Enhancing nutritional research within an aged care facility

Aim: The present study examined the barriers to the implementation of a nutritional intervention project and sought ways to enhance future projects.

Methods: The study, utilising a qualitative approach, included participants from key areas involved in the project and who were employed by either the university or regional aged care facility.

Results: Through analysis the themes 'successes', 'stumbling blocks' and 'solutions' emerged. Within these themes descriptive stories of what worked, what did not work and suggestions for future projects are depicted.

Conclusions: Communication was the connecting element of each theme, suggesting effective verbal and written communication that ensures ownership by all involved is essential for successful clinical research projects. Strategies to enhance this process have been included to assist future researchers.

Barriers to care for depressed older people : perceptions of aged care among medical professionals

The current study evaluated barriers to detection of depression among older people. Focus groups were conducted with 21 professional carers, 4 nurses, 10 general practitioners, and 7 aged care managers. The results demonstrated that care for older people is primarily focused on physical care. Further, staff resources, a lack of continuity of care, multiple co-morbidities, reluctance by older people to discuss depression, negative attitudes among carers, as well as a lack of skills all contributed to a failure to detect and treat depression. The implications of these findings for training programs for professional carers are discussed.

Development of benchmarks for determining infrastructure needs for the aged

This project developed benchmarks and benchmarking procedures to indicate the current and future infrastructure requirements of the aged in regional centres. The benchmarks correlate the infrastructure requirements of the aged with demographic trends. The research also modelled aged infrastructure requirements within the broader context of the sustainability of cities.

Intentions to quit work among care staff working in the aged care sector

Purpose of the Study: The aged care industry experiences high rates of staff turnover. Staff turnover has significant implications for the quality of care provided to care recipients and the financial costs to care agencies. In this study, we applied a model of intention to quit to identify the contextual and personal factors that shape aged care staff’s intention to quit.

Design and Methods: A sample of 208 aged care staff, including nurses, personal care assistants, allied health professionals, and managers completed a self-report questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed intention to quit, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, self-esteem, stressors, stress, and supervisor support.

Results: The findings largely supported the model. Specifically, job commitment, job satisfaction, and work stressors directly influenced intentions to quit, although work stressors and supervisor support demonstrated numerous indirect associations on quitting intentions.

Implications: The findings suggest that aged care service providers can modify aged care workers’ intentions to quit by reducing job stressors and increasing supervisor support.

Factors influencing psychotropic prescription by non-psychiatrist physicians in a nursing home for the elderly in Brazil

CONTEXTO E OBJETIVO: Embora os psicotrópicos sejam uma das classes de medicações mais prescritas em abrigos para idosos, os estudos avaliando o seu padrão de prescrição são limitados em número e escopo. Este estudo visou investigar os fatores associados ao uso de psicofármacos em um abrigo para idosos no Brasil. TIPO DE ESTUDO E LOCAL: Estudo retrospectivo observacional realizado no Abrigo da Velhice de Rio Claro, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista. MÉTODOS: Dados sobre prescrições foram extraídos dos prontuários médicos dos 108 idosos moradores do abrigo. Sessenta e cinco sujeitos (idade média ± desvio padrão = 74,5 ± 9,4 anos), em uso regular de medicação, constituíram a amostra. Foram examinados os efeitos das variáveis sociodemográficas e clínicas sobre o padrão de prescrição de psicofármacos. RESULTADOS: As mulheres recebiam mais psicofármacos (p = 0.038); indivíduos em uso de medicações para doenças cardiovasculares recebiam menos psicofármacos (p = 0.001). Houve correlação negativa entre número de psicofármacos prescritos e, ambos, idade (p = 0.009) e número de medicações clínicas (p = 0.009). CONCLUSÃO: Embora preliminares, os resultados indicam as doenças cardiovasculares como a variável clínica que mais influenciou a prescrição de psicofármacos. Uma excessiva precaução por parte dos clínicos pode explicar parcialmente este resultado. Novas investigações, com amostras maiores e de diferentes regiões são desejáveis para confirmação destes dados.

The Presence of Asbestos-Contaminated Vermiculite Attic Insulation and/or Other Asbestos Containing Materials in Homes and the Potential for Living Space Contamination

Asbestos-contaminated vermiculite attic insulation (VAI) produced from a mine near Libby, Montana, may be present in millions of homes along with other commercial asbestos-containing materials (ACM). The primary goal of the research described here was to develop and test procedures that would allow for the safe and effective weatherization of low-income homes with asbestos. The presence of asbestos insulation was confirmed by bulk sampling of the suspect asbestos material. The homes were then tested for the presence of asbestos fibers in the living spaces. All 40 homes containing VAI revealed the presence of amphibole asbestos in bulk samples. Asbestos (primarily chrysotile) was confirmed in bulk samples of ACM collected from 18 homes. Amphibole asbestos was detected in the living space of 12 (26%) homes, while chrysotile asbestos was detected in the living space of 45 (98%) homes. These results suggest that asbestos sources in homes can contribute to living space contamination

Some results of an effort to reform the homes of the laboring classes in New York City.

Mode of access: Internet.

Questions and answers on health insurance for the aged. Medical and related aspects of the new program and how it will operate.

Cover title.

Delay in development and implementation of medical assistance for the aged program, District of Columbia Government;

Cover title.

Reorganization plan no. 23 of 1950 : providing for transfer of the financing of factory-built homes from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to the Housing and Home Finance Administratator : report.

Also in Congressional serial volume 11369.

Changes : research on aging and the aged.

Mode of access: Internet.