An approach to facilitate healthcare professionals' readiness to support technology use in everyday life for persons with dementia

Everyday technologies (ETs) like microwave ovens and automatic telephone services as well as assistive technologies (ATs) are often used in the performance of everyday activities. As a consequence, the ability to manage technology is important. This pilot study aimed to clarify the applicability of a model for knowledge translation to support healthcare professionals, to support technology use among older adults with dementia and their significant others. An additional aim was to explore the process of translating the model into practice. The applicability of the model (comprising a one-day course, including introduction and provision of tools, followed by interviews during and after a period of practice) was clarified for 11 healthcare professionals using a constant comparative approach. The content of the model gave the participants an eye-opening experience of technology use among persons with dementia. They also described how they had incorporated the model as a new way of thinking which supported and inspired new investigations and collaborations with colleagues and significant others. This study provided an applicable model of how research knowledge about technology use can be translated into clinical practice and be used by healthcare professionals to support the use of technology for persons with dementia.Health Care Sciences Postgraduate SchoolSwedish Institute of Assistive TechnologySwedish BrainpowerThe Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS)The regional agreement on medical training and clinical research (ALF) between the Stockholm County Council and Karolinska InstitutetAccepte

Changes in the technological landscape over time : everyday technologies relevance and difficulty levels as perceived by older adults with and without cognitive impairment.

BACKGROUND: Everyday technology, ET (e.g. computers, TV's and vending machines) perceived as relevant and used in everyday activities change continuously. Not being able to keep up with these changes may hinder participation in activities. OBJECTIVE: To investigate stability and change in perceived relevance of ET, and in levels of perceived ET difficulty across two different occasions in time and between two similar samples of older adults with and without cognitive impairment. METHODS: Data of perceived relevance and difficulty in ET use in the samples (n= 157/118), collected with the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (ETUQ) was investigated. RESULTS: Thirty-three (70%) of the ETs in the ETUQ significantly increased in relevance, while the perceived levels of difficulty were statistically similar in 40/47 ETs (85%) across the two time occasions. CONCLUSIONS: The perceived relevance of ET among older adults with and without cognitive impairment was indicated to increase over time, but the levels of perceived levels of difficulty of ETs did not change as much. This knowledge could be used to support and facilitate ET use in the aging population, and in general to influence society's view of older people as active users of ET in activities at home and in public spaces.Swedish Brain PowerThe Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS)The Health Care Sciences Postgraduate School,The regional agreement on medical training and clinical research between the Stockholm County Council and the Karolinska InstitutetManuscrip

A simple contaminant fate and transport modelling tool for management and risk assessment of groundwater pollution from contaminated sites

Contaminated sites pose a significant threat to groundwater resources. The resources that can be allocated by water regulators for site investigation and cleanup are limited compared to the large number of contaminated sites. Numerical transport models of individual sites require large amounts of data and are labor intensive to set up, and thus they are likely to be too expensive to be useful in the management of thousands of contaminated sites. Therefore, simple tools based on analytical solutions of contaminant transport models are widely used to assess (at an early stage) whether a site might pose a threat to groundwater. We present a tool consisting of five different models, representing common geological settings, contaminant pathways, and transport processes. The tool employs a simplified approach for preliminary, conservative, fast and inexpensive estimation of the contamination levels of aquifers. This is useful for risk assessment applications or to select and prioritize the sites, which should be targeted for further investigation. The tool is based on steady-state semi-analytical models simulating different contaminant transport scenarios from the source to downstream groundwater, and includes both unsaturated and saturated transport processes. The models combine existing analytical solutions from the literature for vertical (from the source to the top of the aquifer) and horizontal (within the aquifer) transport. The effect of net recharge causing a downward migration and an increase of vertical dispersion and dilution of the plume is also considered. Finally, we illustrate the application of the tool for a preliminary assessment of two contaminated sites in Denmark and compare the model results with field data. The comparison shows that a first preliminary assessment with conservative, and often non-site specific parameter selection, is qualitatively consistent with broad trends in observations and provides a conservative estimate of contamination.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Validation of the everyday technology use questionnaire in a Japanese context.

Background/Objective The Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (ETUQ), which evaluates the perceived relevance of and the perceived ability in everyday technology (ET) use, has demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties in Swedish studies of older adults. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the ETUQ in a Japanese context in older Japanese adults. Methods A sample of older Japanese adults (n = 164) including persons with (n = 32) and without (n = 132) cognitive impairment was interviewed with the ETUQ, including original items (ETs) and added Japanese context-specific items. Data were analyzed using a Rasch measurement model. Results The analysis demonstrated acceptable functioning of the rating scale, internal scale validity, person response validity, and person-separation reliability of the Japanese ETUQ according to the Rasch model. However, evidence supporting unidimensionality in the Japanese ETUQ was not consistent in this sample. The added Japanese items did not significantly change the estimated individual person measures of perceived ability to use ET. Conclusion The Japanese ETUQ seems to be a sensitive tool to evaluate perceived ability in ET use among elderly people in Japan with and without cognitive impairment. Therefore, it could be used in research and clinical practice. Keywords activities of daily living; everyday technology; Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale; older adults; Rasch measurement modelThe Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE)The Strategic Research Programme in Care Sciences at the Karolinska InstitutetSwedish Brain PowerThe regional agreement on medical training and clinical research (ALF) between the Stockholm County Council and the Karolinska InstitutetThe research was mainly funded by Health and Labour Sciences Research Grant (Japan)Publishe

Does Screening in the Emergency Department Hurt or Help Victims of Intimate Partner Violence?

Study objective: Recent systematic reviews have noted a lack of evidence that screening for intimate partner violence does more good than harm. We assess whether patients screened for intimate partner violence on a computer kiosk in the emergency department (ED) experienced any adverse events during or subsequent to the ED visit and whether computer kiosk identification and referral of intimate partner violence in the ED setting resulted in safety behaviors or contact with referrals. Methods: We conducted a prospective, observational study in which a convenience sample of male and female ED patients triaged to the waiting room who screened positive (on a computer kiosk-based questionnaire) for intimate partner violence in the past year were provided with resources and information and invited to participate in a series of follow-up interviews. At 1-week and 3-month follow-up visits, we assessed intimate partner violence, safety issues, and use of resources. In addition, to obtain an objective measure of safety, we assessed the number of violence-related 911 calls to participant addresses within a call district 6 months before and 6 months after the index ED visit. Results: Of the 2,134 participants in a relationship in the last year, 548 (25.7%) screened positive for intimate partner violence. No safety issues, such as calling security or a partner’s interference with the screening, occurred during the ED visit for any patient who disclosed intimate partner violence. Of the 216 intimate partner violence victims interviewed in person and 65 contacted by telephone 1 week later, no intimate partner violence victims reported any injuries or increased intimate partner violence resulting from participating in the study. For the sample in the local police district, there was no increase in the number of intimate partner violence victims who called 911 in the 6 months after the ED visit. Finally, 35% (n131) reported they had contacted community resources during the 3-month follow-up period. Conclusion: Among patients screening positive for intimate partner violence, there were no identified adverse events related to screening, and many had contacted community resources