The effect of volunteer-led activities on the quality of life of volunteers, residents, and employees of a long-term care institution: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic primarily impacted long-term care facilities by restricting visiting and circulation of visitors, affecting the quality of life (QoL) of older adults living in these institutions. Volunteer activities, essential for older adults' daily life, were also interrupted and potentially negatively impacted the QoL of older adults, volunteers themselves, and also employees in these institutions. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the impact of the return of volunteer-led activities in a long-term care institution on the QoL of older adult residents, employees, and volunteers. METHODS: This study used a pre-test and post-test design within the same group. The first round of data collection was conducted before volunteer-led activities returned and the second round after 1 month of return. The instrument used to assess QoL was the EUROHIS-QoL-8 scale. This study was conducted within a nursing home in São Paulo, Brazil, created in 1937 by members of the Israeli community living in Brazil. Volunteer-led activities were part of residents' daily life before the COVID-19 pandemic, when these activities were interrupted for about 20 months. A total of 79 individuals participated in both rounds (pre and post), of which: 29 residents, 27 volunteers, and 23 employees of the long-term care institution. RESULTS: Using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test, the analyses indicated improvements after the 1 month return in different QoL aspects for the three groups. Volunteers improved their personal relationships (Z - 2.332, p < .05), residents their overall health (Z - 2.409, p < .05) and employees in their overall QoL perception (Z - 2.714, p < .05). Influencing factors for residents were the number of activities (3 or more), gender (male), and education (undergraduate/graduate). For employees, those who assumed additional activities due to the volunteer-led activities interruption had a significant impact on their overall QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence from this study suggests that volunteers' return positively impacted different QoL aspects for volunteers, residents, and employees.

Defining, reporting, and monitoring near-falls in older adults: a scoping review protocol / Definição, registro e monitoramento de quase-quedas em idosos: protocolo de revisão de escopo

INTRODUCTION: In addition to traditional risk factors for falls (e.g., reduced muscle strength, polypharmacy, and poor vision), researchers have been investigating whether other factors, such as near-falls, can be identified to allow early intervention and prevention. A near-fall can be defined as a slip, trip, or loss of balance that would result in a fall if adequate recovery mechanisms were not activated. Despite the increasing interest in near-falls, there is no consensus about the definition, reporting methods, and contributing factors. OBJECTIVE: To identify how near-falls among older adults have been defined, reported, and monitored in the scientific literature. METHODS: Indexed literature published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese will be considered and retrieved from 10 databases, until August 31st, 2020. Two authors will independently screen titles, abstracts, and full texts against the eligibility criteria, and disagreements will be resolved by a third reviewer. This review will consider studies with different designs that have included older adults (aged 60 years and over), recruited participants from different settings, and had an explicit definition and/or reporting of near-falls. A customized form will be used to extract data from the included studies. The results will be presented in tabular form, accompanied by a narrative summary. This protocol is registered at https://osf.io/txnv4. EXPECTED RESULTS AND RELEVANCE: Depending on the results, a conceptual framework for nearfall reporting, contributing factors, and a possible prodrome of falls will also be presented. It is expected that the present study will help professionals identify and manage near-falls in different settings.

INTRODUÇÃO: Além dos fatores de risco tradicionais para quedas (por exemplo, força muscular reduzida, polifarmácia e visão deficiente), pesquisadores têm investigado se outros fatores, como quase-quedas, podem ser identificados para permitir a intervenção e prevenção precoces. Uma quase-queda pode ser definida como um escorregão, um tropeço ou a perda de equilíbrio que resultaria em uma queda se os mecanismos de recuperação adequados não fossem ativados. Apesar do crescente interesse em quase-quedas, não há consenso sobre a definição, os métodos de registro e os fatores contribuintes. OBJETIVO: Identificar como as quase-quedas em idosos têm sido definidas, registradas e monitoradas na literatura científica. MÉTODOS: Será considerada a literatura indexada publicada em inglês, espanhol e português e extraída de 10 bases de dados, até 31 de agosto de 2020. Dois autores irão verificar os títulos, os resumos e os textos completos de forma independente de acordo com os critérios de elegibilidade, e as divergências serão resolvidas por um terceiro revisor. Nesta revisão, serão considerados estudos com diferentes desenhos que incluam idosos (com 60 anos ou mais), que tenham recrutado os participantes em diferentes ambientes e que tenham uma definição explícita e/ou registro de quase-quedas. Um formulário personalizado será utilizado para extrair os dados dos estudos incluídos. Os resultados serão apresentados em forma de tabela, acompanhados de um resumo narrativo. Este protocolo está registrado em https:// osf.io/txnv4. RESULTADOS ESPERADOS E RELEVÂNCIA: Dependendo dos resultados, também será apresentada uma matriz conceitual para o registro de quase-quedas, fatores contribuintes e um possível pródromo de quedas. Espera-se que o presente estudo ajude os profissionais na identificação e no gerenciamento de quase-quedas em diferentes cenários.

Identifying and managing frailty in Brazil: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to scope the evidence on how researchers, health, and social care professionals in Brazil currently identify and manage frailty in older adults. INTRODUCTION: The rapidly aging population and associated increased healthcare usage by older people with frailty are challenging the sustainability of healthcare for older people in Brazil. Understanding how frailty is identified, measured, categorized, and managed in Brazil is an important part of building a response to the challenge. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This scoping review will consider studies that included older Brazilian adults (≥60 years old) recruited from different settings (community, primary care, health care centers, hospital, and long-term care institutions). Studies will be included if they involved any kind of frailty assessment (tools, scales, and measures) and/or interventions. This review will consider all study designs, regardless of their rigor. National policies for older people will be also be considered for analysis. METHODS: Indexed and gray literature in English or Portuguese from 2001 to the present will be considered. The searches will be conducted using bibliographic databases, university repositories, and the Brazilian Government official database. The studies will be independently screened according to the inclusion criteria by two reviewers based on their title, abstract, and full text. In case of disagreement, a third reviewer will be consulted. A customized data extraction form will be used to extract data from the included studies. The results will be presented in tabular form, accompanied by a narrative summary related to the objective of the present scoping review.