Chronic Illness/Disability

12 publications found.

Multiple chronic conditions and hospitalizations among recipients of long-term services and supports

12/15/2016

Among older adults receiving long-term services and supports (LTSS), debilitating hospitalizations is a pervasive clinical and research problem. Multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) are prevalent in LTSS recipients. However, the combination of MCCs and diseases associated with hospitalizations of LTSS recipients is unclear. The purpose of this analysis was to determine the association between classes of MCCs in newly enrolled LTSS recipients and the number of hospitalizations over a 1-year period...

  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Home and Community Based Services
  • Long-Term Care - Other

Association of neuropsychiatric syndromes with global clinical deterioration in Alzheimer’s disease patients

12/17/2015

Data on the relationship between behavioral disturbances in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and global clinical deterioration is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to explore potential correlations of neuropsychiatric syndromes with global clinical deterioration in patients with AD, with particular consideration on severity levels of dementia. To analyze the association of neuropsychiatric syndromes with the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), considering the total sample and patients...

  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Mental Health

Chronic illness and generativity in late life: A case study

07/25/2015

This article presents a narrative-based case study about chronic illness and genetic uncertainty and their relationship to generativity throughout the life course. Our focus is a woman who experienced vision loss early in life and interpreted its impact on her generativity through present-day biographical rescripting. This article contributes an understanding of childlessness as observed through the lenses of chronic illness, autonomy, and generativity. We conclude that a history of chronic...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Chronic Illness/ Disability

Gender differences in trajectories of physical activity among older Americans with diabetes

07/17/2015

The primary objective of this study was to examine gender differences in engagement in physical activity over time among older U.S. adults with diabetes. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we investigated physical activity between 2004 and 2010 among 1,857 adults aged 65 years and above with diabetes. The women in this cohort of older Americans started and remained less active than their male counterparts. Investigations covering a larger portion of the life course and those...

  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Demographics
  • Health/Physical Activity

Public beliefs and knowledge about risk and protective factors for Alzheimer's disease

10/01/2014

The purpose of this study was to assess public beliefs and knowledge about risk and protective factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD). A brief survey module was added to the Health and Retirement Study, a longstanding national panel study of the U.S. population over the age of 50. Respondents were 1641 adults. Most indicated interest in learning their AD risk, with 29.4% expressing active worry. Many failed to recognize that medications to prevent AD are not available (39.1%) or that having an...

  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Education

The consistency of self-reported preferences for everyday living: Implications for person centered care delivery

10/01/2014

Preferences are the expression of an individual's basic psychosocial needs and are related to care outcomes. The current study tested the consistency of 87 individuals' everyday preferences over 1 week, comparing responses of nursing home residents (n = 37; mean age = 82) and university students (n = 50; mean age = 20). Participants completed the Preferences for Everyday Living Inventory at baseline and 5 to 7 days later. Preference consistency was calculated three ways: (a) correlations (range...

  • Care Management
  • Chronic Illness/ Disability

Long-Term Care Management Turns 40: What We Know and What We Don’t

09/02/2014

This article focuses on care management with older people experiencing chronic disability. Care management, including a systematic assessment, arrangement and coordination of services, and monitoring the quality of the consumer experiences, has become a core element of the home and community-based delivery system. In addition, private care management has developed for individuals and families who have the necessary income to purchase their own services, but who still need assistance in...

  • Care Management
  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Home and Community Based Services
  • Long-Term Care Decision Making

Remembering the person in person-centered residential dementia care

09/15/2013

Although person-centered care is aimed at tailoring care to the biological, behavioral, biographical, and social needs of an individual, there is often little discussion about exactly who is the person in person-centered care. Instead, "person" is often reduced to the biographical details assembled from family and staff. This article suggests ways for making sure that the entire person is considered, using the case story of R.H., a woman with dementia whose concept of her own person differed...

  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Families/Caregiving

Generative acts of people with dementia in a long-term care setting

08/14/2013

Although generativity is used as a central cultural construct within life course theory to illustrate how older persons create interpersonal ties, it is also tied to key concepts in social exchange theory since generative acts can provide a way for achieving more equity in intergenerational power relationships. Without opportunities for older adults to invest themselves in younger generations, they may no longer feel needed within their family or community. In this article, we discuss the...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Families/Caregiving

The Brazilian version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Clinician rating scale (NPI-C): reliability and validity in dementia

06/14/2013

Patients with dementia may be unable to describe their symptoms, and caregivers frequently suffer emotional burden that can interfere with judgment of the patient's behavior. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Clinician rating scale (NPI-C) was therefore developed as a comprehensive and versatile instrument to assess and accurately measure neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in dementia, thereby using information from caregiver and patient interviews, and any other relevant available data. The present...

  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Families/Caregiving
  • Global Aging

The association of diabetes complications with physical activity in a representative sample of older adults in the United States

05/23/2013

Most adults with diabetes do not engage in the level of physical activity recommended for optimal disease management. Diabetes complications are not generally considered a clinical contraindication to exercise. No prior national studies have examined the associations of these complications with physical activity. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the association between diabetes complications and the odds of meeting physical activity guidelines…A borderline significant...

  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Health/Physical Activity

Programs to Locate Missing and Critically Wandering Elders: A Critical Review and a Call for Multiphasic Evaluation

05/07/2012

As America ages, greater numbers of older adults will be living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia, leading to increased incidence of wandering. Currently there are several initiatives to assist older adults who go missing. We describe and critically examine three prominent and widespread programs: Safe Return, Project Lifesaver, and Silver Alert. Despite their emergence, there has been little research on their effectiveness. More fundamentally, the nature and scope of the missing...

  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Education