scholarly journals Hearing and vision care provided to older people residing in care homes: a cross-sectional survey of care home staff

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Andrusjak ◽  
Ana Barbosa ◽  
Gail Mountain
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Home Staff ◽  
Vision Care

Abstract Background: Hearing and vision loss in older people has been proven to affect physical and mental health and increase the speed of cognitive decline. Studies have demonstrated that certain practices and improved staff knowledge increase the effective care of residents’ ears and eyes, yet it is not known which practices are being implemented in care homes. This study aimed to identify the gaps in staff knowledge regarding hearing and vision difficulties in older residents, and which practices known to improve ear and eye care in older care home residents are not commonly implemented in care homes in England.Methods: This study used a cross-sectional survey design. Survey questions were informed by the existing literature and were focused on practices, staff knowledge, and other aspects that have shown to affect residents’ hearing and vision care. A convenience sample of care home staff were recruited from care homes across England between November 2018 and February 2019 via email and in paper format. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square analysis were applied to identify the factors influencing the care being provided to care home residents. Results: A total of 400 care home staff responded from 74 care homes. The results revealed that less than half of staff respondents reported to use screening tools to identify hearing (46%) and vision impairments (43.8%); that care homes rarely have limited access to other assistive devices for hearing (16%) and vision loss (23.8%), and that audiology services do not regularly assess care home residents (46.8%). A majority of staff who responded were not confident in ear and eye care. Responses were found to be influenced by the respondents’ job role, length of time working in care homes and also the care home type and care home size. Findings confirmed a lack of standardised practice and the importance of shared communication for promulgation of best practice.Conclusion: This study has identified that some practices known to facilitate ear and eye care are not commonly applied in a sample of English care homes. It has also shown that care home staff knowledge of ear and eye care is inconsistent. The information derived from this survey can be used to inform guidelines for best practice and inform needs for future research.

scholarly journals Hearing and vision care provided to older people residing in care homes: a cross-sectional survey of care home staff

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Andrusjak ◽  
Ana Barbosa ◽  
Gail Mountain
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Home Staff ◽  
Vision Care

Abstract Background: Hearing and vision loss in older people has been proven to affect physical and mental health and increase the speed of cognitive decline. Studies have demonstrated that certain practices and improved staff knowledge increase the effective care of residents’ ears and eyes, yet it is not known which practices are being implemented in care homes. This study aimed to identify the gaps in staff knowledge regarding hearing and vision difficulties in older residents, and which practices known to improve ear and eye care in older care home residents are not commonly implemented in care homes in England.Methods: This study used a cross-sectional survey design. Survey questions were informed by the existing literature and were focused on practices, staff knowledge, and other aspects that have shown to affect residents’ hearing and vision care. The survey was sent to care homes across England between November 2018 and February 2019 via email and in paper format for care home staff to complete. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square analysis were applied to identify the factors influencing the care being provided to care home residents. Results: A total of 400 care home staff responded from 74 care homes. The results revealed that screening tools are rarely used by staff to identify hearing and vision impairments; that care homes have limited access to other assistive devices for hearing and vision loss, and that audiology services do not regularly assess care home residents. A majority of staff who responded were not confident in ear and eye care. Responses were found to be influenced by the respondents’ job role, length of time working in care homes and also the care home type and care home size. Findings confirmed a lack of standardised practice and the importance of shared communication for promulgation of best practice.Conclusion: This study has identified that some practices known to facilitate ear and eye care are not commonly applied in a sample of English care homes. It has also shown that care home staff knowledge of ear and eye care is inconsistent. The information derived from this survey can be used to inform guidelines for best practice and inform needs for future research.

scholarly journals Hearing and vision care provided to older people residing in care homes: a cross-sectional survey of care home staff

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Andrusjak ◽  
Ana Barbosa ◽  
Gail Mountain
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Home Staff ◽  
Vision Care

Abstract Background:Hearing and vision loss in older people has been proven to affect physical and mental health and increase the speed of cognitive decline. Studies have demonstrated that certain practices and improved staff knowledge increase the effective care of residents’ ears and eyes, yet it is not known which practices are being implemented in care homes. This study aimed to identify the gaps in staff knowledge regarding hearing and vision difficulties in older residents, and which practices known to improve ear and eye care in older care home residents are not commonly implemented in care homes in England.Methods:This study used a cross-sectional survey design. Survey questions were informed by the existing literature and were focused on practices, staff knowledge, and other aspects that have shown to affect residents’ hearing and vision care. A convenience sample of care home staff were recruited from care homes across England between November 2018 and February 2019 via email and in paper format. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square analysis were applied to identify the factors influencing the care being provided to care home residents.Results:A total of 400 care home staff responded from 74 care homes. The results revealed that less than half of staff respondents reported to use screening tools to identify hearing (46%) and vision impairments (43.8%); that care homes rarely have limited access to other assistive devices for hearing (16%) and vision loss (23.8%), and that audiology services do not regularly assess care home residents (46.8%). A majority of staff who responded were not confident in ear and eye care. Responses were found to be influenced by the respondents’ job role, length of time working in care homes and also the care home type and care home size. Findings confirmed a lack of standardised practice and the importance of shared communication for promulgation of best practice.Conclusion:This study has identified that some practices known to facilitate ear and eye care are not commonly applied in a sample of English care homes. It has also shown that care home staff knowledge of ear and eye care is inconsistent. The information derived from this survey can be used to inform guidelines for best practice and inform needs for future research.

scholarly journals Hearing and vision care provided to older people residing in care homes: a cross-sectional survey of care home staff

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Andrusjak ◽  
Ana Barbosa ◽  
Gail Mountain
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Home Staff ◽  
Vision Care

Abstract Background:Hearing and vision loss in older people has been proven to affect physical and mental health and increase the speed of cognitive decline. Studies have demonstrated that certain practices and improved staff knowledge increase the effective care of residents’ ears and eyes, yet it is not known which practices are being implemented in care homes. This study aimed to identify the gaps in staff knowledge regarding hearing and vision difficulties in older residents, and which practices known to improve ear and eye care in older care home residents are not commonly implemented in care homes in England.Methods:This study used a cross-sectional survey design. Survey questions were informed by the existing literature and were focused on practices, staff knowledge, and other aspects that have shown to affect residents’ hearing and vision care. The survey was sent to care homes across England between November 2018 and February 2019 via email and in paper format for care home staff to complete. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square analysis were applied to identify the factors influencing the care being provided to care home residents. Results:A total of 400 care home staff responded from 74 care homes. The results revealed that screening tools are rarely used by staff to identify hearing and vision impairments; that care homes have limited access to other assistive devices for hearing and vision loss, and that audiology services do not regularly assess care home residents. A majority of staff who responded were not confident in ear and eye care. Responses were found to be influenced by the respondents’ job role, length of time working in care homes and also the care home type and care home size. Findings confirmed a lack of standardised practice and the importance of shared communication for promulgation of best practice.Conclusion:This study has identified that some practices known to facilitate ear and eye care are not commonly applied in a sample of English care homes. It has also shown that care home staff knowledge of ear and eye care is inconsistent. The information derived from this survey can be used to inform guidelines for best practice and inform needs for future research.

scholarly journals Hearing and vision care provided to older people residing in care homes: a cross-sectional survey of care home staff

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Andrusjak ◽  
Ana Barbosa ◽  
Gail Mountain
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Home Staff ◽  
Vision Care

Abstract Background Hearing and vision loss in older people has been proven to affect physical and mental health and increase the speed of cognitive decline. Studies have demonstrated that certain practices and improved staff knowledge increase the effective care of residents’ ears and eyes, yet it is not known which practices are being implemented in care homes. This study aimed to identify the gaps in staff knowledge regarding hearing and vision difficulties in older residents, and which practices known to improve ear and eye care in older care home residents are not commonly implemented in care homes in England. Methods This study used a cross-sectional survey design. Survey questions were informed by the existing literature and were focused on practices, staff knowledge, and other aspects that have shown to affect residents’ hearing and vision care. A convenience sample of care home staff were recruited from care homes across England between November 2018 and February 2019 via email and in paper format. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square analysis were applied to identify the factors influencing the care being provided to care home residents. Results A total of 400 care home staff responded from 74 care homes. The results revealed that less than half of staff respondents reported to use screening tools to identify hearing (46%) and vision impairments (43.8%); that care homes rarely have access to other assistive devices for hearing (16%) and vision loss (23.8%), and that audiology services do not regularly assess care home residents (46.8%). A majority of staff who responded were not confident in ear and eye care. Responses were found to be influenced by the respondents’ job role, length of time working in care homes and also the care home type. Findings confirmed a lack of standardised practice and the importance of shared communication for promulgation of best practice. Conclusion This study has identified that some practices known to facilitate ear and eye care are not commonly applied in a sample of English care homes. It has also shown that care home staff knowledge of ear and eye care is inconsistent. The information derived from this survey can be used to inform guidelines for best practice and inform needs for future research.

scholarly journals Hearing and vision care provided to older people residing in care homes: a cross-sectional survey of care home staff

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Andrusjak ◽  
Ana Barbosa ◽  
Gail Mountain
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Home Staff ◽  
Chi Square Analysis ◽  
Vision Care

Abstract Background: Hearing and vision loss in older people has proven to affect physical and mental health and increase the speed of cognitive decline. Studies have proven certain practices and aspects of staff knowledge increase the effective care of residents’ ears and eyes, yet it is not known which of these are being implemented in care homes. This study aims to identify the gaps in staff knowledge and underused practices evident in long term care homes when identifying and managing hearing and vision difficulties in older residents. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional survey design. Survey questions were informed by the existing literature and were focused on practices, staff knowledge, and other aspects that have shown to affect residents’ hearing and vision care. The survey was sent to care homes across England between November 2018 and February 2019 both via Email and in paper format for care home staff to complete. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square analysis was used to assess the factors particularly influencing the current care being provided to care home residents. Results: A total of 400 care home staff responded from 74 care homes. The results revealed that screening tools are rarely used by staff to identify hearing and vision impairments, care homes have limited access to other assistive devices, and audiology services do not regularly assess care home residents. A majority of staff were also not entirely confident in their knowledge of ear and eye care. Responses were also affected by the respondents’ job role, length of time working in care homes and also the care home type and care home capacity revealing a lack of standardised practice and shared communication. Conclusion: This study identifies which practices known to facilitate ear and eye care are currently under used in care homes across England and what particularly staff are not knowledgeable on when it comes to ear and eye care. This can now inform future research of the areas requiring improvement to as effectively address to acknowledged slow identification and poor management of hearing and vision loss in older people residing in care homes.

scholarly journals Identifying and Managing Hearing and Vision Loss in Older People in Care Homes: A Scoping Review of the Evidence

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. e155-e168
Author(s):  
Wendy Andrusjak ◽  
Ana Barbosa ◽  
Gail Mountain
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Screening Tools ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Care Home Staff ◽  
Sensory Impairments ◽  
Design And Methods ◽  
Effective Service

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesPoor identification of sensory impairments in care homes can be due to multiple factors. This scoping review identifies and synthesizes the literature into the detection of hearing and vision loss in the care home environment, and the management of these sensory losses once identified.Research Design and MethodsA scoping review methodology was used to identify primary research of any design published from 1985 to September 2018. Six electronic databases were searched, and articles were also sourced from reference lists, relevant charity organizations and published experts.ResultsSix electronic databases and multiple gray literature sources identified 51 articles for inclusion. The evidence confirmed that lack of knowledge in care home staff, poor management of assistive aids, unsuitable environment, lack of connections with optometrists and audiologists, underuse of effective screening tools, and the added complexity of assisting those with dementia are all barriers to effective practice. Conversely, flexible training programs, availability of a variety of assistive aids, simple screening tools, and adaptions to the environment are effective facilitators.Discussion and ImplicationThis review acknowledges that the barriers to identification and management of hearing and vision loss in care homes are multifaceted and that collaboration of multiple stakeholders is required to implement change and improve the residents’ ear and eye care. Recommendations are offered to support more effective service provision tailored to meet the needs of people with sensory impairments living in care homes, and this could subsequently improve best practice.

Urinary catheterization in care homes for older people: self-reported questionnaire audit of catheter management by care home staff

2006 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.A.M. McNulty ◽  
J. Bowen ◽  
C. Foy ◽  
K. Gunn ◽  
E. Freeman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Urinary Catheterization ◽  
Care Home Staff

scholarly journals Understanding Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Implementing Deprescribing for Older People Living in Long-term Residential Care Homes: The STOPPING Study Protocol

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystal Warmoth ◽  
Jo Day ◽  
Emma Cockcroft ◽  
Donald Nigel Reed ◽  
Lucy Pollock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Health Economy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Care Home Staff ◽  
Qualitative Approaches

Abstract Background: Older people with multimorbidity often experience polypharmacy. Taking multiple medicines can be beneficial; however, some older adults are prescribed multiple medicines when they are unlikely to improve clinical outcomes and may lead to harm. Deprescribing means reducing or stopping prescription medicines which may no longer be providing benefit. While appropriate deprescribing may usually be safely undertaken, there is a lack of guidance about how to implement it in practice settings such as care homes. Implementing deprescribing in care homes is often challenging, due to differing concerns of residents, staff, clinicians, friends/family members and carers along with differences in care home structures. The STOPPING study will support the development of better deprescribing practice in care homes, considering different views and environments. This paper aims to introduce the research protocol. Methods: We will use qualitative approaches informed by the widely accepted Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to aid analysis. To understand the barriers, facilitators and contextual factors influencing deprescribing in care homes, we will employ individual interviews with care home residents and family members, focus groups with care home staff and healthcare professionals, and observations from care homes. Then, we will examine acceptability, feasibility, and suitability of existing deprescribing approaches using cognitive interviews with care home staff and healthcare professionals. Lastly, we will use narrative synthesis to integrate findings and develop guidance for implementing a deprescribing approach for care homes.Discussion: This research will support the development of implementable approaches to deprescribing in care homes. The insights from this project will be shared with various stakeholders: care home residents, staff, pharmacists, general practitioners, nurses, and other health professionals, carers, researchers, and the public. This work will support deprescribing to be implemented effectively in care homes to benefit residents and the wider health economy.

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