IU GERIATRICS electronic news for December 2003

The IU Geriatrics Program and the IU Center for Aging Research congratulate Dr. Kathy Frank who has completed work for the degree of Doctor of Nursing Science in Environments for Health at the Indiana University School of Nursing. Kathy presented her research, "Self-Management of Foot Care for Patients 65 years of Age or Older with Diabetes," to the public on December 8. Well done, Kathy!

AWARDS

Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, has been awarded a grant by Pfizer for “Preventing Post-Operative Cognitive Deficit (POCD): Is there a Role for Donepezil?”. The one-year award will pilot test the feasibility of using donepezil to prevent post-operative cognitive deficits among elderly patients undergoing elective hip or knee replacement. Co-investigators and mentors on the randomized controlled trial are Dr. David Heck, professor of orthopaedic surgery and Dr. Martin Farlow, professor of neurology.

PUBLICATIONS

Damush TM, Weinberger M, Perkins SM, Rao JK, Tierney WM, Qi R, Clark DO. The long-term effects of a self-management program for inner-city primary care patients with acute low back pain. Arch Intern Med. 2003 Nov 24;163(21):2632-8.

Khan AA, Khan A, Harezlak J, Tu W, Kroenke K. Somatic symptoms in primary care: etiology and outcome. Psychosomatics. 2003 Nov-Dec;44(6):471-8.

Roher AE, Kokjohn TA, Esh C, Weiss N, Childress J, Kalback W, Luehrs DC, Lopez J, Brune D, Kuo YM, Farlow M, et al. The human amyloid-beta precursor protein770 mutation 717 Val-Phe generates peptides longer than Abeta 40-42 and flocculent amyloid aggregates
Williams LS, Jones WJ, Shen J, Robinson RL, Weinberger M, Kroenke K. Prevalence and impact of depression and pain in neurology outpatients. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003 Nov;74(11):1587-9.

PRESENTATIONS at GSA

The 56th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America was held November 21-25, 2003 in San Diego, California. The IU Geriatrics Program had a strong presence with nearly a dozen faculty and staff members presenting posters, papers, symposiums and representing the school on national geriatrics committees. The meeting is organized to foster interdisciplinary interactions among gerontological health care clinical, administrative, and research professionals.

SYMPOSIA:
Amna Buttar led the symposium, "Interdisciplinary Team Case Management Across The Care Continuum: Translating Research Into Practice." This symposium included the following presentations:

Robert Palmer, MD, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, presented "Translation of Research into Practice: Lessons Learned, " and was a discussant for this symposium.

Kristin Mather presented "Innovative Approach to Healthcare by Clinically Integrating a Wellness Program with an Interdisciplinary Emergency Access Team." Co-authors were Megan Shipman, Karen Bowers, Amna Buttar, Katherine Frank, Neil Johnson, and Kevin Terrell.

Carole Carver presented "Acute Care For Elders (ACE) Team Integral Part of Care Management for Older Adults: A Social Work Perspective." Co-authors were Carole Carver, Karen Bowers, Amna Buttar, Katherine Frank, and Earlie Young-Hale.

Lisa Hovious presented "Outpatient Care Coordination by the Interdisciplinary Team in a Busy Multi-specialty Geriatrics Clinic: Is it Possible?" Co-authors were Kristin Mather, Karen Bowers, Amna Buttar, Charlotte Deeter, and Steve Lind.

Kathy Frank presented "Aging with GRACE: An Innovative Model of Incorporating Primary Care Doctor as a Member of the Interdisciplinary Team." Co-authors were Amna Buttar, Karen Bowers, Christopher Callahan, Daniel Clark, and Steven Counsell.

Malaz Boustani chaired the symposium, "Curriculum Design for Systematic Evidence Review: Connecting Students to Geriatric Practice."

Malaz Boustani made a symposium oral presentation, "Evidence-Based Management of Dementia-Related Agitation in Residential Care/Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes."

Michael Weiner was a dicussant for the symposium, "Medicare Costs for Patients with Dementia in Nursing Homes: Results from the 'Epidemiology of Dementia in Nursing Homes' Study."

PAPERS:
Doug Miller presented "Clinically Relevant Levels of Depressive Symptoms in the African American Health Project." Co-authors were E Andresen, F Wolinsky.

Teresa Damush presented "The Relationship Between Health-Related Quality of Life and Functional Performance Among Older Women Surviving Breast Cancer." Co-authors were Tony Perkins and Doran Hatton.

Mary Guerriero Austrom presented "Case Management of Alzheimer Disease in Multi-Racial Primary Care Setting." Co-authors were Malaz Boustani, Chris Callahan, Teresa Damush, and Hugh Hendrie.

Malaz Boustani was a co-author of "Recognition and Treatment Of Depressive Symptoms among Residents with Dementia in Assisted Living" with Gruber-Baldini A, Zimmerman S, Watson L, Port C, Williams C, Preisser J, Reed P.

Malaz Boustani was a co-author of "Long-Term Care Providers Offer Residents with Dementia Their Preferred Choice of Activities?" with Dobbs D, Munn L, Zimmerman S, Williams C, Sloane PD, Preisser J, Reed P, Port C.

Malaz Boustani was a co-author of "Pain in Nursing Home and Assisted Living Residents with Dementia: How Assessment, Treatment and Staff Perceptions Relate to Resident Report" with Williams C, Sloane PD, Zimmerman S, Preisser J, Reed P.

Malaz Boustani was a co-author of "Ambulation Limitations and Use of Assistive Devices for Persons with Dementia in Long-Term Care " with Williams S, Reed P, Preisser J, Zimmerman S.

POSTERS:
Kevin Terrell presented "Description of Older Emergency Department Patients." Co-authors were Amna Buttar, Tony Perkins, Carey Chisholm, Rolly McGrath, and Chris Callahan.

Teresa Damush presented, for lead author Dan Clark, "Exercise Class Dropout and Attendance: Exploring the Effects of Health and Daily Weather in a Sample of Older, Urban Women." Co-authors were Tim Stump, Wanzhu Tu, and Teresa Damush.

Teresa Damush presented "Osteoporosis Health-Related Quality of Life and Functional Performance Among Older Women." Co-authors were Tony Perkins and Doran Hatton.

Malaz Boustani was a co-author of "Integrating Critical Appraisal of Research into Practice" with C Beitman and C Chase.

PRESENTATIONS

Colleen McHorney, PhD, presented “Relating QOL scores to future sentinel clinical events and health care utilization and costs,” at Translating the Science of QOL Assessment into Clinical Practice. An Example-Driven Approach for Practicing Clinicians and Clinical Researchers. The meeting was the third in a series dedicated to translating the science of QOL into clinical practice and was held October 2-4, 2003, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Local co-authors with geriatrics affiliations were Tony Perkins, MS, Linda Williams, MD, and Bill Tierney, MD.

Amna Buttar, MD, MS, presented “Delirium in Older Adults” at the Ball Memorial Hospital Grand Rounds in Muncie, Indiana, on October 29, 2003.

Michael Weiner, MD, MPH, presented "Clinicians' and patients' experiences and satisfaction with unscheduled, nighttime, Internet-based video conferencing for assessing acute medical problems in a nursing facility," at the American Medical Informatics Association 2003 Symposium, in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2003. Greg Abernathy, MD was a co-author along with Schadow G, Lindbergh D, Warvel J, Perkins SM, Fyffe J, Dexter PR, McDonald CJ.

Chris Callahan, MD, presented “Improving Systems of Healthcare in Older Adults: Past, Present, and Future,” for Geriatric Grand Rounds at the University of Texas-Southwestern School of Medicine on November 12, 2003, in Dallas, TX.

Greg Gramelspacher, MD, presented “Hospice and Palliative Care: Good Medicine at the End of Life,” at the IUSM Department of Neurology Grand Rounds on December 11.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Michael Weiner, MD, MPH, was elected to the position of Secretary of the American Medical Informatics Association's Primary Care Informatics Working Group.

Colleen McHorney, PhD, participated in a Special Emphasis Study Section for the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health on November 10, 2003.

Colleen McHorney, PhD, attended the 10th Annual Conference of the International Society for Quality of Life Research, held November 12-15, 2003, in Prague, Czech Republic. The scientific study of quality of life relevant to health and healthcare is the mission of the ISOQOL. The Society promotes the rigorous investigation of health-related quality of life measurement from conceptualization to application and practice.

Dan Clark, PhD, and Colleen McHorney, PhD, attended the American Public Health Association 131st Annual Meeting and Exposition, held November 15-19, 2003, in San Francisco, California. The theme of the meeting was “Behavior, Lifestyle and Social Determinants of Health.” During the meeting, Virginia A. Caine, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine in the IUSM Infectious Disease division and Director of the Marion County Health Department assumed duties as president of the APHA.

Chris Callahan, MD, was the featured speaker for the Contemporary Club of Indianapolis on November 18, 2003. His topic was “Providing Health Care for Older Adults: Past, Present, and Future.”

Greg Gramelspacher, MD, discussed end-of-life issues and living wills on the December 6, 2003 edition of Sound Medicine, the weekly radio program co-produced by IUSM and WFYI Public Radio (90.1 FM) in Indianapolis. Archived editions of Sound Medicine can be found at http://soundmedicine.iu.edu.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The January 7 Geriatrics Medicine Conference features Steven J. Willing, MD, MBA, associate professor of radiology and informatics and chief of interventional neuroradiology. His presentation, "Vertebroplasty/Kyphoplasty in Older Adults," will be in Wishard T2008 A&B from 7:30-8:30am.

The January 21 Geriatrics Medicine Conference features name Debra Helper, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine, Gastroenterology & Hepatology Division. She will present “Swallowing Disorders in Older Adults & the Role of Esophageal Dilation as a Therapeutic Maneuver” in Wishard T2008 A&B from 7:30-8:30am.

Join us at the next Aging Research Work in Progress January 27, 8:00-9:00am. The speaker and topic will be announced at a later date. WIP meets at the Roudebush VA Health Services Research & Development Service in D6005.

The February 4 Geriatrics Medicine Conference features Steven C. Chang, MD, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery. His presentation, "Spinal Disorders in the Elderly," will be in Wishard T2008 A&B from 7:30-8:30am.