andrews m.e., stewart n.j., morgan d.g. & d'arcy c. (2012) Journal of Nursing Management 20, 561-570 More alike than different: a comparison of male and female RNs in rural and remote Canada Aim  To explore gender differences and similarities on personal, employment and work-life factors and predictors of job satisfaction among ...

In clinical disciplines, continuing education courses should be practical, engaging, and evidence-based. Such courses should be formally reviewed at regular intervals. This column examines the various issues clinical nurses need to consider if they are invited to review a clinical continuing education course.

Purpose: Research in settings similar to assisted living facilities suggests that relational aggression, an indirect and mature form of aggression, might occur in assisted living facilities. This empirical study investigates the existence of relational aggression in a sample of residents and the relationship between relational aggression and resident's subjective well-being. ...

AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to explore the learning experience of Egyptian male student nurses during attending maternity nursing clinical course at Cairo University Maternity Hospital. METHODS: A descriptive design was utilized for collecting the data that are necessary to answer the research question; both ...

To document the extent and appropriateness of use of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines among nursing home residents using a nationally representative survey. Cross-sectional analysis of the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey. Bivariate and multivariate analyses examined relationships between resident and facility characteristics and antipsychotic and benzodiazepine use by appropriateness classification among ...

The objective of this study was to determine whether nurse staffing levels and modifiable characteristics of the nursing practice environment are associated with important quality indicators represented by the percentage of residents with pressure ulcers and numbers of deficiency citations in nursing homes. A cross-sectional design linked nurse survey data, ...

Estimating life expectancy is challenging in advanced dementia, potentially limiting the use of hospice care in these patients. To prospectively validate and compare the performance of the Advanced Dementia Prognostic Tool (ADEPT) and hospice eligibility guidelines to estimate 6-month survival in nursing home residents with advanced dementia. A prospective cohort ...

This study attempted to test the plausibility of engaging frail nursing home residents in advance care planning (ACP). Advance care planning fosters communication among individuals, family and health professionals regarding end-of-life care. Yet, such practice seldom takes place in a timely fashion because of its sensitive nature; thus, the concerns ...

Aim  To review critically the traditional concept of autonomy, propose an alternative relational interpretation of autonomy, and discuss how this would operate in identifying and addressing ethical issues that arise in the context of nursing home care for older adults. Background  Respect for patient autonomy has been the cornerstone of ...

Depression is often overlooked in elderly nursing home residents because symptoms may be masked or dismissed as an inevitable consequence of ageing. Current tools for the detection of depression in institutionalised older people are not always specific.AIMS: To construct and verify an instrument with which to detect depression in elderly ...

To construct a data tool, the Residential History File (RHF), that summarizes information from Medicare claims and nursing home (NH) Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments to track people through health care locations, including non-Medicare-paid NH stays. Online Survey of Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) data for 202 free-standing NHs, Medicare Denominator, ...

Factors driving the trend of earlier dialysis initiation for persons with end-stage renal disease are unknown. We wanted to determine the association of the number and type of signs and symptoms with timing of initiation of dialysis in US nursing home residents. Observational study. We used data from the US ...

The global population is aging. With the high prevalence of dementia and functional decline in older Americans, many aging adults with disabilities reside in nursing homes in their final stage of life. Immunosenescence, multiple comorbid diseases, and grouped quarter living all coalesce in nursing home residents to increase the risk ...

Inability to feed oneself is documented in people with Alzheimer disease, however little research has differentiated between eating disability due to dementia and eating disability due to factors other than dementia that may be remediable (i.e. 'excess disability'). The study aim was to estimate the incidence and identify the predictors ...

Few studies have examined the association between social support and loneliness among nursing home residents without cognitive impairment. The main aims of this study were to examine the frequency of contact and loneliness and the association between loneliness and the social support dimensions: attachment, social integration, reassurance of worth and ...

To promote healthy aging in older nursing home (NH) residents, it is important to identify factors that impact functional performance. Using the Disablement Process Model, it was hypothesized that variables from all levels of the model would significantly impact the ability of a NH resident to get up from a ...

To describe the use of antibacterials among nursing home residents in Norway according to diagnosis, therapy choice, doses and expected duration of treatment. A one-day point-prevalence study was carried out in 44 Norwegian nursing homes, spring 2006. Use of systemic antibacterials was recorded by indication, antibiotic name, dose and expected ...

This study aims to investigate drug utilization in Belgian nursing homes in relation to the characteristics of residents and the institution. A cross-sectional study design was used. A total of 2510 residents were randomly selected from a stratified random sample of 76 Belgian nursing homes with at least 30 beds, ...

The purpose of the current study was to identify and analyse major variables affecting intended decisions of nursing staff to physically restrain elder residents of long-term care facilities. The study explored whether a research model constructed of staff characteristics and resident characteristics would prove useful for predicting behavioural intentions. A ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) and their associated risks among frail elderly nursing home residents. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: General practice. SUBJECTS: An assessment of residents (n = 1987, mean age 83.7 years) in all nursing homes in Helsinki ...

The prevalence of sarcopenia differs between different populations, ages, gender and between settings such as the community and nursing homes. Studies on the association of sarcopenia with functional status revealed conflicting results whereas its association with nutritional status is well documented. We aimed at investigating the prevalence of sarcopenia and ...

One in four Americans, and 70% of people who have dementia, will spend their final days in nursing home care. Clinical research, particularly clinical trials, rarely includes this population due to unique challenges in research methods and ethics. Families of advanced dementia patients make choices about tube feeding and other ...

OBJECTIVES: We examined risk factors for injuries to nursing assistants from assaults by nursing home residents at both the individual and the organizational level. METHODS: We analyzed data from the 2004 National Nursing Assistant Survey that were linked to facility information from the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey by use ...

Hip fractures represent an increasing public health burden with a simple fall to the floor as the most common cause. Because nursing home residents are particularly at risk, nursing homes should implement a broad range of fall prevention strategies. However, not all fall incidents can be avoided and external hip ...

To study norovirus gastroenteritis infection among residents and health care workers (HCWs) during an outbreak in a nursing home by investigating the attack rate and positive diagnostic rate for norovirus by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). All members in a Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-affiliated nursing home from November 17, 2006, ...

Potential predictors of availability and use of hip protectors were studied in residents of 48 nursing homes. The likelihood of being offered a hip protector was reduced in men, in residents with very low or very high care needs, in residents with migration background, and in recipients of welfare aid. ...

To determine if daily supplementation of 2000 IU of vitamin D(3) is able to normalize the 25(OH)D(3) status in a nursing home population, a group particularly prone to Vitamin D insufficiency. A chart review was performed to retrospectively determine the 25(OH)D(3) level in each nursing home patient (N=68) who had ...

To identify characteristics of nursing homes and residents associated with particularly long or short hospice stays. Observational study using administrative data on resident characteristics and hospice utilization from a large regional hospice linked with publicly available data on nursing home characteristics. A total of 13,479 residents who enrolled in hospice ...

The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Dementia Quality of Life (DQOL) in a sample of 486 residents from 12 nursing homes in the greater Baltimore area. There was some evidence of validity of the DQOL based on confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch ...

Pain is the most common health-related complaint in older persons. International estimations mention up to 80% of nursing home residents suffering from pain. In the meantime, no reliable epidemiological data on pain in nursing home residents are available for Germany, because of restricted access to the nursing-home population. This pilot ...

To improve care for residents with depression in dementia, an evidence based nursing guideline was developed. Using the guideline has already shown positive effects on depression in psychogeriatric nursing home residents. To study the effects of the introduction of the nursing guideline 'depression in dementia' on perceived professional autonomy, workload ...

This analysis uses data from the Care of Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia (CareAD) study to investigate which factors increase the risk of death in patients who are in the advanced stages of dementia. The hypothesis of this analysis was that specific illnesses with known high mortality would be ...

Understanding the underlying mechanisms and risk factors leading to agitation is crucial to reduce the severity of agitation and increase quality of life. International comparative studies offer special advantages in elucidating environmental risk factors by providing a wider diversity of environmental exposures such as nursing home structures, health care systems ...

We wished to investigate the prevalence of delirium in patients upon admission to nursing homes and whether or not the previous place of residence predicts delirium. The Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set (RAI-MDS) and the Nursing Home Confusion Assessment Method (NHCAM) were used to determine whether the previous place ...

To assess the relative effect of different types of stimuli on agitated behaviors of nursing home residents with dementia. Repeated-measures design with randomized assignment of conditions. Seven Maryland nursing homes. One hundred eleven nursing home residents with a diagnosis of dementia who exhibited agitation. Different types of stimuli (music, social ...

The aim of this study was to display the values of the quality indicators "falls in the institution" and "institutionally acquired pressure ulcers" of 76 German nursing homes in bar graphs and funnel plots and to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both methods. In 2009 a nationwide prevalence study ...

The aim of the present study was to investigate how residents were affected when an intervention based on the theory of gerotranscendence and guidelines derived from the theory was introduced in a nursing home. The notion that communication is essential in staff-resident interaction is widely accepted both in theory and ...

This paper is a report of a study evaluating the effect of a repeated education programme for nursing staff in a home for older people. A strong relationship exists between oral infections and general health complications (especially aspiration pneumonia) among nursing home residents and hospitalized older people. Thus, nursing staff ...

Few studies have examined factors associated with antidepressant prescribing in older nursing home residents. The primary objective was to describe the change in antidepressant prescribing for nursing home residents between 1996 and 2006. An additional objective was to examine the association between any change in antidepressant prescribing and staffing patterns ...

The aim of this study was to explore 'patient participation' in everyday activities for persons with dementia living in special care units in nursing homes. Studies about how 'patient participation' appears in the context of special care units for persons with dementia are lacking. The study has an explorative design. ...

Anemia is often an unrecognized and/or undertreated diagnosis in older adults. Failure to diagnose anemia leads to delayed treatment and thus delayed relief of symptoms. Given the potentially significant impact of anemia on cardiovascular disease and physical performance among older nursing home (NH) residents, it is important to evaluate current ...

The strength of nursing home residence as a prognostic indicator of outcome following hip fracture has not previously been examined in Australia. The aim of the study was to examine the influence of nursing home residency on mortality after sustaining an acute hip fracture. A prospective study of all adults ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of the Dehydration Risk Appraisal Checklist (DRAC) to measure dehydration risk in nursing home (NH) residents. The DRAC includes items concerning health conditions, medications, fluid intake behaviors, and laboratory abnormalities that have been identified in the literature as risk factors ...

Regulatory oversight is intended to improve the health outcomes of nursing home residents, yet evidence suggests that regulations can inhibit mindful staff behaviors that are associated with effective care. We explored the influence of regulations on mindful staff behavior as it relates to resident health outcomes, and offer a theoretical ...

Understanding the distinctions between the management of clinical problems in nursing homes compared with the community setting helps improve the overall care of nursing home residents. Liberalizing diets helps avoid unintentional weight loss in nursing home residents, although the use of feeding tubes usually does not improve nutrition or decrease ...

We examined the impact of setting characteristics and presentation effects on engagement with stimuli in a group of 193 nursing home residents with dementia (recruited from a total of seven nursing homes). Engagement was assessed through systematic observations using the Observational Measurement of Engagement (OME), and data pertaining to setting ...

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) may be restricting the ability of RNs and LPNs in assisted living communities (ALCs) in some states to provide pain relief for residents. The DEAs enforcement of the requirements of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to reduce diversion of controlled substances (particularly Schedule II meds) ...

AIM: Increasing numbers of older people are dying in the nursing care home setting. Little is known about the medication needs of the very old and frail in the last weeks of life and how they might differ from a model of care developed for people dying from cancer. METHOD: ...

The purpose of this study was to conduct an in-depth evaluation of the impact of the construction and use of an enabling garden on resident quality of life in a rural nursing home. This qualitative study used interviews with residents, family members, staff members, and community volunteers who built the ...

AIM: The aim of this paper is to discuss the complexity of admission into a residential care facility from a psychological perspective for residents and their relatives and the resulting implications for nursing care. BACKGROUND: Admission into a residential care facility can be a stressful time for older people, as ...