Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

facilitate recognition both for the good of the individuals and for society which might continue tobenefit from the wisdom and expertise of such capable people.Using Interprofessional Collaboration to Support a New Decision-MakingModel for Decisionally Impaired Older PersonsMaureen Henry, University of Utah (maureen.henry@utah.edu)Interprofessional collaboration offers a largely unexplored opportunity to improve the quality oflife of decisionally impaired older persons. For decades, decisional impairment research hasidentified elements of capacity and evaluated instruments to measure these elements, to theexclusion of this population’s other needs. Published studies have stated or implicitly assumedthat a finding that an older person is legally incapacitated should shift decision-making to asurrogate. This response assumes that the interests of an impaired individual will be mosteffectively promoted when a surrogate is making major and minor decisions on behalf of theindividual. There are reasons, however, to question this assumption. This presentation willreview capacity assessment literature and synthesize results of studies from various disciplinesthat support the conclusion that the current emphasis on capacity assessment and its associatedtransfer of legal control to a surrogate may impair quality of life. An alternative model wouldemphasize interprofessional collaboration with two specific goals: to identify the strengths ofolder persons and to support to them and their decision companions through the decision-makingprocess. Roles of professionals who will be crucial to an alternative decision-making model,including social workers, nurses, psychologists, physicians, and attorneys, will be described.Reducing Social Disconnectedness and Perceived Isolation Among Older AdultsFor Better Health Outcomes: Could a Mandatory Chronic Disease Registry be aBeneficial Tool?Alina M. Perez, Nova Southeastern University (amp@nova.edu)Among U.S. residents ages 65 and older, 10.9 million, or 26.9 percent, had diabetes in 2010 andan estimated 50 percent had pre-diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes is the leading cause of kidneyfailure, blindness and lower limb amputations resulting in disability and decreased functioningamong those with the disease. Effective management of diabetes requires compliance withmedication, exercise and dietary regimes. Studies show that among the older population, socialand psychological factors such as social disconnectedness and perceived isolation may impactthe ability of older individuals to comply with medical treatment, resulting in poorer healthoutcomes. In addition, depressive symptoms among the most isolated older adults are found to beassociated with decreased willingness to exercise and with an increase in health-risk behaviors,including smoking and alcohol use. In 2006, The New York City Board of Health implemented a108