Assessment of Pain in adults with cognitive impairment : a review of the tools

The aim of this paper is to discuss the results of a review into the literature related to chronic pain and the older adult. Several themes within the review have been identified and reported elsewhere and the final report has been published by the University of Sheffield in the form of an annotated bibliography. This report focuses upon the findings of the in relation to the assessment of pain in the adult with cognitive impairment. Issues surrounding assessment in the non-cognitively impaired older adult have also been reported elsewhere. For this paper nine studies will be discussed which report the development and testing of pain assessment scales the focus of which is upon behavioural indicators of pain. Some scales have been omitted from the review and the rationale for this decision will be discussed. Each of the selected scales will be discussed and the authors will make recommendations for both clinical practice and for future research based upon the validity, reliability and user friendliness of the scales. From the paper it can be concluded that the Abbey, DOLOPLUS-2 and PACSLAC appear to be the most reliable and valid and in terms of the “user friendliness” would be appropriate to explore further. Recommendations are made for further multi-centre evaluation of these scales.University of Sheffiel

Assessment of pain in older people : where are we now and what needs to be done?

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a review of the literature into pain and older people. The funded study was part of the development of an annotated bibliography published in August 2005. The review included all major databases and involved the collection of 214 papers between the dates of 1995 and 2005. The papers were divided into several major themes, which include experiences, management (pharmacological and non-pharmacological), assessment, and attitudes. Within this paper, the results of the review into pain assessment will be discussed, which includes 42 of the collected papers. The other sections will be published later. The paper will discuss issues pertaining to the development of specific tools for older people, a discussion of tools already available, comparisons of staff versus older people’s perceptions of pain scales, and articles with cognitive impairment as a focus. Recommendations for further study are made.University of Sheffiel

Facilitated Life Story Writing by Individuals with Dementia for Conversational Remembering Boxes: Follow-up Summer 2005 - Report Series # 10

The goal of this follow-up study, conducted in the summer of 2005, was to enhance the experience of personhood in individuals with dementia through computer-mediated life story writing, by addressing the key problem areas identified in the pilot study (Summer 2004). Four of the original eight male participants were paired with a student researcher over the course of 6 weeks. The interviews were taped and electronically recorded. The life stories were transcribed and presented to the participants to be added to the personal memory boxes that were sent home during the first study. Follow-up with caregivers at the 3-month mark indicated a good level of interest but reduced activity with respect to the memory boxes. Unlike the previous study, computer use had an effect, albeit a small one, on the topics of stories elicited from two participants

Facilitated Life Story Writing by Individuals with Dementia for Conversational Remembering Boxes - Report Series # 4

The goal of this qualitative study, conducted in the summer of 2004, was to enhance the experience of personhood in individuals with dementia through the use of computermediated life story writing for conversational remembering boxes. Eight male participants with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) were paired with student researchers over the course of 4 weeks. The interviews were taped and electronically recorded on a computer, which was also used to engage the interest of the participants. The life stories were transcribed and served as a foundation for personal memory boxes that were sent home with the participants. Follow-up with caregivers at 3 and 6-month intervals indicated a good level of interest and activity with respect to the memory boxes. Computer use, which was to facilitate the interview process, was found to be a source of distraction and did not hold the participants’ interest. New software and hardware must be developed to enhance the changing abilities of people with dementia and to help maintain their personhood

Nature tourism and Irish film

This article provides a historical overview and reading of seminal Irish film from the perspective of nature tourism. Within Irish cultural studies, tourism is frequently equated with an overly romantic image of the island, which has been used to sell the country abroad. However, using notions like the tourist gaze and taking on board influential debates around space/place, one can posit a more progressive environmental vision of nature and landscape in our readings of film

Older Adults Embracing Technology: Leave No One Behind

The goal of this exploratory study, conducted throughout 2005 - 2006, was to examine effective ways to provide both initial computer training and ongoing technical support for elders with little or no computer experience, and to explore whether the accomplishment of acquiring computer skills had an impact on the elders’ quality of life. The computer training and follow-up technical support were provided by student volunteers trained specifically for this study. Following the computer training, all participants were offered 12 weeks of ongoing technical support (phone, email or in person) by the same student tech tutors and additional student volunteers. Questionnaires measuring computer comfort and proficiency were administered pre and post training and again at 6 weeks and 12 weeks after the training. Participants kept logs of their computer use and recorded their goals, successes, and challenges throughout the study. The trained and volunteer tech tutors kept field notes of the elders’ learning, and recorded the nature of the technical help requested by the participants. A number of common themes were revealed in the narrative data of both the elders and the student tech tutors. These were clustered into four categories: social inclusion; the teaching and learning experience; expanding horizons; and expressions of self-efficacy. Specific challenges encountered by tech tutors and participants are presented and innovative teaching strategies are proposed. Findings point to the need for further studies to explore the psychosocial factors that motivate and hinder elder requests for ongoing technical help as well as the need for outreach to convey the unexpected benefits of going online to nonusers. A number of recommendations and implications for policy, education and further research were highlighted by the study

Pat Ryan to Mr. Meredith (10 October 1962)

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/mercorr_pro/1037/thumbnail.jp

Submesoscale dispersion in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon spill

Reliable forecasts for the dispersion of oceanic contamination are important for coastal ecosystems, society and the economy as evidenced by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and the Fukushima nuclear plant incident in the Pacific Ocean in 2011. Accurate prediction of pollutant pathways and concentrations at the ocean surface requires understanding ocean dynamics over a broad range of spatial scales. Fundamental questions concerning the structure of the velocity field at the submesoscales (100 meters to tens of kilometers, hours to days) remain unresolved due to a lack of synoptic measurements at these scales. \textcolor{black} {Using high-frequency position data provided by the near-simultaneous release of hundreds of accurately tracked surface drifters, we study the structure of submesoscale surface velocity fluctuations in the Northern Gulf Mexico. Observed two-point statistics confirm the accuracy of classic turbulence scaling laws at 200m$-$50km scales and clearly indicate that dispersion at the submesoscales is \textit{local}, driven predominantly by energetic submesoscale fluctuations.} The results demonstrate the feasibility and utility of deploying large clusters of drifting instruments to provide synoptic observations of spatial variability of the ocean surface velocity field. Our findings allow quantification of the submesoscale-driven dispersion missing in current operational circulation models and satellite altimeter-derived velocity fields.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure