Autonomy and care for the frail elderly. A one-year project identifies effective interventions for congregate housing...

In 1989 the St. Louis-based Cardinal Ritter Institute (CRI) conducted a demonstration project to determine how effective its interventions were in enabling the elderly to age in place. Preliminary screenings of persons at a congregate living site for the elderly revealed four major areas of concern: deficient knowledge of medication regimens, side effects, and purposes; need for basic social interaction; depression-related primarily to loneliness and isolation; insufficient knowledge of community resources. A multifaceted program developed by CRI staff helped alleviate many of these problems. The program's success shows that early identification of frail elderly at risk for losing their independence can guide interventions that allow them to age in place.