OLDER WOMEN’S LIFELONG EXPERIENCES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Violence against women is a serious criminal and public health issue with devastating consequences for women, families and society. To date, little international research has been given to understanding the needs of older women, who are experiencing domestic violence; that is, physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse carried out by a spouse or partner. This study fills a significant gap in the literature as the needs of older women who have experienced a lifetime of domestic violence in Northern Ireland are unknown. Health professionals, service providers and policy makers often assume that violence stops at age 55 and there is a noticeable lack of literature, research and guidelines on the issue. The greatest challenge for health visitors is that abuse remains hidden, with women remaining silent and finding it difficult to speak openly or seek help.

Evaluation of an Older Persons’ Assessment Educational Workbook with second year nursing students in the UK.

Background: As a first step to successfully meet the complex health and social needs of older people, patient assessment has become a central feature of government policy and practice in order to ensure that care planning is person-centred. A core component of nurse education is clinical practice in order to support the development of clinical skills and competence; therefore it is important to help students and their practice-based mentors to develop and apply older person assessment skills. Therefore, an educational workbook was developed to help 2nd year nursing students to learn a structured, systematic and individualised older person assessment process with the support of their mentor.

Aim: A pilot study to evaluate the impact of an Older Persons’ Assessment Educational Workbook and explore second year nursing students’ competence and their opinions and use of an older person’s assessment skills workbook.

Research Methodology: A pre-experimental design (pre and post-test with no comparison group) was undertaken with n=6 2nd year students in 2014. The outcome measure was the Nursing Competence Questionnaire and results were analysed using the Wilcoxin Signed Rank Test in SPSS version 21. Content analysis of completed workbooks and a survey (n=5) of opinions regarding the workbook was undertaken.

Key Findings- No pre-post-test difference was found in the Nursing Competence Questionnaire with p=0.058 for the total scale. However, as this was a pilot, the study was under-powered and all students’ scores improved. Content analysis of the workbook found that 3 of the 5 participants completed all components of the workbook, with a mean of 1051 words used (Std dev 281.8). Through the survey students reported the workbook as a useful guide when undertaking a patient assessment.

Conclusions: The workbook showed potential as an intervention to help support development of nursing students’ assessment skills in practice.

Successful balance training is associated with improved multisensory function in fall-prone older adults

Balance maintenance relies on a complex interplay between many different sensory modalities. Although optimal multisensory processing is thought to decline with ageing, inefficient integration is particularly associated with falls in older adults. We investigated whether improved balance control, following a novel balance training intervention, was associated with more efficient multisensory integration in older adults, particularly those who have fallen in the past. Specifically, 76 healthy and fall-prone older adults were allocated to either a balance training programme conducted over 5 weeks or to a passive control condition. Balance training involved a VR display in which the on-screen position of a target object was controlled by shifts in postural balance on a Wii balance board. Susceptibility to the sound-induced flash illusion, before and after the intervention (or control condition), was used as a measure of multisensory function. Whilst balance and postural control improved for all participants assigned to the Intervention group, improved functional balance was correlated with more efficient multisensory processing in the fall-prone older adults only. Our findings add to growing evidence suggesting important links between balance control and multisensory interactions in the ageing brain and have implications for the development of interventions designed to reduce the risk of falls.

The subjective numeracy scale as a tool for assessing statistical numeracy in older adult populations

BACKGROUND:
Statistical numeracy, necessary for making informed medical decisions, is reduced among older adults who make more decisions about their medical care and treatment than at any other stage of life. Objective numeracy scales are a source of anxiety among patients, heightened among older adults.
OBJECTIVE:
We investigate the subjective numeracy scale as an alternative tool for measuring statistical numeracy with older adult samples.
METHODS:
Numeracy was assessed using objective measures for 526 adults ranging in age from 18 to 93 years, and all participants provided subjective numeracy ratings.
RESULTS:
Subjective numeracy correlated highly with objective measurements among oldest adults (70+ years; r = 0.51, 95% CI 0.32, 0.66), and for younger age groups. Subjective numeracy explained 33.2% of age differences in objective numeracy.
CONCLUSION:
The subjective numeracy scale provides an effective tool for assessing statistical numeracy for broad age ranges and circumvents problems associated with objective numeracy measures.

Risks of high-powered motorcycles among younger adults

OBJECTIVES:
We assessed whether policies designed to safeguard young motorcyclists would be effective given shifts in ownership toward high-powered motorcycles.
METHODS:
We investigated population-wide motor vehicle driver and motorcyclist casualties (excluding passengers) recorded in Britain between 2002 and 2009. To adjust for exposure and measure individual risk, we used the estimated number of trips of motorcyclists and drivers, which had been collected as part of a national travel survey.
RESULTS:
Motorcyclists were 76 times more likely to be killed than were drivers for every trip. Older motorcyclist age-strongly linked to experience, skill set, and riding behavior-did not abate the risks of high-powered motorcycles. Older motorcyclists made more trips on high-powered motorcycles.
CONCLUSIONS:
Tighter engine size restrictions would help reduce the use of high-powered motorcycles. Policymakers should introduce health warnings on the risks of high-powered motorcycles and the benefits of safety equipment.

Vosaroxin and vosaroxin plus low-dose Ara-C (LDAC) vs low-dose Ara-C alone in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia

The development of new treatments for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia is an active area, but has met with limited success. Vosaroxin, a quinolone-derived intercalating agent has several properties that could prove beneficial. Initial clinical studies showed it to be well-tolerated in older patients with relapsed/refractory disease. In vitro data suggested synergy with cytarabine (Ara-C). To evaluate vosaroxin, we performed 2 randomized comparisons within the "Pick a Winner" program. A total of 104 patients were randomized to vosaroxin vs low-dose Ara-C (LDAC) and 104 to vosaroxin + LDAC vs LDAC. When comparing vosaroxin with LDAC, neither response rate (complete recovery [CR]/complete recovery with incomplete count recovery [CRi], 26% vs 30%; odds ratio [OR], 1.16 (0.49-2.72); P = .7) nor 12-month survival (12% vs 31%; hazard ratio [HR], 1.94 [1.26-3.00]; P = .003) showed benefit for vosaroxin. Likewise, in the vosaroxin + LDAC vs LDAC comparison, neither response rate (CR/CRi, 38% vs 34%; OR, 0.83 [0.37-1.84]; P = .6) nor survival (33% vs 37%; HR, 1.30 [0.81-2.07]; P = .3) was improved. A major reason for this lack of benefit was excess early mortality in the vosaroxin + LDAC arm, most obviously in the second month following randomization. At its first interim analysis, the Data Monitoring and Ethics Committee recommended closure of the vosaroxin-containing trial arms because a clinically relevant benefit was unlikely.

Access to a Car and the Self-Reported Health and Mental Health of People Aged 65 and Older in Northern Ireland

This article examines relationships between access to a car and the self- reported health and mental health of older people. The analysis is based on a sample of N 1⁄4 65,601 individuals aged 65 years and older from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study linked to 2001 and 2011 census returns. The findings from hierarchical linear and binary logistic multilevel path models indicate that having no access to a car is related to a considerable health and mental health disadvantage particularly for older people who live alone. Rural–urban health and mental health differences are mediated by access to a car. The findings support approaches that emphasize the importance of autonomy and independence for the well-being of older people and indicate that not having access to a car can be a problem for older people not only in rural but also in intermediate and urban areas, if no sufficient alternative forms of mobility are provided.