[Promoting home support for elderly people with neurocognitive disorders: Caregiver perception of the help-seeking process]. / Favoriser le maintien à domicile des personnes âgées atteintes de troubles neurocognitifs. Perception par les proches aidants de leur processus de recherche d'aide.

BACKGROUND: Caregivers play an essential role in maintaining home care for elderly people with dementia. However, it is difficult for caregivers to target their own needs as well as those of the person with neurocognitive disorders they support on a daily basis. Identifying the needed resources can also be difficult. In order to better assist caregivers in identifying resources needed to support their role, this study aims to understand the factors that influence their help-seeking process. METHODS: This qualitative and descriptive study focuses on the point of view of the main people affected by this problem: caregivers. Eleven caregivers of elderly people with dementia living at home were recruited by convenience sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed according to Mast's typology. RESULTS: The factors influencing caregivers help-seeking process were categorized into five themes: 1) service-related (e.g. wait times); 2) personal (e.g. feeling intrusive); 3) experiential (e.g. positive use of a service); 4) relational (e.g. rejection of the elder), and 5) informational (e.g. directed to the right service). CONCLUSION: Caregivers face many challenges in their help-seeking process and want to be more proactively accompanied in a way adapted to their changing needs.

Surgical drainage devices. Improved securement = improved outcomes.

The use of securement devices to prevent the risks, discomfort and expense of accidental dislodgment of surgical drains was investigated by the Royal Columbian Hospital after nursing staff began reporting a previously unrecognized post-operative pain syndrome. Nursing staff discovered the cause and eliminated the recurring syndrome by taking two preventative measures: securing urinary catheters with a Statlock securement device, and hanging the catheter bags to the OR stable. Both practice changes eliminated traction on the catheter, preventing its migration into the patient's bladder neck that caused the syndrome's symptoms of bladder pain and spasm when the patient woke up. There were modifications to the chest tube securement protocol that also included a Statlock securement device that improved the skin integrity of patients and increased nursing application efficiencies by 100%.