scholarly journals Use of aspirin and statins for cardiovascular risk reduction in New Zealand: The residential care story

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae Bon Hoem ◽  
Ngaire Kerse ◽  
Shane Scahill ◽  
Simon Moyes ◽  
Charlotte Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Prescribing Patterns ◽  
Health Board ◽  
District Health ◽  
Cardiovascular Risk Reduction ◽  
Residential Care Facilities ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Social Debate

INTRODUCTION : Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality for older New Zealanders. Medication prescribing for secondary prevention of cardiovascular events in residential care is unknown and prescribing patterns for aspirin and statins by general practitioners (GPs) in residential care facilities in Auckland, New Zealand are reported here. METHODS: A representative sample of residential care facilities, all residents over age 65 years and their GPs in one district health board region in Auckland were recruited. Prescribing and medical records were audited by a trained nurse and medications coded into classes according to a standardised process. Diagnoses from summary sheets and hospital letters were recorded. Descriptive statistics were used to show variability in proportion of residents prescribed aspirin and statins. RESULTS: Of a total of 24 facilities approached, 14 consented to participate (58%); 537 residents (88% of eligible) agreed to participate and 533 completed the study. Residents took on average 8.3 (standard deviation 2.4) medications. On average 2.64 (range 1–6) GPs serviced each facility with eight GPs working in more than one facility. On average 54% of residents with documented CVD were prescribed aspirin and 31% of those with CVD and/or dyslipidaemia were prescribed statins. Variability between prescribers and facilities was high. DISCUSSION: Prescribing in residential care does not appear to be guidelines-based. The reasons for this are unknown. Ongoing social debate about the role of prevention for older people and interventions for GPs and residential care facilities may impact prescribing rates. KEYWORDS: Cardiovascular diseases; residential care; aspirin; statins; prescribing patterns; general practitioners

Malnutrition risk of older people across district health board community, hospital and residential care settings in New Zealand

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Wham ◽  
Emily Fraser ◽  
Julia Buhs-Catterall ◽  
Rebecca Watkin ◽  
Cheryl Gammon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Older People ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Community Hospital ◽  
Health Board ◽  
District Health

Impacts of the Emergency Mass Evacuation of the Elderly From Residential Care Facilities After the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire P. Heppenstall ◽  
Tim J. Wilkinson ◽  
H. Carl Hanger ◽  
Michelle R. Dhanak ◽  
Sally Keeling
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Older People ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Informal Caregivers ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Disaster Planning ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Residential Care Facilities ◽  
Communication Difficulties ◽  
Care Facilities

AbstractObjectiveThe 2011 earthquake that devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, led to the closure and evacuation of 7 residential care facilities and the partial evacuation of 2 more. Altogether, 516 elderly persons were evacuated. The emergent nature of the disaster was unexpected and largely unplanned for. This study explored the evacuees’ experiences and identified lessons learned for future disaster planning.MethodsThis qualitative study used a general inductive method. Semistructured interviews with evacuees were held in 4 centers throughout New Zealand. Their informal caregivers were also identified and interviewed. Answers were coded and grouped for key themes to provide lessons learned for future disaster planning.ResultsWe conducted 50 interviews with older people and 34 with informal caregivers. Key themes that emerged were resilience and factors that promoted resilience, including personal attitudes, life experiences, enhanced family support, and social supports. Areas of concern were (1) the mental health of evacuees: 36% reported some symptoms of anxiety, while 32.4% of caregivers reported some cognitive decline; and (2) communication difficulties during the evacuations.ConclusionsOlder people were remarkably resilient to the difficult events, and resilience was promoted by family and community support. Anxiety was reported by older people, while informal caregivers reported cognitive issues. Communication difficulties were a major concern.

scholarly journals Planning for the future: Addressing the spatial accessibility of aged residential care facilities in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jacob Eric Daubé
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Spatial Accessibility ◽  
Spatial Access ◽  
Residential Care Facilities ◽  
Location Allocation ◽  
Reduced Frequency ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Gis Methods

<p>Evidence in New Zealand suggests that spatial access to aged residential care facilities (ARCFs) has been declining. Poor spatial access to facilities has been shown internationally to lead to reduced frequency of visitation by family and friends, and in turn poorer mental health and wellbeing of people in care. However, the New Zealand population is ageing and older people are increasing as a proportion of the total population. Subsequently, total demand for ARCFs is set to increase dramatically and a substantial number of facilities will likely need to be built by 2026. The intent of this thesis is to explore how geographic information science (GIS) methods can be used to identify potential locations for these ARCFs in New Zealand so that travel time for friends and family is minimised.  Providers were surveyed on the relative importance of a series of spatial attributes when deciding where to place new facilities. Maps for each spatial attribute were generated from their preferences and overlaid using weighted linear combination and areas exceeding a suitability threshold were identified as potential locations. To choose optimal locations, maximal covering location-allocation models were used based on projected populations and demand for 2026. The spatial accessibility of these locations was then compared to the spatial accessibility of facilities in 2011. The results suggest that GIS methods have the potential to improve the spatial access to ARCFs to friends and family of people in care.</p>

scholarly journals Planning for the future: Addressing the spatial accessibility of aged residential care facilities in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jacob Eric Daubé
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Spatial Accessibility ◽  
Spatial Access ◽  
Residential Care Facilities ◽  
Location Allocation ◽  
Reduced Frequency ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Gis Methods

<p>Evidence in New Zealand suggests that spatial access to aged residential care facilities (ARCFs) has been declining. Poor spatial access to facilities has been shown internationally to lead to reduced frequency of visitation by family and friends, and in turn poorer mental health and wellbeing of people in care. However, the New Zealand population is ageing and older people are increasing as a proportion of the total population. Subsequently, total demand for ARCFs is set to increase dramatically and a substantial number of facilities will likely need to be built by 2026. The intent of this thesis is to explore how geographic information science (GIS) methods can be used to identify potential locations for these ARCFs in New Zealand so that travel time for friends and family is minimised.  Providers were surveyed on the relative importance of a series of spatial attributes when deciding where to place new facilities. Maps for each spatial attribute were generated from their preferences and overlaid using weighted linear combination and areas exceeding a suitability threshold were identified as potential locations. To choose optimal locations, maximal covering location-allocation models were used based on projected populations and demand for 2026. The spatial accessibility of these locations was then compared to the spatial accessibility of facilities in 2011. The results suggest that GIS methods have the potential to improve the spatial access to ARCFs to friends and family of people in care.</p>

Registered nurse prescribing: A descriptive survey of prescribing practices in a single district health board in Aotearoa New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-72
Author(s):  
Melinda McGinty ◽  
◽  
Betty Poot ◽  
Jane Clarke ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Registered Nurse ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Health Board ◽  
Prescribing Practices ◽  
District Health ◽  
Survey Tool ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Descriptive Survey

The expansion of prescribing rights in Aotearoa New Zealand has enabled registered nurse prescribers (RN prescribers) working in primary care and specialty teams, to enhance nursing care, by prescribing medicines to their patient population. This widening of prescribing rights was to improve the population’s access to medicines and health care; however, little is known about the medications prescribed by RN prescribers. This paper reports on a descriptive survey of self-reported RN prescribers prescribing in a single district health board. The survey tool used was a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to record nurse’s area of practice, patient demographic details, health conditions seen, and medicines prescribed and deprescribed. Simple data descriptions and tabulations were used to report the data. Eleven RN prescribers consented to take part in the survey and these nurses worked in speciality areas of cardiology, respiratory, diabetes, and primary care. Findings from the survey demonstrated that RN prescribers prescribe medicines within their area of practice and within the limits of the list of medicines for RN prescribers. Those working in primary care saw a wider range of health conditions and therefore prescribed a broader range of medications. This survey revealed that the list of medications available for RN prescribers needs to be updated regularly to align with the release of evidence-based medications on the New Zealand Pharmaceutical Schedule. It is also a useful record for both educational and clinical settings of the types of medications prescribed by RN prescribers.

Providing care for older adults with extreme obesity in aged residential care facilities: An environmental scan

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 24-36
Author(s):  
Caz Hales ◽  
◽  
Isaac Amankwaa ◽  
Lesley Gray ◽  
Helen Rook ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Extreme Obesity ◽  
Financial Barriers ◽  
Residential Care Facilities ◽  
Environmental Scan ◽  
Staffing Ratios ◽  
Care Facilities

Little is known about the level of service demand and preparedness of Aotearoa New Zealand’s aged residential care facilities to care for older adults with extreme obesity. The aim of this study was to assess the current state of bariatric (extreme obesity) services within aged residential care. An environmental scan was conducted to identify bariatric resident needs and gaps in service provision to inform the development of policy and service provision. Observational and interview data from three facilities in Aotearoa New Zealand was collected along with a retrospective review of national resident admissions over a three-year period. Poor environmental design that included infrastructure deficiencies and financial barriers impacted on the ability to deliver safe and equitable care for this population. Specifically, equipment procurement and safe staffing ratios were of concern to the sector. There is an increasing need for bariatric level support within aged care, necessitating more equipment and staff, adaptation of physical care environments, and enhanced funding. Significant investment is required to address care concerns of older adults with extreme obesity at government and organisational levels.

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