Kerry Byrne

Risk Factors for Hip Fracture in Older Home Care Clients

BACKGROUND Little information is available on hip fracture risks among community-dwelling persons receiving home care. Our aim was to identify risk factors for hip fracture from health information routinely collected for older home care clients. METHODS This was a cohort study involving secondary analysis of data on 40,279 long-stay (>60 days) home care clients aged 65 and older in Ontario, Canada; occurrence of hip fracture as well as potential risk factor information were measured using the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI)/Minimum Data Set-Home Care assessment instrument. RESULTS In all, 1,003 clients (2.5%) had hip fracture on follow-up assessment. Older (85+ vs 65-74, relative risk [95% confidence interval]: 0.52 [0.43-0.64]) clients are at increased risk; males are at reduced risk [0.60 (0.51-0.70)]. Other risk factors include osteoporosis (1.19 [1.03-1.36]), falls (1.31 [1.15-1.49]), unsteady gait (1.18 [1.03-1.36]), use of ambulation aide (1.39 [1.21-1.59]), tobacco use (1.42, [1.13-1.80]), severe malnutrition (2.61 [1.67-4.08]), and cognitive impairment (1.30 [1.12-1.51]). Arthritis (0.86 [0.76-0.98]) and morbid obesity (0.34 [0.16-0.72]) were associated with reduced risk. Males and females demonstrated different risk profiles. CONCLUSIONS Important risk factors for hip fracture can be identified from routinely collected data; these could be used to identify at-risk clients for further investigation and prevention strategies.

Factors associated with a second hip fracture: a systematic review:

Objective: To provide a systematic review of factors associated with subsequent hip fracture among individuals who have fractured a hip. Data sources: We searched Ageline, CINAHL, EMBASE and MEDLINE, from database inceptions to the week of 5 June 2006. Review methods: Studies were selected if they provided information regarding risk of subsequent hip fracture among individuals who had fractured a hip. Study quality was assessed using the Jadad criteria for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and a simple scale based on the MOOSE criteria for cohort studies. Results: Four RCTs and seven cohort studies were identified. Older age, cognitive impairment and lower bone mass appear to increase the risk of subsequent fracture, as did impaired depth perception, impaired mobility, previous falls, dizziness and poor or fair self-perceived health. Pharmacologic treatment for osteoporosis decreased the risk of subsequent fracture. Use of hip protectors by community-dwelling seniors did not appear to protect against a second fracture. Conclusion: A number of easily observed risk factors may help identify those individuals at higher risk for subsequent fracture.

Mapping the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS-16) to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate how the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) can be used to create coded functional status indicators specific for stroke from a simple stroke-specific functional index, the Stroke Impact Scale-16 (SIS-16). SUBJECTS Nineteen professionals for the mapping portion and 8 persons with stroke for the cognitive debriefing portion. METHODS Participants were asked to identify appropriate codes for the corresponding items of the SIS-16 following a structured protocol for mapping measures to the ICF. A Delphi technique was used in order to reach consensus for as many items as possible. In addition, cognitive debriefing was conducted with persons with stroke. RESULTS A total of 13 items had Functional Status Indicators endorsed (8 items at the 4 digit level and 5 items at the 3 digit level). There were 3 items that did not reach consensus. The cognitive debriefing sessions demonstrated the differences in interpretation from the persons with stroke and the intentions by the developers. CONCLUSION This study has shown how the ICF can capture most items from functional status measures, such as the SIS-16. Furthermore, the items can be used to map onto a standard coding framework, illustrating the potential for increased use of Functional Status Indicators.

Valuing the Older Person in the Context of Delivery and Receipt of Home Support Client Perspectives

Client perspectives of home support (i.e., assistance with daily activities that help to maintain a safe and supportive home) have not been considered in relation to personhood: “a standing or status that is bestowed upon one human being, by others, in the context of relationship and social being.” Personhood and positive person work interactions conceptually guided our secondary analysis of data from a generic qualitative study including 82 semi-structured interviews with older adult home support clients in British Columbia, Canada. Findings revealed clients value a “focus on the person,” “preservation of autonomy,” and interactions characterized by recognition, validation, collaboration, and negotiation. Individuals involved in the delivery of home support services are in a key position to support the personhood of older adult clients.

Conceptualizing communication enhancement in dementia for family caregivers using the WHO-ICF framework

Despite the importance of educating and training family caregivers about the language and communication changes associated with Alzheimers Disease (AD), a comprehensive framework for interventions has not been put forward to date. There are three objectives of this paper. The first is to review the World Health Organizations (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) conceptual framework. The second objective is to provide a detailed description of the ICF as it relates to the language and communication changes experienced by individuals with AD that family caregivers find stressful. The third is to discuss the use of the ICF in the development and implementation of language and communication enhancement education and training programs for family caregivers of individuals with AD. The ICF provides a comprehensive framework, offers a universal language, includes the family caregiver as a potential support or barrier, and necessitates a consideration of the everyday communication activities and participation of individuals with AD. The ICF will require more explicit considerations of the subjective experience of disability and further exploration of the concept of third-party disability. Empirical testing of communication enhancement interventions based on the ICF framework will be needed as well as an increased acceptance and incorporation into clinical practice by speech language pathologists and other health care professionals.

Why I Became a Home Support Worker: Recruitment in the Home Health Sector

Home care is considered an essential pillar of the health care systems in many industrialized countries. With an increased demand for home health workers, there has been growing interest in examining recruitment and retention of these workers. With a focus on recruitment of home support workers, in this study we draw on data from interviews with 57 home support workers in three Canadian provinces, to examine the factors that attract individuals to employment in this sector. These factors include: previous experience, financial considerations, and enjoying working with people. Understanding these overlapping factors can aide in the recruitment of future workers.

‘Trying to find information is like hating yourself every day’: The collision of electronic information systems in transition with patients in transition

The consequences of parallel paper and electronic medical records (EMR) and their impact on informational continuity are examined. An interdisciplinary team conducted a multi-site, ethnographic field study and retrospective documentation review from January 2010 to December 2010. Three case studies from the sample of older patients with hip fractures who were transitioning across care settings were selected for examination. Analysis of data from interviews with care providers in each setting, field observation notes, and reviews of medical records yielded two themes. First, the lack of interoperability between electronic information systems has complicated, not eased providers’ ability to communicate with others. Second, rather than transforming the system, digital records have sustained health care’s ‘culture of documentation’. While some information is more accessible and communications streamlined, parallel paper and electronic systems have added to front line providers’ burden, not lessened it. Implementation of truly interoperable electronic health information systems need to be expedited to improve care continuity for patients with complex health-care needs, such as older patients with hip fractures.

“I'm Satisfied … But”: Clients' and Families' Contingent Responses About Home Care

Home care service organizations need a means of gaining useful feedback about satisfaction with care from clients and their families. Interviews were conducted with 82 older adult clients and 52 family members about their satisfaction with home care. A subgroup of participants (n = 39) provided “contingent” satisfaction responses. Contingent responses reflect the duality of perceptions that clients and families convey about services. Three themes emerged as critical to understanding these types of responses: adept versus inept staff, predictable versus precarious scheduling, and responsive versus restrictive care plans. Understanding the reasons for contingent responses could help home care agencies to target quality improvement initiatives for individual clients and families.

The space between: using ‘relational ethics’ and ‘relational space’ to explore relationship-building between care providers and care recipients in the home space

Geographers and other social scientists have a longstanding interest in ‘geographies of aging’ focused on the provision of care to vulnerable older populations and the challenges and experiences of caregivers [Skinner, M. W., Cloutier, D., & Andrews, G. J. (2014). Geographies of ageing: Progress and possibilities after two decades of change. Progress in Human Geography, 1–24]. This qualitative research project explores strategies for relationship-building used by home support workers and older residents according to a ‘relational ethics’ framework, enacted in the ‘relational space’ of the home environment. This framework rests on four principles: engagement, embodiment, mutual respect and environment, and argues that ‘relationships’ between care providers and care recipients must be preserved as the real essence or heart of the health care experience. Two linked conclusions are drawn from the research: that the treatment of the environment can be expanded using a social geographic lens to capture the more active influence of ‘homes’ on relationship-building and second, the relational ethics framework is useful in the home care context to characterize and ground the importance of relationships in the home care domain and the importance of home care to foster aging in place for vulnerable older persons.

A multi-site study of the feasibility and clinical utility of Goal Attainment Scaling in geriatric day hospitals

Background: Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) is an individualized goal-setting and measurement approach that is useful for patients with multiple, individualized health problems, such as those served by geriatric day hospitals (GDHs) and other specialized geriatric programmes. Purpose: To assess the feasibility and utility of GAS in a multi-site study of six GDH affiliated with the Regional Geriatric Programmes of Ontario. Method: Individualized GAS guides were developed for 15 consecutively admitted patients at each site [total n = 90; mean age: 76.2 SD 8.3; 58.9% female; mean attendances: 24.0 SD 10.3]. Staff members (n = 39) were surveyed on their experience with GAS. Results: Mean goals/patient ranged across sites from 2.1 to 4.3. Mean GAS discharge score was 52.3 SD 8.7, close to the theoretically expected values of 50 SD 10. Common goals included mobility, community reintegration, basic and instrumental activities of daily living, medical issues, cognition/communication, and home safety. Estimated mean time to develop a GAS guide ranged across sites from 15.3 to 43.8 min. Conclusion: Clients were often involved in goal setting; family involvement was less frequent. The staff survey identified challenges and benefits regarding the use of GAS. Study results are being used to inform a more consistent approach to the clinical and research use of GAS in GDH. Implications for Rehabilitation The geriatric day hospital (GDH) has had a long history as one element of a comprehensive system of specialized geriatric services with potential advantages including ongoing treatment and rehabilitation from an interdisciplinary team. Despite this history, the evidence for the effectiveness of GDHs in rehabilitation of older persons has been equivocal. We found that Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) was able to detect clinically relevant change in this setting which can aid in demonstrating evidence for the utility and impact of GDHs. GAS was feasible in this setting and clinicians felt that GAS may have an effect on speeding up discharge, as a result of having a clearer focus on outcomes that are desired for each patient. Clinicians felt the involvement of clients and families in goals settings resulted in more meaningful outcomes for clients and GAS aided in identifying highly individual outcomes such as quality of life and community integration that are routinely difficult to measure with standardized tools.