Samsvar mellom praksis og retningslinje for førebygging av fall og vurdering av medikamentordinasjon på sjukeheim

Artikkelen beskriver en studie hvor hensikten var å undersøke om praksis for forebygging av fall og vurdering av medikamentordinasjon på sykehjem er i tråd med det litteraturen beskriver som beste praksis.Bakgrunn: fall blant sjukeheimsbebuarar er eit stort problem. Det er ikkje kjent om der er eit gap mellom ønskja og reel praksis når det gjeld førebygging av fall på sjukeheim. Hensikt: føremålet med denne studien var å undersøke om praksis for førebygging av fall og vurdering av medikamentordinasjon på sjukeheim er i tråd med det litteraturen beskriv som beste praksis. Metode: gjennom klinisk audit vart bruken av medikament ved fall kartlagt, og det blei undersøkt om retningslinje for vurdering og førebygging av fall blant eldre menneske vart følgd. Dei tre første trinna i auditsyklusen blei utført. Deltakarar frå tre sjukeheimar var inkluderte i studien. Resultat: psykotropiske medikament vart nytta ved 88 prosent av falla. Medikamentordinasjonen vart vurdert for 28 prosent av falla der psykotropiske medikament var nytta. Seponering av psykotropiske medikament vart gjort for 1 prosent av falla. Konklusjon: resultata frå auditen syner at praksis ved sjukeheimane ikkje er i tråd med anbefalingar i litteraturen når det gjeld førebygging av fall og vurdering av medikamentordinasjon på sjukeheim

Acute hospital admissions among nursing home residents: a population-based observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nursing home residents are prone to acute illness due to their high age, underlying illnesses and immobility. We examined the incidence of acute hospital admissions among nursing home residents versus the age-matched community dwelling population in a geographically defined area during a two years period. The hospital stays of the nursing home population are described according to diagnosis, length of stay and mortality. Similar studies have previously not been reported in Scandinavia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The acute hospitalisations of the nursing home residents were identified through ambulance records. These were linked to hospital patient records for inclusion of demographics, diagnosis at discharge, length of stay and mortality. Incidence of hospitalisation was calculated based on patient-time at risk.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The annual hospital admission incidence was 0.62 admissions per person-year among the nursing home residents and 0.26 among the community dwellers. In the nursing home population we found that dominant diagnoses were respiratory diseases, falls-related and circulatory diseases, accounting for 55% of the cases. The median length of stay was 3 days (interquartile range = 4). The in-hospital mortality rate was 16% and 30 day mortality after discharge 30%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Acute hospital admission rate among nursing home residents was high in this Scandinavian setting. The pattern of diagnoses causing the admissions appears to be consistent with previous research. The in-hospital and 30 day mortality rates are high.</p

Sense of coherence as a resource in relation to health-related quality of life among mentally intact nursing home residents – a questionnaire study

Abstract Background Sense of coherence (SOC) is a strong determinant of positive health and successful coping. For older people living in the community or staying in a hospital, SOC has been shown to be associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Studies focusing on this aspect among nursing home (NH) residents have been limited. This study investigated the relationship between SOC and HRQOL among older people living in NHs in Bergen, Norway. Methods Based on the salutogenic theoretical framework, we used a descriptive correlation design using personal interviews. We collected data from 227 mentally intact NH residents for 14 months in 2004–2005. The residents' HRQOL and coping ability were measured using the SF-36 Health Survey and the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13), respectively. We analyzed possible relationships between the SOC-13 variables and SF-36 subdimensions, controlling for age, sex, marital status, education and comorbidity, and investigated interactions between the SOC and demographic variables by using multiple regression. Results SOC scores were significantly correlated with all SF-36 subscales: the strongest with mental health (r = 0.61) and the weakest with bodily pain (r = 0.28). These did not change substantially after adjusting for the associations with demographic variables and comorbidity. SOC-13 did not interact significantly with the other covariates. Conclusion These findings suggest that more coping resources improve HRQOL. This may indicate the importance of strengthening the residents' SOC to improve the perceived HRQOL. Such knowledge may help the international community in developing nursing regimens to improve HRQOL for older people living in NHs.</p

Self-perceived physical functioning and health status among fully ambulatory multiple sclerosis patients

We investigated the self-perceived health status among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with no or mild disability according to the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the impact of self-rated physical functioning. A sample of fully ambulatory (EDSS ≤ 3.5) consecutive patients with MS was included after screening for major cognitive impairment. The EDSS was used to measure nervous system signs or disability, and the self-rated health status was assessed using the SF-36 Health Survey. The normative SF-36 data for the general population of Italy were used for comparison. The 197 MS patients analyzed (150 women and 47 men) had significantly lower mean SF-36 scores than the general population, except for bodily pain. The scores did not differ significantly by gender. The same analysis performed on a subsample of 105 patients (79 women and 26 men) with minimal disability in one functional system (EDSS ≤ 2.0) yielded similar results. EDSS was weakly correlated with the physical functioning subscale and explained only 2% of the variance in the physical functioning subscale. The regression of the physical functioning subscale on the other seven SF-36 subscales was significantly lower among MS patients than in the general population for all subscales, except for role limitation due to physical health problems and social functioning. Neither disease course nor duration correlated significantly with SF-36 subscales. The SF-36 physical functioning subscale seemed to indicate physical functioning more sensitively than EDSS. These findings should encourage the implementation of specific strategies aimed at improving the quality of the self-perceived health status already in the early disease stage

Effect of the World Health Organization checklist on patient outcomes:a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial

Objectives: We hypothesized reduction of 30 days’ in-hospital morbidity, mortality, and length of stay postimplementation of the World Health Organization’s Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC). Background: Reductions of morbidity and mortality have been reported after SSC implementation in pre-/postdesigned studies without controls. Here, we report a randomized controlled trial of the SSC. Methods: A stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2 hospitals. We examined effects on in-hospital complications registered by International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes, length of stay, and mortality. The SSC intervention was sequentially rolled out in a random order until all 5 clusters—cardiothoracic, neurosurgery, orthopedic, general, and urologic surgery had received the Checklist. Data were prospectively recorded in control and intervention stages during a 10-month period in 2009– 2010. Results: A total of 2212 control procedures were compared with 2263 SCC procedures. The complication rates decreased from 19.9% to 11.5% (P < 0.001), with absolute risk reduction 8.4 (95% confidence interval, 6.3–10.5) from the control to the SSC stages. Adjusted for possible confounding factors, the SSC effect on complications remained significant with odds ratio 1.95 (95% confidence interval, 1.59–2.40). Mean length of stay decreased by 0.8 days with SCC utilization (95% confidence interval, 0.11–1.43). In-hospital mortality decreased significantly from 1.9% to 0.2% in 1 of the 2 hospitals post-SSC implementation, but the overall reduction (1.6%–1.0%) across hospitals was not significant. Conclusions: Implementation of the WHO SSC was associated with robust reduction in morbidity and length of in-hospital stay and some reduction in mortality

History of and factors associated with diabetic foot ulcers in Norway: The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study

Aims: To determine the proportion of people with diabetes mellitus reporting a history of foot ulcer and to investigate factors associated with this adverse outcome. Methods: All inhabitants aged 20 years and older residing in a large geographic region were invited to participate in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, 71% (n=65,604) attended. Those reporting diabetes (n=1,972) were invited to take part in an ancillary study on diabetes. Based on 1,494 responses to the question: ``Have you had a foot ulcer that required more than three weeks to heal'', the proportion with a history of foot ulcer was estimated. Results: The overall proportion with a history of foot ulcer was 10.4% (95% CI 8.8—11.9%). In the final multivariate logistic regression model, significant factors for a foot ulcer history included age ≥75 years (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2—2.8), height (men>175 cm, women>161 cm) (1.9, 95% CI 1.3—2.8), gender (male) (1.5, 95% CI 1.03—2.2), using insulin (1.6, 95% CI 1.1—2.4), and macrovascular complications (1.8, 95% CI 1.2—2.6). Conclusions: The proportion of people reporting a history of foot ulcer in this population-based study exceeded the proportion of foot ulcer history reported previously. Height as a correlate has been occasionally reported in previous studies and needs further attention. Associated factors for a foot ulcer history help identify individuals who may be at particular risk of this adverse outcome.måsjekke