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AMER. GERIATRICS SOCIETY.
Term Paper ID:24242
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Essay Subject:
History, evolving mission, membership, publications, organization, advocacy activities, effectiveness.... More...
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9 Pages / 2025 Words
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Paper Abstract:
History, evolving mission, membership, publications, organization, advocacy activities, effectiveness.
Paper Introduction:
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the American Geriatrics Society (AGS). To this end, the discussion covers four basic dimensions: (1) AGS history, mission, and objectives; (2) AGS current organizational structure;
(3) Characteristic AGS advocacy activities; and (4) AGS' organizational degree of success.
AGS History, Mission, and Objectives
According to Meyer (1992), the AGS was originally formed in 1942 by a group of thirty physicians as an advocacy organization with the mission of promoting research in geriatric medicine. In an effort to fulfill this mission, the society formulated the following objectives:
(1) Encourage and direct physicians and researchers to more
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One of these has been discussed by Hazzard (1996). Policy development. Subjects in the study were 1 9older people (mean age 79 years) who underwent comprehensive assessment,which included a questionnaire completed by the primary caregiver to assessthe sense of burden in providing care. Indeed, according to Lammers(1983), these forces have shifted and re-shaped the policy in a number oforganizations serving the elderly. The great bulk of the AGS membership is composed of physicians.Accordingly, it is they who derive most of the advantages of membership inthe society. There is the journal which publishes diversearticles focusing on geriatric medicine and which is sent to all members, abimonthly newsletter and the Geriatrics Review Syllabus which is publishedevery year. Medicare reimbursement for geriatricassessment: Report of the American Geriatrics Society Ad Hoc Committee ongeriatrics assessment. However, most of theseother categories do not have voting status. Given the foregoing, it seems reasonable to conclude that the AGS isa strongly effective organization and has and is experiencing high levelsof success in terms of both meeting its formal objectives and in terms ofputting its agenda before public policy makers. AGS History, Mission, and Objectives According to Meyer (1992), the AGS was originally formed in 1942 by agroup of thirty physicians as an advocacy organization with the mission ofpromoting research in geriatric medicine. Vantassez andJ.E.W. American Geriatric Society. The fact that CGB was the most important factor in determining whowould use formal services was said to suggest that burden should beevaluated as part of geriatric assessment. It is suggested here thatone of these issues may well be coordinating and compromising withphysician advocacy groups serving elderly health care needs, groups such asthe AGS. Over the years, this journal has gone from a publication serving onlya few physicians with an interest in aging to a recognized area ofspecialization. (1996). [First name missing from provided references] Meyer, J.E.W. Torres-Gil (1992) reports that as the baby boomers age, they willincreasingly press for change in the structure of state and local healthcare services. AGS founders immediately sought to form state affiliates and weregranted their first state charter in 1952. Van Horn,Baumer and Gormley (1992) have noted that one inevitable characteristic ofpolitics and public policy is the power struggle. Another objective of the AGS, one that has been with it since thefoundation of the organization, is to promote geriatric research. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 39(9),926-931. Thisgoal has been achieved completely. For example, Rubenstein, Applegate, Burton, Hyer, Pawlson andWinograd (1991) report that the AGS published several position papers onmedicare reimbursement for geriatric assessment and was able to bring aboutdesired changes in these services. Success/Effectiveness Day (199 ) has noted that interest groups can be considered to beeffective to the extent that they either attain their goals/objectivesand/or succeed in placing their agenda before political and public policymakers. Specifically, Brown, Potter and Foster (199 ) examined therelationship between caregiver burden (CGB) and use of long-term careservices following geriatric assessment. Campbell, R. A major objective of the AGS is educational; that is, the societyseeks to provide information to not only public agencies and related groupsand institutions but also to medical personnel in general. & Winograd, C.H. Not only has the societysucceed in promoting a wide variety of research (the goal upon which thesociety was originally founded), it has also succeeded in terms ofeducating medical personnel about geriatrics and geriatric medicine and interms of promoting research of older people and the social, psychological,physical, and financial aspects of their lives. Activities Communication with and among AGS members is accomplished by a widevariety of publications. Members joining the AGS must identify themselves with a particularmembership section such as that of teaching geriatric medicine, orinvolvement in long-term health care services, or simply as "Fellows-In-Training." The annual budget is around 2.5 million dollars, and thesociety is headquartered in New York. Rubenstein, L.Z., Applegate, W.B., Burton, J.R., Hyer, K., Pawlson,L.G. NY: AGS Press. Meyer (eds.) US Aging Policy Interest Groups. In a separate analysis, CGB predicted both the use of homeservices and nursing-home placement. Because although itsmission statement is related to promoting the well-being of older adults,its actual membership and focus is upon serving the interests of thephysicians who work with older adults. While it is true that it is an interestgroup that focuses on older people and their health care needs, it may notbe too skeptical to wonder whose interests it really serves. Other officers serve only for a year.All officer and directors are medical doctors with various geriatricspecialties. The Executive Vice-President of the organization (as of 1991)is Linda Hiddemen Barondess who oversees 16 staff persons. References Barondess, L.H. The AGS, according to Meyer (1992), engages in advocacy activitiesrelated to the medical care of older people and the education ofprofessionals in geriatrics. Day, C.L. The success of the AGS in terms of promoting high quality researchrelated to aging can perhaps best be seen by reviewing an example of onearticle published in the society's journal. What older Americans think: Interest groups andaging policy. (199 ). Barondess (1996) reports that the mission and objectives of the AGShave also changed somewhat over the years. In an effort to fulfill thismission, the society formulated the following objectives: (1) Encourage and direct physicians and researchers to more stronglyfocus on the field of geriatrics; (2) Establish and/or expand existing educational institutionsspecializing in providing training in geriatric health care; and (3) Establish a geriatrics journal. There areapproximately 17 state and local affiliates and 14 student chapters. Regarding advocacy of this interest group, a key issue that must beaddressed concerns whether the fact that the AGS is not an advocacyorganization for older people. These new objectives, Barondess (1996)reports, are to: (1) Promote and encourage the clinical practices of geriatrics andsupport practioners providing such care; (2) Increase the number of health care professionals knowledgeableabout geriatrics and committed to the clinical care of older people; (3) Promote effective, high quality research that addresses healthcare problems of older people and expands knowledge of the aging process; (4) Conduct education programs for health care professionals topromote better understanding of the aging process and its unique clinicalchallenges; (5) Provide public education and information that addresses thehealth care concerns and needs of older people, their families, and theircaregivers; (6) Engage in public policy efforts focused on the improvement andstudy of health care for older people; and (7) Develop and maintain productive and collaborative relationshipswith other organizations concerned with the health care of older persons. Moreover, retreat participants havestated that not only did they learn new information about geriatrics butare now seeking out common research ground with geriatricians at their homeinstitutions; thus, the society promoted not only one objective, that ofeducation, but also a second objective, namely that of promoting geriatricresearch. (1992). With respect to the foregoing, Torres-Gil (1992) goes on to note thatthere are some clear issues with which interest groups for the aged willhave to deal with in the twenty-first century. Members are also offered audio cassettes of annual meetings. The membership is governed by an eighteen-member Board of Directorswho each serve a three-year term. Findings revealed that among measures of the older person's cognitiveand physical abilities, only activities of daily living predicted increaseduse of services. It seems reasonable here to suppose that not all of thesechanges will be acceptable to the health care personnel (such asphysicians) who derive their income from providing these services to olderpeople. Possible reasons motivating the change in mission statement are thegrowth of social security, the development of a federal health program forolder people, and the growing numbers of not only older and elderly persons(65-85) but also the very elderly (85+). Their objective of establishinga journal was met in 1953 with the development of the Journal of theAmerican Geriatrics Society under the editorial direction of Dr. Willard O.Thompson. These are: Clinical Practice,Education, Ethics, Ethnogeriatarics, Long-range Planing, Membership,Nominations, Publications, Public Policy and Research committees.Organizational policy is arrived at by committee consensus with theapproval of the Board of Directors. (1996). Regarding the foregoing, it can be noted that the AGS has been verysuccessful in meeting these criteria. & Gormley, W.T. First, it will be remembered that astated objective of the organization was to engage in public policy effortsfocused on the improvement and study of geriatric medicine. Another means by which the AGS not only educates but also works toeffect public policy is by the publication of committee reports andposition papers. Clearly, thesociety has made progress in this regard. To this end, the discussion covers four basicdimensions: (1) AGS history, mission, and objectives; (2) AGS currentorganizational structure;(3) Characteristic AGS advocacy activities; and (4) AGS' organizationaldegree of success. The AGS: Shaping the future of health carefor older adults. The retreats held so far are reported by Hazzard (1996) as attractinglarge numbers of targeted groups. Thus, these criteria may be used to judge the overall success oreffectiveness of the AGS. Integrating geriatrics into the subspecialtiesof internal medicine. Also, the AGS itself is a member of otherlarger advocacy collectives including the American Medical Association'sHouse of Delegates, the American Association of Medical Colleges, theCouncil of Academic Societies, and the International Association ofGerontology. Campbell (1996)reports that the society is currently engaged in a wide variety ofeducational efforts. In D. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Hazzard, W.R. Clearly physicians and older adultscannot be equated as one and the same. It is only necessary to examine anyarticle in its journal to see that research is being conducted on thephysical, social, psychoemotional and financial aspects of health care forolder and elderly adults. Indeed, Campbell (1996) reportedthat not only has the society testified before congress many times thisyear on matters directly related to their objective, it has also joinedwith other organizations to secure Fiscal Year 1997 funding for relatedresearch. AGS Newsletter, 25(4), p. The AGS could, at least regarding some issues, well be at odds withthe interests of older people as a collective. In addition, every two years, the AGS publishes an updated edition ofthe Directory of Fellowship Programs in Geriatric Medicine as well as avariety of position statements on policy issues, and a periodic membershipdirectory. In Public policy and the aging.Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. Moreover, the journal has expanded its focus frompsychosocial issues alone such as nursing home quality or the mandatory ageof retirement to a greater emphasis upon medicine and the diseases thathave been especially associated with aging, e.g., diseases such as heartdisease, cancer. In this regard, Brown, Potterand Foster (199 ) conducted a research which was published in the Journalof the American Geriatrics Society following the presentation of the studyat the society's annual meeting. The change in the mission of the AGS necessitated a refocusing andexpansion of its objectives. This is a projectthe society started in October of 1994 involving efforts to integrategeriatrics into the subspecialties of internal medicine. Other advocacy tactics and activities include coordinating action andmaintaining liaisons with related organizations such as The GerontologicalSociety of America, The National Institute on Aging, The American Collegeof Physicians, and so forth. These papers and reports have gone to a variety ofmedical institutions and physicians, many of whom have joined with the AGSto effect the attainment of certain objectives and goals listed on positionpapers. However, the AGS also files amicuscuriae briefs, disseminates position papers, and encourages its members towrite to congressional committees concerning the society's position onvarious issues. In addition to the foregoing, the AGS maintains 12 standingcommittees who shape the society's agenda. The measure of burden decreased over 12 months with the greatestreduction occurring for caregivers whose relative was placed in a nursinghome. DVA research update. Van Horn, C.E., Baumer, D.C. The measure of CGB significantly improved the predictionof service use. (1991). 5 Lammers, (1983). Westport, CT:Greenwood Press. (1996). Power struggles can takeplace within an organization or interest collective or across organizationsor interest collectives. (1992). The project holdsperiodic Geriatric Education Retreats in which a mix of leaders in targetedmedical subspecialties (e.g., oncology, cardiology, etc.) are broughttogether with geriatric specialists for a week in which they interact anddiscuss the process of gerontologization. The primary target of this advocacy isCongress with the bulk of advocacy effort being put into testifying beforeCongress and providing congressional representatives, senators and otherfederal agencies with information. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the AmericanGeriatrics Society (AGS). AGS Newsletter, 25(4), p.4. Politics andpublic policy (2nd ed.) Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.----------------------- 3 Whereas the earlier mission wasthe promotion of geriatric research, the AGS now lists its basic mission asthat of improving the health and well-being of all older adults. Organizational Structure In a telephone conversation the author had with Carol Goodwin, thedeputy director of communications for the American Geriatric Society,Goodwin stated that there are currently about 6, members of the AGS,most of whom are physicians (94%), although member categories do includeother health professionals and medical students. Why?
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