GERONTOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND ELDERLY HEALTH-CARE SERVICES IN ALASKA -AGING IN THE LAST FRONTIER

The current research assessed Alaskan health and mental health care pr ofessionals' perceptions regarding Alaska's elderly health care servic es as well as professional educational and training needs. Fifty-four percent of community professionals sampled indicated that preexisting services in their community were not adequate to meet the needs of the elderly population. In addition, 55% indicated that the knowledge lev el of community professionals regarding the elderly and the aging proc ess was insufficient and 51% believed they were not well educated in m eeting the needs of Alaskan native elders. An overall 91.8% indicted t hat they were in need of further training in the field of aging and ge riatrics. They noted in particular the lack of knowledge and training opportunities in mental health and Alzheimer's disease. The significan ce of these findings is discussed in terms of the broader social impli cations associated with meeting gerontological and geriatric education and training needs, as wed as the specific education and training pro blems of Alaskan health care professionals in keeping up with the rece nt trend of ''aging in the last frontier.''