Recommendations for the development of Clinical Practice Guidelines / Recomendações para o desenvolvimento de Diretrizes de Prática Clínica

Clinical practice guidelines are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care, are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options, and ensure that the best available clinical knowledge is used to provide effective and quality care. They can reduce inappropriate care and variability in clinical practice and can support the translation of new research knowledge into clinical practice. Recommendations from clinical practice guidelines can support health professionals by facilitating the decision-making process, empowering them to make more informed health care choices, clarifying which interventions should be priorities based on a favorable tradeoff, and discouraging the use of those that have proven ineffective, dangerous, or wasteful. This review aims to summarize the key components of high-quality and trustworthy guidelines. Articles were retrieved from various libraries, databases, and search engines using free-text term searches adapted for different databases, and selected according to author discretion. Clinical practice guidelines in geriatrics can have a major impact on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, health care, and the management of diseases and conditions, but they should only be implemented when they have high-quality, rigorous, and unbiased methodologies that consider older adult priorities and provide valid recommendations.

As diretrizes de prática clínica são declarações que incluem recomendações destinadas a otimizar o atendimento ao paciente, informadas por uma revisão sistemática de evidências e uma avaliação dos benefícios e malefícios de opções alternativas de atendimento, garantindo que o melhor conhecimento clínico disponível seja usado para fornecer atendimento eficaz e de qualidade. Elas contribuem reduzindo os cuidados inadequados e a variabilidade na prática clínica e podem apoiar a tradução de novos conhecimentos de pesquisa. As recomendações dessas diretrizes podem apoiar os profissionais de saúde, facilitando o processo de tomada de decisão, capacitando-os a fazer escolhas de cuidados de saúde mais informadas, esclarecendo quais intervenções devem ser prioritárias com base em um trade-off favorável e desencorajando o uso daquelas comprovadamente ineficazes, perigosas ou que consistam em desperdício. Esta revisão visa resumir os principais componentes de diretrizes confiáveis e de alta qualidade. Os artigos foram recuperados de várias bibliotecas, bancos de dados e mecanismos de busca por meio de buscas de termos de texto livre adaptados para diferentes bancos de dados e selecionados de acordo com o critério do autor. As diretrizes de prática clínica em geriatria podem ter grande impacto na prevenção, diagnóstico, tratamento, reabilitação, assistência à saúde e manejo de doenças e condições, mas só devem ser implementadas quando tiverem metodologias de alta qualidade, rigorosas e imparciais, que considerem as prioridades da pessoa idosa e forneçam recomendações válidas.

Construção e validação de protocolo assistencial a idosos em Unidades de Pronto Atendimento / Construcción y validación de protocolo asistencial a adultos mayores en Unidades de Servicios de Emergencias / Construction and validity of care protocol for older adults in Emergency Care Units

Resumo Objetivo Construir e validar o conteúdo de um protocolo de assistência à idosos em Unidades de Pronto Atendimento. Métodos Pesquisa metodológica, desenvolvida mediante observação participante moderada, construção do protocolo e validação de conteúdo do instrumento. Para a construção do protocolo, realizaram-se 12 grupos focais com um total de 43 profissionais das Unidades de Pronto Atendimento de um município de médio porte do estado do Paraná. Posteriormente, o instrumento foi validado por sete especialistas da área. A validação de conteúdo foi estabelecida pelo Índice de Validade de Conteúdo maior que 0,80. Resultados O protocolo constitui 22 itens divididos em três partes, Acolhimento, Assistência e Alta, e seu conteúdo foi considerado válido pela obtenção do Índice de Validade de Conteúdo de 0,91. Conclusão O protocolo construído e validado pode ser utilizado no cuidado à população idosa nas Unidades de Pronto Atendimento, das quais se espera que qualifiquem a assistência e forneçam subsídios para o fortalecimento de políticas públicas voltadas a idosos.

Resumen Objetivo Construir y validar el contenido de un protocolo asistencial a adultos mayores en Unidades de Servicios de Emergencias. Métodos Investigación metodológica, desarrollada mediante observación participante moderada, construcción del protocolo y validación de contenido del instrumento. Para la construcción del protocolo, se realizaron 12 grupos focales con un total de 43 profesionales de las Unidades de Servicios de Emergencias de un municipio mediano del estado de Paraná. Luego, el instrumento fue validado por siete especialistas del área. La validación de contenido se estableció por el Índice de Validez de Contenido superior a 0,80. Resultados El protocolo constituye 22 ítems divididos en tres partes: Acogida, Atención y Alta, y su contenido fue considerado válido por la obtención del Índice de Validez de Contenido del 0,91. Conclusión El protocolo construido y validado se puede utilizar en el cuidado de la población de adultos mayores en las Unidades de Servicios de Emergencia, de las cuales se espera que califiquen la atención y ofrezcan subsidios para el fortalecimiento de políticas públicas dirigidas a adultos mayores.

Abstract Objective To construct and validate the content of a care protocol for older adults in Emergency Care Units. Methods This is methodological research, developed through moderate participant observation, protocol construction and instrument content validity. To construct the protocol, 12 focus groups were conducted with a total of 43 professionals from the Emergency Care Units of a medium-sized municipality in the state of Paraná. Subsequently, the instrument was validated by seven experts in the field. Content validity was established by the Content Validity Index greater than 0.80. Results The protocol consists of 22 items divided into three parts, reception, care and discharge, and its content was considered valid by obtaining the Content Validity Index of 0.91. Conclusion The constructed and validated protocol can be used in care of older adults in Emergency Care Units, which are expected to qualify care and provide subsidies for the strengthening of public policies aimed at older adults.

Preliminary data demonstrate the Geriatric Surgery Verification program reduces postoperative length of stay.

OBJECTIVES/BACKGROUND: The Geriatric Surgery Verification (GSV) Program promotes clinical standards aimed to optimize the quality of surgical care delivered to older adults. The purpose of this study was to determine if preliminary implementation of the GSV Program standards improves surgical outcomes. DESIGN: Prospective study with cohort matching. SETTING: Data from a single institution compared with a national data set cohort. PARTICIPANTS: All patients aged ≥75 years undergoing inpatient operations between January 2018 and December 2019 were included. Cohort matching by age and procedure code was performed using a national data set. MEASUREMENTS: Baseline pre- and intraoperative characteristics prospectively recorded using Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP) variable definitions. Postoperative outcomes were recorded including complications as defined by VASQIP, 30-day mortality, and length of stay. RESULTS: A total of 162 patients participated in the GSV program, and 308 patients comprised the matched comparison group. There was no difference in postoperative occurrence of one or more complications (p = 0.81) or 30-day mortality (p = 0.61). Patients cared for by the GSV Program had a reduced postoperative length of stay (median 4 days [range 1,31] vs. 5 days [range 1,86]; p < 0.01; and mean 5.4 ± 4.8 vs. 8.8 ± 11.8 days; p < 0.01) compared with the matched cohort. In a multivariable regression model, the GSV Program's reduced length of stay was independent of other associated covariates including age, operative time, and comorbidities (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Preliminary implementation of the GSV Program standards reduces length of stay in older adults undergoing inpatient operations. This finding demonstrates both the clinical and financial value of the GSV Program.

Available active surveillance follow-up protocols for small renal mass: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: To evaluate follow-up strategies for active surveillance of renal masses and to assess contemporary data. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive search of electronic databases (Embase, Medline, and Cochrane). A systematic review of the follow-up protocols was carried out. A total of 20 studies were included. RESULT: Our analysis highlights that most of the series used different protocols of follow-up without consistent differences in the outcomes. Most common protocol consisted in imaging and clinical evaluation at 3, 6, and 12 months and yearly thereafter. Median length of follow-up was 42 months (range 1-137). Mean age was 74 years (range 67-83). Of 2243 patients 223 (10%) died during the follow-up and 19 patients died of kidney cancer (0.8%). The growth rate was the most used parameter to evaluate disease progression eventually triggering delayed intervention. Maximal axial diameter was the most common method to evaluate growth rate. CT scan is the most used, probably because it is usually more precise than kidney ultrasound and more accessible than MRI. Performing chest X-ray at every check does not seem to alter the clinical outcome during AS. CONCLUSION: The minimal cancer-specific mortality does not seem to correlate with the follow-up scheme. Outside of growth rate and initial size, imaging features to predict outcome of RCC during AS are limited. Active surveillance of SRM is a well-established treatment option. However, standardized follow-up protocols are lacking. Prospective, randomized, trials to evaluate the best follow-up strategies are pending.

Guía de práctica clínica sobre intervenciones de mantenimiento de salud para adultos mayores en el primer nivel de atención / Clinical practice guideline on health maintenance interventions for older adults at the primary care level

Un proceso adecuado de envejecimiento es un logro para la salud pública, sin embargo, muchos de los adultos mayores requerirán mayor atención de parte del sistema de salud al que pertenecen. Bajo este contexto, el primer nivel de atención normalmente es el primer lugar de contacto que tienen los pacientes, incluyendo los adultos mayores (adultos de 60 años o más), con el sistema de salud. La atención en salud a los adultos mayores debería ser ordenada, debe contar con personal de salud capacitado, conectada con otros servicios de salud, y motivando la participación del paciente en la toma de decisiones. Esta atención en salud debería tener como objetivo lograr un envejecimiento saludable, el cual se define como el proceso de fomentar y mantener la capacidad funcional que permite el bienestar en la vejez. Para ello, el cuidado de salud en los adultos mayores involucra diversas esferas, entre las principales: físicas, afectivas, mentales, sociales, familiares, ambientales. El Seguro Social de Salud (EsSalud) priorizó la realización de la presente guía de práctica clínica (GPC) con el fin de gestionar de la mejor manera a parte de los procesos y procedimientos asistenciales en adultos mayores en el primer nivel de atención mediante lineamientos basados en evidencia. Este documento constituye una herramienta relevante y uno de los elementos claves para promover el envejecimiento saludable. Esta GPC fue realizada por la Dirección de Guías de Práctica Clínica, Farmacovigilancia y Tecnovigilancia del Instituto de Evaluación de Tecnologías en Salud e Investigación (IETSI) de EsSalud.

Israel Ad Hoc COVID-19 Committee: Guidelines for Care of Older Persons During a Pandemic.

Early on, geriatricians in Israel viewed with increasing alarm the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It was clear that this viral disease exhibited a clear predilection for and danger to older persons. Informal contacts began with senior officials from the country's Ministry of Health, the Israel Medical Association, and the country's largest health fund; this was done to plan an approach to the possible coming storm. A group was formed, comprising three senior geriatricians, a former dean, a palliative care specialist, and a lawyer/ethicist. The members made every effort to ensure that their recommendations would be practical while at the same time taking into account the tenets of medical ethics. The committee's main task was to think through a workable approach because intensive care unit/ventilator resources may be far outstripped by those requiring such care. Recommendations included the approach to older persons both in the community and in long-term care institutions, a triage instrument, and palliative care. Patient autonomy was emphasized, with a strong recommendation for people of all ages to update their advance directives or, if they did not have any, to quickly draw them up. Considering the value of distributive justice, with respect to triage, a "soft utilitarian" approach was advocated with the main criteria being function and comorbidity. Although chronological age was rejected as a sole criterion, in the case of an overwhelming crisis, "biological age" would enter into the triage considerations, but only in the case of distinguishing between people with equal non-age-related deficits. The guideline emphasized that no matter what, in the spirit of beneficence, anyone who fell ill must receive active palliative care throughout the course of a COVD-19 infection but especially at the end of life. Furthermore, in the spirit of nonmaleficence, the frail, very old, and severely demented would be actively protected from dying on ventilation. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1370-1375, 2020.

Clinical and Public Health Implications of 2019 Endocrine Society Guidelines for Diagnosis of Diabetes in Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: Screening for diabetes is typically done using hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) or fasting plasma glucose (FPG). The 2019 Endocrine Society guidelines recommend further testing using an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in older adults with prediabetic HbA1c or FPG. We evaluated the impact of this recommendation on diabetes prevalence, eligibility for glucose-lowering treatment, and estimated cost of implementation in a nationally representative sample. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We included 2,236 adults aged ≥65 years without known diabetes from the 2005-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Diabetes was defined using: 1) the Endocrine Society approach (HbA1c ≥6.5%, FPG ≥126 mg/dL, or 2-h plasma glucose ≥200 mg/dL among those with HbA1c 5.7-6.4% or FPG 100-125 mg/dL); and 2) a standard approach (HbA1c ≥6.5% or FPG ≥126 mg/dL). Treatment eligibility was defined using HbA1c cut points (≥7% to ≥9%). OGTT screening costs were estimated using Medicare fee schedules. RESULTS: Diabetes prevalence was 15.7% (∼5.0 million) using the Endocrine Society's approach and 7.3% (∼2.3 million) using the standard approach. Treatment eligibility ranged from 5.4% to 0.06% and 11.8% to 1.3% for diabetes cases identified through the Endocrine Society or standard approach, respectively. By definition, diabetes identified exclusively through the Endocrine Society approach had HbA11c <6.5% and would not be recommended for glucose-lowering treatment. Screening all older adults with prediabetic HbA1c/FPG (∼18.3 million) with OGTT could cost between $737 million and $1.7 billion. CONCLUSIONS: Adopting the 2019 Endocrine Society guidelines would substantially increase the number of older adults classified as having diabetes, require significant financial resources, but likely offer limited benefits.

Ground-Level Falls at Skilled Nursing Facilities Are Associated With More Serious Lower Extremity Injuries Compared With Home.

Ground-level falls (GLFs) are the number one cause of injury and death in the older adult population. We compared injury profiles of GLFs at SNFs to those at homes, hypothesizing that GLFs at SNFs would lead to higher risks for serious (AIS ≥ 3) traumatic brain injury (TBI) and lower extremity (LE) injuries compared to GLFs at home. The 2015-2016 Trauma Quality Improvement Program was used to compare patients sustaining GLFs at home and SNFs. From 15,873 patients sustaining GLFs, 14,306 (90.1%) occurred at home while 1,567 (9.9%) at SNFs. More patients with GLFs at SNFs were female, older, and had greater incidence of congestive heart failure, end-stage renal disease, and dementia (p < 0.001) compared to those at home. Although, GLF SNF patients had lower injury severity scores (9 vs. 10, p < 0.001) and incidence for TBI (28.0% vs 33.4%, p < 0.001), they had a higher rate of femur fractures (55.1% vs. 38.9%, p < 0.001). After controlling for female, end stage renal disease, smoking, dementia, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and stroke, patients falling at SNFs had an increased risk of sustaining serious LE injury AIS (OR 1.64, p < 0.001), but not serious TBI AIS (OR 0.89, p = 0.073). In conclusion, compared to GLFs at home, those at SNFs have a higher risk for serious LE injury, with femur fractures being the most common. However, GLFs at SNFs and homes had no significant difference in risk for serious TBI. Future studies are warranted to evaluate preventative measures to reduce LE injuries at SNFs.

Avaliação qualitativa da Atenção Primária à Saúde sob a perspectiva de idosos / Qualitative assessment of Primary Health Care from the perspective of the elderly / Evaluación cualitativa de la Atención Primaria de Salud desde la perspectiva de los ancianos

Objetivou-se avaliar a Atenção Primária à Saúde sob a perspectiva de idosos, compreendendo as concepções acerca dos atributos da Atenção Primária à Saúde. Estudo descritivo, com abordagem qualitativa, realizado em Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brasil. Concluiu-se que a percepção dos idosos acerca da Atenção Primária à Saúde é insatisfatória quanto à realização de exames, entrega de resultados, dispensação de medicamentos, estrutura física e acesso às consultas médicas.

El objetivo fue evaluar la atención primaria de salud desde la perspectiva de los ancianos, entendiendo las concepciones sobre los atributos de la atención primaria de salud. Estudio descriptivo con enfoque cualitativo, realizado en Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brasil. Se concluyó que la percepción de los ancianos sobre la atención primaria de salud no es satisfactoria en términos de exámenes, entrega de resultados, dispensación de medicamentos, estructura física y acceso a citas médicas.

This study aimed to evaluate primary health care from the perspective of the elderly, understanding the conceptions about the attributes of primary health care. Descriptive study with qualitative approach, conducted in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil. It was concluded that the perception of the elderly about primary health care is unsatisfactory regarding the performance of examinations, delivery of results, medication dispensation, physical structure and access to medical appointments.

Atenção ao idoso: práticas de educação permanente do Núcleo de Apoio à Saúde da Família / Atención a la persona mayor: prácticas de educación permanente del Núcleo de Apoyo a la Salud de la Familia / Older adult care: permanent education practices of the Family Health Support Center

OBJETIVO: Desvelar as práticas de Educação Permanente em Saúde desenvolvidas pelo Núcleo de Apoio à Saúde da Família na atenção ao idoso. MÉTODO: Estudo qualitativo e exploratório-descritivo, desenvolvido em um município do estado do Paraná, com profissionais do Núcleo de Apoio à Saúde da Família. Os dados foram obtidos pela técnica de Grupo Focal e submetidos à Classificação Hierárquica Descendente utilizando o software IRaMuTeQ. Os referenciais teórico-analíticos foram a Política Nacional de Educação Permanente em Saúde e a Teoria Dialógica. RESULTADOS: Participaram 46 profissionais. Surgiram cinco classes que permitiram desvelar que as práticas de educação permanente na atenção ao idoso ocorrem durante os momentos de discussão de casos, no matriciamento, nas visitas domiciliares, nos grupos operativos e no cotidiano do trabalho de modo informal. CONCLUSÃO: As práticas de educação permanente desenvolvidas pelos profissionais na atenção ao idoso ocorrem em distintos momentos da atuação profissional e são permeadas pela prática

OBJETIVO: Desvelar las prácticas de Educación Permanente en Salud desarrolladas por el Núcleo de Apoyo a la Salud de la Familia en la atención a la persona mayor. MÉTODO: Estudio cualitativo y exploratorio descriptivo, desarrollado en un municipio del Estado de Paraná, con profesionales del Núcleo de Apoyo a la Salud de la Familia. Los datos fueron obtenidos por la técnica de Grupo Focal y sometidos a la Clasificación Jerárquica Descendiente utilizando el software IRaMuTeQ. Los marcos de referencia teóricos analíticos fueron la Política Nacional de Educación Permanente en Salud y la Teoría Dialógica. RESULTADOS: Participaron 46 profesionales. Surgieron cinco clases que permitieron desvelar que las prácticas de educación permanente en la atención a la persona mayor ocurren durante los momentos de discusión de casos, en el matriciamiento, las visitas domiciliarias, los grupos operativos y el cotidiano del trabajo de modo informal. CONCLUSIÓN: Las prácticas de educación permanente desarrolladas por los profesionales en la atención a la persona mayor ocurren en distintos momentos de la actuación profesional y traen consigo la práctica

OBJECTIVE: To unveil the Permanent Education in Health practices developed by the Family Health Support Center in the care provided to older adults. METHOD: A qualitative and exploratory-descriptive study developed in a municipality in the state of Paraná with professionals from the Family Health Support Center. Data were obtained by the Focus Group technique and submitted to the Descending Hierarchical Classification using IRaMuTeQ software. The implemented theoretical-analytical references were the National Policy of Permanent Education in Healthcare and the Dialogical Theory. RESULTS: Forty-six (46) professionals participated. Five classes emerged which revealed that the practices of permanent education in care provided to older adults occur during the moments of discussion of cases, in collaborative care planning (matriciamento ), in the home visits, in the operative groups and in the daily life of the informal work. CONCLUSION: The permanent education practices developed by the professionals in the care provided to older adults occur at different moments of professional performance and are permeated by the practice

The effect of providing prescribing recommendations on appropriate prescribing: A cluster-randomized controlled trial in older adults in a preoperative setting.

AIMS: The Systematic Tool to Reduce Inappropriate Prescribing is a method to assess patient's medication and has been incorporated into a clinical decision support system: STRIP Assistant. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of recommendations generated using STRIP Assistant on appropriate prescribing and mortality in a preoperative setting. METHODS: This cluster-randomized controlled trial was carried out at the preoperative geriatric outpatient clinic. Residents who performed a comprehensive geriatric assessment were randomized to the control group and intervention group in a 1:1 ratio. Visiting patients aged 70 years or older on 5 or more medications were included. INTERVENTION: prescribing recommendations were generated by a physician using STRIP Assistant and given to the resident. Control group residents performed a medication review according to usual care. PRIMARY OUTCOME: number of medication changes made because of potential prescribing omissions (PPOs), potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), and suboptimal dosages according to the prescribing recommendations. Secondary outcome: 3-month postoperative mortality. RESULTS: 65 intervention and 59 control patients were included, attended by 34 residents. Significantly more medication changes because of PPOs and PIMs were made in the intervention group than in the control group (PPOs 26.2% vs 3.4%, odds ratio 0.04 [95% confidence interval 0.003-0.46] P < .05; PIMS 46.2% vs 15.3% odds ratio 0.14 [95% confidence interval 0.07-0.57] P < .005). There were no differences in dose adjustments or in postoperative mortality. CONCLUSION: Prescribing recommendations generated with the help of STRIP Assistant improved appropriate prescribing in a preoperative geriatric outpatient clinic but did not affect postoperative mortality.

Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior: Food and Nutrition Programs for Community-Residing Older Adults.

Given the increasing number and diversity of older adults and the transformation of health care services in the United States, it is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior that all older adults should have access to evidence-based food and nutrition programs that ensure the availability of safe and adequate food to promote optimal nutrition, health, functionality, and quality of life. Registered dietitian nutritionists and nutrition and dietetics technicians, registered, in partnership with other practitioners and nutrition educators, should be actively involved in programs that provide coordinated services between the community and health care systems that include regular monitoring and evaluation of programming outcomes. The rapidly growing older population, increased demand for integrated continuous support systems, and rising cost of health care underscore the need for these programs. Programs must include food assistance and meal programs, nutritional screening and assessment, nutrition education, medical nutrition therapy, monitoring, evaluation, and documentation of evidence-based outcomes. Coordination with long-term care services and support systems is necessary to allow older adults to remain in their homes; improve or maintain their health and manage chronic disease; better navigate transitions of care; and reduce avoidable hospital, acute, or long-term care facility admissions. Funding of these programs requires evidence of their effectiveness, especially regarding health, functionality, and health care-related outcomes of interest to individuals, caregivers, payers, and policy makers. Targeting of food and nutrition programs involves addressing unmet needs for services, particularly among those at high risk for poor nutrition. Registered dietitian nutritionists and nutrition and dietetics technicians, registered must increase programmatic efforts to measure outcomes to evaluate community-based food and nutrition services.

Identifying Palliative Care Champions to Promote High-Quality Care to Those with Serious Illness.

Leading medical authorities advocate for routine integration of palliative care for all major causes of death in the United States. With rapid growth and acceptance, the field of palliative care is tasked with addressing a compelling question of its time: "Who will deliver timely, evidence-based palliative care to all who should benefit?" The current number of palliative care specialists will not suffice to meet the needs of persons with serious illness. In 2010, initial estimates quantified the shortage at 6000 to 18 000 additional palliative care physicians needed to fully staff existing programs. Unfortunately, the predicted number of specialty physicians in 2030 will likely not be larger than the workforce in existence today. These findings result in a physician-to-serious-illness-person ratio of about 1:28 000 in 2030.1 To address the workforce shortage, stronger alignment is needed between intensity of patient needs and provision of palliative care services. Such an alignment better harnesses the talents of those in a position to deliver core palliative care services (such as discussing goals of care with patients or managing their symptoms) while engaging palliative care specialists to address more complex issues. We introduce the concept of "Palliative Care Champions," who sit at the nexus between specialty palliative care and the larger clinical workforce. Acknowledging that the needs of most patients can be met by clinicians who have received basic palliative care training, and that specialty palliative care is not always available for those with more complex needs, there exists an important opportunity for those with additional interest to scale training and quality improvement to fill this void. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:S461-S467, 2019.

Attitudinal predictors of older peoples' and caregivers' desire to deprescribe in hospital.

BACKGROUND: Deprescribing is a partnership between practitioners, patients and caregivers. External characteristics including age, comorbidities and polypharmacy are poor predictors of attitude towards deprescribing. This hospital-based study aimed to describe the desire of patients and caregivers to be involved in medicine decision-making, and identify attitudinal predictors of desire to try stopping a medicine. METHODS: Patients and caregivers recruited from seven Older People's Medicine wards across two UK hospitals completed the revised Patients'Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire. Patients prescribed polypharmacy and caregivers involved in medication decision-making of such patients were eligible. A target of 150 patients and caregivers provided a 95% confidence interval of ±11.0% or smaller around rPATD item agreement. Descriptive statistics characterised participants and rPATD responses. Responses to items regarding desire to be involved in medication decision-making and desire to try stopping a medicine were used to address the aims. Binary logistic regression provided the adjusted odds ratios (OR) for predictors of desire to try stopping a medicine. RESULTS: Patient participants (N = 75) were a median (IQ) 87.0 (83.0, 90.0) years old and the median (IQ) number of pre-admission medication was 8.0 (6.0, 10.0). Caregiver participants (N = 76) were a median (IQ) 70.0 (57.0, 83.0) years old and the majority were a spouse (63.2%). For patients and caregivers respectively, the following were reported: 58.7 and 65.8% wanted to be involved in medication decision-making; 29.3 and 43.5% reported a desire to try stopping a medicine. Attitudinal predictors of low desire to try stopping a medicine for patients and caregivers are a perception that there are no unnecessary prescribed medicines [OR = 0.179 (patients) and 0.044 (caregivers)] and no desire for dose reduction [OR = 0.199 (patients) and 0.024 (caregivers)]. A perception of not being prescribed too many medicines also predicted low patient desire to try stopping a medicine [OR = 0.195]. CONCLUSION: A substantial proportion of patients and caregivers did not want to be involved medication decision-making, however this should not result in practitioners dismissing deprescribing opportunities. The three diagnostic indicators for establishing desire to try stopping a medicine are perceived necessity of the medicine, appropriateness of the number prescribed medications and a desire for dose reduction.

Service Delivery Models to Maximize Quality of Life for Older People at the End of Life: A Rapid Review.

Policy Points We identified two overarching classifications of integrated geriatric and palliative care to maximize older people's quality of life at the end of life. Both are oriented to person-centered care, but with differing emphasis on either function or symptoms and concerns. Policymakers should both improve access to palliative care beyond just the last months of life and increase geriatric care provision to maintain and optimize function. This would ensure that continuity and coordination for potentially complex care needs across the continuum of late life would be maintained, where the demarcation of boundaries between healthy aging and healthy dying become increasingly blurred. Our findings highlight the urgent need for health system change to improve end-of-life care as part of universal health coverage. The use of health services should be informed by the likelihood of benefits and intended outcomes rather than on prognosis. CONTEXT: In an era of unprecedented global aging, a key priority is to align health and social services for older populations in order to support the dual priorities of living well while adapting to a gradual decline in function. We aimed to provide a comprehensive synthesis of evidence regarding service delivery models that optimize the quality of life (QoL) for older people at the end of life across health, social, and welfare services worldwide. METHODS: We conducted a rapid scoping review of systematic reviews. We searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and CDSR databases from 2000 to 2017 for reviews reporting the effectiveness of service models aimed at optimizing QoL for older people, more than 50% of whom were older than 60 and in the last one or two years of life. We assessed the quality of these included reviews using AMSTAR and synthesized the findings narratively. RESULTS: Of the 2,238 reviews identified, we included 72, with 20 reporting meta-analysis. Although all the World Health Organization (WHO) regions were represented, most of the reviews reported data from the Americas (52 of 72), Europe (46 of 72), and/or the Western Pacific (28 of 72). We identified two overarching classifications of service models but with different target outcomes: Integrated Geriatric Care, emphasizing physical function, and Integrated Palliative Care, focusing mainly on symptoms and concerns. Areas of synergy across the overarching classifications included person-centered care, education, and a multiprofessional workforce. The reviews assessed 117 separate outcomes. A meta-analysis demonstrated effectiveness for both classifications on QoL, including symptoms such as pain, depression, and psychological well-being. Economic analysis and its implications were poorly considered. CONCLUSIONS: Despite their different target outcomes, those service models classified as Integrated Geriatric Care or Integrated Palliative Care were effective in improving QoL for older people nearing the end of life. Both approaches highlight the imperative for integrating services across the care continuum, with service involvement triggered by the patient's needs and likelihood of benefits. To inform the sustainability of health system change we encourage economic analyses that span health and social care and examine all sources of finance to understand contextual inequalities.

Enumeration of Operations Performed for Elderly Patients in Ghana: An Opportunity to Improve Global Surgery Benchmarking.

INTRODUCTION: The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery proposed 5000 operations/100,000 people annually as a benchmark for developing countries but did not define benchmarks for different age groups. We evaluated the operation rate for elderly patients (≥65 years) in Ghana and estimated the unmet surgical need for the elderly by comparison to a high-income country benchmark. METHODS: Data on operations performed for elderly patients over a 1-year period in 2014-5 were obtained from representative samples of 48/124 small district hospitals and 12/16 larger referral hospitals and scaled-up for nationwide estimates. Operations were categorized as essential (most cost-effective, highest population impact) versus other according to The World Bank's Disease Control Priority project (DCP-3). Data from New Zealand's National Minimum Dataset were used to derive a benchmark operation rate for the elderly. RESULTS: 16,007 operations were performed for patients ≥65 years. The annual operation rate was 1744/100,000 (95% UI 1440-2048), only 12% of the New Zealand benchmark of 14,103/100,000. 74% of operations for the elderly were in the essential category. The most common procedures (15%) were for urinary obstruction. 58% of operations were performed at district hospitals; 54% of these did not have fully-trained surgeons. Referral hospitals more commonly performed operations outside the essential category. CONCLUSION: The operation rate was well beneath the benchmark, indicating a potentially large unmet need for Ghana's elderly population. Most operations for the elderly were in the essential category and delivered at district hospitals. Future global surgery benchmarking should consider specific benchmarks for different age groups.