Falls Risk in Long-Term Care Residents With Cognitive Impairment: Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on falls rates in long-term care residents with cognitive impairment. DESIGN: An observational study using routinely collected national interRAI data. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Participants were from long-term care residents (age ≥60 years) who received an interRAI Long Term Care Facility assessment anywhere in New Zealand between August 17, 2018, and August 16, 2022. METHODS: The primary outcome was "At least 1 fall in the last 30 days." Based on the Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS), cognitive impairment was categorized into 3 levels: intact or borderline intact (0-1), mild to moderate impairment (2-3), and moderately to very severe impairment (4-6). The COVID-19 pandemic was divided into 3 periods (First wave: March 21, 2020, to June 8, 2020; Varying level of community outbreaks: June 9, 2020 to August 16, 2021; and Delta-Omicron wave: August 17, 2021, to August 16, 2021) and compared to a pre-COVID-19 period (August 17, 2018, to March 20, 2020). Cox regression modeling was used to study falls and interactions between CPS and COVID-19 pandemic periods, along with other established falls risk factors in the literature. RESULTS: A total of 282,518 interRAI-LTCF assessments from 75,132 unique residents were included. Interactions between CPS and COVID-19 pandemic periods found that cognitive impairment was associated with a higher hazard ratio (ranged from 1.22 to 1.37) in each of the 3 COVID-19 pandemic periods. We also found unstable health, unsteady gait, wandering, and moderate to severe ADL dependency were the strongest risk factors for falls. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Cognitively impaired long-term care residents had an increased risk for falls during the COVID-19 pandemic. This risk was influenced by several factors. In future pandemic or infection control related isolation, residents who are most at risk can be identified for targeted falls prevention programs.

A national study of the mental health literacy of community pharmacists.

BACKGROUND: Community pharmacists are in a prime position to communicate with and assist those with mental health needs. However, mental health literacy, which includes beliefs and knowledge of mental health conditions, can impact the provision of pharmacy services. The mental health literacy of community pharmacists in New Zealand is currently unknown. OBJECTIVES: To assess the mental health literacy of community pharmacists in New Zealand. METHODS: We employed a national cross-sectional online survey, evaluating attitudes towards mental illness, ability to recognise depression using a vignette and followed by questions related to the helpfulness of various interventions, and willingness to provide pharmacy services for people with mental illness in comparison to cardiovascular diseases. Additionally, opportunities for mental health training were explored. Participants were community pharmacists working in New Zealand contacted via mailing lists of professional bodies. RESULTS: We received responses from 346 participants. The majority of participants showed positive attitudes towards mental illness and correctly identified depression in the vignette (87%). Participants rated counsellors (84%) and physical activity (92%) as the most helpful professionals and intervention respectively while only 43% considered antidepressants as helpful for depression. When compared to other people in the community, long-term functioning of the individual described in the vignette was rated poorly, especially in terms of increased likelihood to attempt suicide (85%) and reduced likelihood to be a productive worker (64%). Approximately 30% of participants reported reduced confidence/comfort while approximately half of participants reported greater interest in providing mental health-related care compared to cardiovascular disease. The participants also highlighted several areas for future mental health training they wished to undertake. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified positive attitudes towards mental illness in our study. Participants correctly identified and supported evidence-based interventions for mild to moderate depression. However, we highlighted the need for ongoing mental health training to address knowledge gaps and enhance the confidence in providing mental health-related care.