GERIATRIC ASSESSMENT - INSIDE THE BLACK-BOX

Geriatric assessment, a new, multiduciplinary team approach to health care for older adults, is examined in terms of what happens during the assessment, how it is interpreted by the providers, the patients and their families, and how these interpretations may affect the assessment outcomes. Four outpatient geriatric assessment units were studied and nineteen of their patients/families observed as they went through the assessment. Interviews and observations revealed that although there was some variation between the units, the core of the geriatric assessment remained the same for all. Through case studies of patients and families, four elements which can affect the operation and efficacy of geriatric assessment were identified. This study has implications for the role that process studies can play in the evaluation of geriatric assessment.