Duke University Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development

Service long has been a hallmark of the Duke center, and programs continue to expand to meet the increasing needs of our aging state and nation. Center publications, such as the quarterly newsletters and summaries of center conferences and seminars, are an important means of disseminating information about aging to the concerned public. Other center services are described below.

The Duke Long Term Care Resources Program, established in 1988 with funding from the Health Care Division of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, is a long term care policy resource center for North Carolina. Duke LTC maintains an archive of information on long term care issues; is actively involved in network building among professionals, policymakers and consumers; manages the development of a community-based care initiative; and offers a leadership development program for older adult consumers and internships for upper-level undergraduates and graduate level students.

The Duke Family Support Program, a national model for providing assistance to caregivers of the chronically ill and demented, is a major regional resource for training healthcare professionals and the Alzheimer's Association chapters who maintain local support groups. It also sponsors national and regional conferences on Alzheimer's disease research and caregiving strategies, publishes a newsletter that provides caregiving advice and support, and provides an in-state hotline for crisis information and referrals available to families and professionals.

The Geriatric Evaluation and Treatment (GET) Clinic, now in its 29th year, provides both primary care and consultative services for frail elders with multiple health problems. Clinic staff members include geriatricians, psychiatrists and clinical social workers. A geropharmacologist, physical therapist, nutritionist and other health professionals are also available for consultation.

The Duke Older Americans Resources and Services (OARS) Program, developed at the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, was specifically designed as a means of determining the impact of services and alternative service programs on the functional status of older persons. The resulting brief, valid, and reliable instruments have been used for purposes as varied as individual clinical assessment of personal functional status, surveys of the status of adult populations, assessment of service utilization and service requirements, longitudinal investigations in community, clinic and long-term care settings, and training of service providers.