Psychogeriatric Residents Research Articles

Facility- and ward-level factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks among residents in long-term care facilities: A retrospective cohort study

Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Yet, the reasons why certain LTCFs are affected more by outbreaks are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the facility- and ward-level factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks among LTCF residents. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of multiple Dutch LTCFs (N=60; with 298 wards providing care for ∼5600 residents) from September 2020 to June 2021. A dataset was constructed linking SARS-CoV-2 cases among LTCF residents to facility- and ward-level factors. Multilevel logistic regression analyses examined the associations between these factors and the likelihood of a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak among residents. During periods of the Classic variant, the mechanical recirculation of air was associated with significantly increased odds of a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. During periods of the Alpha variant, the factors associated with significantly increased odds included large ward size (≥21 beds), wards providing psychogeriatric care, fewer restrictions on staff movement between wards and facilities, and a greater number of cases among staff (>10 cases). Policy and protocols on reducing resident density, staff movement, and mechanical recirculation of air in buildings are recommended to enhance outbreak preparedness in LTCFs. The implementation of low-threshold preventive measures among psychogeriatric residents is important because they appear as a particularly vulnerable group.

Identifying personal beliefs of nursing staff about encouraging psychogeriatric nursing home residents in daily activities: Aqualitative study.

To identify personal beliefs of Dutch nursing staff about encouraging psychogeriatric nursing home residents in daily activities. Qualitative study following COREQ guidelines. Fifteen semi-structured interviews with Dutch nursing staff of wards hosting psychogeriatric residents were conducted in Spring 2021. Data were systematically analysed through deductive coding analysis in NVivo. Most nurses indicated to encourage residents frequently to perform activities independently, although many also indicated to take over tasks habitually. Nurses seemed to show sufficient awareness, reflected by adequate knowledge of what encouraging residents entailed and insight in the risks of not encouraging residents. Nurses' motivation to encourage residents seemed high, reflected by expressing multiple advantageous and few disadvantageous beliefs and a high willingness to encourage residents. Managerial support was perceived ambiguous. Self-efficacy was perceived high, although little time, staffing shortages and resistance of residents reduced self-efficacy. Nurses were often unable to anticipate such situations and expressed the need of skills, e.g. patience.

Association Between Malnutrition and Oral Health in Dutch Nursing Home Residents: Results of the LPZ Study

IntroductionAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO) and FDI World Dental Federation (FDI), malnutrition and bad oral health are of great concern to global health, especially among the older population. This study aimed to assess the associations between oral health problems ([artificial] teeth problems, chewing problems, and xerostomia) and malnutrition in residents of somatic and psychogeriatric wards in Dutch nursing homes. MethodsData of the cross-sectional National Prevalence Measurement of Quality of Care study (Landelijke Prevalentiemeting Zorgproblemen study) in the Netherlands were used to evaluate nutritional status and oral health of 3220 residents, aged 65 or older and living in somatic or psychogeriatric wards in Dutch nursing homes. Cox regression was performed to calculate prevalence ratios (PR) of malnutrition among these residents. ResultsOf the total study population, 11.7% were malnourished, 28.6% suffered from xerostomia, 25.6% suffered from chewing problems, and 10.1% experienced problems eating due to (artificial) teeth problems. Within somatic wards, 9.0% were malnourished, whereas 13.2% of residents in psychogeriatric wards were malnourished. Increased risk for malnutrition was found among psychogeriatric residents who had problems with eating due to (artificial) teeth problems (PR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.3). ConclusionPoor oral health, mostly problems with eating due to (artificial) teeth problems, was associated with an almost twofold risk for malnutrition in older residents in Dutch nursing homes and even more so in psychogeriatric residents than in somatic residents.

P270: Factors associated with fall rate in psychogeriatric residents

Introduction: Falls in psychogeriatric residents represent a costly but unresolved safety issue. Identifying fall risk factors and their inter-relationship may help to individualize prevention programs and increase the effectiveness. Therefore, we aimed to examine the relationship between patient characteristics and fall rate in psychogeriatric residents. Methods: Twenty nursing home residents with dementia (80±11 years; 60% male) living on a psychogeriatric ward participated. Based on patient records, we identified 66 patient characteristics and extracted the number of falls over 19 months. Patient characteristics represented seven domains: demographics, ADL, mobility, cognition and behaviour, vision and hearing, medical conditions, and drug-use. We evaluated the relationship between patient characteristics and fall rate using multivariate Partial Least Squares regression. Results: A total of 115 falls (5.1±6.7 falls/person year) occurred during the study period. The 66 patient characteristics included in the model explained 96% of the variance in fall rate. Reduced mobility abilities, indicators of disinhibited behavior, diabetes, and use of analgesics, beta blocking agents and psycholeptics were positively associated with fall rate. Whereas immobility, heart failure, and the inability to communicate were negatively associated fall rate. Conclusion: Dementia is often indicated as fall risk factor; however, our results showed that especially cognitive impairment related to disinhibited behaviour was associated with a high fall rate in psychogeriatric residents. Furthermore, immobility and inactivity seemed to decrease fall rate. The analytic approach provided a detailed view of the fall risk factors and their interactions in psychogeriatric residents, enabling more effective fall prevention.

Preventing belt restraint use in newly admitted residents in nursing homes: A quasi-experimental study

BackgroundPhysical restraints are commonly used in psychogeriatric nursing home residents despite reports of negative consequences. Most research has focused on restraint reduction without addressing methods to prevent initiation of restraints in nursing homes. EXBELT has been found to decrease belt restraint use but should also be evaluated for its use in preventing restraints. ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of the EXBELT intervention to prevent the use of belt restraints on psychogeriatric residents newly admitted to nursing homes. DesignQuasi-experimental study design. SettingTwenty-six nursing home wards from thirteen Dutch nursing homes. ParticipantsNewly admitted residents (n=104) during a four month period. InterventionsFifteen wards (intervention group) implemented the EXBELT intervention, which consisted of four components: a policy change, education, consultation and the availability of alternative interventions. MethodsData on the use of belt restraints, other types of physical restraints, falls and fall-related injuries and psychoactive drug use were collected at T2 (4 months) and T3 (8 months) after baseline (T1) for those resident who were newly admitted after baseline and before T2 (4 months). Physical restraint use data were collected by a trained, blinded observer four times during a 24-h period. ResultsA total of 104 residents were newly admitted after baseline (T1) and before T2. Of those, 82 were present on T2 and T3. Informed consent was obtained from legal representatives of 49 out of the 82 residents. In the control group (n=20), 15% and 20% used belts at T2 (4 months) and T3 (8 months), respectively. In the intervention group (n=29), these proportions were 3% and 0%, respectively (OR=0.08; 95% CI (0.01–0.76); p=0.03). There was no increase in the intervention group in the use of other physical restraints, falls and fall-related injuries or psychoactive drug use. ConclusionThe EXBELT intervention effectively seems to prevent the use of belt restraints in newly admitted residents in psychogeriatric nursing homes.

The prevalence and management of heart failure in Dutch nursing homes; design of a multi-centre cross-sectional study

BackgroundHeart failure is likely to be particularly prevalent in the nursing home population, but reliable data about the prevalence of heart failure in nursing homes are lacking. Therefore the aims of this study are to investigate (a) the prevalence and management of heart failure in nursing home residents and (b) the relation between heart failure and care dependency as well as heart failure and quality of life in nursing home residents.Methods/designNursing home residents in the southern part of the Netherlands, aged over 65 years and receiving long-term somatic or psychogeriatric care will be included in the study. A panel of two cardiologists and a geriatrician will diagnose heart failure based on data collected from actual clinical examinations (including history, physical examination, ECG, cardiac markers and echocardiography), patient records and questionnaires. Care dependency will be measured using the Care Dependency Scale. To measure the quality of life of the participating residents, the Qualidem will be used for psychogeriatric residents and the SF-12 and VAS for somatic residents.ConclusionThe study will provide an insight into the actual prevalence and management of heart failure in nursing home residents as well as their quality of life and care dependency.Trial registrationDutch trial register NTR2663

Supervised versus non-supervised implementation of an oral health care guideline in (residential) care homes: a cluster randomized controlled clinical trial

BackgroundThe increase of the proportion of elderly people has implications for health care services. Advances in oral health care and treatment have resulted in a reduced number of edentulous individuals. An increasing number of dentate elderly people have tooth wear, periodontal disease, oral implants, and sophisticated restorations and prostheses. Hence, they are in need of both preventive and curative oral health care continuously. Weakened oral health due to neglect of self care and professional care and due to reduced oral health care utilization is already present when elderly people are still community-dwelling. At the moment of (residential) care home admittance, many elderly people are in need of oral health care urgently. The key factor in realizing and maintaining good oral health is daily oral hygiene care. For proper daily oral hygiene care, many residents are dependent on nurses and nurse aides. In 2007, the Dutch guideline "Oral health care in (residential) care homes for elderly people" was developed. Previous implementation research studies have revealed that implementation of a guideline is very complicated. The overall aim of this study is to compare a supervised versus a non-supervised implementation of the guideline in The Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium).Methods/DesignThe study is a cluster randomized intervention trial with an institution as unit of randomization. A random sample of 12 (residential) care homes accommodating somatic as well as psycho-geriatric residents in The Netherlands as well as in Flanders (Belgium) are randomly allocated to an intervention or control group. Representative samples of 30 residents in each of the 24 (residential) care homes are monitored during a 6-months period. The intervention consists of supervised implementation of the guideline and a daily oral health care protocol. Primary outcome variable is the oral hygiene level of the participating residents. To determine the stimulating or inhibiting factors of the implementation project and the nurses' and nurse aides' compliance and perceived barriers, a process evaluation is carried out.DiscussionThe method of cluster randomization may result in a random effect and cluster selection bias, which has to be taken into account when analyzing and interpreting the results.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN86156614

Measuring client experiences in long-term care in the Netherlands: a pilot study with the Consumer Quality Index Long-term Care.

BackgroundThis study aims to describe the development, testing and optimization of a new standard instrument, the Consumer Quality Index (CQ-index®) Long-term Care, for measuring client experiences with long-term care in the Netherlands.MethodsThree versions of the CQ-index questionnaires and protocols for study sampling and data collection were developed, designed for interviews with residents of nursing or residential care homes and postal surveys among representatives of psychogeriatric residents and homecare clients. From July to November 2006 a pilot study was conducted among 2,697 clients of 68 nursing or residential care homes, 2,164 representatives of clients in 57 psychogeriatric care institutions, and 1,462 clients of 19 homecare organizations. We performed psychometric analyses and descriptive analyses, and evaluated the pilot study.ResultsThe pilot study showed the feasibility and usability of the instruments, supported the multidimensionality of the questionnaires and showed first findings on client experiences and possibilities for quality improvement. Nine scales applied to all care settings: shared decision making, attitude and courtesy, information, body care, competence and safety of care, activities, autonomy, mental well-being, and availability of personnel. The pilot resulted in three optimized questionnaires and recommendations for nationwide implementation.ConclusionsThe CQ-index® Long-term Care provides a good basis to investigate the quality of nursing homes, residential care homes and homecare from the clients' perspective. This standardized instrument enables a nationwide comparison of the quality of long-term care for the purpose of transparency and quality assurance.

Music in the nursing home: hitting the right note! The provision of music to dementia patients with verbal and vocal agitation in Dutch nursing homes

The study aims to provide insight into the type of music being offered in Dutch nursing homes to patients with both dementia and verbal and vocal agitation. It also investigates the degree to which the music offered corresponds to the musical preferences of the nursing home residents. Using random sampling, 20 nursing homes were selected to participate in this study. Within these homes, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nursing home physicians (n = 17) and other nursing home care providers (n = 20). Each interview focused on up to three psychogeriatric residents with verbal and vocal agitation. In total, 51 residents were discussed in the interviews. For each resident, the frequency of music, the type of music being offered, and the degree of correspondence between the music being offered and the resident's preferences varied. In almost all cases, music was being offered in the communal living room during the mid-morning coffee and the afternoon tea, while music was only infrequently offered to residents during meals. However, this music was not tailored to the preferences of the residents. During patient-centered care activities in the early morning and before sleep, when offered, the music was generally tailored to the preferences of the resident(s). Music is frequently played in nursing homes to patients with dementia who have verbal and vocal agitation. When offered to a group of residents, the music tends not to be tailored to the preferences of the residents. However, when offered individually, musical preferences are generally taken into account.

Comparing psychogeriatric units to ordinary long-term care units—Are there differences in case-mix or clinical symptoms?

This study is a comparative analysis of long-term psychogeriatric and mixed-care unit patient characteristics in nursing homes and hospitals in Helsinki. The role of the so-called psychogeriatric nursing homes is still under question and not well developed. The aims of the study were to identify and survey psychogeriatric wards and analyze whether these units differ from the rest of the long-term units/wards in terms of patients’ characteristics. Participants studied were a total of 2828 elderly long-term care residents, of which 372 were living in long-term psychogeriatric and 2456 in ordinary long-term care units. Data were drawn from the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) database and had been collected in the project “Benchmarking and implementation of RAI in Elderly Care in Finland”. Scales and items based on Minimum Data Set were used for the comparisons. Resident groups in psychogeriatric units and in ordinary, mixed-client settings were clearly distinguishable. The psychogeriatric residents were younger, had more comorbidity as to psychiatric diseases, and had more often psychiatric symptoms and psychotropic medications. The residents in psychogeriatric units did not differ in cognitive and functional status from those in mixed-client units and had similar comorbidity as to somatic diseases. This study shows that psychiatric symptoms that need to be addressed are common in long-care facilities. The results emphasize the importance of recognition of the multiple care needs of elderly with severe mental symptoms or illness.

The impact of integrated care on direct nursing home care

Background/aim The introduction of integrated nursing home care is an important policy goal in many countries and is expected to affect the type, frequency and duration of activities delivered to nursing home residents. The exact impact however is unknown. The aim of this paper is to reduce this information gap in order to provide decision supporting information to policy makers and managers. Design/methods/ethical issues At three measurement points between 1999 and 2003, caregivers belonging to 18 functions registered activities delivered to somatic and psycho-geriatric nursing home residents in The Netherlands. Residents either received traditional care, integrated care or care that contained elements of traditional and integrated care (hybrid care). Thirty-six thousand and seventy-one registration lists were used for data analysis. Data analysis included determining, comparing and linking the (total) average frequency and duration of each activity per care type, measurement point and type of resident. Results The (total) average frequency and total duration of most activities were higher for integrated care than for traditional and hybrid care. The average duration per activity was generally higher for traditional care. The (total) average frequency of most direct care activities at most measurement points and the total average duration per resident per day were higher for somatic care than for psycho-geriatric care. Conclusions The introduction of integrated nursing home care affects the total average duration and frequency of direct care activities. However, there is no noticeable impact on individual activities or on differences in activities received by somatic and psycho-geriatric residents and the degree to which the occurrence of an activity is related to the duration of that activity. This is because a large proportion of care delivery represents patterned behaviour (routines). Because existing routines are difficult to get rid of, we should not have too high expectations about the effect of integrated care on service delivery.

Falls Among Psychogeriatric Patients

ABSTRACT Falls among 144 hospitalized psychogeriatric residents (84 fallers and 60 non-fallers) were examined to identify fall risk factors. A logistic regression analysis using 26 intrinsic predictor variables correctly classified 74% of fallers and non-fallers. Three significant (p < .05) fall predictor variables were: cardiovascular disorder, psychotic disorder, and antipsychotic medication. An examination of 349 total and 84 representative falls revealed a larger percentage of falls taking place during the evening and in the bedroom, hallway, dining room, dayhall, outside, and bathroom. The majority of falls occurred while residents were walking or standing. Implications of the variables identified in the present research are discussed.