Satisfaction With Care and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities

Background and PurposeThe purpose is to evaluate the construct validity of two generic health measures, the Health Utilities Index Mark 2 (HUI2) and Mark 3 (HUI3) in residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities, using a convergent/divergent validity approach, with the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD) and Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) 2.0 as comparators.MethodsHealth status of 130 residents with dementia residing in one of seven LTC facilities was evaluated by their Healthcare Aides who were their primary care assistants. A priori hypotheses on the magnitude and direction of the correlations were formulated by two clinician/researchers and a researcher familiar with the measures and this population. Predicted and observed correlations were compared.ResultsMean overall HUI2 (0.48, SD 0.16) and HUI3 scores (0.31, SD 0.27) were indicative of severe disability. Of the 208 a priori hypotheses, 39.9% (n = 83) matched the observed correlations, 29.8% were underestimated and 19.7% were overestimated by one category.ConclusionsFindings support the use of the HUI2 and HUI3 in measuring health-related quality of life in dementia-related research to complement disease-specific measures.

Download Full-text

Relationship Between Anticholinergic Burden and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Residents in Long-Term Care

The journal of nutrition health & aging ◽

10.1007/s12603-020-1493-2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ulla L. Aalto ◽

H. Finne-Soveri ◽

H. Kautiainen ◽

H. Öhman ◽

H.-M. Roitto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Nutritional Status ◽

Long Term Care ◽

Health Related Quality ◽

Term Care ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related ◽

Anticholinergic Burden

Abstract Objectives Anticholinergic burden defined by the Anticholinergic Risk Scale (ARS) has been associated with cognitive and functional decline. Associations with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) have been scarcely studied. The aim of this study was to examine the association between anticholinergic burden and HRQoL among older people living in long-term care. Further, we investigated whether there is an interaction between ARS score and HRQoL in certain underlying conditions. Design and participants Cross-sectional study in 2017. Participants were older people residing in long-term care facilities (N=2474) in Helsinki. Measurements Data on anticholinergic burden was assessed by ARS score, nutritional status by Mini Nutritional Assessment, and HRQoL by the 15D instrument. Results Of the participants, 54% regularly used ARS-defined drugs, and 22% had ARS scores ≥2. Higher ARS scores were associated with better cognition, functioning, nutritional status and higher HRQoL. When viewing participants separately according to a diagnosis of dementia, nutritional status or level of dependency, HRQoL was lower among those having dementia, worse nutritional status, or being dependent on another person’s help (adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities). Significant differences within the groups according to ARS score were no longer observed. However, interactions between ARS score and dementia and dependency emerged. Conclusion In primary analysis there was an association between ARS score and HRQoL. However, this relationship disappeared after stratification by dementia, nutritional status and dependency. The reasons behind the interaction concerning dementia or dependency remain unclear and warrant further studies.

Download Full-text