Paul Stolee

Increasing the Recognition of Delirium in Elderly Patients

To determine if an educational intervention aimed at house staff will increase knowledge about and recognition of delirium.

Use of goal attainment scaling in measuring clinically important change in the frail elderly

The selection of appropriate outcome measures is important in evaluating specialized geriatric programs, but how the various measures compare, and which are most appropriate, are matters still largely unexplored. We compared several outcome measures, including goal attainment scaling, to assess their sensitivity to changes in the health status of frail elderly patients admitted to two geriatric medicine wards. GAS is a measurement approach which accommodates multiple individual patient goals, and has a scoring system which allows for comparisons between patients. Forty-five patients (mean age 81 years, 30 females) received comprehensive assessments. GAS yielded a mean 5 goals per patient. The mean gain in the GAS score was 22 points (SD = 7) which was compared with the change in the Barthel Index (r = 0.59), the Functional Independence Measure (r = 0.45), the Physical Self-Maintenance Scale (r = 0.54), the Katz Activities of Daily Living Index (r = 0.49) and the Spitzer Quality of Life Index (r = 0.38). The inter-rater reliability of scoring the GAS follow-up guides was 0.91. Using a relative efficiency statistic, GAS proved more efficient than any other measure. The effect size statistic also demonstrated an increased responsiveness to change of GAS compared with standard measures. GAS is an individualized measurement approach which shows promise as a responsive measure in frail elderly patients.

Instruments for the assessment of pain in older persons with cognitive impairment.

Pain in older persons with cognitive impairment is often unrecognized and inadequately treated. A major problem associated with this undertreatment is the challenging nature of pain assessment and in particular the selection of accurate and useful assessment instruments. The purpose of this study was to review pain measurement instruments for acute and chronic pain suggested for use with cognitively impaired older persons and to summarize available evidence on their reliability and validity. A systematic search for pain instruments was conducted using several bibliographic databases, supplemented by a manual search of the bibliographies of retrieved articles and review chapters and by articles received from experts and clinicians in the field. Instruments were retained for review when the pain instrument was used or recommended for use with older persons with cognitive impairment.

The 2010 Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines for the diagnosis and management of heart failure update: Heart failure in ethnic minority populations, heart failure and pregnancy, disease management, and quality improvement/assurance programs

Since 2006, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society heart failure (HF) guidelines have published annual focused updates for cardiovascular care providers. The 2010 Canadian Cardiovascular Society HF guidelines update focuses on an increasing issue in the western world - HF in ethnic minorities - and in an uncommon but important setting - the pregnant patient. Additionally, due to increasing attention recently given to the assessment of how care is delivered and measured, two critically important topics - disease management programs in HF and quality assurance - have been included. Both of these topics were written from a clinical perspective. It is hoped that the present update will become a useful tool for health care providers and planners in the ongoing evolution of care for HF patients in Canada.

Navigation roles support chronically ill older adults through healthcare transitions: a systematic review of the literature.

Transitions between various healthcare services are potential points for fragmented care and can be confusing and complicated for patients, formal and informal caregivers. These challenges are compounded for older adults with chronic disease, as they receive care from many providers in multiple care settings. System navigation has been suggested as an innovative strategy to address these challenges. While a number of navigation models have been developed, there is a lack of consensus on the desired characteristics and effectiveness of this role. We conducted a systematic literature review to describe existing navigator models relevant to chronic disease management for older adults and to investigate the potential impact of each model. Relevant literature was identified using five electronic databases - Medline, CINAHL, the Cochrane database, Embase and PsycINFO between January 1999 and April 2011. Following a recommended process for health services research literature reviews, exclusion and inclusion criteria were applied to retrieved articles; 15 articles documenting nine discrete studies were selected. This review suggests that the role of a navigator for the chronically ill older person is a relatively new one. It provides some evidence that integrated and coordinated care guided by a navigator, using a variety of interventions such as care plans and treatment goals, is beneficial for chronically ill older adults transitioning across care settings. There is a need to further clarify and standardise the definition of navigation, as well as a need for additional research to assess the effectiveness and cost of different approaches to the health system.

The Use of Goal Attainment Scaling in a Geriatric Care Setting

Goal attainment scaling (GAS) is a measurement approach used extensively in mental health. It accommodates multiple individual patient goals, yet retains mathematical properties allowing comparisons between patients. This study was carried out to investigate the feasibility and measurement properties of GAS in a geriatric care setting.

Examining three frailty conceptualizations in their ability to predict negative outcomes for home-care clients

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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.

Clinical Experience with Goal Attainment Scaling in Geriatric Care

Objectives: This article presents a qualitative evaluation of the utility of Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) in geriatric care. GASis an individualized outcome measure particularly suited for clients with multiple complex problems, such as are commonly served by geriatric programs. Methods: Semistructured interviews were completed with 24 clinicians in four hospital or community-based geriatric services where GAS has been used. An inductive analysis was used to identify themes. Results: GAS was described as resulting in shorter lengths of stay, more focused care, and improved team functioning. GAS was perceived as having greater use for functional (versus medical) goals, when clinicians had more direct control over treatments, when patients were involved in goal-setting, and when goals were set by an interdisciplinary team. Discussion: GAS has affected both care practices and patient outcomes. This study illustrates the clinical impacts an outcome measure can have, as well as the use of qualitative methods for this type of research.