Personal meanings given to the experience of living with nursing home death were shared by 5 nursing home residents. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Using M. van Manen's (1990) hermeneutic phenomenology, the lived experience of residents emerged as a compilation of 5 dynamically occurring themes, including (a) mapping…

Purpose: To examine the 1-year prevalence and risk of emergency department (ED) use and ambulatory care-sensitive (ACS) ED use by nursing home (NH) residents with different levels of severity of cognitive impairment (CI). Design and Methods: We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate the effect of CI severity on the odds of any ED visit…

Purpose: To estimate the frequency of use of pressure-redistributing support surfaces (PRSS) among hip fracture patients and to determine whether higher pressure ulcer risk is associated with greater PRSS use. Design and Methods: Patients (n = 658) aged [greater than or equal] 65 years who had surgery for hip fracture were examined by research…

The current study evaluated the effect of participating in simulated gambling activities on happiness levels of 3 nursing home residents. A 4-component analysis was used to measure objective responses associated with happiness during baseline, varying durations of engagement in simulated gambling activities, and 2 follow-up periods. Results…

Purpose of the Study: In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the role of safety culture in preventing costly adverse events, such as medication errors and falls, among nursing home residents. However, little is known regarding critical organizational determinants of a positive safety culture in nursing homes. The aim of this study…

Purpose: This study's purpose was to advance the process of culture change within long-term care (LTC) and assisted living settings by using participatory action research (PAR) to promote residents' competence and nourish the culture change process with the active engagement and leadership of residents. Design and Methods: Seven unit-specific PAR…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to obtain a profile of individuals with private long-term care (LTC) insurance as they begin using paid LTC services and track their patterns of service use, satisfaction with services and insurance, claims denial rates, and transitions over a 28-month period. Design and Methods: Ten LTC insurance companies…

Background: Aging adults with Down's syndrome (DS) experience more relocations and other life events than adults with intellectual disabilities aged 50 and older without DS. Age-related functional decline and the higher incidence of dementia were implicated as the contributing factors that led to relocation and nursing home placement. Method: A…

Community-based frail older adults, burdened with complex medical and social needs, are at great risk for preventable rapid rehospitalizations. Although federal and state regulations are in place to address the care transitions between the hospital and nursing home, no such guidelines exist for the much larger population of community-dwelling…

Purpose: Theories of the policy process recognize that policy proposals are typically generated, debated, redrafted, and accepted for consideration through the gradual accumulation of knowledge within communities of specialists. Thus, to inform long-term care (LTC) reform efforts, we conducted a Web-based survey of 1,147 LTC specialists…

Death and dying anxiety were examined among elderly Arab Muslims in Israel. A total of 145 people aged 60 and over were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. Nursing home residents reported higher death anxiety than others; women and uneducated participants reported greater levels of fear of death and dying than others. There were no…

The teacher-researcher employed multiple methods in this action research to analyze the effects of service-learning on the self-efficacy for self-regulated learning of her third-grade music students as they participated in an intergenerational project--sharing music and writing with residents in a local nursing home. Quantitative data were…

Purpose: This is a pilot study that provides a description of the values older persons report in ethical wills and their reasoning for the values they chose, and compares the values in ethical wills of seniors and students. Nursing home residents rarely get the opportunity or venue to discuss these topics and the ethical will enables them to have…

This study documents a reflective journey of a community music programme initiated by a university music education faculty member and an occupational therapist within the setting of a nursing home and day-care centre in Singapore. Weekly music interaction sessions in conjunction with reminiscence therapy were conducted over a period of five…

Involuntary weight loss (IWL) is common in the North American elderly population and affects as many as 60 per cent of nursing home residents, representing a threat to health and function. Investigation into nutrient provision in a long-term care (LTC) centre showed that mean total energy exposure over the 5-week menu cycle differed significantly…