Longitudinal nonresponse in the Current Population Survey (CPS)

Es wurde eine Datenbank mit Längsschnittdaten aufgebaut, die aus sieben vollständigen "Kohorten" bestand, von denen jede über eine Periode von fast zwei Jahren in allen acht Monaten in der CPS-Stichprobe war. Verglichen wurden Fälle vollständiger und teilweiser Beantwortung. Haushalte mit vollständiger Beantwortung lagen eher in ländlichen Gebieten, nicht im Westen der USA, umfassten mehr Personen und wurden von den Hauseigentümern selbst bewohnt. Mitglieder dieser Haushalte waren eher verheiratet, Kinder, Weiße, nicht spanischstämmig, über 65 Jahre alt und beantworteten mit höherer Wahrscheinlichkeit eine Frage nach dem Familieneinkommen. Personen in Haushalten mit teilweiser Beantwortung wiesen in den ersten vier Stichprobenmonaten (MIS) ein höheres Beschäftigungsniveau und in MIS 1 eine höhere Arbeitslosenquote auf als Personen in Haushalten mit vollständiger Beantwortung. (ICEÜbers)"A longitudinal database was created consisting of seven complete 'cohorts' who were in the CPS sample all eight months over nearly a 2 year period. Comparisons were made among complete respondents and partial respondents. Households that were complete respondents were relatively more likely than households that were partial respondents to be located in rural areas and in any region of the country except the west, and to have more persons living there, and to be occupied by owners. Members of complete respondent households were relatively more likely than members of partial respondent households to be a married couple, children, white, non-Hispanic, over 65 years of age, and were relatively more likely to answer a question an total family income. Persons in partial respondent households had a higher level of employment in the first four months-in-sample (MIS) and a higher unemployment rate in MIS 1 than persons in complete respondent households." (author's abstract

The impact of nonresponse on the unemployment rate in the Current Population Survey (CPS)

Gegenstand der Untersuchung sind CPS-Daten für alle Monate zwischen Januar 1994 und Juni 1997. Dabei wurden auch Antwortverweigerung und -ausfälle untersucht, um den Wechsel von Personen von der Nicht-Beteiligung zur Beteiligung am CPS und die Auswirkungen auf die Schätzung des Erwerbspersonenpotenzials zu untersuchen. Personen, die sich in einem Monat nicht am CPS beteiligten, wiesen höhere Quoten bei Arbeitslosigkeit, Erwerbsbeteiligung und Beschäftigung auf als Befragte, die sich in zwei aufeinander folgenden Monaten an der Umfrage beteiligten. Es traten auch - wenn auch in geringem Umfang - signifikante positive Korrelationen zwischen den Unterschieden in den Arbeitslosenquoten und der Antwortverweigerung insgesamt im Rahmen des CPS zu Tage. Zudem wurden Unterschiede hinsichtlich bestimmter Merkmale der Erwerbstätigkeit zwischen Antwortverweigerern und Nichtangetroffenen sichtbar. (ICEÜbers)"In the present research authors matched CPS data from all consecutive months from January, 1994 to June, 1997 and conducted an analysis similar to a gross flows analysis that included nonrespondents to examine the 'flow' of persons from respondent to nonrespondent status in the CPS and the resulting effect an labor force estimates. Persons who were nonrespondents to the CPS one month had higher rates of unemployment, labor force participation, and employment than those who were respondents both months. There were also moderate, but significant positive correlations between the differences an unemployment rates and the overall level of nonresponse in the CPS. There were also some differences in labor force characteristics between refusals and noncontacts." (author's abstract

Encouraging Physical Activity Among Retirement Community Residents - The Role of Campus Commitment, Programming, Staffing, Promotion, Financing and Accreditation

Despite the well-established benefits of physical activity for older adults, seniors ages 75 and above are among the most sedentary of Americans. Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) seem ideal settings for creating physical activity promoting environments. We report on results of a nationally representative sample survey of CCRCs that are members of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. Campuses with more physical activity opportunities on campus or in the outside community, more physical activity-related staff, better physical activity facilities and activities, more types of sources to finance the costs of physical activity, and more channels to promote physical activity tend to have more physically active residents. Campuses in which management places more importance on encouraging physical activity among residents also have more physically active residents.This project was funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Economic Evaluation of a Catheter‐Associated Urinary Tract Infection Prevention Program in Nursing Homes

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143771/1/jgs15316_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143771/2/jgs15316.pd

Collecting self-report data with people with dementia: Benefits, challenges, and best-practice

One-third of people with dementia live in care home settings and in order to deliver better evidence-based care, robust research including clinical trials is required. Concerns have been raised by researchers about the capacity of care home residents with dementia to participate in clinical trials. This includes self-report measures, completion of which researchers have suggested may be unreliable or impossible and may cause distress for residents. Many trials, therefore, utilise only proxy completed outcome measures. This is despite evidence that individuals with mild through to advanced dementia can reliably report on outcomes, if appropriate measures and approaches to data collection are used. However, little has been written about best practice in data collection with this group. This study aimed to explore the experiences of researchers working on dementia trials in care homes and identify best practices to assist design of future trials. Thirty-three researchers completed an online, qualitative questionnaire outlining their experiences and the perceived benefits and challenges of data collection with people with dementia. We identified five main benefits; [1] improving the delivery of person-centred care, [2] hearing the voice of people with dementia, [3] residents spending time with researchers, [4] improving researcher understanding, and [5] having an evidence base from multiple sources. We also identified five main challenges; [1] effective communication, [2] fluctuating capacity, [3] causing distress to residents, [4] time pressures, and [5] staff availability. Researchers also made suggestions about how these can be overcome. We recommend that the challenges identified could be overcome using appropriate methods for collecting data. Thorough training for researchers on data collection with people with dementia was identified as important for ensuring successful data collection

Infectious Diseases in Older Adults of Long‐Term Care Facilities: Update on Approach to Diagnosis and Management

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143696/1/jgs15248_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143696/2/jgs15248.pd

How do healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information? A qualitative study using cognitive interviews

Background: To date, online public healthcare reports have not been effectively used by consumers. Therefore, we qualitatively examined how healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information on the Internet. Methods: Using semi-structured cognitive interviews, interviewees (n = 20) were asked to think aloud and answer questions, as they were prompted with three Dutch web pages providing comparative healthcare information. Results: We identified twelve themes from consumers' thoughts and evaluations. These themes were categorized under four important areas of interest: (1) a response to the design; (2) a response to the information content; (3) the use of the information, and (4) the purpose of the information. Conclusion: Several barriers to an effective use of comparative healthcare information were identified, such as too much information and the ambiguity of terms presented on websites. Particularly important for future research is the question of how comparative healthcare information can be integrated with alternative information, such as patient reviews on the Internet. Furthermore, the readability of quality of care concepts is an issue that needs further attention, both from websites and communication experts.

Functional imaging of cognition in an old-old population: A case for portable functional near-infrared spectroscopy

In this study, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to record brain activa- tion during cognitive testing in older individuals (88±6yo; N = 19) living in residential care communities. This population, which is often associated with loss of personal independence due to physical or cognitive decline associated with aging, is also often under-represented in neuroscience research because of a limited means to participate in studies which often take place in large urban or university centers. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility and initial results using a portable 8-source by 4-detector fNIRS system to measure brain activity from participants within residential care community centers. Using fNIRS, brain sig- nals were recorded during a series of computerized cognitive tests, including a Symbol Digit Coding test (SDC), Stroop Test (ST), and Shifting Attention Test (SAT). The SDC and SAT elicited greater activity in the left middle frontal region of interest. Three components of the ST produced increases in the right middle frontal and superior frontal, and left superior frontal regions. An association between advanced age and increased activation in the right middle frontal region was observed during the incongruent ST. Although none of the partici- pants had clinical dementia based on the short portable mental status questionnaire, the group performance was slightly below age-normed values on these cognitive tests. These results demonstrate the capability for obtaining functional neuroimaging measures in resi- dential settings, which ultimately may aid in prognosis and care related to dementia in older adults

Performance reporting for consumers: issues for the Australian private hospital sector

A group of consumers of private hospital services and their carers collaborated with staff of a Melbourne private hospital and with industry representatives to develop a consumer-driven performance report on cardiac services. During the development process participating consumers identified situational and structural barriers to their right to be informed of costs, to choice and to quality care. Their growing appreciation of these barriers led them to a different perspective on performance reporting, which resulted in their redirecting the project. The consumer participants no longer wanted a performance report that provided comparative quantitative data. Instead they designed a report that outlined the structures, systems and processes the hospital had in place to address the quality and safety of services provided. In addition, consumer participants developed a decision support tool for consumers to use in navigating the private health care sector. The journey of these consumers in creating a consumer driven performance report for a private hospital service may assist those responsible for governance of Australia's health system in choosing appropriate strategies and mechanisms to enhance private hospital accountability. The situational and institutional industry barriers to choice, information and quality identified by these consumers need to be addressed before public performance reporting for private hospitals is introduced in Australia