Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (I-ADL) trigger an urgent request for nursing home admission

Perceptions of ADLs and In-Home ADL monitoring technology among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: a qualitative study (Preprint)

Background

Many older adults prefer to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. However, there are still questions surrounding how best to ensure that an individual can cope with autonomous living. Technological monitoring systems are an attractive solution; however, there is disagreement regarding activities of daily living (ADL) and the optimal technologies that should be used to monitor them.

Objective

This study aimed to understand older adults’ perceptions of important ADL and the types of technologies they would be willing to use within their own homes.

Methods

Semistructured interviews were conducted on the web with 32 UK adults, divided equally into a younger group (aged 55-69 years) and an older group (≥70 years).

Results

Both groups agreed that ADL related to personal hygiene and feeding were the most important and highlighted the value of socializing. The older group considered several activities to be more important than their younger counterparts, including stair use and foot care. The older group had less existing knowledge of monitoring technology but was more willing to accept wearable sensors than the younger group. The younger group preferred sensors placed within the home but highlighted that they would not have them until they felt that daily life was becoming a struggle.

Conclusions

Overall, technological monitoring systems were perceived as an acceptable method for monitoring ADL. However, developers and carers must be aware that individuals may express differences in their willingness to engage with certain types of technology depending on their age and circumstances.

Technology Used to Recognize Activities of Daily Living in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

The use of technology has been suggested as a means of allowing continued autonomous living for older adults, while reducing the burden on caregivers and aiding decision-making relating to healthcare. However, more clarity is needed relating to the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) recognised, and the types of technology included within current monitoring approaches. This review aims to identify these differences and highlight the current gaps in these systems. A scoping review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR, drawing on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Articles and commercially available systems were selected if they focused on ADL recognition of older adults within their home environment. Thirty-nine ADL recognition systems were identified, nine of which were commercially available. One system incorporated environmental and wearable technology, two used only wearable technology, and 34 used only environmental technologies. Overall, 14 ADL were identified but there was variation in the specific ADL recognised by each system. Although the use of technology to monitor ADL of older adults is becoming more prevalent, there is a large variation in the ADL recognised, how ADL are defined, and the types of technology used within monitoring systems. Key stakeholders, such as older adults and healthcare workers, should be consulted in future work to ensure that future developments are functional and useable.

Factors associated with nursing home adjustment in older adults: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

An ageing population has resulted in increased numbers of older adults moving to a nursing home, and the challenges triggered by relocation are highlighted. Various factors are identified to be associated with relocation and psychological adjustment to living in a nursing home. However, no systematic review has synthesised the evidence, and its associated factors remain unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To examine and synthesise the best available evidence on the factors associated with adjustment to living in a care facility.

DESIGN

Systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

Nine electronic databases were searched from database inception to March 2020: Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Periodical Full-text Database.

REVIEW METHODS

The references listed in the included studies were manually checked. The quality of the eligible studies was assessed using the 11-item checklist of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

RESULTS

A total of 20 studies were included in this review, with 17 cross-sectional studies, and three longitudinal study. 19 studies were rated as moderate quality and the other one was high quality. 17 measures were used to assess nursing home adjustment. Six distinct categories of the associated factors for nursing home adjustment were identified: demographic characteristics (n = 11), physiological factors (n = 3), psychological factors (n = 9), social factors (n = 9), relocation factors (n = 6), and facility factors (n = 5).

CONCLUSIONS

Decision-making control, self-efficacy, social support, activities of daily living, and length of stay should all be taken into account when assisting resident scoping with a relocation to a nursing home. Infuture research, multiple areas can be considered when improving the level of nursing home adjustment, as well as interventions and health policies.

REGISTRATION NUMBER

PROSPERO CRD 42018115935.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

A systematic review of the factors associated with adjustment to living in a care facility.

Informal help in a local setting: The Dutch Social Support Act in practice

The Dutch Social Support Act provides municipal social support for people that experience limitations in daily life and cannot rely on informal help from their social network to compensate these limitations. In this paper, we study whether the probability and intensity (number of services) of receiving municipal social support for daily limitations is affected by informal help by the social network (i.e. family, friends and neighbors). This study took place in Breda, a middle large city in the South of the Netherlands. We combined data from the Municipal Personal Records Database, the registration containing information on demographics and municipal social support receipt of all inhabitants, with data from the Municipality Policy Monitor, a survey containing information on daily limitations and informal help (n = 5256). We find that people experiencing daily limitations are more likely to receive municipal social support and also receive a higher number of support services (intensity). However, the perceived help from family and friends does not decrease either the probability or intensity of receiving municipal social support. Informal help from neighbors decreased the likelihood of receiving of municipal social support, but not the intensity. This implies that the overall relation between daily limitations and municipal social support is not different for people who indicate that they can or cannot rely on their informal network for help.

Hearing ability is not a risk factor for admission to aged residential care of older persons in New Zealand

Aged residential care (ARC) admission needs are increasing beyond the available capacity in many countries, including New Zealand. Therefore, identifying modifiable factors which may prevent or delay ARC admissions is of international importance. Hearing impairment is common among older adults and thought to be an important predictor, although the current evidence-base is equivocal. Using the largest national database to date, competing-risk regression analysis was undertaken on 34,277 older adults having standardised home care assessments between 1 July 2012 and 31 May 2014, aged ≥65 years, and still living in the community 30 days after that assessment. Minimal hearing difficulty was reported by 10,125 (29.5%) participants, moderate difficulty by 5,046 (14.7%), severe difficulty/no hearing by 1,334 (3.9%), while 17,769 (51.8%) participants reported adequate hearing. By 30 June 2014, the study end-point, 6,389 (18.6%) participants had an ARC admission while 6,082 (17.7%) had died. In unadjusted competing-risk regression analyses, treating death as a competing event, hearing ability was significantly associated with ARC admission (p < 0.001). However, in adjusted analyses, this relationship was completely confounded by other variables (p = 0.67). This finding implies that screening for hearing loss among community-living older adults is unlikely to impact on ARC admission rates.

Integrated Palliative Care for Nursing Home Residents: Exploring the Challenges in the Collaboration between Nursing Homes, Home Care and Hospitals

INTRODUCTION

Nursing home residents are a vulnerable and frail segment of the population, characterised by their complex and palliative care needs. To ensure an integrated approach to palliative care for this target group, working on a collaborative basis with multiple providers across organisational boundaries is necessary. Considering that coordinators of palliative networks support and coordinate collaboration, the research question is: 'how do network coordinators perceive the process of collaboration between organisations in Flemish palliative networks?'

METHODS

A dual-phase sequential mixed-methods design was applied. First, the coordinators of each of the fifteen palliative networks in Flanders completed a survey in which they evaluated ten aspects of collaboration for two types of cooperation: between nursing homes and home care, and between nursing homes and hospitals. Next, the survey results thus obtained were discussed to improve understanding in a focus group composed of the above coordinators, and which was analysed on the basis of content analysis.

RESULTS

In both forms of cooperation, the 'formalisation' and 'governance' were the aspects that yielded the lowest mean scores. The coordinators in the focus group expressed a need for more formalised interaction among organisations with regard to palliative care, the establishment of formal channels of communication and the exchange of information, as well as the development of shared leadership.

CONCLUSIONS

The perspectives of the coordinators on inter-organisational collaboration are a valuable starting point for interventions directed at the stronger integration of palliative care for residents of long term-care facilities.

Discharge Home From Hospital: How DIRE Can It Be?

Aim: An easy-to-use “DIRE” questionnaire tool was developed to predict an adverse event (AE) within 30 days following discharge from a hospital to the community, among frail elderly individuals aged 65+ years. Methods: Hospital-administered RAI-HC (Residential Assessment Instrument for Home Care) assessment data from 1,433 individuals were used to develop the tool. Results: The DIRE tool outperformed two other instruments that have been used to predict risk in similar populations. Furthermore, the DIRE index was validated on a hold-out sample and in a bootstrapping analysis. Discussion: In addition to its effectiveness in predicting an AE, the added advantages of the DIRE assessment is that only a small amount of data is required and the data are readily available to clinicians at the point of hospital discharge.

Prevalence of frailty among community dwelling older adults in receipt of low level home support: a cross-sectional analysis of the North Dublin Cohort

BACKGROUND

There is increasing demand for formal government funded home help services to support community-dwelling older people in Ireland, yet limited information exists on the health profiles of this group, especially regarding frailty. Our aim was to profile a large cohort of adults in receipt of low level home help and to determine the prevalence of frailty.

METHODS

A total 1312 older adults, (≥ 65 years) in receipt of low level home help (< 5 h per week) were reviewed by community nurses and frailty was assessed using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) in this cross-sectional study. Characteristics of the group were compared between males and females and prevalence of frailty was reported according to gender and principal care. Associations between frailty and a number of variables were explored using bivariate and regression analysis.

RESULTS

The cohort of low level home-help users was a mean age of 82.1 (SD 7.3) years, predominantly female (70.6%) and over half (69.2%) lived alone. The prevalence of frailty in this population was 41.5%, with subjects primarily considered mildly (23.2%) or moderately frail (14.5%) by the CFS. A further 38.4% were classed as vulnerable. The degree of frailty did not differ significantly across the younger categories aged 65-84 years. However, in the oldest age groups, namely 90-94 and >95 years, moderate frailty was significantly higher relative to the younger groups (21% and 34%, p < 0.05, p < 0.01 respectively). Home help hours significantly correlated with frailty (rs = 0.371, p < 0.001) and functional dependency (rs = 0.609, p < 0.001), but only weakly with age (rs = 0.101, p = 0.034). Based on regression analysis, determinants of frailty included greater dependency (Barthel score), higher home help hours, non-self-caring and communication difficulty, all of which significantly contributed to the model, with a r squared value of 0.508.

CONCLUSION

A high prevalence of frailty (41.5%) was documented in this population which associated with higher home help utilisation. Frailty was associated with greater functional dependency, but not strongly with chronological age, until after 90 years. These findings highlight opportunities for developing intervention strategies targeted at ageing in place among home help users.

Association among activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living and health-related quality of life in elderly Yi ethnic minority

Background

The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the elderly population of Yi ethnic minority, which is the seventh largest nationality in China, has been rarely reported. This study was designed to explore the HRQoL of the elderly Yi ethnicity and association between their HRQOL and functional abilities.

Methods

A total of 291 Yi ethnic residents were randomly recruited from 12 rural counties in Yunnan province and divided into different age groups. Local residents in Yunnan province and the elderly from Hangzhou were enrolled as controls. The MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scales were utilized to evaluate the HRQoL and functional ability. One-way ANOVA was used to statistically compare the ADL and IADL among different age groups. The influential variables on HRQOL were analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the association among HRQoL, ADL and IADL.

Results

The HRQoL of the elderly Yi minority was significantly lower than those of local residents in Yunnan province and the elderly counterparts in Hangzhou. The IADL ability of the elderly Yi minority was low, whereas they could perform most items of ADL. ADL, IADL, and education level were positively associated with HRQoL, whereas age, chronic diseases, and the frequency of medication use were negatively correlated with HRQoL.

Conclusion

The HRQoL and functional capacity of the elderly Yi ethnic minority were lower compared with their counterparts in Yunnan province and Hangzhou. The low level of IADL indicated that the elderly Yi participants had a high risk of cognitive impairment. Much attention should be diverted to influential factors of the HRQoL.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12877-017-0455-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Stroke Performance Measures Do Not Predict Functional Outcome

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Poststroke functional outcome is critical to stroke survivors. We sought to determine whether adherence to current stroke performance measures is associated with better functional outcome 90 days after an ischemic stroke.

METHODS

Utilizing the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi cohort, we examined adherence to 7 ischemic stroke performance measures from February 2009 to June 2012. Adherence to the measures was analyzed in aggregate using a binary defect-free score and an opportunity score, representing the proportion of eligible measures met. The opportunity score ranges from 0 to 1, with values closer to 1 implying better adherence. Functional outcome, defined by an activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL) score (range 1-4, higher scores worse), was ascertained at 90 days poststroke. Tobit regression models were fitted to examine the associations between the performance measures and functional outcome, adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics, including stroke severity.

RESULTS

There were 565 patients with ischemic stroke included in the analysis. The median ADL/IADL score was 2.32 (interquartile range [IQR]: 1.41-3.41). The median opportunity score was 1 (IQR: 0.8-1), and 58.4% of the patients received defect-free care. After adjustment, the opportunity score (P = .67) and defect-free care (P = .92) were not associated with functional outcome.

CONCLUSION

In this population, adherence to a composite of current stroke performance measures was not associated with poststroke functional outcome after adjustment for other factors. Performance measures that are associated with improved functional outcome should be developed and incorporated into stroke quality measures.

A 36-month follow-up of decline in activities of daily living in individuals receiving domiciliary care

Background

There have been few studies of how personal and instrumental activities of daily living (P-ADL and I-ADL) develop over time in older people receiving domiciliary care. This study aimed at assessing variables associated with the development of P-ADL and I-ADL functioning over a 36-month follow-up period, with a particular focus on cognitive functioning.

Method

In all, 1001 older people (≥70 years) receiving domiciliary care were included in a longitudinal study with three assessments of P-ADL and I-ADL functioning during 36 months. P-ADL and I-ADL were assessed using the Lawton and Brody’s Physical Self-Maintenance Scale and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale, respectively. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), diagnosis of dementia and MCI, neuropsychiatric symptoms and use of psychotropic medication were also evaluated during the three assessments. Baseline demographic and general medical health information and information of being a nursing home resident at follow-up were recorded. Linear mixed models were estimated.

Results

There was a significant decline in P-ADL and I-ADL functioning throughout the follow-up. A lower MMSE sum-score, diagnosed MCI and dementia, a higher level of neuropsychiatric symptoms and the use of antipsychotics and antidepressants recorded at each assessment were associated with a decline in both P-ADL and I-ADL functioning. Furthermore, a decline in P-ADL and I-ADL functioning at follow-ups was associated with being male, a higher baseline age and in poorer medical health as well as residing in a nursing home at follow-up.

Conclusion

P-ADL and I-ADL functioning in older people worsened over time. The worsening was associated with lower MMSE sum-score, diagnosed MCI and dementia, poorer medical health, neuropsychiatric symptoms, use of psychotropic medication and being transferred to nursing home care. Clinicians should pay close attention to the assessment and treatment of these factors to help older people maintain their level of functioning for as long as possible.

Neurological, functional, and cognitive stroke outcomes in Mexican Americans

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Our objective was to compare neurological, functional, and cognitive stroke outcomes in Mexican Americans (MAs) and non-Hispanic whites using data from a population-based study.

METHODS

Ischemic strokes (2008-2012) were identified from the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) Project. Data were collected from patient or proxy interviews (conducted at baseline and 90 days poststroke) and medical records. Ethnic differences in neurological (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale: range, 0-44; higher scores worse), functional (activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living score: range, 1-4; higher scores worse), and cognitive (Modified Mini-Mental State Examination: range, 0-100; lower scores worse) outcomes were assessed with Tobit or linear regression adjusted for demographics and clinical factors.

RESULTS

A total of 513, 510, and 415 subjects had complete data for neurological, functional, and cognitive outcomes and covariates, respectively. Median age was 66 (interquartile range, 57-78); 64% were MAs. In MAs, median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living, and Modified Mini-Mental State Examination score were 3 (interquartile range, 1-6), 2.5 (interquartile range, 1.6-3.5), and 88 (interquartile range, 76-94), respectively. MAs scored 48% worse (95% CI, 23%-78%) on National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, 0.36 points worse (95% CI, 0.16-0.57) on activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living score, and 3.39 points worse (95% CI, 0.35-6.43) on Modified Mini-Mental State Examination than non-Hispanic whites after multivariable adjustment.

CONCLUSIONS

MAs scored worse than non-Hispanic whites on all outcomes after adjustment for confounding factors; differences were only partially explained by ethnic differences in survival. These findings in combination with the increased stroke risk in MAs suggest that the public health burden of stroke in this growing population is substantial.

Individual correlates of autonomy in activities of daily living of institutionalized elderly individuals: an exploratory study in a holistic perspective

This study aimed at identifying the individual correlates of autonomy in activities of daily living (ADL) of 40 institutionalized elderly individuals. Results showed that balance skill and perception of physical functioning were significantly associated with ADL. Interventions on the physical functioning, both perceived and real, might have positive influence on the autonomy of institutionalized elderly individuals.