The Efficacy of Minimum Unit Pricing, Fiscal and other Pricing Public Policies for Alcohol

This report was commissioned from CJP Consultants Limited by the Department of Health. It sets out the issues relating to hazardous and harmful consumption of alcohol in Ireland. It looks at the international experience and policy response;and makes recommendations about how the problems caused by hazardous alcohol consumption can and should be tackled in Ireland. Click here to download Report on The Efficacy of Minimum Unit Pricing, Fiscal and other Pricing Public Policies for Alcohol PDF 1MB

24-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring is unhelpful in the investigation of older persons with recurrent falls

Although frequently used in the assessment of patients with falls, it is unclear whether 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography contributes to their assessment in older persons. The aim of this study is to identify electrocardiographic abnormalities in patients with recurrent falls and case controls, and determine whether 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography identifies causal arrhythmias for falls. 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography recordings were compared for the type and prevalence of arrhythmias and symptom correlation in consecutive older subjects with recurrent falls attending the accident and emergency department and in case controls (no previous falls or syncope).

National Audit of the Organisation of Services for Falls and Bone Health of Older People

This report presents the results of the second national audit which examines the organisation of services provided to older people for falls prevention and bone health. Falls and fractures are a common and serious problem affecting older people, with high levels of personal and financial cost. National guidelines, supported by the research evidence, require the provision of integrated services for falls and fracture prevention and treatment. Effective commissioning is needed to produce such high quality services.��This audit was commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) as part of the second cycle of audits on services for the prevention of falls and fractures in older people. It follows the first organisational audit, performed in 2005, and the clinical audit of 2007. All were audited against specific standards from the National Service Framework for Older People (NSF) and guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Since the first audit, indicators have been added or updated in line with new guidance including that on falls prevention of inpatients following the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) report on slips, trips and falls in hospital (2007). For the first time, the audit also looks specifically at falls and fracture prevention in mental healthcare and a sample of care homes.

Efficacy of Brief Behavioral Treatment for Chronic Insomnia in Older Adults

��Report: Background�� Chronic insomnia is a common health problemwith substantial consequences in older adults. Cognitive behavioraltreatments are efficacious but not widely available. The aimof this study was to test the efficacy of brief behavioral treatmentfor insomnia (BBTI) vs an information control (IC) condition.��Methods�� A total of 79 older adults (mean age, 71.7 years;54 women [70%]) with chronic insomnia and common comorbiditieswere recruited from the community and 1 primary care clinic.Participants were randomly assigned to either BBTI, consistingof individualized behavioral instructions delivered in 2 interventionsessions and 2 telephone calls, or IC, consisting of printededucational material. Both interventions were delivered by anurse clinician. The primary outcome was categorically definedtreatment response at 4 weeks, based on sleep questionnairesand diaries. Secondary outcomes included self-report symptomand health measures, sleep diaries, actigraphy, and polysomnography.��Conclusion�� We found that BBTI is a simple, efficacious,and durable intervention for chronic insomnia in older adultsthat has potential for dissemination across medical settings.����������