IU GERIATRICS electronic news for April 2003

The IU Geriatrics Program and the IU Center for Aging Research congratulate our colleagues for their many professional contributions to the 26th Annual Meeting of the Society for General Internal Medicine held recently in Vancouver, British Columbia. See the details in "Presentations" below.

Older adults and caregivers discovered healthful and helpful information at the April Health Beat Health Fair presented by Senior Care at Wishard and WTHR Channel 13. Held at Glendale Mall, the fair offered seniors a variety of activities ranging from risk assessments for falls to depression screens to fitness-over-fifty demonstrations. Many Senior Care staff members volunteered to conduct assessments and provide information on topics such as advance directives, caregiver stress, and health insurance for seniors. IU Geriatrics thanks all who contributed to this successful event!

Homeowners in the near westside area of Haughville and Blackburn were left holding the bag on Saturday, April 19th. That's when medical students made Spring House Calls to help needy folks spruce up their homes and yards, and that's when senior homeowners received special goody bags put together by Student Geriatrics Interest Group members Srilatha Atluri and Becky Epstein. They were assisted by Michael Sha, MD. Thanks, SGIG!

PUBLICATIONS

Damush TM, Weinberger M, Perkins SM, Rao JK, Tierney WM, Qi R, Clark DO. Randomized trial of a self-management program for primary care patients with acute low back pain: Short-term effects. Arthritis Rheum 2003 Apr 15;49(2):179-86.

Subramanian U, Weinberger M, Fihn SD, Tierney WM. Diagnostic challenges defining heart failure when using echocardiograms. Am J Cardiol 2003 Apr 15;91(8):1015-7

Unutzer J, Katon W, Callahan CM, Williams JW, Hunkeler E, Harpole L, Hoffing M, Della Penna RD, Noel PH, Lin EH, Tang L, Oishi S. Depression Treatment in a Sample of 1,801 Depressed Older Adults in Primary Care. J Am Geriatr Soc 2003 Apr;51(4):505-14.

Covinsky KE, Palmer RM, Fortinsky RH, Counsell SR, Stewart AL, Kresevic D, Burant CJ, Landefeld CS. Loss of Independence in Activities of Daily Living in Older Adults Hospitalized with Medical Illnesses: Increased Vulnerability with Age. J Am Geriatr Soc 2003 Apr;51(4):451-8.

Chui MA, Deer M, Bennett SJ, Tu W, Oury S, Brater DC, Murray MD. Association between adherence to diuretic therapy and health care utilization in patients with heart failure. Pharmacotherapy 2003 Mar;23(3):326-32.

Tierney WM. Adverse outpatient drug events--a problem and an opportunity. N Engl J Med 2003 Apr 17;348(16):1587-9. (Comment on: N Engl J Med. 2003 Apr 17;348(16):1556-64.)

PRESENTATIONS

The Society for General Internal Medicine helds its 26th Annual Meeting April 30-May 3 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The theme was "Generalist Physicians as Agents for Change: Education and Research ~ Practice and Policy." The following colleagues made geriatrics-related presentations at SGIM.

Glenda Westmoreland, MD, MPH coordinated "Disparities in Health and Addressing the Healthcare Needs of Specific Populations" with the Geriatrics Interest Group. She was faculty participant in two workshops, a Clinical Medicine Workshop, "Musculoskeletal Problems and Immobility in Older Adults: Enhancing Diagnosis and Treatment Approaches for Primary Care Practitioners" and an Administration/Leadership/Career Development Workshop, "A Map of the (Clinician Educator) World: Achieving Success While Doing What You Love." Glenda also provided mentoring in the One-on-One Mentoring program.

Greg Gramelspacher, MD, was a faculty participant in the End-of-Life Interest Group in Clinical Medicine.

Glenda Westmoreland displayed three posters: "Developing a web-based curriculum in geriatrics for primary care residents," with co-authors Steve Counsell, MD, and Debra Litzelman, MD; "Integrating medical students into an acute care for elders (ACE) service," with Steve Counsell, MD, and Amna Buttar, MD, and "Unannounced standardized patients to assess junior medical students' clinical skills and professionalism" with Debra Litzelman, MD.

Dan Clark, PhD, displayed the poster, "Providing self-management education and support to vulnerable elders according to guidelines: is it feasible?" Co-authors are Steve Counsell, MD, Chris Callahan, MD, Tim Stump, MA, Amna Buttar, MD, Karen Bowers, RN, and Gretchen Ricketts, BSW.

Usha Subramanian, MD, MS, displayed the poster, "Improving patient care and outcomes in heart failure: a controlled trial of computer-based care suggestions enhanced by patients’ symptoms and their severity." The local co-author is Bill Tierney, MD.

Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, displayed the poster, "The prevalence of dementia among vulnerable older adults attending an urban primary care clinic." Co-authors are Chris Callahan, MD, Frederick Unverzagt, PhD, Bridget Fultz, MA, Mary Guerriero Austrom, PhD, Steve Counsell, MD, Siu Hui, PhD, and Hugh Hendrie, MB, ChB, DSc.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Michael Murray, PharmD, MPH, was the guest speaker for the Gerontology Program Faculty Associates Luncheon, Purdue University Center on Aging Research in West Lafayette on April 18, 2003. His topic was “Improving Drug Use in Older Adults with Chronic Cardiovascular Disorders."

Gregory P. Gramelspacher, MD, was a guest on Sound Medicine on April 19, 2003. To listen to his radio interview on Palliative Care and view a list of resources on the topic, go to the show's web site at http://soundmedicine.iu.edu/archive/2003/041903.html

ANNOUNCEMENTS

On May 21 the IU Geriatrics Conference features Michael Wynn, PhD, Dept of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He will present "You Ain't Too Old to Dance to the Beat: The Aging Ear" in Wishard T2008 A&B from 7:30-8:30am.