Electronic Information Systems Use in Residential Care Facilities: The Differential Effect of Ownership Status and Chain Affiliation.

The use of electronic information systems (EISs) including electronic health records continues to increase in all sectors of the health care industry. Research shows that EISs may be useful for improving care delivery and decreasing medical errors. The purpose of this project is twofold: First, we describe the prevalence of EIS use among residential care facilities (RCFs), and second, we explore utilization differences by ownership status and chain affiliation. We anticipate that RCFs that are non-profit and non-chain will use more EIS than other categories of RCFs. Data for this project come from the 2010 National Survey of Residential Care Facilities. The sample consists of 2,300 facilities. Overall use of EIS was greatest among RCFs that are non-profit and chain-affiliated. Conversely, the use was lowest among for-profit RCFs that were also non-chain affiliated. This may suggest that these facilities lack the necessary resources or motivation to invest in information systems.

Pain variability and its predictors in older adults: depression, cognition, functional status, health, and pain.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this secondary data analysis is to determine whether depression, cognition, functional status, health, and pain severity are predictors of day-to-day pain variability in older adults in long-term care settings. METHODS: Seventy-seven adults aged 68 years and older were included in the multiple linear regression analyses. Pain severity mean and variability were measured over 30 days of daily self-reported pain levels. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Blessed Memory-Information-Concentration test, Physical Self-Maintenance Scale (PSMS), baseline pain severity, mean of daily health, and mean of daily pain severity were used as predictors. Pain variability was measured by examining intra-individual standard deviations of daily pain scores. RESULTS: Results show that global depression and pain severity are predictors of pain variability in that greater baseline depression and pain severity predicted higher pain variability. Daily mean pain and health were also found to be predictors of pain variability. DISCUSSION: Pain variability is an important characteristic that is not given enough emphasis in current literature. Understanding pain variability may give insight into older adults' experiences with both pain and depression, and may essentially improve quality of care and quality of life.