Embedding caregiver support in community-based services for older adults: A multi-site randomized trial to test the Adult Day Service Plus Program (ADS Plus).

There are over five million people in the United States living with dementia. Most live at home and are cared for by family. These family caregivers often assume care responsibilities without education about the disease, skills training, or support, and in turn become at risk for depression, burden, and adverse health outcomes when compared to non-dementia caregivers. Despite over 200 caregiver interventions with proven benefits, many caregivers lack access to these programs. One approach to enhance access is to embed evidence-based caregiver support programs in existing community-based services for people with dementia such as adult day services (ADS). Here we describe the protocol for an embedded pragmatic trial designed to augment standard ADS known as ADS Plus. ADS Plus provides family caregivers with support via education, referrals, and problem-solving techniques over 12 months, and is delivered on-site by existing ADS staff. Embedding a program in ADS requires an understanding of outcomes and implementation processes in that specific context. Thus, we deploy a hybrid design involving a cluster randomized two-group trial to evaluate treatment effects on caregiver wellbeing, ADS utilization, as well as nursing home placement. We describe implementation practices in 30 to 50 geographically and racially/ethnically diverse participating sites. Clinical trial registration #: NCT02927821.

Identity, Semiotics, and Use of Symbols in Adult Day Services.

Purpose: This article explores experiences of older adults attending an Adult Day Service (ADS) center. We focus on semiotics, which is ADS clients' use of symbols to communicate with others and to assert their personal and social identities. We refer to the ADS as a semiosphere-a term that refers to the dense, symbolically mediated interactions among this community. Methods: Ethnographers observed and interviewed clients, family, and staff members at the religiously affiliated ADS. They focused on the daily life worlds of those who attended and worked there. Results: We identified three elements through which clients expressed and communicated in semiotic ways, aspects of their identity: (a) music and dance, (b) individual use of a symbol-a doll and, (c) symbolic organization of space through seating patterns at activity tables. Elements were created and shared communally. Discussion: The ADS, as a cultural entity, is itself an illustration of symbolic complexity. Ideologies about aging, dementia, identity, and the ADS' role in improving elders' cognition and health are structured into the setting, forming a semiosphere. Our study revealed that elders, with staff members' help, created a cultural world at the ADS.

Evacuation Decision Making and Expanded Roles of Adult Daycare Services in the Great East Japan Earthquake: Qualitative Analysis Using Semistructured Interviews.

CONTEXT: The roles of adult daycare services during disaster evacuations in the relationships with community resilience are unknown. The initial 72 hours after a disaster are crucial because people in the disaster area depend on their own efforts or the resources available at the moment until the arrival of external support. OBJECTIVE: To clarify the evacuation-related decision making of the administrators of adult daycare services within 72 hours after the Great East Japan Earthquake and to describe the roles of adult daycare services during the month following the earthquake. DESIGN: Qualitative study using semistructured interviews. The transcribed interviews were analyzed anonymously through an inductive qualitative content analysis using ATLAS.ti. SETTING: Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture. PARTICIPANTS: Eleven key informants (3 primary care providers and 8 administrators) from 8 institutions. RESULTS: Immediately after the disaster, 6 institutions implemented shelter-in-place. The evacuation behaviors of the adult daycare institutions were diverse, but each institution was transformed repeatedly within 72 hours. With respect to evacuation decision making, the primary issues involved whether to go to mandatory evacuation sites. However, after 3 days, the institutions relocated from these sites to other places. During a period of approximately 1 month, 7 institutions managed the evacuation of service users and care providers. The expanded institutional roles were as follows: "confirming the safety of the users' families," "substituting residential facilities," and "imposing leadership during the evacuation." CONCLUSIONS: If institutions choose to shelter-in-place, it should be sustained for as long as possible. Sufficiently planned stores of food and water to accommodate daytime users are needed. Institutions that employ shelter-in-place as an evacuation plan should maintain close contact with local governments. Furthermore, local governments should predetermine how to manage these institutions in the event of a disaster. To build community resilience for disasters, developing linkage with private organizations' resilience is beneficial.

Develando la experiencia de un grupo de personas mayores en un centro de día / Unveiling the experience of a group of elderly people in a day care center

Objetivo: El envejecimiento de la población representa uno de los grandes desafíos para Latinoamérica, tanto para los servicios de salud como para los servicios sociales de apoyo a las personas mayores. La introducción de los centros de día para personas mayores, como un nuevo servicio gerontológico, se transformará en una pieza crítica de los servicios ofrecidos a las personas mayores que viven en la comunidad, generando las bases para construir un sistema de cuidado y atención especializada dirigida a este grupo etario. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la experiencia de un grupo de personas mayores pertenecientes a un centro de día de una municipalidad de Santiago, Chile. Métodos: Estudio cualitativo descriptivo con uso de técnica de grupo focal y análisis de contenido que devela la experiencia de 37 personas mayores asistentes a un centro de día. Resultados: Los principales resultados de este estudio fueron: a) mejoría en la funcionalidad, b) empoderamiento de las personas mayores y c) mayor inserción social. Conclusiones: La experiencia de las personas mayores es evaluada como positiva, reconociendo mejorías en aspectos claves de su vida cotidiana y que tienen el potencial de contribuir a mejorar y fortalecer la funcionalidad y aspectos de la salud mental de las personas mayores. Estos resultados aportan evidencia científica latinoamericana a la evaluación de la experiencia de las personas mayores con este nuevo servicio geriátrico

Background: Chile is a country that will continue aged at an accelerated rate as a result of a progressive decline in the birth rate, adequate access to health and a sustained increase in life expectancy. The aging population is one of the major challenges for the country as well as for health and for social services to support aged population. Introducing the Day Care Centers for aged people, as a new gerontological service, will become a critical part of the services offered to the elderly living in the community, creating the foundations for an specialized system of care directed this age group. The aim of this study is to evaluate the experience of a group of elderly people from a day care center of a municipality of the Metropolitan Region. Methods: Descriptive qualitative study with focus group and content analysis that reveals the experience of 37 older people attending at day care center. Results: The main results of this study were: (a) improvement in functionality, (b) empowerment of older persons, and (c) greater social inclusion. Conclusion: The experience of older persons is assessed as positive by themselves. Older people recognized improvements in key aspects of their daily lives and have the potential to contribute to improving and strengthening the functionality and mental health of elderly people. These results provide evidence for national evaluation of this new geriatric service

Care Transitions and Adult Day Services Moderate the Longitudinal Links between Stress Biomarkers and Family Caregivers' Functional Health.

BACKGROUND: Stress biomarkers have been linked to health and well-being. There are, however, few studies on how dysregulation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympathetic nervous system actually affects functional health of family caregivers of persons with dementia. Further, it is not clear whether and how factors affecting caregiving stressor exposures such as care transitions and adult day services (ADS) use may affect such association. OBJECTIVE: First, to examine the association of daily stress biomarkers and functional health over time among family caregivers of persons with dementia. Second, to examine effects of care transitions and ADS use on the association between baseline stress biomarkers and functional health over time. METHODS: At baseline, caregivers provided 5 saliva samples each day during an 8-day diary study, where all caregivers were having a varying number of ADS days per week. There were 2 longitudinal follow-ups at 6 and 12 months on ADS use, care transitions, and caregivers' functional health. The average daily total output across days was computed at baseline for salivary cortisol, the sulfated form of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA-s), and salivary alpha amylase (sAA), which were used as predictors of caregivers' longitudinal functional limitation trajectories. Care transitions and total number of ADS days per week at baseline were considered as moderators of the associations between stress biomarkers and health over time. RESULTS: The associations between functional limitation trajectories and daily total outputs of cortisol and sAA were modified by ADS use and care transitions. Among caregivers who experienced a transition, and who used less than average ADS days per week, lower daily cortisol total output and lower daily sAA total output were associated with increasing functional limitations. Caregivers who experienced a transition but used greater than average ADS days per week did not show such patterns of association. No significant effect was found for DHEA-s. CONCLUSION: The study contributes to an important but largely unanswered question regarding implications of stress biomarkers on functional health. Assessments of the association between stress biomarkers and health among family caregivers of persons with dementia need to consider changes in stressor exposures over time, such as care transitions and ADS use.

Improving Mental Health in the Community: Outcome Evaluation of a Geriatric Mental Health Day Treatment Service.

OBJECTIVES: This program evaluation reviewed the outcomes of a new 10-week multi-modal mental health day treatment program for elderly clients with mood and anxiety disorders. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of clients admitted during the first 3 years of the program (N = 255) was conducted. Paired sample t-tests were used to compare admission and discharge data. Focus groups were run with clients who attended the program during the previous months, to delineate the strengths of the program and to identify areas for improvement. RESULTS: Analyses showed statistically and clinically significant improvements in client symptomatology, as evidenced by reductions on the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure in clients who completed the program. Focus group participants overwhelmingly described the program as very beneficial, but the desire for on-going follow-up was clearly articulated. CONCLUSIONS: A practice model employing group-based cognitive-behavioural and interpersonal strategies that emphasizes behavioral activation and socialization is associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms and psychological distress in a large sample of elderly adults in a day treatment service with mild to moderate symptoms of depression and anxiety. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: In the future, a mechanism for on-going mental health support should be included. Many clients want to remain connected to the system, but there is not always a clear path along the continuum of care, particularly for clients who no longer meet criteria for a psychiatric disorder.

Adult Day Center Programs and Their Associated Outcomes on Clients, Caregivers, and the Health System: A Scoping Review.

Purpose of the Study: Adult day centers (ADCs) offer a heterogeneous group of services that provide for the daily living, care, nutritional, and social needs of older adults. We sought to conceptually map and identify key gaps and findings from literature focused on ADCs, including the types of programs that exist and their associated outcomes on improving health and strengthening health systems. Design and Methods: We conducted a scoping review by searching 5 databases for studies evaluating the outcomes of ADCs specifically for community-dwelling older adults. Included studies were conceptually mapped according to the methods used, type of outcome(s) assessed, study population, disease focus, service focus, and health system considerations. The mapping was used to derive descriptive analyses to profile the available literature in the area. Results: ADC use has positive health-related, social, psychological, and behavioral outcomes for care recipients and caregivers. There is a substantial amount of literature available on some ADC use outcomes, such as health-related, satisfaction-related and psychological and behavioral outcomes, while less research exists on issues of accessibility and cost-effectiveness. Implications: As the population ages, policymakers must carefully consider how ADCs can best serve each user and their caregivers with their unique circumstances. ADCs have the potential to help shape health system interventions, especially those targeting caregivers and people requiring long-term care support. Due to the variation among types of ADC programs, future research on ADCs should consider different characteristics of ADC programs to better contextualize their results.

Effects of adult day care services on disability in older persons: Evaluation of a designed service package in Iran.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of a rehabilitation service package designed by the State Welfare Organization of Iran for adult day care centres on the disability of older clients. METHODS: A case-control study, with 46 older participants in the case group and 46 participants, matched for level of disability, in a control group. The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2 was used to collect data at 4 time-points: baseline and 2, 4, and 6 months later. Data were analysed using repeated-measures analysis of variation. RESULTS: The rehabilitation service package had significant effects on the disability scores of older users of day care services. The disability scores significantly changed within the subjects (p = 0.010) and between the 2 groups (p < 0.001). Within-subjects effects in all 6 domains ("understanding and communication" (p = 0.002), "getting around" (p = 0.046), "self-care" (p < 0.001), "getting along with people" (p < 0.001), "life activity" (p < 0.001) and "participation" (p < 0.001)) and between-subjects effects, in all except the "self-care" domain, showed significant differences during the 6-month study period (p = 0.003, p < 0.001, p <0.001, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: The adult day care service package may have a positive role in decreasing measures of disability among older persons over a 6-month period.

Memory Care and Wellness Services: Efficacy of Specialized Dementia Care in Adult Day Services.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: This investigation evaluated participant and caregiver outcomes of a program of specialized dementia adult day services (ADS; Memory Care and Wellness Services: MCWS). DESIGN AND METHODS: One hundred eighty-seven participant-caregiver dyads were enrolled in a quasiexperimental research investigation; 162 attended MCWS and 25 were comparison dyads that met eligibility criteria but did not have access to ADS within their communities. The objectives of this investigation were to evaluate whether MCWS improved quality of life, mood, behavior, or functional status for participants with dementia and whether caregivers experienced decreased stress, burden, or depression, compared with comparison dyads. RESULTS: No significant differences were seen between MCWS and comparison dyads at 3 months. However, after 6 months, MCWS participants exhibited significantly fewer depressive behaviors (p < .05) and a trend toward fewer total behavior problems (p < .10) than comparison participants, and MCWS caregivers exhibited significantly less distress over behavior problems (total behavior problems, memory problems, depressive problems, all p < .05) than comparison caregivers. IMPLICATIONS: Although modest, outcomes represent a reversal of the typical direction of change in both behavior problems and caregiver distress, despite the progression of cognitive and functional impairment. Caregivers were highly satisfied with the services. The MCWS program provides a model of a community-based dementia ADS and results provide support for further development of the program.

Blended care; development of a day treatment program for medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) in the Dutch Armed Forces.

BACKGROUND: A subgroup of servicemen can be identified that seek a disproportionally amount of health care in comparison to diagnostic and therapeutic perspectives. This group can be identified on the basis of an absence of a structural medical explanation for their symptoms. The symptoms manifest predominantly as fatigue and pain, and are often chronic. Patients with medical unexplained medical symptoms (MUPS) often have multiple and complex problems that would be best treated by a multidisciplinary team of medical specialists and paramedics. The military is characterized by high loyalty towards peers and leadership, leading to neglect for personal care. OBJECTIVE: While consensus on the biological basis for these complaints is lacking, awareness on the need for effective treatments for this patient group is high. METHOD: Based on reviews, expert recommendations and clinical demand, a specialized treatment program for soldiers with MUPS has recently been developed and implemented in the system of health care in the Netherlands Armed Forces. We developed a functional rehabilitation program with blended care elements of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), physical therapy, case management, and psychoeducation, embedded in a day treatment setting. RESULTS: The program received high scores on participant as well as team satisfaction. The program is illustrated by two clinical vignettes. CONCLUSION: The blended care program for MUPS that focused on allostatic load awareness offered a more holistic and preventive approach that contributed to a reduction of unnecessary medical consumption, and increased job participation. We recommend that the development of guidelines for diagnoses and treatment of these complaints in military settings will improve the quality of patient care, reduce disability, facilitate reintegration, and encourage scientific research.

Day activity centres - work for people with intellectual disabilities: a norwegian perspective.

BACKGROUND: Although there is a broad political consensus in Norway that the government should uphold the principles of "full employment" and "work for all", the majority of people with intellectual disabilities in Norway spend their days in segregated work arrangements or at day activity centres. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study was to explore what constitutes work and work roles for people with intellectual disabilities and severely limited verbal communication abilities who attend a day activity centre. METHOD: A qualitative ethnographic research design was adopted, and the data were gathered through observing the participants and through conducting conversational interviews with the staff members and the participants with intellectual disabilities. Data were analysed with a hermeneutic approach. RESULTS: The findings showed that even though participants with intellectual disabilities engaged in specific work roles at the day activity centre, these work roles did not constitute work as it is ordinarily conceptualised and valued in society. CONCLUSION: Despite the very real enjoyment that the participants derive from participating in organised occupation, the work that they do has little status or value, and the activity centre itself is not a satisfactory workplace for people with intellectual disabilities.

Examining day centre provision for older people in the UK using the Equality Act 2010: findings of a scoping review.

This article reports the findings from a literature review of day care services undertaken during March-June 2012 and repeated in May 2013. The databases searched included AgeInfo, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, Social Care Online, Web of Science and the publication platform Ingenta Connect as well as specialist older people's sites. It discusses these findings in the context of services for older people in the UK, defined as those aged 65 years and over. The aim of the scoping review was to identify what is known about how day services (here confined to congregate day care or day centres) will meet the challenges posed by the Equality Act 2010 in supporting different user groups, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender older people or older people from minority ethnic groups. The review found that research on all aspects of day services was limited and that information about older people using such services was often provided context-free. It concludes that those funding or evaluating day services' support to diverse groups of older people need to urgently address matters such as differential access and differential views about specific services.

Nuevas alternativas de la rehabilitación de las personas mayores: programas de rehabilitación psicofuncional en Centros de Día GERISER / No disponible

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