Dietary Service Staffing Impact Nutritional Quality in Nursing Homes

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 639-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly M. Smith ◽  
Kali S. Thomas ◽  
Shanthi Johnson ◽  
Hongdao Meng ◽  
Kathryn Hyer

Objective: To examine the relationship between dietary service staff and dietary deficiency citations in nursing homes (NHs). Method: 2007-2011 Online Survey and Certification and Reporting data for 14,881 freestanding NHs were used to examine the relationship between dietary service staff and the probability of receiving a dietary service–related deficiency citation. An unconditional logit model with random effects was employed. Results: Findings suggest that higher staffing levels for dietitians (odds ratio [OR] = .955; p < .01), dietary service personnel (OR = .996; p < .01), and certified nursing assistants (CNAs; OR = .981; p < .05) decrease the likelihood of receiving a dietary service deficiency citation. Conclusion: Higher levels of dietary service and CNA staffing levels have the potential to improve the quality of nutritional care in NHs. Findings help substantiate the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ proposed rules for more stringent Food and Nutrition Services in the NH setting and signify the need for further research relative to the impact of dietary service staff on nutritional and clinical outcomes.

Author(s):  
R. Tamara Konetzka ◽  
Hari Sharma ◽  
Jeongyoung Park

An ongoing concern about medical malpractice litigation is that it may induce provider exit, potentially affecting consumer welfare. The nursing home sector is subject to substantial litigation activity but remains generally understudied in terms of the effects of litigation, due perhaps to a paucity of readily available data. In this article, we estimate the association between litigation and nursing home exit (closure or change in ownership), separating the impact of malpractice environment from direct litigation. We use 2 main data sources for this study: Westlaw’s Adverse Filings database (1997-2005) and Online Survey, Certification and Reporting data sets (1997-2005). We use probit models with state and year fixed effects to examine the relationship between litigation and the probability of nursing home closure or change in ownership with and without adjustment for malpractice environment. We examine the relationship on average and also stratify by profit status, chain membership, and market competition. We find that direct litigation against a nursing home has a nonsignificant effect on the probability of closure or change in ownership within the subsequent 2 years. In contrast, the broader malpractice environment has a significant effect on change in ownership, even for nursing homes that have not been sued, but not on closure. Effects are stronger among for-profit and chain facilities and those in more competitive markets. A high-risk malpractice environment is associated with change of ownership of nursing homes regardless of whether they have been directly sued, indicating that it is too blunt an instrument for weeding out low-quality nursing homes.


Author(s):  
Jim Morey ◽  
Gary Scherzer ◽  
Hoseoup Lee ◽  
Kenneth Wallis ◽  
Laura Francis Gladney

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Seventy-three New York hospitals were examined to determine if a difference existed between hospitals with nursing unions versus those without as it pertains to fiscal viability and quality of care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Several financial variables were used to construct a fiscal viability index; and a quality index was created from selected mortality and procedural measures that may be used to measure specific aspects of institutional care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The premise that the union status of a hospital&rsquo;s nursing staff will influence fiscal viability and quality is based on the impact that unionization may have on staffing and cost per patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The literature is replete with studies that assess the relationship between nurse staffing levels and quality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>In some cases there is a clear and compelling relationship, but in others, it is indeterminate. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>Utilizing union status, selected employee variables, and financial and quality of care indices, four statistical models were prepared to explain these the interaction of these variables <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-37
Author(s):  
Cassandra Cooney ◽  
Jillian Minahan ◽  
Karen L. Siedlecki

Experiencing ageism has been shown to negatively impact older adults. This study investigated predictors of ageism to examine which are most important in accounting for ageist attitudes. Participants ( N = 419) between the ages of 18 and 86 completed an online survey assessing ageism and several predictors of ageism. Higher levels of anxiety about aging, lower levels of knowledge of aging, and less frequent and lower quality of contact with older adults uniquely predicted ageism beyond the influence of demographic and well-being factors. Anxiety about aging fully mediated the relationship between death anxiety and ageism, and the relationship between attitudes toward own aging and ageism. Moderation analyses showed that knowledge of aging buffered the impact of anxiety about aging on ageism such that low knowledge of aging and high anxiety about aging were particularly impactful in predicting ageism in younger adults, as compared with older adults.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Tripp ◽  
Valentina Mihajlovic ◽  
Katherine Fretz ◽  
Gagan Fervaha ◽  
Jason Izard ◽  
...  

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common non-cutaneous cancer in men and is usually identified at a stage at which prolonged survival is expected. Therefore, strategies to address survivorship and promote well-being are crucial. This study’s aim was to better understand suicidal behavior in PCa patients by examining psychosocial mediators (i.e., depression, psychache, perceived burdensomeness [PB], thwarted belongingness [TB]) in the relationship between quality of life (PCa-QoL) and suicide risk. Methods: Four hundred and six men with PCa (Median age 69.35 years, standard deviation 7.79) completed an online survey on various psychosocial variables associated with suicide risk. A combined serial/parallel mediation model tested whether depression, in serial with both psychache and PB/TB, mediated the relationship between PCa-QoL and suicide risk. Results: Over 14% of participants’ self-reports indicated clinically significant suicide risk. Poorer PCa-QoL was related to greater depression, which was related to both greater psychache and PB/TB, which was associated with greater suicide risk. The serial mediation effect of depression and psychache was significantly stronger than that of depression and PB/TB. PCa-QoL did not predict suicide risk through depression alone, showing that depressive symptoms affect suicide risk through psychache and PB/TB. Conclusions: Given the alarming estimate of individuals at-risk for suicide in this study, clinicians should consider patients with poorer PCa-QoL and elevated depression for psychosocial referral or management. Psychache (i.e., psychological pain) and PB/TB (i.e., poor social fit) may be important targets for reducing suicide risk intervention beyond the impact of depression alone.


GIS Business ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-98
Author(s):  
Idoko Peter

This research the impact of competitive quasi market on service delivery in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria. Both primary and secondary source of data and information were used for the study and questionnaire was used to extract information from the purposively selected respondents. The population for this study is one hundred and seventy three (173) administrative staff of Benue State University selected at random. The statistical tools employed was the classical ordinary least square (OLS) and the probability value of the estimates was used to tests hypotheses of the study. The result of the study indicates that a positive relationship exist between Competitive quasi marketing in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (CQM) and Transparency in the service delivery (TRSP) and the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.05). Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) has a negative effect on Observe Competence in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (OBCP) and the relationship is not statistically significant (p>0.05). Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) has a positive effect on Innovation in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (INVO) and the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.05) and in line with a priori expectation. This means that a unit increases in Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) will result to a corresponding increase in innovation in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (INVO) by a margin of 22.5%. It was concluded that government monopoly in the provision of certain types of services has greatly affected the quality of service experience in the institution. It was recommended among others that the stakeholders in the market has to be transparent so that the system will be productive to serve the society effectively


Author(s):  
Germina-Alina Cosma ◽  
Alina Chiracu ◽  
Amalia Raluca Stepan ◽  
Marian Alexandru Cosma ◽  
Marian Costin Nanu ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to analyze athletes’ quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 249 athletes between 15 and 35 of age, M = 21.22, SD = 5.12. The sample was composed of eight Olympic Games medalists, three European medalists, 67 international medalists, and 63 national medalists. The instruments used were: (1) COVID-19 Anxiety Scale, (2) Athlete Quality of Life Scale, (3) Impact of Pandemic on Athletes Questionnaire, and (4) International Personality Item Pool (IPIP Anxiety, Depression, and Vulnerability Scales). The results indicate significant differences in COVID-19 anxiety depending on the sport practiced, F (9239) = 3.81, p < 0.01, showing that there were significant differences between sports. The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic mediates the relationship between trait anxiety and the athletes’ quality of life. The percentage of mediation was 33.9%, and the indirect effect was −0.11, CI 95% (−0.18, −0.03), Z = −2.82, p < 0.01. Trait anxiety has an increasing effect on the intensity of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 0.23, CI 95% (.10, 0.35), Z = 3.56, p < 0.01, and the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has a decreasing effect on quality of life, −0.47, CI 95% (−0.67, −0.27), Z = −4.62, p < 0.01. Gender and age did not moderate the relationship between the negative impact of COVID-19 and athletes’ quality of life. The results of the study highlighted the impact that social isolation and quarantine have on athletes’ affective well-being.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicja Kowalczyk ◽  
Elżbieta Gałęska ◽  
Ewa Czerniawska-Piątkowska ◽  
Anna Szul ◽  
Leszek Hebda

AbstractThe aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the concentration of hormones in the seminal plasma, the bull maintenance system in the insemination station, and the regularity of sperm donation and the response to the phantom (libido level). An additional goal was to determine whether there is a relationship between the hormonal profile in the blood, the sperm plasma, the oxidative and antioxidant profile in the blood of bulls and the biometry of their testicles and scrotum, as well as the quality of their sperm in both different seasons and intensities of reproductive use. For the study, 220 healthy and sexually mature Polish Holstein–Friesian bulls were used. They all had normal libido and were fed equally. The animals were grouped according to the scheme: young (16–20 month/n = 60) and old (26–30 month/n = 60) including: individually housed (n = 30) and group housed (n = 30) young, old individually housed (n = 30) and group housed (n = 30) (n total animals = 120); young animals donating semen once a week (every Thursday) (n = 25) and sporadically (once every two months on a random day of the week) (n = 25), old animals donating semen once a week (every Thursday) (n = 25 ) and sporadic donors (once every two months on a random day of the week) (n = 25) (n total animals = 100). When analyzing the results of this study, it should be stated that regular use has a positive effect on the secretion of sex hormones in bulls. Higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of estradiol and prostaglandins resulted in higher sexual performance, expressed by a stronger response to the phantom. The differences in favor of regular use were independent of the bull's age. The results of our research illustrate that the quality of semen and its freezing potential may depend on the season and frequency of its collection, as well as on the age of the males.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e041947
Author(s):  
Pamela G Mckay ◽  
Helen Walker ◽  
Colin R Martin ◽  
Mick Fleming

ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and fibromyalgia (FM). The hypothesis predicated that there would be no significant differences between the group’s symptom experience.DesignA quasiexperimental design. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and invariance testing.ParticipantsMales (M) and females (F) >16 with a confirmed diagnosis of CFS/ME or FM by a general practitioner or specialist. CFS/ME (n=101, F: n=86, M: n=15, mean (M) age M=45.5 years). FM (n=107, F: n=95, M: n=12, M=47.2 years).Outcome measuresDiagnostic criteria: the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for CFS/ME and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for FM. Additional symptom questionnaires measuring: pain, sleep quality, fatigue, quality of life, anxiety and depression, locus of control and self-esteem.ResultsInvariance was confirmed with the exception of the American CDC Symptom Inventory, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (p<0.05) based on five questions. Consequently, it was erroneous to conclude differences. Therefore, the Syndrome Model was created. SEM could not have tested the ACR previously, as it comprised a single data point. Thus, it was combined with these three questionnaires, increasing the data points, to create this new measurable model. Results confirmed no significant differences between groups (p=0.07 (p<0.05)).ConclusionParticipants responded in a similar manner to the questionnaire, confirming the same symptom experience. It is important to consider this in context with differing criteria and management guidelines, as this may influence diagnosis and the trajectory of patient’s management. With the biomedical cause currently unclear, it is the symptom experience and the impact on quality of life that is important. These findings are meaningful for patients, clinicians and policy development and support the requirement for future research.


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