report includes, but is not limited to, information about: population, labor market, local manufacturing, transportation, utilities, fuel, water, sewage, industrial sites, local government and services, taxes, educational and health facilities, housing, communication, recreation, natural resources, markets, and climate.

Caur Publications Of The Center For Applied Urban Research November 1982 To June 1984, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

This list is a supplement to the one published in October, 1982. That booklet listed CAUR studies, reports, and Review articles published from June, 1971 to October, 1982.

A Study Of The Knowledge And Use Of Hospice By Health Care Professionals In Omaha, Carole Davis, Wilda C. Stephenson, Deborah Caulfield

Publications

The primary objective of this study was to conduct a needs assessment for the Omaha Hospice Organization which would determine the knowledge and/or use of hospice concepts and programs by health care professionals.

Caur Annual Report: 1983-84, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

The Center for Applied Urban Research provided a variety of research, technical assistance, and training services during 1983-1984. Service was provided to clients from local and state governments and to non-profit organizations as well as private industry. Communities across Nebraska were the recipients of CAUR assistance. These included Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Nebraska City, Wayne, Gothenburg, and Scottsbluff. State agencies served included the Nebraska Crime Commission, the Department of Social Services, and the Equal Opportunity Commission. Non-profit organizations included the Legal Aid Society, the Urban League, the Omaha Hospice Organization, the Community Housing Resources Board, and the Local Initiatives Support …

Caur Annual Report: 1982-83, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

The Center for Applied Urban Research found 1982-1983 to be a busy year. Past users of CUAR services continued to seek assistance in the areas of applied research, service/technical assistance, and training. CUAR's clientele was expanded to include a number of new communities, state and local government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Communities such as Scottsbluff, Grand Island, and Hooper, Nebraska were provided technical assistance. CUAR conducted two major studies for the City of Omaha. Assistance was provided for state agencies such as the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Public Welfare, the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission, and the Nebraska …

The Cresset (Vol. Xlv, No. 9), Valparaiso University

The Cresset (archived issues)

No abstract provided.

Dying And The Social Responsibility Of Institutions, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Contemporary American society has established a comfortable reliance upon a large network of total and quasi-total institutions for dealing with certain life threatening events and socially disruptive conditions As a consequence these institutions have become primary locales for dying. It is the principal argument of this paper that although a large proportion of all deaths now occur in institutions, they are generally harsh and unsympathetic in their handling of dying, and particularly insensitive to the social and psychological needs of surviving significant others in the period immediately following a death. It is suggested that along with accepting the responsibility to …

Public Affairs, Community Service And Personal Care: The Three Faces Of Social Work, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper was written for a faculty seminar at the School of Social Work, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where at the time the author was an Assistant Professor. It makes the case that contemporary social work at the time was an uneasy mix of three very different approaches: A public affairs perspective addressing broad social policy issues; a community services perspective extending to agency management, planning and financing; and a personal care perspective built on psychotherapy, social casework and group work. At the time, many schools of social work were struggling with a legacy of strong support for the personal …

The Cresset (Vol. Xxvi, No. 7), Valparaiso University

The Cresset (archived issues)

No abstract provided.