scholarly journals Long-term care: reducing morbidity in residents and staff

1995 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 612-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mavis Evans ◽  
Helen Burgess ◽  
Elizabeth Gore-Rees

Staff in nursing homes specialising in the care of the elderly mentally ill were trained to screen for psychiatric morbidity by members of the local psychogeriatric service. They were then involved in the planning and delivery of appropriate treatment, both medical and behavioural. Residents in the homes were screened again six months later and marked reduction in morbidity was found.

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas G. Castle

Long-term care institutions have emerged as dominant sites of death for the elderly. However, studies of this trend have primarily examined nursing homes. The purpose of this research is to determine demographic, functional, disease, and facility predictors and/or correlates of death for the elderly residing in board and care facilities. Twelve factors are found to be significant: proportion of residents older than sixty-five years of age, proportion of residents who are chair- or bed-fast, proportion of residents with HIV, bed size, ownership, chain membership, affiliation with a nursing home, number of health services provided other than by the facility, the number of social services provided other than by the facility, the number of social services provided by the facility, and visits by Ombudsmen. These are discussed and comparisons with similar studies in nursing homes are made.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 276-280
Author(s):  
Amber F Schultz ◽  
Jia Yu

Since the first COVID-19 case was discovered in December 2019, over 12.1 million cases have been reported in more than 188 countries and territories. In the USA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed almost 3.05 million COVID-19 cases, with more than 132 000 deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a particularly dramatic impact on the elderly and those with chronic underlying medical disorders. Before the second outbreak in July, long-term care facilities were the most severely affected in terms of case numbers, especially nursing homes. This article provides information and insight into the potential changes in consumer preferences toward long-term care facility selection and the possible structural change of the long-term care industry in three aspects; structure, conduct and performance.


1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
David K. Conn ◽  
Ian Ferguson ◽  
Krystyna Mandelman ◽  
Carol Ward

Objective: Despite considerable data from a number of countries regarding psychotropic utilization in long-term-care facilities for the elderly, there has been a lack of similar data from Canada. The purpose of this study was to gather prescription data from a series of institutions in Ontario and to compare the results to those of other international studies. Method: Single-day surveys were carried out in six homes for the aged, four nursing homes, two retirement homes, and a veterans' center. The results were compared to those of recent studies from other countries. Results: The data revealed considerable differences in rates of prescription between different classes of institutions and between similarly classified institutions. The prescription rate of neuroleptics ranged from 11.8% (of patients) in retirement homes to 29.8% in nursing homes. Antidepressant use ranged from 12.2% in nursing homes to 24.6% in homes for the aged, and benzodiazepine use ranged from 22.5% in nursing homes to 36.4% in retirement homes. Conclusions: The overall rate of prescription for psychotropic medications was somewhat lower than in most international studies. The rate of prescription of neuroleptics in nursing homes fell in the midrange of studies, somewhat higher than in recent studies from the United States and an earlier Italian study, but lower than in recent reports from Sweden, Austria, and Australia. The rate of neuroleptic use in homes for the aged was comparable to the rate in the U.S. studies. The overall rate of prescription of antidepressants and benzodiazepines appears to be comparable to that in recent studies from other countries.


1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Andersson ◽  
C. G. Gottfries

Patients (n = 191) living in four comparable somaic nursing homes (NH) (nursing homes for physical illness) were studied in order to evaluate dementia syndromes. Dementia and symptoms of depressed mood occurred frequently (72% and 63%, respectively). Dementia was often undiagnosed at admittance. Neither the length of time spent in institutions, nor marital status, age, or sex seemed to be of more than minor importance to the prevalence of dementia syndromes. Concerning functional impairment, convergence of findings across the societies studied indicates that psychiatric symptoms and psychopathology are intrinsic parts of long-term care of the elderly.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Y. P. Tsang ◽  
C. H. Wu ◽  
Polly P. L. Leung ◽  
W. H. Ip ◽  
W. K. Ching

Due to the global ageing population, the increasing demand for long-term care services for the elderly has directed considerable attention towards the renovation of nursing homes. Although nursing homes play an essential role within residential elderly care, professional shortages have created serious pressure on the elderly service sector. Effective workforce planning is vital for improving the efficacy and workload balance of existing nursing staff in today’s complex and volatile long-term care service market. Currently, there is lack of an integrated solution to monitor care services and determine the optimal nursing staffing strategy in nursing homes. This study addresses the above challenge through the formulation of nursing staffing optimisation under the blockchain-internet of things (BIoT) environment. Embedding a blockchain into IoT establishes the long-term care platform for the elderly and care workers, thereby decentralising long-term care information in the nursing home network to achieve effective care service monitoring. Moreover, such information is further utilised to optimise nursing staffing by using a genetic algorithm. A case study of a Hong Kong nursing home was conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed system. We found that the total monthly staffing cost after using the proposed model was significantly lower than the existing practice with a change of −13.48%, which considers the use of heterogeneous workforce and temporary staff. Besides, the care monitoring and staffing flexibility are further enhanced, in which the concept of skill substitution is integrated in nursing staffing optimisation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 25 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 423-443
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Williamson

Nursing homes perform a vital function in the long-term care continuum by providing nursing care around the clock to the elderly and disabled. By entrusting these institutions with society's frailest members, the general population relies on government agencies and their regulations to ensure that the elderly receive quality care. States expect quality care, but providers often lack the financial support and regulatory guidance.Recently, the conflict between reimbursement and quality care received national attention. Vencor, the U.S.'s second largest nursing home chain, attempted to terminate its Medicaid contracts and evict all its Medicaid residents. Executives explained that the contract terminations and resident evictions were strategies to make room for higher paying private pay residents. Faced with state, and potentially federal, fines, as well as a district court injunction and public outrage over the patient dumping, the company quickly abandoned its policy and apologized.


2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 696-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew E. Simor ◽  
Suzanne F. Bradley ◽  
Larry J. Strausbaugh ◽  
Kent Crossley ◽  
Lindsay E. Nicolle ◽  
...  

AbstractAntimicrobial agents are among the most frequently prescribed medications in long-term–care facilities (LTCFs). Therefore, it is not surprising thatClostridium difficilecolonization andC. difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) occur commonly in elderly LTCF residents.C. difficilehas been identified as the most common cause of non-epidemic acute diarrheal illness in nursing homes, and outbreaks of CDAD in LTCFs have also been recognized. This position paper reviews the epidemiology and clinical features of CDAD in elderly residents of LTCFs and, using available evidence, provides recommendations for the management ofC. difficilein this setting.


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