The OASIS walking study-Older adults with cognitive impairment performing sit to stands and walking in transitional care programs: Protocol for a feasibility study.

Older adults with cognitive impairment often experience low mobility and functional decline in hospital, transfer to facility-based transitional care programs, and have poorer outcomes compared to those without cognitive impairment. This protocol paper describes a study which aims to determine the feasibility of, satisfaction with, and efficacy of a nurse-led mobility intervention (OASIS Walking Intervention) for older adults with cognitive impairment in facility-based transitional care programs in Ontario, Canada. A quasi-experimental one-group time series feasibility study will be conducted. A sample size of 26 participants will be recruited from two transitional care programs in Ontario, Canada. Participants will receive the OASIS Walking Intervention for up to 45 minutes per session, 5 sessions per week, for 6 weeks. The intervention consists of: 1) a patient-centered communication care plan; 2) sit to stand activity; and 3) a walking program. Feasibility will be determined by: a) recruitment rate; b) retention rate; and c) adherence. Efficacy of the intervention will be determined by the change over time in older adults' lower extremity muscle strength, mobility, and functional status and by their discharge destination (home vs. nursing home). Satisfaction will be measured using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire. Efficacy outcomes will be measured before the start of the intervention, after 3 weeks of the intervention, and immediately after 6-week intervention. Descriptive statistics will be used for measures of feasibility, satisfaction, and discharge destination. Repeated measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) will be used to analyze efficacy. Ethics approval has been received for this study. Findings from the study will be used to refine the intervention for use in a definitive pilot trial. Results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, international conferences, through group presentations at the study sites, and through the study site networks. Trial registration: The trial has been registered on Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT06150339).

Assessing social connection for long-term care home residents: Systematic review using COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments guidelines.

Social connection is important for long-term care (LTC) residents' quality of life and care. However, there is a lack of consensus on how to measure it and this limits ability to find what improves and impairs social connection in LTC homes. We therefore aimed to systematically review and evaluate the measurement properties of existing measures of social connection for LTC residents, to identify which, if any, measures can be recommended. We searched eight electronic databases from inception to April 2022 for studies which reported on psychometric properties of a measure of any aspect(s) of social connection (including social networks, interaction, engagement, support, isolation, connectedness, and loneliness) for LTC residents. We used COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines to evaluate the measurement properties reported for each identified measure and make recommendations. We identified 62 studies reporting on 38 measures; 21 measured quality of life, well-being or life satisfaction and included a social connection subscale or standalone items and 17 measures specifically targeted social connection. We found there was little high-quality evidence on psychometric properties such as sufficient content validity (n = 0), structural validity (n = 3), internal consistency (n = 3), reliability (n = 1), measurement error (n = 0), construct validity (n = 4), criterion validity (n = 0) and responsiveness (n = 0). No measures demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties on all these aspects, so none could be recommended for use. Thirty-four measures have the potential to be recommended but require further research to assess their quality and the remaining four are not recommended for use. Our review therefore found that no existing measures have sufficient evidence to be recommended for assessment of social connection in residents of LTC homes. Further validation and reliability studies of existing instruments or the development of new measures are needed to enable accurate measurement of social connection in LTC residents for future observational and interventional studies. Highlights: Social connection is fundamental to person-centered care in long-term care homes.There is insufficient evidence for the reliability and validity of existing measures.No current measures can be recommended for use based on existing evidence.A reliable and valid measure of social connection is needed for future research.

What Do We Know About Nurse Practitioner/Physician Care Models in Long-Term Care: Results of a Scoping Review.

OBJECTIVES: Due to the rise of the nurse practitioner (NP) role in long-term care settings, it is important to understand the underlying structures and processes that influence NP and physician care models. This scoping review aims to answer the question, "What are the structures, processes, and outcomes of care models involving NPs and physicians in long-term care (LTC) homes?" A secondary aim was to describe the structural enablers and barriers across care models. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Seven databases were searched. Studies that described NPs and physicians working in LTC were identified and included in the review. We stratified the findings by care model and synthesized using the Donabedian model, which evaluates health care quality based on 3 dimensions: structure, process, and outcome. We then categorized macro, meso, and micro structural enablers and barriers. RESULTS: Sixty papers were included in the review. The main structural influencers within 5 care models included policies on scope of practice, clarity of role description, and workload. A limited number of papers referred to the process of enabling the development of a working relationship. Thirty-five (49%) studies described resident, staff, and health system outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Although structural characteristics of NP and physician care models are described in-depth, there is less detail on the processes that occur within the NP and physician care models. We highlight structural barriers and enablers within the care models, allowing for recognition of the importance of organizational influence on the NP and physician relationship. Future work should focus on the processes of the relationships in the models by identifying the drivers and initiators of collaboration between NPs and physicians and how these relationships influence outcomes.

Engaging people with lived experience of dementia in research meetings and events: insights from multiple perspectives.

This perspective article describes the experiences of engaging people with lived experience of dementia in research meetings and events from the perspectives of people with lived experience, researchers, trainees, audience members and others. We outline examples of engagement from different events and describe a video project, initiated by people with lived experience, conveying diverse views about becoming integral collaborators in the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) annual Partners Forum and Science Days. We also report evaluation data from audiences and present a series of tips and strategies for facilitating this engagement, including practical considerations for supporting people with lived experience.

Empowering Ontario's long-term care residents to shape the place they call home: a codesign protocol.

BACKGROUND: Canada's long-term care (LTC) homes were founded on an institutional model that viewed residents as passive recipients of care. Many homes continue to follow this model leaving residents removed from operational decision-making within their homes. However, involving residents in the design of their LTC home's environment, programmes and operations can improve the residents' quality of life and other outcomes. This codesign project creates a toolkit/resource for LTC homes to facilitate meaningful resident engagement in their home's organisational design and governance. METHOD: This three-part project consists of a scoping review, qualitative interviews, toolkit/resource development and prototyping. In part 1, we conduct a scoping review to synthesise existing knowledge on approaches to engaging LTC home residents in organisational design and governance of their LTC homes, as well as explore barriers, challenges and facilitators of engagement, considerations for diversity and cognitive change, and approaches to evaluation. In part 2, we will have interviews and focus groups with residents, team members (staff) and administrators to assess community capacity to implement and sustain a programme to engage LTC residents in organisational design and governance of their LTC homes. The third part of our project uses these findings to help codesign toolkit(s)/resource(s) to enable the engagement of LTC residents in the organisational design and governance of their LTC homes. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The project is conducted in partnership with the Ontario Association of Residents' Councils. We will leverage their communication to disseminate findings and support the use of the codesigned toolkit(s)/resource(S) with knowledge users. We will also publish the study results in an academic journal and present at conferences, webinars and workshops. These results can influence practices within LTC homes by inspiring an organisational culture where residents help shape the place they call home. The interviews and focus groups, conducted in part 2, have been submitted to the University Health Network Research Ethics Board.

Social connection measures for older adults living in long-term care homes: a systematic review protocol.

BACKGROUND: Various measures have assessed social connection in long-term care (LTC) home residents. However, they use inconsistent terminology, conceptualizations, and operationalizations of social connection. In this systematic review protocol, we propose a study that will characterize measures that assess aspects of LTC home residents' social connection using a unified conceptual model. The objectives are to (1) describe and analyze the measures and (2) evaluate their measurement properties. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in MEDLINE ALL (Ovid), Embase Classic and Embase (Ovid), Emcare Nursing (Ovid), APA PsycInfo (Ovid), Scopus, CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost), AgeLine (EBSCOhost), and Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest). We will include primary research papers with no language limit, published from database inception. We will include studies of a measure of any aspect of social connection in LTC home residents that report at least one measurement property. Independently, two reviewers will screen titles and abstracts, review full-text articles against eligibility criteria, and extract data from included studies. In objective 1, we will analyze identified tools using an adapted framework method. In objective 2, we will evaluate each measure's measurement properties using COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) methodology. We will engage experts and stakeholders to assist with interpreting results and translating knowledge. DISCUSSION: Our findings will inform the social connection in long-term care home residents (SONNET) study's development of a novel, person-centered measure for social connection in LTC home settings. We will present our findings in academic and non-academic forums, including conferences, peer-reviewed journals, and other publications. SYSTEMIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Prospero-"Systematic review of measures of social connection used in long-term care home research." CRD42022303526 .

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.

Does social connection mediate the association between neuroticism and cognition? Cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

OBJECTIVES: This study tested the association between neuroticism and six cognitive measures, and examined the potential mediating roles of social connection (social isolation and loneliness) among middle-aged and older adults. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was a secondary analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Comprehensive Cohort, a sample of Canadians aged 45-85 years at baseline. Respondents with data collected at the first follow-up, between 2015 and 2018, were included (n = 27,765). Structural equation modelling was used to assess the association between neuroticism and six cognitive measures (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test immediate recall and delayed recall, Animal Fluency Test, Mental Alternation Test, Controlled Oral Word Association Test and Stroop Test interference ratio), with direct and indirect effects (through social isolation and loneliness). All analyses were stratified by sex, including females (n = 14,133) and males (n = 13,632). RESULTS: In unadjusted models, there was evidence of associations between neuroticism and all cognitive measures, except the Stroop Test interference ratio, suggesting higher neuroticism was associated with lower scores on memory and executive function tests. In the models of these other five outcomes, there was consistent evidence of indirect effects (through social isolation and loneliness) and, in some cases, direct effects. The results are discussed in context with limitations, including the use of cross-sectional design and alternative hypotheses to explain the association between personality and cognition. CONCLUSION: Among middle-aged and older adults, for both males and females, the findings suggest that the association between neuroticism and cognitive outcomes may be mediated by aspects of social connection.

Using Twitter to Understand COVID-19 Vaccine-Related Ageism During the Pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: During the rollout of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, older adults in high-income countries were often prioritized for inoculation in efforts to reduce COVID-19-related mortality. However, this prioritization may have contributed to intergenerational tensions and ageism, particularly with the limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines. This study examines Twitter discourse to understand vaccine-related ageism during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform future vaccination policies and practices to reduce ageism. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We collected 1,369 relevant tweets on Twitter using the Twint application in Python from December 8, 2020, to December 31, 2021. Tweets were analyzed using thematic analysis, and steps were taken to ensure rigor. RESULTS: Our research identified four main themes including (a) blame and hostility: "It's all their fault"; (b) incompetence and misinformation: "clueless boomer"; (c) ageist political slander; and (d) combatting ageism: advocacy and accessibility. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Our findings exposed issues of victim-blaming, hate speech, pejorative content, and ageist political slander that is deepening the divide of intergenerational conflict. Although a subset of tweets countered negative outcomes and demonstrated intergenerational solidarity, our findings suggest that ageism may have contributed to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among older adults. Consequently, urgent action is needed to counter vaccine misinformation, prohibit aggressive messaging, and promote intergenerational unity during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Development and Evaluation of a Nurse Practitioner Huddles Toolkit for Long Term Care Homes.

Long-term care homes (LTCHs) were disproportionately affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, creating stressful circumstances for LTCH employees, residents, and their care partners. Team huddles may improve staff outcomes and enable a supportive climate. Nurse practitioners (NPs) have a multifaceted role in LTCHs, including facilitating implementation of new practices. Informed by a community-based participatory approach to research, this mixed-methods study aimed to develop and evaluate a toolkit for implementing NP-led huddles in an LTCH. The toolkit consists of two sections. Section one describes the huddles' purpose and implementation strategies. Section two contains six scripts to guide huddle discussions. Acceptability of the intervention was evaluated using a quantitative measure (Treatment Acceptability Questionnaire) and through qualitative interviews with huddle participants. Descriptive statistics and manifest content analysis were used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data. The project team rated the toolkit as acceptable. Qualitative findings provided evidence on design quality, limitations, and recommendations for future huddles.

Nurse practitioner led implementation of huddles for staff in long term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Staff working in long-term care (LTC) homes during COVID-19 frequently reported a lack of communication, collaboration, and teamwork, all of which are associated with staff dissatisfaction, health concerns, lack of support and moral distress. Our study introduced regular huddles to support LTC staff during COVID-19, led by a Nurse Practitioner (NP). The objectives were to evaluate the process of huddle implementation and to examine differences in outcomes between categories of staff (direct care staff, allied care and support staff, and management) who attended huddles and those who did not. METHODS: All staff and management at one LTC home (< 150 beds) in Ontario, Canada were included in this pre-experimental design study. The process evaluation used a huddle observation tool and focused on the dose (duration, frequency) and fidelity (NP's adherence to the huddle guide) of implementation. The staff attending and non-attending huddles were compared on outcomes measured at post-test: job satisfaction, physical and mental health, perception of support received, and levels of moral distress. The outcomes were assessed with validated measures and compared between categories of staff using Bayesian models. RESULTS: A total of 42 staff enrolled in the study (20 attending and 22 non-attending huddles). Forty-eight huddles were implemented by the NP over 15 weeks and lasted 15 min on average. Huddles were most commonly attended by direct care staff, followed by allied care/support, and management staff. All huddles adhered to the huddle guide as designed by the research team. Topics most often addressed during the huddles were related to resident care (46%) and staff well-being (34%). Differences were found between staff attending and non-attending huddles: direct care staff attending huddles reported lower levels of overall moral distress, and allied care and support staff attending huddles perceived higher levels of support from the NP. CONCLUSIONS: NP-led huddles in LTC homes may positively influence staff outcomes. The process evaluation provided some understanding of why the huddles may have been beneficial: the NP addressed resident care issues which were important to staff, encouraged a collaborative approach to solving issues on the unit, and discussed their well-being. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05387213, registered on 24/05/2022.

Assessing the implementation of nurse practitioner-led huddles in long-term care using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic created major challenges in long-term care (LTC) homes across Canada and globally. A nurse practitioner-led interdisciplinary huddle intervention was developed to support staff wellbeing in two LTC homes in Ontario, Canada. The objective of this study was to identify the constructs strongly influencing the process of implementation of huddles across both sites, capturing the overall barriers and facilitators and the intervention's intrinsic properties. METHODS: Nineteen participants were interviewed about their experiences, pre-, post-, and during huddle implementation. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used to guide data collection and analysis. CFIR rating rules and a cross-comparison analysis was used to identify differentiating factors between sites. A novel extension to the CFIR analysis process was designed to assess commonly influential factors across both sites. RESULTS: Nineteen of twenty selected CFIR constructs were coded in interviews from both sites. Five constructs were determined to be strongly influential across both implementation sites and a detailed description is provided: evidence strength and quality; needs and resources of those served by the organization; leadership engagement; relative priority; and champions. A summary of ratings and an illustrative quote are provided for each construct. CONCLUSION: Successful huddles require long-term care leaders to consider their involvement, the inclusion all team members to help build relationships and foster cohesion, and the integration of nurse practitioners as full-time staff members within LTC homes to support staff and facilitate initiatives for wellbeing. This research provides an example of a novel approach using the CFIR methodology, extending its use to identify significant factors for implementation when it is not possible to compare differences in success.

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.

Explainable Machine Learning Model to Predict COVID-19 Severity Among Older Adults in the Province of Quebec.

Context: Patients over the age of 65 years are more likely to experience higher severity and mortality rates than other populations from COVID-19. Clinicians need assistance in supporting their decisions regarding the management of these patients. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help with this regard. However, the lack of explainability-defined as "the ability to understand and evaluate the internal mechanism of the algorithm/computational process in human terms"-of AI is one of the major challenges to its application in health care. We know little about application of explainable AI (XAI) in health care. Objective: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility of the development of explainable machine learning models to predict COVID-19 severity among older adults. Design: Quantitative machine learning methods. Setting: Long-term care facilities within the province of Quebec. Participants: Patients 65 years and older presented to the hospitals who had a positive polymerase chain reaction test for COVID-19. Intervention: We used XAI-specific methods (e.g., EBM), machine learning methods (i.e., random forest, deep forest, and XGBoost), as well as explainable approaches such as LIME, SHAP, PIMP, and anchor with the mentioned machine learning methods. Outcome measures: Classification accuracy and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: The age distribution of the patients (n=986, 54.6% male) was 84.5□19.5 years. The best-performing models (and their performance) were as follows. Deep forest using XAI agnostic methods LIME (97.36% AUC, 91.65 ACC), Anchor (97.36% AUC, 91.65 ACC), and PIMP (96.93% AUC, 91.65 ACC). We found alignment with the identified reasoning of our models' predictions and clinical studies' findings-about the correlation of different variables such as diabetes and dementia, and the severity of COVID-19 in this population. Conclusions: The use of explainable machine learning models, to predict the severity of COVID-19 among older adults is feasible. We obtained a high-performance level as well as explainability in the prediction of COVID-19 severity in this population. Further studies are required to integrate these models into a decision support system to facilitate the management of diseases such as COVID-19 for (primary) health care providers and evaluate their usability among them.

Nurse practitioner/physician collaborative models of care: a scoping review protocol.

BACKGROUND: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many long-term care (LTC) homes experienced difficulties in providing residents with access to primary care, typically delivered by community-based family physicians or nurse practitioners (NPs). During the pandemic, legislative changes in Ontario, Canada enabled NPs to act in the role of Medical Directors thereby empowering NPs to work to their full scope of practice. Emerging from this new context, it remains unclear how NPs and physicians will best work together as primary care providers. NP/physician collaborative models appear key to achieving optimal resident outcomes. This scoping review aims to map available evidence on existing collaborative models of care between NPs and physicians within LTC homes. METHODS: The review will be guided by the research question, "What are the structures, processes and outcomes of collaborative models of care involving NPs and Physicians in LTC homes?" This scoping review will be conducted according to the methods framework for scoping reviews outlined by Arksey and O'Malley and refined by Levac et al., Colquhoun et al., and Daudt et al., as well as the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Statement. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase + Embase Classic, APA PsycInfo, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, AMED, CINAHL, Ageline, and Scopus), grey literature, and reference lists of included articles will be searched. English language studies that describe NP and physician collaborative models within the LTC setting will be included. DISCUSSION: This scoping review will consolidate what is known about existing NP/physician collaborative models of care in LTC homes. Results will be used to inform the development of a collaborative practice framework for long-term care clinical leadership.

Conceptualization of frailty in rehabilitation interventions with adults: a scoping review.

Purpose: We aimed to synthesize the literature that considered frailty in the evaluation of rehabilitation interventions for adults (aged ≥18) by answering: (1) how is frailty defined in rehabilitation intervention research?; (2) how is frailty operationalized in rehabilitation intervention research?; (3) what are the characteristics of rehabilitation interventions for frail adults and what frailty related outcomes are assessed?Materials and methods: A scoping review was conducted. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis.Results: 53 articles met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were conducted in Europe and involved randomized control trials. The included studies reported on rehabilitation interventions that only included individuals aged 50 or older. Thirteen studies used Fried's definition of frailty, but most (n = 27) did not use any definition. Many studies did not differentiate between the conceptualization (e.g., definition) and operationalization (e.g., use of inclusion/exclusion criteria, outcome measures) of frailty. Most interventions focused on exercise. Instrumental activities of daily living reported most frequently as outcomes (n = 11).Conclusions: There is an absence of consistent definitions of frailty in rehabilitation interventions and current definitions tend to focus on physical functioning. The authors suggest rehabilitation researchers consider an expanded definition of frailty informed by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONRehabilitation professionals should use an expanded definition of frailty, informed by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework, should include physical, mental, personal, environmental, and social factors to decrease, delay, or prevent frailty in adults.Rehabilitation professionals should consider a broader operationalization of frailty that is not dependent on age and physical functioning.Rehabilitation professionals that consider a broader conceptualization of frailty should tailor interventions to the specific needs of frail adults.

Voice your values, a tailored advance care planning intervention in persons living with mild dementia: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: In the early stage of dementia, persons living with dementia (PLwD) can identify their values and wishes for future care with a high degree of accuracy and reliability. However, there is a paucity of research to guide best practices on how best to incorporate advance care planning (ACP) in older adults diagnosed with mild dementia and therefore only a minority of these individuals participate in any ACP discussions. We developed an intervention called Voice Your Values (VYV) that healthcare professionals can implement to identify and document the values of PLwD and their trusted individuals such as friends or family. PURPOSE: This single-group pre-test and post-test design aimed to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the VYV intervention. METHODS: A convenience sample of 21 dyads of PLwD and their trusted individuals were recruited from five outpatient geriatric clinics. The tailored VYV intervention was delivered to the dyads over two sessions using videoconferencing. RESULTS: In terms of feasibility, the recruitment rate was lower (52%) than the expected 60%; the retention rate was high at 94%, and the intervention fidelity was high based on the audit of 20% of the sessions. In terms of preliminary efficacy, PLwD demonstrated improvement in ACP engagement (p = <0.01); trusted individuals showed improvements in decision-making confidence (p = 0.01) and psychological distress (p = 0.02); whereas a minimal change was noted in their dementia knowledge (p = 0.22). CONCLUSION: Most of the feasibility parameters were met. A larger sample along with a control group, as well as a longitudinal study, are requisite to rigorously evaluate the efficacy of the promising VYV intervention. There is emerging evidence that people living with mild dementia can effectively participate in identifying and expressing their values and wishes for future care.

The Canadian Long-Term Care Sector Collapse from COVID-19: Innovations to Support People in the Workforce.

The COVID-19 pandemic rattled Canada's long-term care (LTC) sector by exacerbating the ingrained systemic and structural issues, resulting in tragic consequences for the residents, family members and LTC staff. At the core of LTC's challenges is chronic under-staffing, leading to lower quality of care for residents and higher degrees of moral distress among staff. A rejuvenation of the LTC sector to support its workforce is overdue. A group of diverse and renowned researchers from across Canada set out to implement innovative evidence-informed solutions in various LTC homes. Their findings call for immediate action from policy makers and LTC decision makers.

The impact of facility-based transitional care programs on function and discharge destination for older adults with cognitive impairment: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Older adults with cognitive impairment are frequently hospitalized and discharged to facility-based transitional care programs (TCPs). However, it is unknown whether TCPs are effective in improving their functional status and promoting discharge home rather than to long-term care. The aims of this systematic review were to examine the effectiveness of facility-based TCPs on functional status, patient and health services outcomes for older adults (≥ 65 years) with cognitive impairment and to determine what proportion post TCP are discharged home compared to long-term care. METHODS: The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Manual for Evidence Synthesis was used to guide the methodology for this review. The protocol was published in PROSPERO (registration number CRD42021257870). MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases, and ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization Trials Registry were searched for English publications. Studies that met the following criteria were included: community-dwelling older adults ≥ 65 years who participated in facility-based TCPs and included functional status and/or discharge destination outcomes. Studies with participants from nursing homes and involved rehabilitation programs or transitional care in the home or in acute care, were excluded. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklists. Results are in narrative form. RESULTS: Twenty-two studies (18 cohort and four cross sectional studies) involving 4,013,935 participants met inclusion criteria. The quality of the studies was mostly moderate to good. Improvement in activities of daily living (ADLs) was reported in eight of 13 studies. Between 24.4%-68% of participants were discharged home, 20-43.9% were hospitalized, and 4.1-40% transitioned to long-term care. Review limitations included the inability to perform meta-analysis due to heterogeneity of outcome measurement tools, measurement times, and patient populations. CONCLUSIONS: Facility-based TCPs are associated with improvements in ADLs and generally result in a greater percentage of participants with cognitive impairment going home rather than to long-term care. However, gains in function were not as great as for those without cognitive impairment. Future research should employ consistent outcome measurement tools to facilitate meta-analyses. The level of evidence is level III-2 according to the National Health and Medical Research Council for cohort and cross-sectional studies.