A Scoping Literature Review: The State of Knowledge on Home Care Equipment and Supplies.

We explored the state of knowledge on home care supplies and equipment because not much is known about this topic. We used a scoping review for the literature review because it was the most appropriate approach considering the state of the literature. We searched for articles published in both the gray and peer-reviewed literature. We established five overarching themes based on the findings. These were supply management, durable medical equipment, wound care, best practices, and costs. This review demonstrates that although knowledge about home care supplies and equipment is growing, it is still an understudied area.

The emergency to home project: impact of an emergency department care coordinator on hospital admission and emergency department utilization among seniors.

BACKGROUND: Seniors comprise 14% to 21% of all emergency department (ED) visits, yet are disproportionately larger users of ED and inpatient resources. ED care coordinators (EDCCs) target seniors at risk for functional decline and connect them to home care and other community services in hopes of avoiding hospitalization. The goal of this study was to measure the association between the presence of EDCCs and admission rates for seniors aged ≥ 65. Secondary outcomes included length of stay, recidivism at 30 days, and revisit resulting in admission at 30 days. METHODS: This was a matched pairs study using administrative data from eight EDs in six Alberta cities. Four of these hospitals were intervention sites, in which patients were seen by an EDCC, while the other four sites had no EDCC presence. All seniors aged ≥ 65 with a discharge diagnosis of fall or musculoskeletal pathology were included. Cases were matched by CTAS category, age, gender, mode of arrival, and home living environment. McNemar's test for matched pairs was used to compare admission and recidivism rates at EDCC and non-EDCC hospitals. A paired t-test was used to compare length of stay between groups. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences for baseline admission rate, revisit rate at 30 days, and readmission rate at 30 days between EDCC and non-EDCC patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed no reduction in senior patients' admission rates, recidivism at 30 days, or hospital length of stay when comparing seniors seen by an EDCC with those not seen by an EDCC.

Aging in atlantic Canada: service-rich and service-poor communities.

The delivery of services for seniors in Canada is increasingly complex and challenging. Communities across Canada age at different rates, and the forces underlying the differences, such as "aging in place" and migration, vary from community to community. We have identified two types of aging communities: service-rich communities, in which seniors have good health status and better amenities, and service-poor communities, in which seniors have poor health status and limited amenities. We also report on results for Atlantic Canada from a national study of service provisions. Three issues stand out: (a) the impact on communities of migration and aging in place, (b) the factors that distinguish service-rich and service-poor communities and (c) the conditions necessary to create a service-rich community. All levels of government in Atlantic Canada must work together to develop policies and programs that create and sustain service-rich communities.