IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aph/ajpbhl/10.2105-ajph.2006.097113_3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Self-neglect among the elderly: A model based on more than 500 patients seen by a geriatric medicine team

Author

Listed:
  • Dyer, C.B.
  • Goodwin, J.S.
  • Pickens-Pace, S.
  • Burnett, J.
  • Kelly, P.A.

Abstract

Objectives. We sought to identify the functional, cognitive, and social factors associated with self-neglect among the elderly to aid the development of etiologic models to guide future research. Methods. A cross-sectional chart review was conducted at Baylor College of Medicine Geriatrics Clinic in Houston, Tex. Patients were assessed using standardized comprehensive geriatric assessment tools. Results. Data analysis was performed using the charts of 538 patients; the average patient age was 75.6 years, and 70% were women. Further analysis in 460 persons aged 65 years and older showed that 50% had abnormal Mini Mental State Examination scores, 15% had abnormal Geriatric Depression Scale scores, 76.3% had abnormal physical performance test scores, and 95% had moderate-to-poor social support per the Duke Social Support Index. Patients had a range of illnesses; 46.4% were taking no medications. Conclusions. A model of self-neglect was developed wherein executive dyscontrol leads to functional impairment in the setting of inadequate medical and social support. Future studies should aim to provide empirical evidence that validates this model as a framework for self-neglect. If validated, this model will impart a better understanding of the pathways to self-neglect and provide clinicians and public service workers with more effective prevention and intervention strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Dyer, C.B. & Goodwin, J.S. & Pickens-Pace, S. & Burnett, J. & Kelly, P.A., 2007. "Self-neglect among the elderly: A model based on more than 500 patients seen by a geriatric medicine team," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(9), pages 1671-1676.
  • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2006.097113_3
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.097113
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2006.097113
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2105/AJPH.2006.097113?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lin, Zhuoer & Fu, Mingqi & Chen, Xi, 2023. "Cognitive Misperception and Chronic Disease Awareness: Evidence from Blood Biomarker Data," IZA Discussion Papers 15934, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2006.097113_3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Christopher F Baum (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.apha.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.