Health and Disability

HCBSadvocacy.org is a platform for the aging and disability communities to post information and resources regarding the new HCBS settings rule and steps each state is making to comply with the new rule. Click on a state or choose from the list below to see resources, dates and deadlines, state documents, news, and other information from that state. This site is a work in progress that relies on state and national partners to find information and share resources. Have news or resources to post? Send them tohcbsadvocacy@gmail.com.

These patients also complain of hyperalgesia, or increased sensitivity to pain. A University of Florida study published in the July issue of the European Journal of Pain has found that injections of the painkiller lidocaine in peripheral tissues such as muscles in the shoulders or buttocks reduced hyperalgesia, bringing researchers one step closer to understanding how chronic pain works within these patients.

"We hypothesized that if pain comes from the peripheral tissues, and we can take this pain away by injecting local anesthetics, then this would be indirect proof of the importance of peripheral tissues for the clinical pain of these individuals," said Roland Staud, M.D., a professor of medicine within the UF College of Medicine's department of medicine.

Quality of end-of life care depends a lot on timely referral to hospice care. Lack of hospice services often translates into less pain management. A growing body of research indicates that several types of cancer are referred to hospice very late. These late referrals indicate racial-ethnic, sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and age disparities. In a study of patients over 65 with ovarian cancer, a higher proportion of black women, women in the lowest income groups, and women receiving fee for service Medicare were never referred to hospice care. A substantial proportion of older women with ovarian cancer were referred to hospice care only when they were very near death.

Many drugs can alter vascular tone, or the degree of constriction in blood vessels. When the blood vessels tighten, blood pressure increases, and when it is too high it can lead to heart attack or stroke. Conversely, when blood pressure is too low people may experience lethargy, sexual dysfunction and other problems. Some drugs designed to affect vascular tone can also have cascading effects in the brain. Whether these unintended outcomes are helpful or harmful remains an open question.

As they age, most people develop diverticulosis, a disorder characterized by the formation of pouches in the lining of the colon. More than 50 percent of people over 60 have the condition, but the pouches usually don't cause any problems. Occasionally, however, the pouches become inflamed, leading to a related disorder called diverticulitis, which causes pain and infection in the abdomen. Doctors usually treat diverticulitis withantibiotics, or in more severe cases, surgery.

The condition has long been thought to be acute with periods of relative silence in between attacks, but according to researchers, that's not true for everyone. Some patients experience ongoing symptoms.

In an earlier study, Spiegel and colleagues found that people suffering from diverticulitis have a four-fold higher risk of developing IBS after their illness, a condition called post-diverticulitis irritable bowel syndrome, and that patients had anxiety and depression long after the initial attack. However, that study was based on a database of more than 1,000 patients and did not draw from personal testimonials from people living with diverticulitis.

In the latest research, patients described feelings of fear, anxiety and depression, and said they had been stigmatized for having the condition. Interviewees also said they live in constant fear of having another attack, are scared to travel and feel socially isolated. In addition, many patients continue to experience bothersome physical symptoms such as bloating, watery stools, abdominal pain, incomplete evacuation and nausea.

Drugs widely prescribed to the elderly could be responsible for a decline in cognitive and physical function according to research from the University of East Anglia and the Regenstrief Institute.

A new report reveals that anti-cholinergic drugs - which are used to treat conditions including asthma, high blood pressure, insomnia, dizziness and diarrhoea - could impact physical functions in elderly patients such as eating and getting dressed.

Up to half the UK's elderly population are prescribed at least one medication with anti-cholinergic properties. Other anti-cholinergic drugs are also sold over the counter without the need for a prescription.

These medications affect the brain by blocking a key neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. But they have been associated with side effects including dizziness, sedation, confusion, delirium, constipation and blurred vision.

Seriously ill and injured patients at Southampton's university hospitals are spending less time in intensive care - thanks to an innovative bedside bicycle.

All patients in the general intensive care unit at Southampton General Hospital are screened on admission and, if suitable, are placed on an early exercise programme once their conditions have stabilised.

The project - which was the first in the UK at the time of its launch three years ago - is led by a team of physiotherapists who mobilise patients and help them use the hi-tech system, known as a cycle ergometer, despite often being on complex organ support at the same time.

In its first year, the team treated 97 patients and saw the average length of stay on intensive care reduced by two days, along with feedback of improved confidence levels among all patients and a desire to continue the programme after discharge.

When younger people get a urinary tract infection, they will experience distinct physical symptoms. Most commonly, painful urination, an increased need to urinate, lower abdominal pain, back pain on one side, fever and chills.

But those same symptoms may not be present for an older adult. Because our immune system changes as we get older, it responds differently to the infection. Instead of pain symptoms, seniors with a UTI may show increased signs of confusion, agitation or withdrawal.

For older adults who have dementia, these behavioral changes may come across as part of that condition or signs of advanced aging. If the underlying UTI goes unrecognized and untreated for too long, it can spread to the bloodstream and become life-threatening.

For decades, consumers have watched routine, double-digit increases with eyes wide open, but arms at their sides. What, after all, can the little guys do? Turns out we can do a lot with existing laws and regulations, and a little cooperation between ourselves.