title: Behavioral improvement in long-term geriatric patients during an age-integrated psychosocial rehabilitation program.
abstract: A study was made of the effects of a psychosocial rehabilitative program on the behavioral functioning of elderly chronically ill patients. High school students served as remotivation and socialization therapists in a supervised structured process designed to improve the quality of life for the participating nursing-home residents. The participants were 12 long-term patients whose ages ranged from 62 to 99 years (mean, 73.2 years). The effectiveness of the program was evaluated by means of the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), a questionnaire designed to assess the effect of a physical illness on daily activities, psychosocial skills and mental status. The results demonstrated that the rehabilitative program had a significant impact on several dimensions of the lives of the participants. As a consequence of the interaction with the students, there was an increase in social interaction, a reduction in daytime sleeping and an increase in mobility. The results reported here extend the successful use of remotivation techniques to areas of overt behavioral functioning not previously assessed.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001143:Arousal; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009735:Nursing Homes; D012803:Sick Role; D012919:Social Behavior; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013334:Students