Adjustment to relocation to an assisted living facility

Assisted living has become the fastest growing senior housing alternative for older adults, yet little research has been conducted with residents of assisted living. Relocation involves a major life change and is associated with health problems, poor adjustment, and increased mortality. Research on relocation into nursing homes suggests declines in health and psychological well-being frequently follow relocation and are greatest one to two months following entry into the facility. Control over the decision to relocate and control within the facility following relocation have been related to physical and mental health. Assisted living residents are similar to nursing home residents so similar patterns of adjustment, though potentially less severe, are likely to be seen in assisted living residents. The current study compares 18 residents of assisted living with 19 community dwelling older adults at three times on various aspects of adjustment, including physical and functional health, depression, life satisfaction, affect, and anxiety over a three month period following relocation in the assisted living group. Assisted living residents did not show the expected decline over the first several months following relocation, perhaps due to health stabilization. However, residents of assisted living did report lower life satisfaction and exhibited greater disparity between actual and desired control than community residents. Moreover, both the community dwelling older adults and residents of assisted living were clinically distressed on measures of depression and anxiety. The groups did not differ on the amount of change in health and psychological well being experienced over time, demonstrating similar rates of decline over time. Decisional control was negatively related to depression and positively related to physical and functional health. In addition, actual environmental control was positively related to physical and functional health and life satisfaction and negatively related to depression, negative affect, and anxiety. Health has been related to depression and life satisfaction, and the significant correlations between health and the adjustment variables suggests that health played a role in the current study. Overall, the study demonstrated the importance of control, social support, and health of adjustment to relocation into assisted living facilities. Limitations and future directions are included

Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients.

In December 2017, the National Academy of Neuropsychology convened an interorganizational Summit on Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients in Denver, Colorado. The Summit brought together representatives of a broad range of stakeholders invested in the care of older adults to focus on the topic of cognitive health and aging. Summit participants specifically examined questions of who should be screened for cognitive impairment and how they should be screened in medical settings. This is important in the context of an acute illness given that the presence of cognitive impairment can have significant implications for care and for the management of concomitant diseases as well as pose a major risk factor for dementia. Participants arrived at general principles to guide future screening approaches in medical populations and identified knowledge gaps to direct future research. Key learning points of the summit included: recognizing the importance of educating patients and healthcare providers about the value of assessing current and baseline cognition;emphasizing that any screening tool must be appropriately normalized and validated in the population in which it is used to obtain accurate information, including considerations of language, cultural factors, and education; andrecognizing the great potential, with appropriate caveats, of electronic health records to augment cognitive screening and tracking of changes in cognitive health over time

Population health solutions for assessing cognitive impairment in geriatric patients

In December 2017, the National Academy of Neuropsychology convened an interorganizational Summit on Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients in Denver, Colorado. The Summit brought together representatives of a broad range of stakeholders invested in the care of older adults to focus on the topic of cognitive health and aging. Summit participants specifically examined questions of who should be screened for cognitive impairment and how they should be screened in medical settings. This is important in the context of an acute illness given that the presence of cognitive impairment can have significant implications for care and for the management of concomitant diseases as well as pose a major risk factor for dementia. Participants arrived at general principles to guide future screening approaches in medical populations and identified knowledge gaps to direct future research. Key learning points of the summit included: recognizing the importance of educating patients and healthcare providers about the value of assessing current and baseline cognition; emphasizing that any screening tool must be appropriately normalized and validated in the population in which it is used to obtain accurate information, including considerations of language, cultural factors, and education; and recognizing the great potential, with appropriate caveats, of electronic health records to augment cognitive screening and tracking of changes in cognitive health over time

Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients.

In December 2017, the National Academy of Neuropsychology convened an interorganizational Summit on Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients in Denver, Colorado. The Summit brought together representatives of a broad range of stakeholders invested in the care of older adults to focus on the topic of cognitive health and aging. Summit participants specifically examined questions of who should be screened for cognitive impairment and how they should be screened in medical settings. This is important in the context of an acute illness given that the presence of cognitive impairment can have significant implications for care and for the management of concomitant diseases as well as pose a major risk factor for dementia. Participants arrived at general principles to guide future screening approaches in medical populations and identified knowledge gaps to direct future research. Key learning points of the summit included: recognizing the importance of educating patients and healthcare providers about the value of assessing current and baseline cognition;emphasizing that any screening tool must be appropriately normalized and validated in the population in which it is used to obtain accurate information, including considerations of language, cultural factors, and education; andrecognizing the great potential, with appropriate caveats, of electronic health records to augment cognitive screening and tracking of changes in cognitive health over time

Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients.

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