scholarly journals Assisted Living Care for Special Populations

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 676-676
Author(s):  
Philip Sloane ◽  
Sheryl Zimmerman

Abstract Assisted living (AL) is a notable provider of residential long-term care for older adults; there are almost twice as many AL communities as nursing homes, and they provide care to more than 800,000 older adults. As AL has evolved, it has come to serve more individuals with cognitive, mental, and health care needs. For example, 70% of residents have sleep disturbances, 42% have moderate/severe dementia, and mortality rates average 14% annually. Care needs include those for behaviors such as agitation, serious mental illness, and at the end-of-life. However, not all AL communities provide similar care. This symposium will use national data and data from a seven state study of 250 AL communities to focus on four populations receiving care in AL: persons with dementia, serious mental illness, sleep disturbances, and on hospice. The first speaker will discuss how AL staff conceive of and respond to behavioral expressions of persons with dementia; the second will focus on the use of psychosocial/environmental practices for persons with dementia in AL. The third speaker will discuss the growing proportion of persons with serious mental illness in AL and related implications for care. The fourth presenter will address the high use of melatonin in AL, as well as resident- and community-level correlates of melatonin prescribing. The final speaker will examine hospice use in AL and how it varies based on community characteristics. These findings related to care and care needs for four key populations have important implications for practice, policy, and future research.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 238-238
Author(s):  
Hiroko Kiyoshi-Teo ◽  
Claire McKinley-Yoder ◽  
Erin Lemon ◽  
Olivia Ochoa

Abstract Older adults in residential care settings are four times more likely than those not living in care facilities to experience falls. Yet, fall prevention efforts at long-term care settings are under-resourced, under-regulated, and under-studied. To address this gap, we developed and studied the impact of a specialty clinical, Fall Prevention Care Management (FPCM), for nursing students to decrease older adults’ fall risks. We enrolled assisted living residents that facility liaison identified as being high fall risk (fall rates or fall risk were not tracked at the study sites) and MOCA ≥15, in 2 assisted living facilities in Northwest USA. Participants received weekly, 1-hour, individual, semi-structured, Motivational Interviewing-based care management visits by same students over 6 visits. Changes in fall risks were measured by the CDC STEADI assessment (unsteadiness & worry), Falls Self-Efficacy Scale International-Short (FESI-S), and Falls Behavioral Scale (FAB). Twenty-five residents completed the study. Students addressed the following (multiple responses possible): emotional needs (n=23), improved motivation to prevent falls (n=21), and individualized education/coaching (i.e., exercise, mobility aids) (n=10-17). FESI-S score improved from 16.0 to 14.4 (p=.001; decreased fear. FAB score improved from 2.94 to 3.10 (p=.05; more frequent fall prevention behaviors). Frequency of those who felt steady while standing or walking increased (24% to 40%, p=.07) and those who did not worry about falling increased (20% to 36%, p=.08). FPCM clinical offered valuable opportunity to address unmet care needs of older adults to reduce fall risks.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 955-955
Author(s):  
Maria Roche-Dean ◽  
Sol Baik ◽  
Heehyul Moon ◽  
Norma Coe ◽  
Anna Oh ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives Paid care provided in the home or through community organizations includes important support services for older adults with dementia such as cleaning and personal care assistance. These services could delay the transition to long-term care, but access may differ across sociodemographic groups. This study examined the relationship between paid care and transitioning out of the community among diverse older adults with dementia. Methods Using data from 303 participants (29.4% Black) with probable dementia in the National Health and Aging Trends Study (2011-2019), subdistribution hazard models estimated the association between receiving paid care at baseline and the probability of transitioning out of the community over the next eight years. Covariate selection was guided by the Andersen model of healthcare utilization. Results Paid care was associated with lower risk of transitioning out of the community (SHR = 0.70, 95% CI [0.50, 0.98]). This effect was similar after controlling for predisposing factors and most prominent after controlling for enabling and need for services factors (SHR = 0.63, 95% CI [0.42, 0.94]) and was only evident among Whites. There were no racial differences in the use of paid care, but Black participants were less likely to transition out of the community than Whites despite evidencing greater care needs. Discussion Paid care services may help delay transitions out of the community. Future research should seek to explain racial differences in access to and/or preferences for home-based, community-based, and residential care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 677-677
Author(s):  
Cassandra Hua ◽  
Portia Cornell ◽  
Kali Thomas

Abstract Little is known about trends in the prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI) and Alzheimer’s disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) in assisted living (AL). We summarize changes in the prevalence of SMI and ADRD in larger AL settings (25+ beds) from 2008-2017 using Medicare claims data. We compare these changes to nursing home (NH) and community rates of SMI and ADRD. We also examine state variability in SMI and ADRD in AL in 2017. The prevalence of SMI in AL increased 37%, from 7.8% in 2008 to 10.7% in 2017; ADRD prevalence increased 34%, from 27% to 36.4%. Over time, NHs exhibited the greatest increases in SMI (53%), followed by AL (37%) and the community cohorts (27%). Increases in ADRD were highest in AL. Rates of SMI in AL ranged from 3.5% in Wyoming to 28.7% in New York. We discuss implications for future research and policy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 205-206
Author(s):  
Sera Havrilla ◽  
Alicia Lucksted ◽  
Deborah Medoff ◽  
Karen Fortuna ◽  
Amanda Peeples ◽  
...  

Abstract Older adults with serious mental illness (SMI) have complex care needs across medical, psychiatric, cognitive, and social domains. This growing population exhibits high levels of medical comorbidity and sedentariness. Innovative interventions that promote holistic recovery for this group are needed, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Peer Education on Exercise for Recovery (PEER) is a peer coaching intervention, delivered by VA Peer Specialists (Veterans with lived experience of mental illness), to promote exercise and physical activity among older adults with SMI. This paper will present on three different models of PEER: fully in-person, fully remote, and a hybrid model with both in-person and remote elements. Preliminary data indicates that PEER is (1) engaging and well-liked, (2) associated with greater sustained increases in physical activity compared to an active control, and (3) can lead to sustained physical activity increases that are resilient to situational constraints such as physical distancing.


GeroPsych ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-76
Author(s):  
Grace C. Niu ◽  
Patricia A. Arean

The recent increase in the aging population, specifically in the United States, has raised concerns regarding treatment for mental illness among older adults. Late-life depression (LLD) is a complex condition that has become widespread among the aging population. Despite the availability of behavioral interventions and psychotherapies, few depressed older adults actually receive treatment. In this paper we review the research on refining treatments for LLD. We first identify evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for LLD and the problems associated with efficacy and dissemination, then review approaches to conceptualizing mental illness, specifically concepts related to brain plasticity and the Research Domain Criteria (RDoc). Finally, we introduce ENGAGE as a streamlined treatment for LLD and discuss implications for future research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 733-734
Author(s):  
Lindsay Peterson ◽  
David Dosa ◽  
Patricia D’Antonio

Abstract Preparedness of residents in long-term care (LTC) in the face of hurricane emergencies is a contested and largely unanswered question. Our prior work involving the U.S. Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005-08 showed that exposure to various storms on nursing home (NH) residents resulted in significantly more deaths than reported by health care officials. This work also highlighted that evacuation of NH residents, compared to sheltering in place, was independently associated with morbidity and mortality. Hurricane Irma struck Florida on Sept. 10, 2017, prompting the evacuation of thousands of NH and assisted living community (ALC) residents. This symposium will discuss the effects of Hurricane Irma on vulnerable older adults residing in NHs and ALCs using mixed quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The first presentation will discuss morbidity and mortality of NH residents exposed to Hurricane Irma and will stratify by long stay/short stay status and hospice enrollment. The second presentation will discuss improvements and continued barriers to NH preparedness based on interviews with 30 administrators following Hurricane Irma. Using a novel methodology to identify residents of ALCs using secondary data sources, the third presentation will document AL resident morbidity and mortality risk following Hurricane Irma. The final presentation will highlight results of interviews with 70 stakeholders from small and large ALCs concerning the hurricane experiences of residents, including those with dementia. This symposium offers a multi-faceted view of a disaster’s effects on LTC residents across Florida, including novel data from the NH environment and lesser-examined ALCs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 6-6
Author(s):  
Sarah Marrs ◽  
Jennifer Inker ◽  
Madeline McIntyre ◽  
Leland Waters ◽  
Tracey Gendron

Abstract Senior mentoring programs have been established that provide medical students exposure to a community-dwelling older adult mentor. The goal of these programs is to expose students to healthy older adults, increase knowledge of geriatrics, and prepare them to care for an aging population. However, even while participating in a senior mentoring program, health professions students still demonstrate some discriminatory language towards older adults (e.g., Gendron, Inker, & Welleford, 2018). In fact, research suggests ageist practices occur, intentionally or not, among all health professions and within assisted living and long-term care facilities (e.g., Bowling, 1999; Dobbs et al., 2008; Kane & Kane, 2005). There is reason to believe that how we feel about other older adults is a reflection of how we feel about ourselves as aging individuals. As part of an evaluation of a Senior Mentoring program, we found that students’ attitudes towards older adults were not significantly improved (t (92) = .38, p = .70). To further explore this, we collected subsequent qualitative data. Specifically, we asked students to respond to the open-ended prompt before and after completing their senior mentoring program: How do you feel about your own aging? Our findings have revealed just how complex students’ views towards aging and elderhood are, pointing to a need to develop a theoretical framework for how these views are formed. Thus, the results of this qualitative grounded theory study illustrate the stages of development medical students’ progress through as they come to accept themselves as aging humans.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 222-222
Author(s):  
Noriko Suzuki ◽  
Masahiko Hashizume ◽  
Hideyuki Shiotani

Abstract Postprandial hypotension (PPH) is an unrecognized sudden drop of blood pressure (BP) after meals and a hidden problem among older people including those living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Though PPH causes dizziness, falls, and syncope, it has received little attention from¬¬¬ healthcare workers (HCW) including caregivers, nurses and physicians, and risk factors of PPH should be carefully assessed to improve quality of life. Therefore, we aimed to examine the prevalence and risk factors of PPH in a LTCF in Japan. Participants were 114 older adults living in a LTCF in Japan (mean age 85.9 years old; 85 female (74%)). To examine PPH, blood pressure (BP) was measured before and after lunch. BP after meal was measured four times every 30 minutes. PPH is defined as a BP drop of 20 mmHg or more and we also defined a BP drop within a range of 19 to 15 mmHg as potential-PPH. As risk factors, we compared systolic and diastolic BP at baseline, body mass index, pulse rate, disease and complications between groups with/without PPH. The prevalence of PPH was 41% (47/114) and 52% with potential-PPH; 11% (13/114) added. Among risk factors, systolic BP was significantly higher in those with PPH (142.6 vs 123.5 mmHg, p <0.001). This study revealed that PPH & potential-PPH occurred in half of the subjects in a LTCF in Japan. HCW need to focus on high systolic BP to predict PPH and future research is necessary to prevent and cope with PPH for older people.


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