Susanne Gustafsson

Health-promoting interventions for persons aged 80 and older are successful in the short term-results from the randomized and three-armed Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone study

To examine the outcomes of the Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone study, which was designed to evaluate whether it is possible to delay deterioration if a health‐promoting intervention is made when an older adult (≥80) is at risk of becoming frail and whether a multiprofessional group intervention is more effective in delaying deterioration than a single preventive home visit with regard to frailty, self‐rated health, and activities of daily living (ADLs) at 3‐month follow‐up.

Multi-component health promotion and disease prevention for community-dwelling frail elderly persons: a systematic review

The objective was to investigate definitions of frailty used in studies of multi-component health promotion and disease-preventive (HPDP) intervention programmes for community-dwelling frail elderly persons and to review the content, organisation and effects of HPDP interventions. A systematic review of 19 articles was made, and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was used as a structural framework for the analysis. The result shows that a consensus was reached on including various aspects of impairments in body functions and structures as an integral part of the frailty concept, with the exception of one subgroup: mental/cognitive functions. Additionally, opinions varied quite consistently regarding aspects of activity limitations and participation restrictions, personal and environmental factors. Ten of the 14 HPDP programmes covered various intervention elements referring to all four ICF components. Eleven programmes involved registered personnel only, while a more divergent pattern was seen in the remaining organisational aspects of the interventions: length of interventions and location plus age segments, participatory approach and contextual information, as well as the theoretical foundation of the interventions. Measures of body functions and structures were significantly improved in 5 out of 17 (29%) targeted aspects. For activity and participation, 12 out of 32 (38%) targeted aspects were positively changed, while the score for environmental factors was 7 out of 22 (32%), and for personal factors 8 out of 22 (36%). Our review suggests that further research is needed to explore and disentangle the complex interrelationships between various interventions and outcomes.

Long-Term Outcome for ADL Following the Health-Promoting RCT—Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone

PURPOSE To examine independence in activities of daily living (ADL) at the 1- and 2-year follow-ups of the health-promoting study Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone. DESIGN AND METHOD A randomized, three-armed, single-blind, and controlled study. A representative sample of 459 independent and community-dwelling older adults, 80 years and older, were included. A preventive home visit was compared with four weekly multiprofessional senior group meetings including a follow-up home visit. RESULTS Analysis showed a significant difference in favor of the senior meetings in postponing dependence in ADL at the 1-year follow-up (odds ratio [OR] = 1.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.19-3.10) and also in reducing dependence in three (OR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.31-0.86) and four or more ADL (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.22-0.72) at the 2-year follow-up. A preventive home visit reduced dependence in two (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.24-0.68) and three or more ADL (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.17-0.80) after 1 year. IMPLICATIONS A long-term evaluation of Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone showed that both senior meetings and a preventive home visit reduced the extent of dependence in ADL after 1 year. The senior meetings were superior to a preventive home visit since additional significant effects were seen after 2 years. To further enhance the long-term effects of the senior meetings and support the process of self-change in health behavior, it is suggested that booster sessions might be a good way of reinforcing the intervention.

Occupational Therapists’ and Patients’ Perceptions of ABILHAND, a New Assessment Tool for Measuring Manual Ability

The aim of this study was to explore and describe how occupational therapists (OTs) and patients perceived ABILHAND, a new assessment tool for measuring manual ability, in order to evaluate it in terms of content validity and clinical utility in stroke rehabilitation in Sweden. Three main steps were followed to achieve the study goal. First, ABILHAND was translated, and second OTs used ABILHAND with patients admitted for occupational therapy intervention. Finally, in the third step, which aimed to evaluate the content validity and clinical utility of ABILHAND, focus-group interviews were used as a qualitative method of research. The results indicate that ABILHAND might benefit from adjustments to improve content validity. The results also show that standardization for clinical administration is necessary, the production of a manual is essential and the development of a user-friendly computer program for processing data is desirable. An additional finding in this study is an insight into the clinical reasoning of the OTs, which resulted in two conclusions. First, OTs need to discuss and learn more about central concepts in occupational therapy, and second they need to learn more about standardized assessment and how tests are developed and used.

A person-centred approach to health promotion for persons 70+ who have migrated to Sweden: promoting aging migrants' capabilities implementation and RCT study protocol

BackgroundThere are inequities in health status associated with ethnicity, which may limit older foreign-born persons’ ability to age optimally. Health promotion for older persons who have experienced migration is thus an area of public health importance. However, since research related to this issue is very limited, the study ‘Promoting Aging Migrants’ Capabilities’ was initiated to improve our understanding. The study aims to implement and evaluate a linguistically adapted, evidence-based, health-promoting intervention with a person-centred approach for two of the largest groups of aging persons who have migrated to Sweden: persons from Finland and persons from the Balkan Peninsula.Methods/DesignThis study has a descriptive, analytical, and experimental design. It is both a randomised controlled trial and an implementation study, containing the collection and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. The setting is an urban district in a medium-sized Swedish city with a high proportion of persons who were born abroad and whose socio-economic status is low. The intervention comprises four group meetings (‘senior meetings’) and one follow-up home visit made by a multi-professional team. For the randomised controlled trial, the plan is to recruit at least 130 community-dwelling persons 70 years or older from the target group. Additional persons from involved organisations will participate in the study of the implementation. Both the intervention effects in the target group (outcome) and the results of the implementation process (output) will be evaluated.DiscussionThe results of this forthcoming randomised controlled trial and implementation study may be useful for optimising implementation of person-centred, health-promoting initiatives for older persons who have experienced migration. It is also hoped that this combined study will show that the capabilities for optimal aging among older persons born in Finland and the Balkan countries can be improved in the Swedish healthcare context.Trial registrationThe trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov April 10, 2013, identifier: NCT01841853.

Physical Function and Fear of Falling 2 Years After the Health-Promoting Randomized Controlled Trial: Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY To investigate the effects of 2 different health-promoting interventions on physical performance, fear of falling, and physical activity at 3-month, 1-year, and 2-year follow-ups of the study Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone. DESIGN AND METHODS A randomized, three-armed, single-blind, and controlled study in which 459 independent and community-dwelling people aged 80 years or older were included. A single preventive home visit including health-promoting information and advice and 4 weekly senior group meetings focused on health strategies and peer learning, with a follow-up home visit, were compared with control. Functional balance, walking speed, fear of falling, falls efficacy, and frequency of physical activities were measured 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years after baseline. RESULTS There were no or limited differences between the groups at the 3-month and 1-year follow-ups. At 2 years, the odds ratio for having a total score of 48 or more on the Berg Balance scale compared with control was 1.80 (confidence interval 1.11-2.90) for a preventive home visit and 1.96 (confidence interval 1.21-3.17) for the senior meetings. A significantly larger proportion of intervention participants than controls maintained walking speed and reported higher falls efficacy. At 1 and 2 years, a significantly higher proportion of intervention participants performed regular physical activities than control. IMPLICATIONS Both a preventive home visit and senior meetings reduced the deterioration in functional balance, walking speed, and falls efficacy after 2 years. The long-term effects of both interventions indicate a positive impact on postponement of physical frailty among independent older people.

Long-term effect in ADL after an interdisciplinary rehabilitation programme for WAD patients: a mixed-method study for deeper understanding of participants’ programme experiences

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate long-term effects in self-perceived occupational performance and satisfaction in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) for patients with Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD) with chronic pain in an interdisciplinary rehabilitation programme, and investigate patients’ opinions of programme effects. Method: A mixed-method with sequential explanatory design was used. Fifty-three patients with WAD were followed-up 12 months after discharge. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure was used to evaluate the change in ADL and the Multidimensional Pain Inventory for psychosocial functioning. Telephone interviews, based on five structured questions about the perceived impact of the rehabilitation programme, were made. Results: The 12-month follow-up showed significant ADL improvement (p < 0.001). There was less interference in daily activities due to pain (p < 0.01), and life control increased. More people were back to work. Interviews revealed the programme’s environment as strengthening and safe, and participants felt they were met with respect. Key success factors were to be treated with respect to being part of the social context and to obtain new knowledge. Conclusions: The interdisciplinary rehabilitation programme had initiated a process of change towards a more active life for the participants. They had found a new way of managing their lives. Despite the absence of pain reduction, they managed ADL in a better way, had more life control and returned to work to a higher degree. Implications for Rehabilitation Chronic pain after WAD effects the entire life for many people. Long-term effects on activities of daily living, life control and work ability have shown positive results after an interdisciplinary rehabilitation programme based on behavioural and cognitive principles. The key success factors were to be treated with respect to being a part of a social context and to obtain new knowledge.

Bridging barriers to health promotion: a feasibility pilot study of the ‘Promoting Aging Migrants' Capabilities study’

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Improving the possibilities for ageing persons to take control over their health is an increasingly important public health issue. Health promotion has previously been visualized to succeed with this goal, but research has primarily focused on ageing persons who are native-born, leaving the generalizability to persons who are foreign-born unexplored. Therefore, as part of the development of a larger health promotion initiative for ageing persons who have experienced migration, this study aimed to assess the feasibility of an adapted protocol. The specific feasibility objectives were to assess recruitment procedure, retention rates, study questionnaire administration and variability of collected data. METHOD Forty persons who were ≥70 years, and who had migrated from Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro or Serbia to Sweden were randomly allocated to a health promotion programme or a control group. The programme was linguistically adapted with regard to translated information material, bilingual health professionals and evaluators, and a person-centred approach was applied to both programme development and provision. The data analysis was explorative and descriptive. RESULTS The results visualized structural and linguistic barriers to recruitment and study questionnaire administration, and describe strategies for how to bridge them. Retention rates and data variability were satisfying. CONCLUSIONS Calling for iterative and pragmatic programme design, the findings describe how to move towards a more inclusive health care environment. Person-centred and bilingual approaches with attention to the possibilities for building authentic relationships between participants and providers are emphasized, and a structured methodology for developing study questionnaires is suggested.

Understanding the ‘‘black box’’ of a health-promotion program: Keys to enable health among older persons aging in the context of migration

Although the need to make health services more accessible to persons who have migrated has been identified, knowledge about health-promotion programs (HPPs) from the perspective of older persons born abroad is lacking. This study explores the design experiences and content implemented in an adapted version of a group-based HPP developed in a researcher–community partnership. Fourteen persons aged 70–83 years or older who had migrated to Sweden from Finland or the Balkan Peninsula were included. A grounded theory approach guided the data collection and analysis. The findings showed how participants and personnel jointly helped raise awareness. The participants experienced three key processes that could open doors to awareness: enabling community, providing opportunities to understand and be understood, and confirming human values and abilities. Depending on how the HPP content and design are being shaped by the group, the key processes could both inhibit or encourage opening doors to awareness. Therefore, this study provides key insights into how to enable health by deepening the understanding of how the exchange of health-promoting messages is experienced to be facilitated or hindered. This study adds to the scientific knowledge base of how the design and content of HPP may support and recognize the capabilities of persons aging in the context of migration.Although the need to make health services more accessible to persons who have migrated has been identified, knowledge about health-promotion programs (HPPs) from the perspective of older persons born abroad is lacking. This study explores the design experiences and content implemented in an adapted version of a group-based HPP developed in a researcher–community partnership. Fourteen persons aged 70–83 years or older who had migrated to Sweden from Finland or the Balkan Peninsula were included. A grounded theory approach guided the data collection and analysis. The findings showed how participants and personnel jointly helped raise awareness. The participants experienced three key processes that could open doors to awareness: enabling community, providing opportunities to understand and be understood, and confirming human values and abilities. Depending on how the HPP content and design are being shaped by the group, the key processes could both inhibit or encourage opening doors to awareness. Therefore, this study provides key insights into how to enable health by deepening the understanding of how the exchange of health-promoting messages is experienced to be facilitated or hindered. This study adds to the scientific knowledge base of how the design and content of HPP may support and recognize the capabilities of persons aging in the context of migration.

Swedish Health Care Professionals' View of Frailty in Older Persons

There is a paucity of research literature concerning frailty in older persons from the health care professionals’ perspective. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to elucidate health care professionals’ view of frailty in older persons. An explorative, qualitative design was selected and four focus groups comprising 21 health care professionals were conducted, audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed. Frailty was found to consist of seven dimensions: “being bodily weak and ill,” “being negatively influenced by personal qualities,” “lacking balance in everyday activities,” “being dependent in everyday life,” “not being considered important,” “being hindered by the physical milieu and defective community service,” and “having an inadequate social network.” The results showed that health care professionals’ view of frailty in older persons differed from the current state of knowledge on frailty. This implies that the seven dimensions found to constitute frailty could contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the concept.