Adaptation of the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) to dental students.

The purpose of this study was to adapt the twenty-six-item Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) developed for medical students for use among dental students and to test the psychometric properties of the modified instrument. The sample consisted of 250 students (an 80.1 percent response rate) in years D1 to D4 at a dental school in Washington, DC. The mean age of participants was 26.6 years with a range from twenty-one to forty-two years. Slightly more than half of the participants were female (52.4 percent) and were African American or of African descent (51.7 percent). Principal components analysis was used to test the psychometric properties of the instrument. The index that resulted measured both positive and negative attitudes toward learning communications skills. The final twenty-four-item scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.87), and the study obtained four important factors-Learning, Importance, Quality, and Success-that explained a significant portion of the variance (49.1 percent). Stratified analysis by demographic variables suggested that there may be gender and ethnic differences in the students' attitudes towards learning communication skills. The authors conclude that the CSAS modified for dental students, or DCSAS, is a useful tool to assess attitudes towards learning communication skills among dental students.

Benefits & barriers to adoption of health IT in an elderly low-income, minority community-based environment.

This paper provides a detailed discussion regarding the attitudes, benefits, and barriers to adoption of health IT for low income, minority, elderly populations in a community-based affordable housing setting. Results show that despite challenges to adoption of technology amongst minority populations, senior residents will adopt technology if they understand the benefits of these technologies for improving their health and for remaining independent, thereby enabling them to age-in-place.

Fear of falling and activity avoidance in a national sample of older adults in the United States.

This study assesses the relationship between fear of falling and avoidance of nine everyday activities critical to independence among community-dwelling older adults in the United States. Secondary data analysis was performed with National Survey of Self-Care and Aging interview data from 3474 respondents age 65 years or older. Falls were reported by 24 percent of respondents, fear of falling was reported by 22 percent of respondents, and both increased with age. Fear of falling was the most important factor in predicting activity avoidance among older adults; the number of falls experienced increases the impact that fear of falling has on activity avoidance. Other factors were as follows: needing help with activities of daily living and the number of prescriptions taken. Assessments of older individuals should include fear of falling and fall history. Reductions in fear of falling and increases in activity level could provide significant benefits by helping older adults to maintain functioning and the ability to live independently.

A study of the receptivity to telecare technology in a community-based elderly minority population.

We examined the readiness of an elderly minority population to use various technologies for telecare. Eighty-five people with an average age of 73 years living in affordable housing completed a self-administered survey (a response rate of 43%). The technology that would be most likely to be used was environmental sensors in the home. The top five situations in which respondents would be receptive to new technology were all related to improving communications with a doctor or a nurse, especially when a medical emergency occurred. These included devices to send information to a doctor, to call for medical help, to signal to a nurse that 'I am OK' and to detect falls. This highlights the importance of including numerous opportunities for the individual to communicate better with their medical providers. The one situation that gave respondents the most concern was the 'use of a camera to check on me when I am unwell'. The study provides some evidence that elderly minorities residing in affordable housing were receptive to the introduction of new telecare technologies.

Psychosocial factors and ethnic disparities in diabetes diagnosis and treatment among older adults.

This study examined diabetes awareness, diagnosis, and social support among Mexican Americans, African Americans, other Hispanic people, and white people living in the United States. Using a national sample of people age 60 and older, three groups were formed based on serum glucose level and diagnosis of diabetes: those who were unaware that their serum glucose level was greater than 115 mg/dl (no diagnosis), those with a diabetes diagnosis, and those with normal glucose (no diagnosis). Mexican Americans were the most likely to have a diagnosis, had the highest mean glucose levels, and, together with white people, were most likely to be classified as unaware. Mexican Americans and other Hispanic people had the lowest levels of social support and affiliation on four out of five measures.