To learn whether tactile sensitivity is decreased in elderly adults, we measured touch thresholds on the pad of the index finger in individuals aged 19 to 88 years. Semmes-Weinstein aesthesiometer filaments were used in a forced-choice procedure to eliminate response biases among subjects. Digit temperature and health data were also collected. Tactile thresholds increased significantly with age. A large proportion of elderly individuals had thresholds that were higher than the average for young adults, although older people varied widely in touch sensitivity. Neither reported illness nor medication use was significantly related in tactile threshold.

The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive abilities in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients using Piaget's child developmental theory. Thirty elderly AD patients and 30 elderly control subjects were given two traditional Piagetian measures, the Infant Psychological Development Scale and the Concrete Operations Test. Half of the AD subjects (15) were in Piaget's sensorimotor or preoperational stages, while the remaining half of the AD subjects and all elderly control subjects were in Piaget's concrete operational stage, x2 [1, N = 60] = 17.42, p <0.001. If subsequent studies confirm that AD patients' cognitive characteristics are similar to Piaget's theoretical model, nursing care might be individualized based on mental competence, thus minimizing the commonly observed caregiver overestimation and underestimation of the AD patient's ability to understand and cooperate.

Child-like behaviors of adults with Alzheimer's disease are often puzzling and stressful to caregivers. The possibility of using Piaget's child developmental model to understand these behaviors is explored in this paper. Based on data from recent studies revealing that adults with Alzheimer's disease appear to lose cognitive functions in the reverse order of acquisition in Piaget's theory, the purpose of this paper is to describe how the use of this theory to understand cognitive changes characteristic of AD might enhance caregiving techniques.

This article uses current nursing literature to examine the congruence of the care of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) with the Roy adaptation model. In relating concepts of the Roy model to the care of patients with Alzheimer's disease, it was found that ineffective coping responses can be used to describe disease-related disruptive behaviors. The degenerative disease process would result in the impairment of focal stimuli, such as memory and personality. Because focal stimuli are progressively impaired, the goal of nursing using the Roy model would be to promote adaptive responses through manipulation of the contextual stimuli, the patient's environment. Nursing literature describing positive patient outcomes following environmental interventions suggests that the Roy adaptation model could be very valuable in directing nursing research and devising nursing care strategies for patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Visits from a community health nurse make the provision of home care possible.