Produced by CMERCER
Pre-Reading Activities
A: Discussion
Answer these questions in pairs:
1. In your country where do elderly people usually live? Choose one or more of the following:
a.in their own homes
b.in their (grown-up) children's homes
c.in rest homes or retirement complexes
d.other
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different options?
3. What happens to elderly people in your country if they need constant medical care?
4. Now answer this question for yourself:
If you had a serious illness would you prefer to be in hospital or at home with a daily visit from a health worker?
Give your reasons.
B: Vocabulary
Check that you understand the meanings of these words from today's article:
option - a choice.
split - divided in two.
acute - severe, critical.
outcome - result or effect of an action.
burden - responsibility or duty that is not wanted or causes trouble.
assumption - something that is thought to be true but is not proved.
Reading Activities
A: Understanding the Main Idea
Here are the first three paragraphs (Part 1) of today's article. Read them and answer these questions:
1.What question was the Yale University School of Medicine researching?
2.What was the conclusion of the study?
3.Why were researchers surprised?
Part 1
Elderly Patients Often Prefer Hospital to Home Care
By Nancy Deutsch
NEW YORK Monday June 5 (Reuters
Health) - It cannot be assumed that the
elderly always think that home is the
sweetest place to be. Given the option,
seniors are about evenly split between
choosing to go to the hospital versus
home treatment for an acute illness.
When Yale University School of
Medicine researchers studied seniors'
preferences for residing at home or in
hospital during treatment for an acute
illness such as heart failure or
pneumonia, they expected to find that
most elderly patients would choose to
go home.
What they found instead, was that
those polled were equally divided in
what they wanted. "It was not borne
out that you can predict where people
will choose to be,'' said Dr. Terri R.
Fried, lead author of the study
published in the Archives of Internal
Medicine.
(Continued/...)
B: Predicting
Which of these topics do you think will be covered by the remainder of the article?
1.Cost of hospital care compared with home care.
2.Most common diseases for the elderly.
3.Statistics giving the number of elderly who normally stay in hospital with serious diseases.
4.Advantages of staying at home.
5.Advantages of staying in hospital.
6.Disadvantages of staying in hospital.
7.Disadvantages of staying at home.
8.Ways of treating serious diseases for the elderly.
9.Comparison of results of this study with other studies.
10.Explanations for findings.
C: Check your prediction
Now scan Part 2 of the article to see which of the topics from Activity B are discussed in today's article. Your
teacher will set a time limit.
Part 2
(.../Continued) In fact, slightly more than
half of the 246 patients involved in the
study (54%) said they would rather
stay in hospital.
Preferences were dependent on the
outcome of the illness, physician
opinion about the best site of care,
and whether or not doctors would
make house calls if the patient did
select home as the place to recover.
"We know older people put a lot of
faith and trust in their physician,''
Fried said, and these findings support
that.
All study participants were older than
65 and were hospitalized for
congestive heart failure, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, or
pneumonia. The patients were asked
to indicate their preference for home
or hospital as a site of care.
Participants in the study were assured
that those going home would be likely
to recover as well as those who
stayed in hospital, prescribed
treatment would be similar at either
place, and a daily nursing visit and
health aide assistance would be
provided to those at home. They were
then asked to explain the reason for
their choice, such as not wanting to
burden their family, or wanting the
freedom to do things according to
their own schedule.
Of those who selected to go home, the
most often cited reason for doing so
was that it was more comfortable there,
and they would be around family.
Those who opted to stay in the
hospital reported a greater sense of
safety, and a desire for the constant
presence of someone to help.
Only 9% of patients who initially
preferred home would still want to go
home if their chances of recovery were
higher in the hospital, and only 12%
still wanted to go home if their doctor
thought the hospital would be better
for them. People who stated a
preference for a hospital-based
treatment were not likely to change
their choice, even if other factors
changed.
"My take-home message is that a lot of
assumptions have been made about
what older people's preferences are,
and these may be wrong,'' Fried said.
"Let's try to keep giving people their
choices.''
D: Fill the Gaps
Read Part 2 of the article carefully and fill the gaps below with information from the article:
Number of people polled: ______________
Age: ______________
Their medical conditions: ______________
Summary of findings
A little more than half of the patients who had a preference for staying in ___________ said they would
feel more secure there. They wanted to know that they continually had someone near them who could
___________ them.
The rest of the patients who would opt to return home said it was more ___________ there and they
would be near to their ___________.
Very few of the patients who had home as a preference would still want to make that choice if they had a
better chance of recovery in hospital. Just over 10% of patients would choose to go home if their
___________ said that they should ___________ in hospital.
E: Language
1. Look at these examples of the structures that follow 'prefer', 'would prefer' and 'preference':
1.She prefers squash to tennis.
2.She prefers watching videos to reading magazines.
3.She prefers to wash dishes by hand rather than do them in the dishwasher.
4.She would prefer to come next Tuesday.
5.She has a preference for locally made products.
2. Can you find examples of any of these structures in today's article ?
Write them here:
3. Here is some information about two elderly people, Joanna (aged 75) and Carl (aged 79) giving their views on
home and hospital care. Read the statements.
Joanna: I like living in my own home. I could stay with my married daughter but she has 3 noisy
children. It's more peaceful here. If I get sick, I'd still like to stay here because I think hospitals are
extremely noisy places where you don't get much sleep. Of course if I got really sick I'd have to go
to hospital.
Carl: I don't live in my own home now. I'm in a rest home. I couldn't manage anymore on my own. I
don't think home care for someone like me is a good idea. You would be alone a lot of the time. In
hospital you can get 24 hour care and they have all that expensive machinery to help you. If I'm
seriously ill I want to be in hospital with all the machinery and doctors and nurses around me.
4. Write some sentences using 'prefer', 'would prefer' and 'preference' representing the views of Joanna and
Carl.
Example: Carl has a preference for hospital care.
Post-Reading Activities
You may do one or more of these.
A: Tell someone else
Answer this question with someone else:
' "We know older people put a lot of faith and trust in their physician," Fried said.' Is this true for
your relatives?
B: Give your opinion
There is a move in some countries towards treating sick people in their own homes rather than putting them in
hospital. What are the reasons for this? What do you think of this policy?
C: Dialogue
Write a short dialogue between a woman patient polled in today's article and a researcher carrying out the poll
from the Yale University School of Medicine.
(The patient wants to stay in hospital because she feels safer and her doctor thinks she will have better medical
treatment.)
In your dialogue include:
i.the questions that were asked in the poll
ii.the reasons why this patient wants to stay in hospital
Make sure you use your own words and do not copy directly from today's article.
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Hospital or Home
| TEACHERS' NOTES AND ANSWER KEY
Pre-Reading Activities
A: Discussion - Notes
If your students are from different countries put them in mixed nationality groupings for this activity. Otherwise, students from
the similar backgrounds will still find 2 and 4 interesting.
Reading Activities
A: Understanding the Main Idea - Answers
1.Whether or not elderly patients with acute illnesses would prefer to stay in hospital or return home and receive medical
treatment there.
2.They were evenly divided over the question.
3.They expected to find that most patients would prefer to go home rather than stay in hospital. However, the survey did
not show this.
B: Predicting - Notes
Using their understanding of Part 1 of the article students say which of the topics they would expect to be covered in Part 2.
They can compare their predictions with another student.
C: Check your prediction - Notes
Set a time limit suitable for your students.
C: Check your prediction - Answers
The following topics are covered in Part 2 of the article:
Advantages of staying at home.
Advantages of staying in hospital.
Disadvantages of staying at home/Disadvantages of staying in hospital.*
Explanations for findings.
* (implied when patients give reasons for why they want to go home or stay in hospital)
D: Fill the Gaps - Answers
(Answers shown in bold type)
Number of people polled: 246.
Age: older than 65.
Their medical conditions: congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia.
Summary of findings
A little more than half of the patients who had a preference for staying in hospital said they would feel more secure there.
They wanted to know that they continually had someone near them who could help them.
The rest of the patients who would opt to return home said it was more comfortable there and they would be near to their
families.
Very few of the patients who had home as a preference would still want to make that choice if they had a better chance of
recovery in hospital. Just over 10% of patients would choose to go home if their doctor said that they should stay in
hospital.
E: Language - Notes
4 - Students use the information about Carl and Joanna to write sentences using the structures they have studied. Below are
some sample answers. Accept variations on these but make sure that students have used the structures correctly.
E: Language - Answers
2.
1.Elderly Patients Often Prefer Hospital to Home Care (Headline)
2....researchers studied seniors' preferences for residing at home or in hospital
3.Preferences were dependent on the outcome of the illness...
4.The patients were asked to indicate their preference for home or hospital...
5.Only 9% of patients who initially preferred home would still want to go home...
6....a lot of assumptions have been made about what older people's preferences are...
4.
Joanna prefers to live in her own home rather than stay with her married daughter. She prefers her own home because it's more
peaceful. If she got sick she would prefer to stay at home rather than go into hospital.
Carl prefers hospital care to home care because he thinks hospitals provide 24 hour care. He would prefer to be in hospital if he
became seriously ill.