Associate Members: A Life Worth Living

1986 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 362-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Parker

Long-term care patients need a meaningful existence. It is our responsibility to ensure that time and energy are channelled into purposeful solutions for the disease of ‘time with nothing to do’. The author has taken up this challenge. Working as an activities organizer with the elderly for 11 years, she was determined never to take the role of a baby-sitter. The recreation unit has grown from its first eight guests to a purpose-built unit with approximately 1,500 attendances per month. A busy happy atmosphere now prevails where once there was a sea of dead faces. The choice to retain a sense of dignity and purpose should be available to all elderly patients who require long-term care.

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 1556-1573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aluisius Hery Pratono ◽  
Asri Maharani

Objective: This article aims to examine community long-term care (LTC) in Indonesia by drawing upon the five principles of human right provision: availability, accessibility, acceptability, quality, and universality. Method: We used a qualitative approach with exploratory multiple case studies in three different areas in East Java Province, Indonesia. This study gathered the initial evidence using a report card approach with self-report questionnaires. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were carried out to understand factors that affect the efficacy of LTC services. Results: The Indonesia Government imposed a regulation that required each local community to make community health services available for the elderly. By managing the integrated post, the community provided LTC service for the elderly. Community leadership played a pivotal role to make LTC services available. Improving the services with religious activities was essential to improving the acceptability, but it also needed to take into consideration universality and nondiscrimination principles. Results show that LTC services are difficult to expand and quality standards are difficult to raise, due to challenges such as few community members volunteering their services, lack of support from religious leaders, limited resources, and inadequate volunteer training. Discussion: This study highlights the role of community engagement in LTC services and shows that it is difficult to succeed without adequate government support. Improving services with creative and culturally acceptable activities is necessary.


2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyung-Won Kim ◽  
Hee-Jung Yoon ◽  
Mie-Ryung Kim ◽  
Hee-Kyung Lee ◽  
Kyeong-Soo Lee

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 971-978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naiana Oliveira dos Santos ◽  
Margrid Beuter ◽  
Nara Marilene Oliveira Girardon-Perlini ◽  
Lisiane Manganelli Girardi Paskulin ◽  
Marinês Tambara Leite ◽  
...  

This study aimed to investigate the perception of the workers in a Long-Term Care Institution for the Elderly regarding the families of the older adults in the institution. It is qualitative research, undertaken with 16 workers of the multidisciplinary team. Data collection occurred in February-June 2012, through semi-structured interviews. The technique used for treatment of the data was thematic analysis. The results indicate that the family members visit the Long-Term Care Institution for the Elderly rarely, with commemorative dates being the main occasions in which they appear. The workers evidenced some situations of abandonment, in which the family does not visit the older adult even when called. They understand that nobody can substitute the role of the family, as it is the reference for the older adults. Therefore, spending time with the family can positively influence the well-being of the older adults in institutions.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 4160-4160
Author(s):  
Bahareh Motlagh ◽  
Madeleine M. Verhovsek ◽  
Alexandra Papaioannou ◽  
Crowther Mark ◽  
Lisa Dolovich ◽  
...  

Abstract Despite evidence-based guidelines derived from large clinical trials supporting the use of warfarin for stroke prophylaxis, studies in elderly patients have shown that oral anticoagulants are not used optimally. The risk associated with inappropriate use is compounded by the observation that the elderly are at enhanced risk of thromboembolic complications compared with younger atrial fibrillation patients. All patients with atrial fibrillation who do not have a contraindication to warfarin, and who meet inclusion criteria, should be treated with warfarin to achieve a target International Normalized Range (INR) of 2.5 (range 2.0–3.0). INR levels of 2.0–3.0 have been shown to be relatively safe and more efficacious than lower target INR values in all age groups including the elderly. Patients with INR values below this range remain at increased risk of thrombosis, while those with INR values above the given range are at increased risk of bleeding. The primary objective of this study was to determine the achieved intensity of warfarin therapy in a cohort of patients living at long-term care facility. In such facilities optimal anticoagulation should be achievable, since laboratory monitoring, dose adjustment, and compliance can be achieved. In this study, data were collected on physicians’ warfarin prescribing practices as well as INR levels of 108 residents in five long-term care facilities in the Hamilton-Wentworth area over a period of 12 months. In total, 3146 INR values, extending over 28,256 patient-days of monitoring, were analyzed. Indications for warfarin were atrial fibrillation, transient ischemic attack, pulmonary embolus, cardiac valve replacement, myocardial infarction, and deep vein thrombosis. In general, the warfarin dosage was not determined using an established dosing algorithm. Our findings revealed that LTC residents spent approximately 40 percent of the time with INR values below 2.0. We therefore conclude, that the overall quality of anticoagulant therapy in long-term care patients may be inadequate. Our observations suggest that organized dosing algorithms may be of benefit in such settings, however this hypothesis needs to be confirmed in prospective studies. For this purpose we plan to implement a warfarin dosing algorithm in order to determine whether the percentage of time spent within the therapeutic INR range can be improved.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document