Listening to narrative material stimulates and activates multiple areas in the cerebral cortex. It has been shown that such activations produce significant changes in the connectivity of the brain. In literature, findings have shown that in pathological aging (i.e., cognitive decline) patients who underwent a daily narrative training showed some…

Purpose: Individuals receiving postacute care in skilled nursing facilities often require complex, skilled care provided by licensed nurses. It is believed that a stable set of nursing personnel is more likely to deliver better care. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among licensed nurse retention, turnover, and a 30-day…

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…

The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine Learning by Living Project (referred to as Learning by Living) was piloted in 2006 as an experiential medical education learning model. Since its inception, medical and other health professions students have been "admitted" into nursing homes to live the life of an older adult nursing…

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…

With reference to a questionnaire aimed at assessing the performance of Italian nursing homes on the basis of the health conditions of their patients, we investigate two relevant issues: dimensionality of the latent structure and discriminating power of the items composing the questionnaire. The approach is based on a multidimensional item…

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…

The critical role of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) to help elderly nursing home residents' move through declining conditions or diseases to death is salient. It is important for CNAs and nursing home leaders to understand CNAs' attitudes, fears, and anxieties toward death and dying. The quantitative study investigated CNA's…

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…

Elder abuse in long-term care has become a very important public health concern. Recent estimates of elder abuse prevalence are in the range of 2% to 10% (Lachs & Pillemer, 2004), and current changes in population structure indicate a potential for an upward trend in prevalence (Malley-Morrison, Nolido, & Chawla, 2006; Post et al., 2006).…

Purpose: Almost half of people age 85 and older who die annually in the United States die as nursing home residents, yet because it is not always clear who is close to death, not all residents who might benefit from end-of-life care receive it. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for organizing social interactions related to…

Geriatric nursing is a physically and emotionally demanding job in healthcare. It is a neglected field despite the growing population of the elderly, and the experiences of geriatric nurses are one of the unrecognized aspects of this field. This qualitative study purports to explore the successes and struggles of the lived experiences of a select…

Purpose: Previous studies investigating adverse outcomes of hospitalized elders have focused on community-dwelling patients. Given the rapid growth of populations living in other settings, such as assisted living facilities, it is important to understand whether these patients are at higher risk of experiencing specific adverse outcomes during…

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to develop measures of end-of-life (EOL) care processes in nursing homes and to validate the instrument for measuring them. Design and Methods: A survey of directors of nursing was conducted in 608 eligible nursing homes in New York State. Responses were obtained from 313 (51.5% response rate) facilities.…

Residents (N = 32) of 3 skilled nursing homes participated in a study designed to document the nature of the stressors they experienced and the coping mechanisms they used. Medical issues were the most common stressors. The most common coping responses were prayer, reading, watching television, listening to music, and talking to friends and…