scholarly journals Developing a Dementia Care Training Curriculum for Registered Dietitians

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 443-444
Author(s):  
Joy Douglas ◽  
Christine Ferguson ◽  
Beth Nolan

Abstract Research supports the need for healthcare providers who are trained in providing care to older adults with dementia. However, few training options exist for Registered Dietitians (RDs) seeking dementia care training that is specific to nutrition. The purpose of this project was to adapt an existing dementia care training curriculum to meet the learning needs of RDs. The development team included two experts in dementia training and two RDs with expertise in gerontological nutrition. The new training module was based on the existing Positive Approach to Care™ (PAC) curriculum, which incorporates Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and the Adult Experiential Learning Cycle. The development team first identified learning objectives for content that would be relevant to RDs who work with persons living with dementia, and modified components of the existing PAC curriculum to meet these objectives. After a preliminary pilot, the 2-hour program was presented to 20 RDs using a combination of lecture presentation, experiential learning, and skill-building techniques. Participants were provided written materials to reinforce the concepts presented. Participants answered five dementia-specific questions before and after the training, and overall, the average percentage of correct answers improved following the training. Two weeks following the training, participants completed an open-ended survey to provide feedback on the training. Participants responded favorably to the mixed learning formats in the training. When asked to rank their preferred learning methods, participants indicated lecture-based learning and experiential learning as their top preferred methods. These findings indicate that the adapted curriculum may improve dementia knowledge among RDs.

Author(s):  
Maryam Attef ◽  
Mireille Cloutier ◽  
Meredith Gillespie ◽  
Chantal Trudel ◽  
Kym Boycott

This quality improvement study focused on developing an understanding of factors influencing the ability of prenatal genetics counsellors (GCs) to efficiently see patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies to improve their workflow using techniques from human factors and design. The demand for Prenatal Genetics Clinics is rising which has increased pressure on GCs to become more efficient. Genetics counsellors can improve access to their services by reducing the time spent on the tasks performed before and after a genetic counselling encounter, thereby increasing the number of patients they see. We were limited to certain methods to understand the differences in workflow before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study involved a literature review, archival analysis of workflow studies conducted before the pandemic, stakeholder meetings and mapping, a brainstorming session, as well as documenting time-on-task in a diary and naturalistic observation sessions. A task analysis was developed to identify factors influencing efficiency related to the design of the space, processes and the use of artefacts. Virtual and on-site workflows show that GCs spend at least half of their time on tasks before and/or after the patient’s appointment. Looking at potential inefficiencies or bottlenecks in workflow formed the development of a strategic plan for improving GC workflows at the prenatal Genetics Clinic. Improvements suggested through this analysis were constrained to support the current number of healthcare providers working within the existing space configuration.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyung Hee Lee ◽  
Ji Yeon Lee ◽  
Bora Kim

Abstract Background and Objectives The concept of person-centered care has been utilized/adapted to various interventions to enhance health-related outcomes and ensure the quality of care delivered to persons living with dementia. A few systematic reviews have been conducted on the use of person-centered interventions in the context of dementia care, but to date, none have analyzed intervention effect by intervention type and target outcome. This study aimed to review person-centered interventions used in the context of dementia care and examine their effectiveness. Research Design and Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. We searched through five databases for randomized controlled trials that utilized person-centered interventions in persons living with dementia from 1998 to 2019. Study quality was assessed using the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The outcomes of interest for the meta-analysis were behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia (BPSD) and cognitive function assessed immediately after the baseline measurement. Results In total, 36 studies were systematically reviewed. Intervention types were: reminiscence, music, and cognitive therapies, and multisensory stimulation. Thirty studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results showed a moderate effect size for overall intervention, a small one for music therapy, and a moderate one for reminiscence therapy on BPSD and cognitive function. Discussion and Implications Generally speaking, person-centered interventions showed immediate intervention effects on reducing BPSD and improving cognitive function, although the effect size and significance of each outcome differed by intervention type. Thus, healthcare providers should consider person-centered interventions as a vital element in dementia care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S81-S81
Author(s):  
Sarah Norman ◽  
Sara Jones ◽  
Cara Acklin ◽  
Christian Cheatham

Abstract Background Antimicrobial stewardship initiatives and efforts have historically had a greater emphasis in the inpatient hospital setting. There is a need for outpatient stewardship, and additionally, accreditation standards are starting to require antimicrobial stewardship efforts in the ambulatory care setting. Fluoroquinolones are a target for antimicrobial stewardship based on their broad-spectrum activity, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, safety profile, downstream resistance, and risk of super infections. The objective of this study was to compare outpatient fluoroquinolone prescribing rates before and after pharmacist led initiative. Methods This was a prospective, quality improvement initiative between October 1, 2019 to June 1, 2020 at a community-based physician network across Indiana. The pharmacist initiative incorporated a live, educational presentation with intervention 1 and an informational letter to healthcare providers across the outpatient physician network with intervention 2. Data was collected from a computer-generated, prescription report. The primary outcome was fluoroquinolone prescribing rates at Central Indiana (CI) sites before and after pharmacist led interventions. Rate of fluoroquinolone prescribing was defined as total number of fluoroquinolone prescriptions per month. The secondary outcome included percentage of fluoroquinolone use at CI sites. Percentage of fluoroquinolone use was defined as monthly number of fluoroquinolones prescriptions compared to monthly number of all oral antibiotic prescriptions. Results There was a 29.8% decrease (382 vs 268 prescriptions) in outpatient fluoroquinolone prescriptions at CI sites after intervention 1 compared to same month of previous year. There was a 43.7% decrease (428 vs 241 prescriptions) in outpatient fluoroquinolone prescriptions at CI sites after intervention 2. There was an overall 2.4% decrease (4.9% vs 2.5%) in percentage of fluoroquinolone use compared to all oral antibiotics at CI sites after intervention 2 compared to same month of previous year. Conclusion These findings suggest the pharmacist led outpatient antimicrobial stewardship initiative successfully decreased fluoroquinolone prescribing rates across the network. Disclosures Christian Cheatham, PharmD, BCIDP, Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (Shareholder)


Medicine ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. e14250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongjung Kim ◽  
Juncheol Lee ◽  
Sanghyun Lee ◽  
Jaehoon Oh ◽  
Boseung Kang ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Kenniff ◽  
Daniel Thomas Ginat

Abstract Background The high frequency of missed appointments continues to be a burden to healthcare providers, leading to decreased productivity, quality of service, and quality of outcome. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Televox’s automated appointment reminder service in reducing the missed appointment rate. Televox appointment reminders were implemented at three of five locations in October 2018, and the total and no-show numbers were summed across those locations for each month to calculate monthly missed appointment rates. T-tests were used to compare the missed appointment rate before and after October for four groups, locations with or without Televox implementation, in 2018 or 2019. Results An insignificant decline in missed appointment rates was found in locations using with Televox (p = 0.495) overall, although a significant decrease in missed appointments was found among Medicaid patients (p = 0.0381). Conclusion Implementation of Televox appointment reminder systems did not significantly affect appointment attendance overall, but could be more useful specifically for encouraging Medicaid patients to attend MRI appointments.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Elisa Borah ◽  
Valerie Rosen ◽  
Jessica Fink ◽  
Christopher Paine

2021 ◽  
pp. EMDR-D-20-00053
Author(s):  
Philip E. Manfield ◽  
Lewis Engel ◽  
Ricky Greenwald ◽  
David G. Bullard

The flash technique (FT) is a low-intensity individual or group intervention that appears to rapidly lessen the distress of disturbing and traumatic memories. This paper reports on the safety and effectiveness of group FT with 77 healthcare providers and 98 psychotherapists impacted by working with COVID-19 patients. One-hour webinars included 30 minutes of psychoeducation and two guided 15-minute FT interventions, focused on participants’ most distressing pandemic-related memory. Before and after each 15-minute FT intervention, they rated that memory using the 11-point zero-to-ten subjective units of disturbance (SUD) scale. Results from both interventions were highly significant with large effect sizes (p < .001, Hedges’ g = 2.01, Hedges’ g = 2.39). No adverse reactions were reported. For 35 participants who processed the same memory in both interventions, the pre–post SUD scores from the beginning of intervention #1 to the end of intervention #2 showed a significant reduction with a large effect size (p < .001, Hedges’ g = 3.80). For this group, both intervention #1 and intervention #2 showed significant reductions with large effect sizes (p < .001, Hedges’ g = 2.00) (p < .001, Hedges’ g = 1.18). Follow-up SUD scores were obtained from 58 participants, with the mean disturbance level showing a significant further decrease. These findings provide preliminary evidence that group FT appears to safely provide rapid relief from disturbing memories. FT merits further research.


Author(s):  
Sanjhavi Agarwal ◽  
Jordan Burr ◽  
Charis Darnell ◽  
Brett Ellison ◽  
Amir El-Khalili ◽  
...  

Despite the existence of medical waste disposal sites, many patients do not know how to discard their unused and expired medications. The goal of this project is to assess health care providers’ knowledge regarding proper medication disposal (PMD) and to measure the effectiveness of a brief provider informational intervention regarding PMD. Changes in knowledge were evaluated using paper pre and post surveys. The surveys were administered anonymously before and after the presentation. Principal findings: A total of 55 healthcare providers (Clinic A n = 25, Clinic B n = 28) received the PMD presentation. 52 (95%) completed the pre and post surveys. Pre-intervention knowledge of PMD was higher in Clinic B where there was an existing medication disposal box (92% accuracy) compared to Clinic B which did not have a medical disposal bin (52% accuracy). Surveys results showed improvement in 36% of Clinic A participants and 14.3% of Clinic B participants (p value = 0.0086). Based on these findings, we can conclude that the presence of a medication disposal bin is positively correlated with provider knowledge regarding PMD. This may be used to encourage the institution of medication disposal bins in more health centers and an increase in medical staff knowledge of the practice.


Stroke ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Jarnot ◽  
Christopher Streib ◽  
Angela Heyer ◽  
Amy Reichert ◽  
David Anderson ◽  
...  

Introduction: “Stroke codes” (SCs) facilitate the timely treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with IV tPA or intra-arterial thrombectomy (IAT), but are inherently resource-intensive and can expose patients to unnecessary and potentially harmful interventions. While all healthcare providers are encouraged to activate SCs, this might lead to low SC-to-treatment-ratios (SCTR). We examined the impact of de-escalation of stroke codes (DSCs) on SCTR. Methods: DSCs were initiated in our institution in January 2015. All DSCs were reviewed for the patient’s eligibility for IV tPA or IAT, and reason for de-escalation. We reviewed all stroke codes 12 months before and after the initiation of this process and compared the SCTR by chi-squared testing. Results: In 2014, prior to DSCs, 253 SCs resulted in 22 AIS interventions (22 IV tPA) for a SCTR of 8.7%. In 2015, 348 SCs were activated with 64 subsequent DSCs (18.4%) and 45 AIS interventions (38 IV tPA, 7 IAT, 7 both), for a SCTR of 15.8%. The improvement in SCTR after introducing DSCs was statistically significant (p=0.012). When restricting the analysis to IV tPA interventions alone, there remained a trend (p=0.068) towards improvement in SCTR. Retrospective chart review did not reveal any DSC cases that resulted in missed opportunity for IV TPA or IAT treatment. No DSCs were due to an acute ICH. Justifications for de-escalations are summarized in figure 1. Conclusions: The introduction of DSCs resulted in a statistically significant absolute improvement in SCTR of 7.1%. Importantly, DSCs did not result in any eligible AIS patient forgoing IV tPA or IAT, nor missed ICH. More research is needed to increase the yield of stroke codes, refine the criteria for both activating and de-escalating them, and quantify the resource and cost implications of such de-escalations.


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