Remote visits to address loneliness for people living with dementia in care homes: A descriptive qualitative study of visitors' perceptions.

AIMS: To assess visitors' perceptions of the benefits and challenges related to engaging in a remote visit intervention, which was designed to address the loneliness of people living with moderate to severe dementia in care homes. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive study. METHODS: Twenty-four people living with dementia in care homes in Canada and their family and friends (i.e., remote visitors) took part in facilitated remote visits in 2021. Each person living with dementia received scheduled visits for 30-60 min per week for 6 weeks. Participants chose to complete one longer visit, or multiple shorter visits, per week. Twenty remote visitors participated in semi-structured interviews after six weeks to discuss their perspectives on the effectiveness, benefits and challenges of the program in relation to addressing experiences of loneliness of the person living with dementia. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: We describe three themes and several sub-themes. Themes support the use of remote visits to enhance, rather than replace, in-person visits; the benefits of remote visits for the person living with dementia and their remote visitors; and the conditions that lead to a successful remote visit. CONCLUSION: Remote visitors reported that facilitated visits had positive effects for both visitors and people living with dementia with respect to loneliness, communication, relationships, and social connection. IMPLICATIONS FOR PATIENT CARE: Clinicians can consider the factors that contributed to positive experiences of remote visits. The factors include individualized, facilitated visits that were flexible, and the use of reliable technology in a supportive, distraction-free environment. IMPACT: Loneliness and social isolation are growing health concerns. When experienced by people living with dementia residing in long-term care homes, loneliness and social isolation can result in lower levels of quality of life and well-being, and higher levels of anxiety and responsive behaviours. Remote visitors perceived that facilitated remote visits have the potential to address loneliness and improve quality of life for people living with dementia and also offer social support to remote visitors. The findings can impact clinician practice by guiding the use of remote visits in care homes, and inform future intervention research to evaluate the effectiveness of remote visits for people living with dementia and their remote visitors. REPORTING METHOD: This manuscript adheres to the relevant EQUATOR guidelines (the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research or COREQ). PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.

Connecting Today: Feasibility and acceptability of a remote visiting program for people living with dementia in long-term care homes.

OBJECTIVES: Social isolation and loneliness affect the quality of life of people living with dementia, yet few interventions have been developed for this population. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of 'Connecting Today', a remote visiting program designed for use with care home residents living with dementia. METHODS: This was a feasibility study to assess whether Connecting Today can be delivered in care homes, and was acceptable to family and friends and people living with dementia. We used a single-group before/after design and included residents ≥ 65 years old with a dementia diagnosis from two care homes in Alberta, Canada. Connecting Today involved up to 60 min per week of facilitated remote visits for 6 weeks. To understand feasibility, we assessed rates and reasons for non-enrollment, withdrawal and missing data. We assessed acceptability with the Observed Emotion Rating Scale (residents) and a Treatment Perception and Preferences Questionnaire (family and friends). Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Of 122 eligible residents, 19.7% (n = 24) enrolled (mean age = 87.9 years, 70.8% females). Three residents withdrew from the study before the first week of calls. Among 21 remaining residents, 62%-90% completed at least 1 call each week. All the calls were completed by videoconference, rather than by phone. Alertness and pleasure were observed for ≥92% of residents during calls. The 24 contacts rated Connecting Today as logical, effective and low risk. CONCLUSIONS: Facilitated, remote visits are feasible and highly acceptable to residents and their family and friend contacts. Connecting Today shows promise to address social isolation and loneliness for people living with moderate to severe dementia because it can promote positive engagement in meaningful interactions with their family and friends while they are living in a care home. Future studies will test effectiveness of Connecting Today in a large sample.

International Practice Recommendations for the Recognition and Management of Hearing and Vision Impairment in People with Dementia.

INTRODUCTION: Hearing, vision, and cognitive impairment commonly co-occur in older people. However, the rate of recognition and appropriate management of combined hearing and vision impairment in people with dementia impairment is low. The aim of this work was to codevelop internationally relevant, multidisciplinary practice recommendations for professionals involved in the diagnosis, care, and management of older people with these concurrent conditions. METHODS: We applied consensus methods with professional and lay expert stakeholders, using an adapted version of the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development. The development involved 4 phases and included: (1) collating existing evidence, (2) filling the gaps in evidence, (3) prioritising evidence, and (4) refining the final list of recommendations. Each phase encompassed various methodologies including a review of existing guidelines within the 3 clinical domains, systematic reviews, qualitative studies, a clinical professional consortium, surveys, and consensus meetings with interdisciplinary domain experts. RESULTS: The task force evaluated an initial list of 26 recommendations, ranking them in the order of priority. A consensus was reached on 15 recommendations, which are classified into 6 domains of "awareness and knowledge," "recognition and detection," "evaluation," "management," "support," and "services and policies." Pragmatic options for implementation for each domain were then developed. CONCLUSION: This is the first set of international, interdisciplinary practice recommendations that will guide the development of multidisciplinary services and policy to improve the lives of people with dementia and hearing and vision impairment.

Hearing Assessment and Rehabilitation for People Living With Dementia.

Hearing impairment commonly co-occurs with dementia. Audiologists, therefore, need to be prepared to address the specific needs of people living with dementia (PwD). PwD have needs in terms of dementia-friendly clinical settings, assessments, and rehabilitation strategies tailored to support individual requirements that depend on social context, personality, background, and health-related factors, as well as audiometric HL and experience with hearing assistance. Audiologists typically receive limited specialist training in assisting PwD and professional guidance for audiologists is scarce. The aim of this review was to outline best practice recommendations for the assessment and rehabilitation of hearing impairment for PwD with reference to the current evidence base. These recommendations, written by audiology, psychology, speech-language, and dementia nursing professionals, also highlight areas of research need. The review is aimed at hearing care professionals and includes practical recommendations for adapting audiological procedures and processes for the needs of PwD.

Development of a case definition for hearing loss in community-based older adults: a cross-sectional validation study.

BACKGROUND: Research based in primary care suggests that hearing loss may be underreported as well as inconsistently recorded in patient histories. In this study, we aimed to develop and validate a case definition for hearing loss among older adults in primary care, using electronic medical records. METHODS: We used data from adult patients aged 55 years and older from 13 practices in the Southern Alberta Primary Care Research Network database, part of the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN), from Dec. 1, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2016. We developed a hearing loss case definition that was translated into an electronic algorithm. A record review was undertaken as the reference standard, followed by application of the algorithm to the sample. Validation metrics included sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value, as well as prevalence. We assessed risk factors using the Fisher exact test and odds ratios. RESULTS: The sample included 1000 patients; 496 (49.6%) were female and the mean age was 67.5 (standard deviation 9.6) years. Sensitivity of the case definition algorithm was determined to be 87.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 76.5%-94.4%) with specificity valued at 94.8% (95% CI 93.1%-96.1%). Positive and negative predictive values were 52.9% (95% CI 42.8%-62.8%) and 99.1% (95% CI 98.2%-99.6%), respectively. The prevalence of hearing loss within the sample was 6.3% (95% CI 4.9%-7.9%). Older age was a significant risk factor for hearing loss (t = 4.98, 95% CI 3.76-8.65). Men had greater odds of hearing loss than women (odds ratio 1.65, 95% CI 0.98-2.79). INTERPRETATION: The validated case definition for hearing loss in community-based older adults had high sensitivity and specificity. It may be applied to surveillance and future epidemiologic research within the CPCSSN database.

Music Connects Us: Development of a Music-Based Group Activity Intervention to Engage People Living with Dementia and Address Loneliness.

There is a need for intervention research to understand how music-based group activities foster engagement in social interactions and relationship-building among care home residents living with moderate to severe dementia. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to describe the design of 'Music Connects Us', a music-based group activity intervention. Music Connects Us primarily aims to promote social connectedness and quality of life among care home residents living with moderate to severe dementia through engagement in music-making, supporting positive social interactions to develop intimate connections with others. To develop Music Connects Us, we adapted the 'Music for Life' program offered by Wigmore Hall in the United Kingdom, applying an intervention mapping framework and principles of engaged scholarship. This paper describes in detail the Music Connects Us program, our adaptation approach, and key adaptations made, which included: framing the project to focus on the engagement of the person living with dementia to ameliorate loneliness; inclusion of student and other community-based musicians; reduced requirements for care staff participation; and the development of a detailed musician training approach to prepare musicians to deliver the program in Canada. Description of the development, features, and rationale for Music Connects Us will support its replication in future research aimed to tests its effects and its use in clinical practice.

Does Right-Hemispheric Anodal tDCS Enhance the Impact of Script Training in Chronic Aphasia? A Single-Subject Experimental Study.

Background: Script training is an aphasia treatment approach that has been demonstrated to have a positive effect on communication of individuals with aphasia; however, it is time intensive as a therapeutic modality. To augment therapy-induced neuroplasticity, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may be implemented. tDCS has been paired with other speech-language treatments, however, has not been investigated with script training. Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine if tDCS improves communication proficiency when paired with script training, compared to script training alone. Methods and Procedures: A single-subject experimental design was implemented with a participant with non-fluent aphasia, using two scripts across treatment conditions: script training with sham-tDCS, and script training with anodal-tDCS. Treatment sessions were 75 min long, administered three times weekly. Anodal tDCS was implemented for 20 min with a current of 1.5 mA over the right inferior frontal gyrus. Results: Large effect sizes were obtained on script mastery for both stimulation conditions (anodal d 2 = 9.94; sham d 2 = 11.93). tDCS did not improve script accuracy, however, there was a significant improvement in the rate of change of script pace relative to baseline (3.99 seconds/day, p < 0.001) in the anodal tDCS condition. Conclusion: Despite a null tDCS result on accuracy, the script training protocol increased script performance to a near-fluent level of communication. There is preliminary evidence to suggest that tDCS may alter the rate of script acquisition, however, further research to corroborate this finding is required. Implications for future studies are discussed.

Decision Making by People With Aphasia: A Comparison of Linguistic and Nonlinguistic Measures.

Purpose Decision making involves multiple cognitive and linguistic processes. The extent to which these processes are involved depends, in part, on the conditions under which decision making is assessed. Because people with aphasia (PWA) have impaired language abilities and may also present with cognitive deficits, they may have difficulty during decision-making tasks. Yet little research exists on the decision-making abilities of PWA. Thus, the purposes of this study were to investigate the performance of PWA on linguistic and nonlinguistic decision-making measures and to explore the relationship between decision making and cognitive test performance. Method A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the performance of PWA (n = 16) and age- and education-matched control participants (n = 16) on three decision-making tasks: Making a Decision subtest from the Functional Assessment of Verbal Reasoning and Executive Strategies (linguistic decision-making task), Iowa Gambling Task (nonlinguistic decision-making task with ambiguity), and Game of Dice Task (nonlinguistic decision-making task without ambiguity). Participants also completed assessments of language, working memory, and executive functions. Scores on the three decision-making tasks were compared between groups, and cognitive influences on decision-making performance were examined using correlation analyses. Results PWA differed significantly from control participants on linguistic decision making, particularly when required to verbalize their rationale for making their decision. PWA and control participants did not differ significantly on measures of nonlinguistic decision making. Performance on multiple cognitive measures was correlated with performance on the linguistic reasoning task, as well as one of the nonlinguistic tasks (Game of Dice Task). Conclusions Decision-making tasks that are heavily dependent on language, such as those used in capacity assessments, may disadvantage PWA. Assessments of decision-making capacity should include communication supports for people with acquired communication disorders; further investigation in the areas of decision making and aphasia is needed.

Validation of a case definition for speech and language disorders: In community-dwelling older adults in Alberta.

OBJECTIVE: To validate a case definition for speech and language disorders in community-dwelling older adults and to determine the prevalence of speech and language disorders in a primary care population. DESIGN: This is a combined case definition validation and cross-sectional prevalence study. Chart review was considered the reference standard and was used to estimate prevalence. This study used de-identified electronic medical record data from participating SAPCReN-CPCSSN (Southern Alberta Primary Care Research Network-Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network) primary care clinics. SETTING: Southern Alberta. PARTICIPANTS: Men and women aged 55 years and older who had visited a SAPCReN-CPCSSN physician or nurse practitioner at least once in the 2 years before the beginning of the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Validation analysis included estimation of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Prevalence was the other main outcome measure. RESULTS: The prevalence of speech and language disorders within the sample of 1384 patients was 1.2%. The case definition had a favourable specificity (99.9%, 95% CI 99.6% to 100.0%), positive predictive value (75.6%, 95% CI 25.4% to 96.6%), and negative predictive value (99.0%, 95% CI 98.8% to 99.2%). Sensitivity was not sufficient for validity (18.8%, 95% CI 4.05% to 45.6%). CONCLUSION: The case definition did not meet an acceptable standard for validity and thus cannot be used for future epidemiologic research. However, owing to the case definition's high positive predictive value, it might be useful for clinical purposes and for cohort studies. Finally, while the case definition did not prove valid, this study has provided a conservative estimate of prevalence (1.2%) given the case definition's high specificity.

Dementia and Hearing Loss: Interrelationships and Treatment Considerations.

Hearing loss is common among typically aging older adults and those with dementia. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the relationship between hearing and cognition among older adults, and in hearing loss as a modifiable risk factor for dementia. However, relatively less attention has been focused on the management of hearing loss among individuals with dementia and the key roles of speech-language pathologists and audiologists in providing such care. In this article, the authors review the literature on hearing loss and dementia, and analyze the research evidence for treatment of hearing loss in the context of major neurocognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. This article provides an up-to-date review of research evidence for hearing interventions, as well as recommendations for speech-language pathologists and audiologists to work together to ensure access to hearing health care and increased opportunities for meaningful life engagement for people with dementia and hearing loss.

Hearing Loss and Cognitive-Communication Test Performance of Long-Term Care Residents With Dementia: Effects of Amplification.

Purpose: The study aims were (a) to explore the relationship between hearing loss and cognitive-communication performance of individuals with dementia, and (b) to determine if hearing loss is accurately identified by long-term care (LTC) staff. The research questions were (a) What is the effect of amplification on cognitive-communication test performance of LTC residents with early- to middle-stage dementia and mild-to-moderate hearing loss? and (b) What is the relationship between measured hearing ability and hearing ability recorded by staff using the Resident Assessment Instrument-Minimum Data Set 2.0 (RAI-MDS; Hirdes et al., 1999)? Method: Thirty-one residents from 5 long-term care facilities participated in this quasiexperimental crossover study. Residents participated in cognitive-communication testing with and without amplification. RAI-MDS ratings of participants' hearing were compared to audiological assessment results. Results: Participants' speech intelligibility index scores significantly improved with amplification; however, participants did not demonstrate significant improvement in cognitive-communication test scores with amplification. A significant correlation was found between participants' average pure-tone thresholds and RAI-MDS ratings of hearing, yet misclassification of hearing loss occurred for 44% of participants. Conclusions: Measuring short-term improvement of performance-based cognitive communication may not be the most effective means of assessing amplification for individuals with dementia. Hearing screenings and staff education remain necessary to promote hearing health for LTC residents.

Canadian†Stroke†Best†Practice†Recommendations: Mood, Cognition and Fatigue Following Stroke practice guidelines, update 2015.

Every year, approximately 62 000 people with stroke and transient ischemic attack are treated in Canadian hospitals, and the evidence suggests one-third or more will experience vascular-cognitive impairment, and/or intractable fatigue, either alone or in combination. The 2015 update of the Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations: Mood, Cognition and Fatigue Module guideline is a comprehensive summary of current evidence-based recommendations for clinicians in a range of settings, who provide care to patients following stroke. The three consequences of stroke that are the focus of the this guideline (poststroke depression, vascular cognitive impairment, and fatigue) have high incidence rates and significant impact on the lives of people who have had a stroke, impede recovery, and result in worse long-term outcomes. Significant practice variations and gaps in the research evidence have been reported for initial screening and in-depth assessment of stroke patients for these conditions. Also of concern, an increased number of family members and informal caregivers may also experience depressive symptoms in the poststroke recovery phase which further impact patient recovery. These factors emphasize the need for a system of care that ensures screening occurs as a standard and consistent component of clinical practice across settings as stroke patients transition from acute care to active rehabilitation and reintegration into their community. Additionally, building system capacity to ensure access to appropriate specialists for treatment and ongoing management of stroke survivors with these conditions is another great challenge.

Identification of hearing loss among residents with dementia: perceptions of health care aides.

Effective communication can be difficult when working with individuals with dementia and hearing loss. Given the high prevalence of both dementia and hearing loss among individuals in long term care, direct care providers in this setting, will almost certainly confront frequent communication challenges. To understand health care aide perspectives of caring for residents with dementia and hearing loss, 12 health care aides from five nursing homes participated in audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were coded and themes were identified. Health care aides reported the difficulties in distinguishing the relative contributions of hearing loss and dementia to communication breakdowns. They reported that familiarity with residents helped them differentiate between sensory versus cognitive impairments in conversations with residents. Although able to identify strategies to support communication, communication difficulty complicated both their provision of care and support of quality of life for residents with dementia and hearing loss. Suggestions for practice and education are provided.

Restructuring a rehabilitation program for older adults: effects on patient outcomes and staff perspectives.

The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to examine the impact of organizational change on patient outcomes and staff experiences in a rehabilitation program for older adults. Program restructuring focused on reducing patient length of stay and increasing admissions to the rehabilitation program. Study findings revealed that patients admitted after restructuring, as compared to the time period just prior, experienced shorter lengths of stay yet made similar progress towards rehabilitation goals. The average discharge Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores between the two time periods were not significantly different. Yet FIM efficiency scores improved after the restructuring. With this reorganization, rehabilitation staff reported working harder to help patients achieve satisfactory outcomes, although initially staff reported lower morale. Findings extend the current literature and have practical implications for health care professionals interested in facilitating successful organizational change.

An evidence-based systematic review on cognitive interventions for individuals with dementia.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the current state of research evidence related to cognitive interventions for individuals with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias. METHOD: A systematic search of the literature was conducted across 27 electronic databases based on a set of a priori questions, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and search parameters. Studies were appraised for methodological quality and categorized according to intervention technique and outcome (e.g., cognitive-communication impairment or activity limitation/participation restriction). Results were summarized and, when possible, analyzed quantitatively using indicators of treatment effect size. RESULTS: Forty-three studies met criteria for inclusion in the review. The most commonly used cognitive intervention techniques used were errorless learning, spaced-retrieval training, vanishing cues, or verbal instruction/cueing. Most treatment outcomes were measured at the cognitive-communication impairment level of functioning and were generally positive. However, results should be interpreted cautiously because of methodological limitations across studies. CONCLUSIONS: Research evidence to support the use of cognitive interventions for individuals with dementia is accumulating. Researchers are beginning to evaluate treatment efficacy, yet the focus tends to be on discovery, specifically, refining intervention variables that will facilitate optimal outcomes. Implications for clinical practice and avenues for future research are discussed.

The effects of modified spaced-retrieval training on learning and retention of face-name associations by individuals with dementia.

The purpose of this project was to assess the effects of spaced-retrieval training (SRT) on learning of new and previously known associations by individuals with dementia in two treatment conditions: one in which the recall intervals were filled with activities unrelated to the information being learned (unrelated condition) and one in which the intervals were filled with related activities (related condition). Thirty-two individuals with mild to moderate dementia (30 with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease; two with vascular dementia) participated in the study. On average, participants learned the associations in fewer than four sessions and retained the information for variable amounts of time, up to 6 weeks. Previously known associations were learned significantly faster than new associations. The modified SRT format, in which the within-session recall intervals were filled with information related to the target association, did not result in faster learning or longer retention of learned associations. Participants learned previously known associations in the standard SRT format (with unrelated information in the recall intervals) significantly faster than new associations taught in the modified SRT condition. Cognitive impairment, as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination, was significantly correlated with time to learn new associations, but did not explain a large proportion of the variance in new learning. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

The ICF and dementia.

The World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is a framework for describing and classifying an individual's health and health-related states. The purpose of this article is to discuss the relevance of the ICF to cognitive-communication disorders of dementia, in particular those of Alzheimer disease. These disorders are described according to the Functioning and Disability, and the Contextual Factors parts of the ICF, with a focus on assessment, coding and classification, intervention, and outcome measurement.

Cognitive assessments for older adults: which ones are used by Canadian therapists and why.

BACKGROUND: Occupational therapists routinely evaluate cognition in older adults, yet little is known about which assessments they use and for what purposes. PURPOSE: To examine the standardised and non-standardised assessments used by occupational therapists to evaluate cognition. METHOD: A random sample of 1042 Canadian occupational therapists completed the questionnaire by e-mail, post, or Internet website (n=247, response rate: 24.5%). RESULTS: Respondents reported using 75 standardised and non-standardised measures. The assessments were grouped according to theoretical approach: bottom-up (assessment of cognitive components), top-down (assessment of function) and combined (either of above, plus interview). Theoretical approaches were used similarly across regions, despite differences in reporting of particular assessments. Therapists used more bottom-up assessments that were standardised, identified deficits, and easy to administer. They used more top-down assessments that were non-standardised, predicted function, and fit with their theoretical approach. CONCLUSION: It is recommended that standardised top-down assessments be developed to support evidence-based occupational therapy.

"They're just going to get worse anyway": perspectives on rehabilitation for nursing home residents with dementia.

UNLABELLED: In recent years, researchers have provided data to show that individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) can learn new information and functional behaviors, despite significant declarative memory deficits. However, clinicians in long-term care frequently have difficulty justifying and providing needed services to persons with Alzheimer's disease in LTC settings. In this paper, implicit learning will be discussed as a theoretical rationale to support rehabilitation along with practical issues related to the provision of speech-language pathology services for residents with Alzheimer's disease in LTC settings. LEARNING OUTCOMES: After reading this article, learners will be able to: (1) Define implicit learning; (2) discuss evidence for implicit learning in Alzheimer's disease; (3) describe how to capitalize on implicit learning during rehabilitation for individuals with Alzheimer's disease; (4) explain how to justify and provide interventions for individuals with Alzheimer's disease in LTC settings.