Maureen Mickus

Western Michigan University | WMU · Department of Occupational Therapy

Due to cognitive decline, individuals with Alzheimer’s often suffer from malnutrition, forgetting to eat, even if food is presented. Therefore, assistance with feeding is needed. In this paper a vision-based system for monitoring of eating patterns is presented. Upper Body Region (UBR) is detected using Viola-Jones method, a histogram of oriented g...

Population studies show the importance of active aging for maintaining cognitive health, but much of the research has focused on episodic memory and verbal skills. Aging and ability to make rational intertemporal financial decisions is less understood, despite its critical role in consumer finance. This study describes the relationship between age,...

This article presents a framework for a food intake monitoring system intended for use with persons with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Alzheimer's disease has a significant impact on the individual's ability to perform their daily activities including eating. Providing assistance with feeding is a major challenge for caregivers, includin...

Background Remaining in the workforce in later life may be based on financial need, role fulfillment or opportunities for social participation. Employment can also provide intellectual stimulation, including the use of everyday math skills. Normal age-related decline in numeracy performance has been documented, but the role of retirement in the cap...

The aging population in the United States is growing, requiring an increased demand for trained health-care providers to work with older persons. One challenge to the development of this workforce is a lack of contact between generations as well as age-based stereotypes. In an attempt to bring generations together, a pilot project was developed cen...

An estimated 5.7 million individuals have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in the U.S., a figure expected to rise to 14 million by 2050. One of the major challenges caring for this population is to maintain adequate nutritional intake. Finding effective ways to support feeding activities is essential because malnutrition is linked to prema...

Abstract— Patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia are suffering from a reduction in cognitive abilities and would not be able to function safely without help. The demand for help in taking care of elderly people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is increasing rapidly. It is essential to use technology to enhance these patients’ daily l...

This article presents a framework for a food intake monitoring system intended for use with persons with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Alzheimer's disease has a significant impact on the individual's ability to perform their daily activities including eating. Providing assistance with feeding is a major challenge for caregivers, includin...

Purpose: Attitudes regarding health-related deservingness of care for vulnerable patient populations can impact the quality of services provided. This study was aimed at identifying the influences that shape these attitudes among physician assistant (PA) students. Methods: The study focused on PA students' perspectives toward care for a particul...

Mexico and the U.S. are closely associated by commerce, culture and family ties. Despite the geographical proximity and the long-standing socio-political history between the two countries, there is limited understanding of cultural differences and similarities. A unique study abroad programme for U.S. and Mexican students was developed based on the...

Purpose Stigma-related feelings, including degree of enthusiasm and willingness to work with alcohol, drug, and mental disorder (ADM) patients, as well as anticipated success in such work, will be required for the United States to be successful in its new initiatives for ADM screening, brief intervention, and effective referral to treatment and reh...

This descriptive study explored the extent that medical education curriculum guidelines contained content about the experiences and needs of family members of people with serious mental illness. Key family-focused-literature themes about the experiences and needs of families of individuals with mental illness were drawn from a review of over 6,000...

A cross-sectional survey was designed to assess interest in geriatric medicine of allopathic and osteopathic medical students and to determine whether their career interests were related to past experiences with and current attitudes toward older adults. The study was conducted at an allopathic and osteopathic medical school with 231 first-year med...

We evaluated the use of home telehealth for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and/or congestive heart failure (CHF). Patients diagnosed with COPD and/or CHF who were prescribed home health-care services were randomly assigned to an experimental group where they received home health care through a combination of traditional...

Administrators of 94 assisted living facilities in Michigan completed a 19-item survey about the extent of mental health problems of residents and how such problems were addressed. In 45 facilities more than half of the residents were reported to be cognitively impaired. The two most common problems were dementia and depression. The most common pro...

The authors describe treatments provided for depressed geriatric patients (age 65+) treated by psychiatrists in the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Practice Research Network (PRN) and compare treatments with recommended guidelines for treating late-life depression. Detailed demographics, diagnoses, service utilization, and treatment inform...

The role of social support in the health of older persons is well documented. This support is particularly important for isolated nursing home residents. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of using low-cost videophones to enhance communication between nursing home residents and their families. Ten pairs of residents and family me...

The authors explored diagnostic and treatment patterns for patients under and over age 65 seen by a nationally representative sample of psychiatrists participating in the American Psychiatric Association's Practice Research Network. Detailed patient information, including demographic and financial characteristics, diagnoses, service utilization, an...

Although prior research suggests the importance of nonparental adults to adolescents, the ecological context of those relationships has received little attention. This study examined ties to influential adults among 122 adolescents who varied by race, family structure, and gender The strongest effects were for race. Blacks reported stronger ties th...

Although prior research suggests the importance of nonparental adults to adolescents, the ecological context of those relationships has received little attention. This study examined ties to influential adults among 122 adolescents who varied by race, family structure, and gender. The strongest effects were for race. Blacks reported stronger ties t...

Mental health services in the treatment of late-life depression are critical in the primary care arena. A significant proportion of elderly patients experience depression, a problem causing a far-reaching impact on morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. A number of barriers may prevent effective depression treatment including negative physician...

Non-pharmacological methods for reducing disruptive behavior in persons with dementia have been developed but are lacking documentation regarding their actual effectiveness. This study describes an intervention that teaches nursing home staff specific techniques for reducing problem behavior during bathing using the acronym PRIDE (privacy, reassura...

The study explored knowledge of mental health benefits and preferences for providers among the general public. Analysis was based on a telephone survey of 1,358 adults randomly sampled throughout Michigan in 1997-1998. A large proportion of the respondents were uninformed about their mental health benefits. One-quarter of the sample were unsure if...

Although legislative mandates have impacted the scope of nursing home admissions, service delivery, and restraint use, much remains to be accomplished in the area of mental health training for staff, particularly in dementia care. This article reviews lessons learned in a nurse aide-based intervention to teach behavioral principles for managing agi...

Primary care physicians are often the professionals to whom older patients turn for advice about medical coverage in Medicare managed care health plans. To assist in this dialogue, these authors outline current characteristics and financial arrangements for psychiatric and mental health services in Medicare managed care. Advantages and disadvantage...

This study investigated health and sociodemographic variables associated with co-residency patterns among older patients and their adult children following discharge from an acute care hospital. Data for the analysis were obtained from 172 adult children caring for functionally impaired parents. Logistic regression was employed to determine the pro...

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