Acute and Posttraumatic Stress in Family Members of Children With a Prolonged Stay in a PICU: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Trial.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the prevalence of screening criteria for acute and posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSDs) and stress symptoms among family members of children in the PICU for more than 8 days and examine risk factors for stress symptoms. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data from a randomized trial of a palliative care intervention conducted between 2010 and 2014. SETTING: An urban pediatric hospital in Seattle, WA. SUBJECTS: The sample included 377 family members of 220 children. INTERVENTIONS: Family Communication Study. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Outcomes were symptom scores and diagnostic screening criteria for acute stress disorder (ASD) and PTSD. Predictors included demographic- and admission-related characteristics and hypothesized risk factors for developing stress-related mental health disorders. The mean score for acute stress symptoms during the ICU stay was 40.3 (sd = 13.8) and 59 family members in total met diagnostic screening criteria for ASD during hospitalization (15.6%). At 3-month follow-up, the mean score for posttraumatic stress symptoms was 30.8 (sd = 12.9) and 52 family members met diagnostic criteria for PTSD (13.8%). Factors associated with meeting ASD screening criteria were unplanned admission and poorer family relationships. Factors associated with PTSD symptoms and diagnosis were longer length of stay, meeting ASD criteria during admission, child's death, and less perceived social support. CONCLUSIONS: Meeting screening criteria for PTSD was associated with demographic, length of stay, and family relationships among family members of seriously ill children. PTSD outcomes were higher among family members whose child died. This study helps identify risk factors that can be used to target needed psychosocial screening, monitoring and support during and following a prolonged PICU admission, as well as family-centered interventions and supportive bereavement intervention for the family members of a deceased child.

Patterns of Unmet Needs With Assistance for Self-Care Activities at the End of Life by Place of Death Among Older Adults.

Older Americans experience adverse consequences linked to inadequate assistance with self-care activities. These unmet care needs increase risk of hospitalization, institutionalization, and morbidity. While a growing body of research has focused on disparities in unmet care needs and place of death outcomes among older adults separately, less is known about the intersection between the two: place of death and unmet care needs at the end of life. Therefore, this study utilized data from the National Health & Aging Trends Study (NHATS) to examine patterns of place of death and unmet care needs outcomes among older adults to identify disparities in care and inform policies and programs. We conducted weighted bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression models using appropriate survey weights. Findings suggest more than half of older adults experienced an unmet need at the end of their lives and increasing rates of unmet needs are experienced by older adults who died in hospitals. Older adults receiving hospice care were also found to have less unmet needs at the end of their lives. Given the well-documented consequences of unmet needs with self-care activities, ongoing research is needed to better inform policies and programs that provide assistance and support to older adults with their self-care activities during their end of lives.

Generational Shifts in Young Adult Cardiovascular Health? Millennials and Generation X in the United States and England.

OBJECTIVES: To compare cardiovascular (CV) risks/conditions of Millennials (born 1981-1996) to those of Generation X (Gen X; born 1965-1980) at ages 20-34 years, across 2 countries (United States, England), by gender. METHODS: Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (United States) and Health Survey for England, we estimated weighted unadjusted and adjusted gender-specific proportions of CV risk factors/conditions, separately for Millennials and Generation X in each country. We also further calculated sex-specific generational differences in CV risk factor/conditions by income tercile and for individuals with normal body weight. RESULTS: Millennials in the United States were more obese compared to their Gen X counterparts and more likely to have diabetes risk but less likely to smoke or have high cholesterol. Millennials in England had higher diabetes risk but similar or lower rates of other CV risk/conditions compared to their Gen X counterparts. Generational changes could not be fully attributed to increases in obesity or decreases in income. DISCUSSION: We expected that Millennial CV risk factors/conditions would be worse than those of Gen X, particularly in the United States, because Millennials came of age during the Great Recession and a period of increasing population obesity. Millennials generally fared worse than their Gen X counterparts in terms of obesity and diabetes risk, especially in the United States, but had lower rates of smoking and high cholesterol in both countries. Secular trends of increasing obesity and decreased economic opportunities did not appear to lead to uniform generational differences in CV risk factors.