Home health aide perceived information needs for dementia-specific care plans.

Home health aides (HHAs) are a vital workforce essential to meet the complex care needs of the persons living with dementia (PLWD) who remain at home. Care plans for PLWD in the home healthcare setting should incorporate HHAs perspectives. We sought to understand HHAs' perspectives about their information needs in caring for PLWD, from June to August 2020, semi-structured interviews telephone interviews (n = 25) with English and Spanish-speaking HHAs with limited English proficiency in the New York metropolitan area. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and transcripts were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Four key themes emerged reflective of information needs of HHAs caring for PLWD: (1) ambiguities of scope of HHA tasks related to medication management; (2) clinical information needs of HHAs; (3) dementia-related concerns; and (4) going above and beyond. Findings from this research can guide efforts to develop dementia-specific care plans, and training to support the HHA workforce caring for the growing population of PLWD.

The Cardiometabolic Health of African Immigrants in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.

In recent decades, the number of African immigrants in high-income countries (HICs) has increased significantly. However, the cardiometabolic health of this population remains poorly examined. Thus, we conducted a systematic review to examine the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors among sub-Saharan African immigrants residing in HICs. Studies were identified through searches in electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science up to July 2021. Data on the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors were extracted and synthesized in a narrative format, and a meta-analysis of pooled proportions was also conducted. Of 8655 unique records, 35 articles that reported data on the specific African countries of origin of African immigrants were included in the review. We observed heterogeneity in the burden of cardiometabolic risk factors by African country of origin and HIC. The most prevalent risk factors were hypertension (27%, range: 6-55%), overweight/obesity (59%, range: 13-91%), and dyslipidemia (29%, range: 11-77.2%). The pooled prevalence of diabetes was 11% (range: 5-17%), and 7% (range: 0.7-14.8%) for smoking. Few studies examined kidney disease, hyperlipidemia, and diagnosed cardiometabolic disease. Policy changes and effective interventions are needed to improve the cardiometabolic health of African immigrants, improve care access and utilization, and advance health equity.