Quality of care for frail older persons in a homecare setting: what is it and how can it be measured?

ABSTRACTBackground:As more older persons opt to age in place, there is a growing trend to hire migrant workers as live-in caregivers to care for them. This raises the need to examine the quality of care they receive within this unique care setting. The objective of this pilot study was to establish the components of quality of care as provided by migrant live-in caregivers. METHODS: We interviewed a convenience sample of older persons cared for by migrant live-in caregivers and their relatives. When relatives reported that older persons could not be interviewed due to advanced dementia, only relatives were interviewed. Overall, 72 older persons and 117 relatives were interviewed. We used the Quality of Care Questionnaire (QuCQ) developed for this study to examine the main components of quality of care in this population. RESULTS: Factor analysis using older persons' data revealed two factors. In the first factor, "caretaking," items concerning provision of prompt care exhibited the highest loadings. Items measuring interpersonal aspects of the care dynamic had the highest loadings in the second factor, thus labeled "relationship." The factor analysis based on relatives' data yielded similarities and differences with the one based on older persons' data. Yet, there were significant correlations between relative and older persons' responses when using the older persons' factor structure. CONCLUSIONS: According to older persons and relatives, quality of care depends on the extent to which older persons' care-related needs, as well as social ones, are addressed. Appropriate evaluation of quality of care in the live-in setting is important for its improvement.

Barriers to Adolescents' Adherence to Medical Advice after Metabolic Bariatric Surgery: A Statistical Analysis.

Background: Adolescent obesity has markedly increased worldwide, and metabolic bariatric surgery is an effective treatment option. A major predictor of the outcomes of this procedure is adherence to post-surgery lifestyle changes and medical recommendations. While adolescents generally have more difficulty adhering to medical advice than adults, their failure to do so could adversely affect their physical and psychological health, the cost-effectiveness of medical care, and the results of clinical trials. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to identify the characteristics associated with the adherence of adolescents and their families to medical advice after bariatric surgery. Methods: We investigated potential variables influencing adherence to medical advice in adolescents diagnosed with severe obesity enrolled in a nutritional and behavior-oriented bariatric program-a 3-month pre-surgical outpatient intervention and a 6-month post-surgical follow-up. The program monitored weight, program attendance, diet compliance, lifestyle changes, and daily activities. All participants and parents completed a standard battery of questionnaires, provided demographic information, and participated in a semi-structured interview about their lifestyle. Results: The study group consisted of 47 adolescents: 34 girls and 13 boys, aged 13-18 years. Over time, three groups emerged with different degrees of adherence-high, low, and delayed low adherence. The analyses showed that adolescents' depression, autonomy, and independence from their family had strong, significant effects on adherence across the groups. Conclusions: Using adherence typologies, practitioners may be able to identify, predict, and tailor interventions to improve adolescent adherence to post-surgery recommendations. Parents have an important role in ensuring that adolescents undergoing metabolic bariatric surgery follow medical advice after the procedure.

Weight and Waiting for Adolescent's Bariatric Surgery: Changes in Weight During Waiting Periods for Bariatric Surgery in Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery is an emerging effective treatment option for adolescents suffering from morbid obesity. However, the surgery is often in high demand with long waiting periods. No prior research regarding the significance of waiting periods for bariatric surgery in adolescents was found. Our study aimed to evaluate changes in weight trends in adolescent candidates for bariatric surgery during the waiting period between acceptance and admission to the bariatric process (pre-surgical preparation, surgery, and follow-up). METHODS: Fifty-one adolescent bariatric surgery candidates were accepted and subsequently admitted to the bariatric process. BMI data was retrieved from medical files and direct measurements, and BMI-change trends during the waiting period were compared with naturalistic trends (i.e., prior to the first evaluation for bariatric surgery). RESULTS: Naturalistic BMI-trends showed an average gain of 0.3 BMI points per-month. After acceptance to the bariatric process and during the waiting period, this figure dropped, and candidates for surgery lost an average of 0.06 BMI points per-month. Waiting periods lasted an average of 5.2 months. Shorter waiting periods were associated with better weight reduction and maintenance. CONCLUSIONS: A significant reduction in weight-gaining trends occurred during the waiting period for bariatric surgery in adolescents, which may reflect motivational and lifestyle changes due to expectancy for surgery. Decision makers may aim for short waiting periods in order to capitalize on this effect. Further research needs to be conducted in order to clarify the effects of waiting periods for bariatric surgery in adolescents.

Pre-surgical Weight Loss Predicts Post-surgical Weight Loss Trajectories in Adolescents Enrolled in a Bariatric Program.

INTRODUCTION: Adolescent obesity is markedly increasing worldwide and bariatric surgery is emerging as an effective treatment option. However, a subset of patients fails to achieve significant weight loss or show post-surgical weight regain. Efforts have been made to identify different post-surgical weight trajectories and their possible predictors. Furthermore, the role of pre-surgical intervention programs in optimizing post-surgical results has been a subject of debate. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a 3-month lifestyle-oriented pre-surgical program for adolescent candidates for bariatric surgery on pre-surgical weight loss (body mass index (BMI) on completion - BMI at admission), and to identify predictors of different post-surgical weight loss trajectories. METHODS: Forty-eight adolescent bariatric surgery candidates were enrolled in a lifestyle- and behavior-oriented bariatric program consisting of a 3-month pre-surgical outpatient intervention and a 6-month post-surgical follow-up. RESULTS: Mean BMI decreased by 1.82 points (SD = 1.83) during the program's pre-surgical intervention phase, a 3.8% average drop in participants' BMI; post-surgical weight loss trajectories were significantly associated in a curvilinear model with pre-surgical weight loss; optimal post-surgical results were associated with moderate pre-surgical weight loss, and inversely associated with maternal history of obesity, early-life weight loss attempts, and comorbid learning disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate weight loss in a pre-surgical lifestyle-oriented intervention program predicts optimal post-surgical weight loss. Additionally, by assessing risk factors and pre-surgical weight loss patterns, it may be possible to identify sub-populations of adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery at risk of achieving sub-optimal long-term results.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with large temporal arachnoid cysts.

OBJECTIVE Management of children with large temporal arachnoid cysts (TACs) remains controversial, with limited data available on their neurodevelopmental outcome. The aim of this study was to examine neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with large TACs. METHODS In this medical center-based cohort study, 25 patients (19 males) who were diagnosed in childhood with large TACs (9 patients [36%] with a Galassi type II and 16 patients [64%] with a Galassi type III TAC) were examined. The mean ± SD age at assessment was 11.1 ± 5.6 years (range 2.7-22 years). Twelve patients (48%) had right-sided, 12 (48%) had left-sided, and 1 (4%) had bilateral cysts. Nine patients (36%) underwent surgery for the cyst. The siblings of 21 patients (84%) served as control participants. Neurodevelopmental function was assessed using the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (ABAS), Vanderbilt Behavioral Rating Scale (VBRS), and Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ), and quality of life was measured using the treatment-oriented screening questionnaire (TOSQ). The results of all instruments except for TOSQ were compared with those of the sibling control participants. RESULTS The mean ± SD ABAS score of the patients was 93.3 ± 20.09 compared with 98.3 ± 18.04 of the sibling control participants (p = 0.251). Regarding the incidence of poor outcome (ABAS score < 80), there was a trend for more patients with TAC to have poor outcome than the sibling controls (p = 0.058). Patients who underwent surgery scored significantly worse with regard to the VBRS total score compared with those who did not (p = 0.020), but not on ABAS, DCD, or TOSQ. The mean score of the cognitive and psychological items on TOSQ was lower than that for the physical items (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Children with a large TAC performed similarly to their sibling control participants in neurodevelopmental function. However, a subgroup of those with cysts did have an increased risk for poor outcomes in general function. Neurodevelopmental assessment should be part of the management of all patients with TAC.