Health and Disability

Analysis of data from 16 homes in the PEARL specialised dementia care programme developed by Four Seasons Health Care found that on average across all participants, in addition to the reduction in antipsychotics use:

• Medication to alleviate anxiety reduced by 40 per cent.
• Depression score reduced in 30 per cent of residents while use of anti-depressant medication reduced by 19 per cent.
• Requirement for medication to induce sleep reduced by 44 per cent.

A corresponding increase in wellbeing was measured among 46 per cent of residents.(*1)  While 42 per cent gained weight, against the expectation that people living with dementia would lose weight.

Falls reduced by 25 per cent. Fall reduction may be attributed to increased alertness as a result of reduction of antipsychotics and other medications as well as improved wellbeing.

A new study has found a link between the activity levels of elderly people who have just been released from the hospital and the risk that they will require readmission within 30 days.

The investigation draws on data collected from 111 patients aged 65 and older, each of whom was fitted with a "step activity monitor" during his or her hospital stay. Worn on the patient's ankle, the pager-sized device counted every step the person took during hospitalization and for a week after discharge.

Delirium can often be traced to a cause or constellation of causes, such as medication side effects, dehydration, unfamiliar environments, or lack of sleep.  Many of these conditions are treatable, for example by stopping the offending medications, encouraging fluid intake, encouraging family to stay, or improved sleep hygiene.

In patients with dementia, poor nutrition or decreased food intake may cause symptoms of depression. Investigators including Li-Chan Lin, RN, PhD, of the National Yang-Ming University, in Taipei, Taiwan, tested the effectiveness of a combination of methods to train patients with dementia to remember proper eating habits. The intervention incorporated a method called spaced retrieval - a kind of memory training that requires an individual to recall a piece of information at increasing time intervals - and Montessori-based activities, through which structured activities related to daily life are sequentially and repetitively practiced.

One in three people who survived stays in an intensive care unit (ICU) and required use of a mechanical ventilator showed substantial post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms that lasted for up to two years, according to a new Johns Hopkins study of patients with acute lung injury.

Hospital beds tend to get used simply because they're available – not necessarily because they're needed, according to a first-of-its-kind study that supports continued regulation of new hospitals.

Michigan State University researchers examined all 1.1 million admissions at Michigan's 169 acute-care hospitals in 2010 and found a strong correlation between bed availability and use, even when accounting for myriad factors that may lead to hospitalization. These factors include nature of the ailment, health insurance coverage, access to primary care and patient mobility.

"It has been revolutionary. The actual wound was very deep - it was almost as big as my finger. When Moses first did the dressing he almost used the whole pot of sugar, but two weeks later he only needed to use 4 or 5 teaspoons. I am very pleased indeed. I feel that it has speeded up my recovery a lot, and it has been a positive step forward. I was a little skeptical at first but once I saw the sugar in operation and how much it was drawing the wound out, I was impressed."

The nurses monitoring Mr. Bayliss said the treatment lifted his morale. Not only did it help him physically, but the sugar treatment also accomplished a psychological benefit, the nurses noted. They saw Mr. Bayliss beyond happy with the results.

While most infection control measures are focused on hospitals, a new study points to the need for more targeted interventions to prevent the spread of drug-resistant bugs in nursing homes as community-associated strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) are on the rise in these facilities. The study is published in the March issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

Nearly one in 12 American stroke survivors may have contemplated suicide or wished themselves dead, according to a study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2013

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Digital reading devices allow older people to read the same text more quickly and with less effort than printed pages, without affecting their understanding of the text, researchers said.