Attitudes Toward Dying and Death: A Comparison of Recreational Groups among Older Men

2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Griffith ◽  
Ali Toms ◽  
Joey Reese ◽  
Michael Hamel ◽  
Lucy L. Gu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Older Men ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Recreational Activity ◽  
Death Risk ◽  
High Death ◽  
Death Exposure ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Death Acceptance

Previous research reports examining the relationship between attitudes toward dying, death, and involvement in death-related occupations have provided mixed findings as no clear pattern has been identified. Examination of the relationship between attitudes toward dying, death, and recreational activity has not received much attention. The current study examined attitudes toward dying and death of older men categorized into four groups defined by recreational activities. The groups included skydivers (high death risk), nursing home residents (high death exposure), volunteer firefighters (high death risk and high death exposure), and a control group. The analyses found that skydivers reported the least fear of death, while nursing home residents reported the highest level. In addition, skydivers and firefighters had higher death acceptance scores than nursing home residents and the control group for the confrontation dimension, whereas skydivers had higher death acceptance scores than all groups, and firefighters were more accepting of death than nursing home residents for the integration dimension.

scholarly journals Improving Quality of Life in Nursing Homes: The Structured Resident Interview Approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard B. Degenholtz ◽  
Abby L. Resnick ◽  
Natalie Bulger ◽  
Lichun Chia
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Care Plan ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Improvement Programs

The quality of life (QOL) of the approximately 1.5 million nursing facility (NF) residents in the US is undoubtedly lower than desired by residents, families, providers, and policy makers. Although there have been important advances in defining and measuring QOL for this population, there is a need for interventions that are tied to standardized measurement and quality improvement programs. This paper describes the development and testing of a structured, tailored assessment and care planning process for improving the QOL of nursing home residents. The Quality of Life Structured Resident Interview and Care Plan (QOL.SRI/CP) builds on a decade of research on measuring QOL and is designed to be easily implemented in any US nursing home. The approach was developed through extensive and iterative pilot testing and then tested in a randomized controlled trial in three nursing homes. Residents were randomly assigned to receive the assessment alone or both the assessment and an individualized QOL care plan task. The results show that residents assigned to the intervention group experienced improved QOL at 90- and 180-day follow-up, while QOL of residents in the control group was unchanged.

Disruptive Vocalization and Depression in Older Nursing Home Residents

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Dwyer ◽  
Gerard J. A. Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Mini Mental State Examination ◽  
Mmse Score ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Confounding Variables ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
State Examination ◽  
Age And Sex

Screaming and other types of disruptive vocalization are commonly observed among nursing home residents. Depressive symptoms are also frequently seen in this group, although the relationship between disruptive vocalization and depressive symptoms is unclear. Accordingly, we sought to examine this relationship in older nursing home residents. We undertook a controlled comparison of 41 vocally disruptive nursing home residents and 43 non-vocally-disruptive nursing home residents. All participants were selected to have Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores of at least 10. Participants had a mean age of 81.0 years (range 63-97 years) and had a mean MMSE score of 17.8 (range 10-29). Nurse ratings of disruptive vocalization according to a semioperationalized definition were validated against the noisy behavior subscale of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. Subjects were independently rated for depressive symptoms by a psychiatrist using the Dementia Mood Assessment Scale, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, and the Depressive Signs Scale. Vocally disruptive nursing home residents scored significantly higher than controls on each of these three depresion-in-dementia scales. These differences remained significant when the effects of possible confounding variables of cognitive impairment, age, and sex were removed. We conclude that depressive symptoms are associated with disruptive vocalization and may have an etiological role in the generation of disruptive vocalization behaviors in elderly nursing home residents.

scholarly journals The relationship of nursing home price and quality of life

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Raes ◽  
Sophie Vandepitte ◽  
Delphine De Smedt ◽  
Herlinde Wynendaele ◽  
Yannai DeJonghe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Ownership Type ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background Knowledge about the relationship between the residents’ Quality of Life (QOL) and the nursing home price is currently lacking. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between 11 dimensions of QOL and nursing homes price in Flemish nursing homes. Methods The data used in this cross-sectional study were collected by the Flemish government from years 2014 to 2017 and originates from 659 Flemish nursing homes. From 2014 to 2016, data on the QOL of 21,756 residents was assessed with the InterRAI instrument. This instrument contains 11 QOL dimensions. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the research question. Results The multiple linear regressions indicated that a 10 euro increase in the daily nursing home price is associated with a significant decrease (P <  0.001) of 0.1 in 5 dimensions of QOL (access to services, comfort and environment, food and meals, respect, and safety and security). Hence, our results indicate that the association between price and QOL is very small. When conducting a subgroup analysis based on ownership type, the earlier found results remained only statistically significant for private nursing homes. Conclusion Our findings show that nursing home price is of limited importance with respect to resident QOL. Contrary to popular belief, our study demonstrates a limited negative effect of price on QOL. Further research that includes other indicators of QOL is needed to allow policymakers and nursing home managers to improve nursing home residents’ QOL.

scholarly journals The Effect of Ultraviolet B Irradiation Compared with Oral Vitamin D Supplementation on the Well-being of Nursing Home Residents with Dementia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1684
Author(s):  
Bistra I. Veleva ◽  
Monique A. A. Caljouw ◽  
Jenny T. van der Steen ◽  
Bart J. A. Mertens ◽  
Victor G. M. Chel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vitamin D Supplementation ◽  
Mean Difference ◽  
Ultraviolet B ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Bone Homeostasis ◽  
Randomized Controlled

There are indications that ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure has beneficial effects on well-being through mechanisms other than vitamin D synthesis alone. We conducted a randomized controlled multicenter trial to compare the effects of UVB light and vitamin D supplementation (VD) in terms of the well-being of nursing home residents with dementia. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group (UVB group, n = 41; half-body UVB irradiation, twice weekly over 6 months, with 1 standard erythema dose (SED)) or to the control group (VD group, n = 37; 5600 International units (IU) cholecalciferol supplementation once a week). The main outcome was well-being, measured by the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) and the Cornell scale for depression in dementia at 0, 3, and 6 months. Secondary outcomes were QUALIDEM quality of life domains and biochemical parameters of bone homeostasis. Intention-to-treat analysis with linear mixed modeling showed no significant between-group differences on agitation (p = 0.431) or depressive symptoms (p = 0.982). At six months, the UVB group showed less restless/tense behavior compared to the VD group (mean difference of the mean change scores 2.2, 95% CI 0.8 to 3.6; p = 0.003 for group x time interaction) and lower serum 25(OH)D3 concentration (estimated mean difference - 21.9, 95% CI −32.6 to −11.2; p = 0.003 for group difference). The exposure of nursing home residents with dementia to UVB light showed no positive benefits in terms of wellbeing. UVB treatment may have a positive effect on the restless/tense behavior characteristic of advanced dementia but more research is needed to confirm this finding.

Correlates of agitation and depression in nursing home residents with dementia

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1779-1789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomislav Majić ◽  
Jan P. Pluta ◽  
Thomas Mell ◽  
Yvonne Treusch ◽  
Hans Gutzmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Mini Mental State Examination ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Dementia Severity ◽  
Advanced Stages ◽  
Severity Of Depression ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
State Examination

ABSTRACTBackground:The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dementia severity, age, gender, and prescription of psychotropics, and syndromes of agitation and depression in a sample of nursing home residents with dementia.Methods:The Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) was administered to residents with dementia (N= 304) of 18 nursing homes. Agitation symptoms were clustered using factorial analysis. Depression was estimated using the Dementia Mood Assessment Scale (DMAS). Dementia severity was assessed categorically using predefined cut-off scores derived from the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The relationship between agitation and its sub-syndromes, depression, and dementia severity was calculated usingχ2-statistics. Linear regression analyses were used to calculate the effect of dementia severity and psychotropic prescriptions on agitation and depression, controlling for age and gender.Results:Increasing stages of dementia severity were associated with higher risk for physically aggressive (p< 0.001) and non-aggressive (p< 0.01) behaviors, verbally agitated behavior (p< 0.05), and depression (p< 0.001). Depressive symptoms were associated with physically aggressive (p< 0.001) and verbally agitated (p< 0.05) behaviors, beyond the effects of dementia severity. Prescription of antipsychotics was correlated with depression and all agitation sub-syndromes except hiding and hoarding.Conclusions:Dementia severity is a predictor for agitation and depression. Beyond that, depression increased with dementia severity, and the severity of depression was associated with both physically and verbally aggressive behaviors, indicating that, in advanced stages of dementia, depression in some patients might underlie aggressive behavior.

scholarly journals A randomized controlled trial of a specific reminiscence approach to promote the well-being of nursing home residents with dementia

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia K. Y. Lai ◽  
Iris Chi ◽  
Jeanie Kayser-Jones
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Randomized Controlled

Background: To date, no firm conclusions can be reached regarding the effectiveness of reminiscence for dementia. Researchers have emphasized that there is an urgent need for more systematic research in the area.Objective and Method: A single-blinded, parallel-groups (one intervention, one comparison, and one no-intervention group) randomized controlled trial (RCT) was adopted to investigate whether a specific reminiscence program leads to higher levels of psychosocial well-being in nursing home residents with dementia. The intervention adopted a life-story approach, while the comparison group provided friendly discussions to control for any changes in outcome as a result of social contacts and attention. The Social Engagement Scale (SES) and Well-being/Ill-being Scale (WIB) were the outcome measures used. The outcomes of the groups were examined with reference to the baseline (T0), immediately (T1), and six weeks (T2) after intervention. The final sample had 101 subjects (control group: n=30; comparison group: n=35; intervention group: n=36). Using multivariate analysis with repeated measures, no significant differences in outcome were found between groups at either T1 or T2. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were performed for each group comparing outcomes between T1 and T0, T2 and T1, and T2 and T0. Significant differences were observed in the intervention group when comparing T1 and T0 WIB (p=.014), but not for the other groups.Conclusion: Although the intervention did not lead to significant differences between the three groups over time, there was a significant improvement in psychosocial well-being for the intervention group.

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