Interventions to optimise prescribing for older people in care homes

There is a substantial body of evidence that prescribing for care home residents is suboptimal and requires improvement. Consequently, there is a need to identify effective interventions to optimise prescribing and resident outcomes in this context.

Effectiveness of medicines review with web-based pharmaceutical treatment algorithms in reducing potentially inappropriate prescribing in older people in primary care:a cluster randomized trial (OPTI-SCRIPT study protocol)

Potentially inappropriate prescribing in older people is common in primary care and can result in increased morbidity, adverse drug events, hospitalizations and mortality. In Ireland, 36% of those aged 70 years or over received at least one potentially inappropriate medication, with an associated expenditure of over €45 million.The main objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness and acceptability of a complex, multifaceted intervention in reducing the level of potentially inappropriate prescribing in primary care.

How young people cope with chronic kidney disease:Literature review

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complex, long-term condition occurring in all age groups. It has been reported that the incidence of renal replacement therapy in young people is 7-8 per million population. Notwithstanding those individuals who may receive a donor kidney, many individuals may be disenfranchised by perceptions of helplessness and feelings of powerlessness against a backdrop of diminished health outlook, consequently impacting on capacity for effective coping. Aim: The aim of this review is to explore how young people cope with CKD. Methods: Three hundred and thirty-seven abstracts were identified. Sixty-three papers were cross-examined using a Critical Appraisal Skills Checklist Tool. Results: Young people face various demands; these may be episodic or ongoing, depending on health and circumstance. The themes this review uncovers are: 'Lack of a Coping Definition'; 'Coping Strategies in Young People'; and 'Barriers to the Understanding of Coping in Young People'. Conclusion: More qualitative research is vital to retrieve 'real-life' perceptions from young people coping with kidney disease to identify how care should be made more explicit for them. © 2012 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association.

Improving the educational achievement of young people in out-of-home care

A strong link between research and practice is essential to ensure
that the best available evidence gets into the hands of child welfare
practitioners, who are faced with the daunting task of making decisions
about vulnerable children on a daily basis. In 2007, a group of
senior child welfare leaders in the province of Ontario (Canada) created
a research dissemination model that replicated the worldrenowned
UK program, Research in Practice (http://www.rip.org.
uk). Practice and Research Together (PART; www.partontario.org) is
an Ontario consortium of 45 child welfare organizations whose mandate
is to disseminate research to its member agencies, which include
85% of the local child welfare organizations in the province. Each
member pays an annual membership-fee that is based on its size
(Dill & Shera, 2011). A key factor in PART's success has been its ability
to link its program offerings (i.e., webinars, literature reviews, conferences,
and publications) to issues of real-world relevance to child
welfare practitioners and senior leaders. A central and highly anticipated
program offering is PART's annual conference (learning
event). These conferences bring evidence to bear on practice in priority
areas in child welfare.
On May 31 and June 1 and 2, 2011, PART, in collaboration with the
Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services (CRECS)
at the University of Ottawa, co-hosted an international conference in
Ottawa that was focused on improving the educational achievement
of young people in out-of-home care (hereafter, in care). Speakers
from five countries – Canada, USA, Germany, Sweden, and UK – presented
the results of their research at the conference. The speakers
addressed three main topic areas: the disadvantaged socio-political
status of young people in care, many of whom do not complete secondary
or post-secondary education; innovative interventions to improve
their educational outcomes; and the effectiveness of tutoring,
which is the most common educational intervention for young people
in care.

Complementary Therapy: perceptions of older people with lung or colorectal cancer

Aim: To explore how older people with lung and colorectal cancer
view registered complementary therapy (CT) services in Northern
Ireland. Background: A literature review highlighted gaps around
information, access, and communication between patients and health
professionals regarding CT services. Methods: Using structured
interviews, a survey of 68 patients in one hospital and one hospice was
conducted in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Results: All respondents felt
that CT services should be better promoted and more easily
accessible to older people with cancer. Some patients were concerned
about the lack of written information provided regarding CT services,
which they believed led to poorer uptake and uncertainty regarding
the potential benefits. Others were concerned that engaging in or
disclosing CT usage might negatively affect existing relationships with
medical professionals. Conclusion: Patients should be offered high
quality written information on CT services to enable choice, improve
knowledge, and promote wider access. Increased physician education
may facilitate provision of such information.

Agency or Dependency?: The Mixed Peppers Theatre Arts Training Project for young people with disabilities

This article provides a reflection on my past practice as Creative Director of The Mixed Peppers Theatre Arts Training Programme. Drawing upon discourses of Disability Studies it considers how this ostensibly emancipatory project that sought to provide access to theatre activity for young people with physical disabilities living in Northern Ireland was flawed, and was eventually disbanded, partly due to a failure on the part of its non-disabled leadership to address imbalances of power in its relationship with its young disabled constituency. The article is framed within a survey of recent debates that focus upon the historical lack of a sustained, indigenous, disability-led theatre activity in Northern Ireland and the recent efforts by non-disabled professional arts practitioners to establish such activity in the region. It offers, as an exemplar to current discussion, an analysis of how the choice and agency of the young members of The Mixed Peppers were compromised by the well-meaning but potentially oppressive practices of its leadership. It questions whether the project was unduly influenced by parental desire to see their disabled children `normalized' in a high-profile theatrical production. Finally, it considers how The Mixed Peppers' institutional situation, as a project controlled and administered by a disability charity, was implicated in the premature demise of the initiative.

Physiotherapy for Sleep Disturbance in People With Chronic Low Back Pain:Results of a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To determine the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of physiotherapy for sleep disturbance in chronic low back pain (CLBP) (=12wks). Design: Randomized controlled trial with evaluations at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Setting: Outpatient physiotherapy department in an academic teaching hospital. Participants: Participants with CLBP were randomly assigned to a walking program (n=20; mean age ± SD, 46.4±13.8y), supervised exercise class (n=20; mean age ± SD, 41.3±11.9y), or usual physiotherapy (n=20; mean age ± SD, 47.1±14.3y). The 3-month evaluation was completed by 44 participants (73%), and 42 (70%) participants completed the 6-month evaluation. Interventions: Participants received a physiotherapy-delivered 8-week walking program, an 8-week group supervised exercise class (1 class/wk), or 1-to-1 usual physiotherapy (advice, manual therapy, and exercise). Main Outcome Measures: Sleep was assessed by the self-reported Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Pittsburgh Sleep Diary, and objective actigraphy. Results: Groups were comparable at baseline. Most (95%, n=57) of the participants had sleep disturbance. The acceptability of actigraphy was excellent at baseline (58 of 60 participants), but dropped at 3 months (26 of 44 participants). There were improvements on the PSQI and ISI in all groups at 3 and 6 months, with predominantly medium effect sizes (Cohen d=0.2-0.5). Conclusions: The high prevalence of sleep disturbance indicated the feasibility of good recruitment in future trials. The PSQI would be a suitable screening tool and outcome measure alongside an objective nonobtrusive sleep outcome measure. The effectiveness of physiotherapy for sleep disturbance in CLBP warrants investigation in a fully powered randomized controlled trial. © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.