MoCA cutoff score in relation to the functional assessment of seniors living in a rural Canadian community.

Introduction: Research suggests that the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) normal cutoff score of 26 may not be appropriate for all populations and ages. We sought to determine an appropriate MoCA cutoff score for community-dwelling seniors living in a rural Canadian community.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review at a health centre in rural northern Ontario.

Understanding safety culture in long-term care: a case study.

Objectives: This case study aimed to understand safety culture in a high-risk secured unit for cognitively impaired residents in a long-term care (LTC) facility. Specific objectives included the following: diagnosing the present level of safety culture maturity using the Patient Safety Culture Improvement Tool (PSCIT), examining the barriers to a positive safety culture, and identifying actions for improvement.

Methods: A mixed methods design was used within a secured unit for cognitively impaired residents in a Canadian nonprofit LTC facility.

Defining program sustainability: differing views of stakeholders.

Objectives: Sustainability is a highly desired outcome of health promotion programs, yet it often eludes program planners looking to achieve it. This study aimed to uncover how the goal of program sustainability was interpreted by key stakeholders from three fall prevention program demonstration sites.

Method: Collected as part of a larger study on program sustainability that made use of a multiple case study methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants involved in a wide range of program initiatives throughout the two-year funding period.

Utilization of the Seniors Falls Investigation Methodology to identify system-wide causes of falls in community-dwelling seniors.

Purpose: As a highly heterogeneous group, seniors live in complex environments influenced by multiple physical and social structures that affect their safety. Until now, the major approach to falls research has been person centered. However, in industrial settings, the individuals involved in an accident are seen as the inheritors of system defects.

Broadening our understanding: approaching falls as a stigmatizing topic for older adults.

This theoretical paper aims to demonstrate that our current understanding of falls in older adulthood can be improved by viewing falls as a stigmatizing topic. Existing empirical research alludes to the stigmatization of falls for older adults, but until now the explicit link between the study of falls and stigma has not been made. After applying the concepts of identity threat, modified labeling theory, and attribution theory, the research implications of stigma on an older adult's willingness to report and discuss falls will be outlined.

Seniors Falls Investigative Methodology (SFIM): a systems approach to the study of falls in seniors.

An in-depth understanding of human factors and human error is lacking in current research on seniors' falls. Additional knowledge is needed to understand why seniors are falling. The purpose of this article is to describe the adapting of the Integrated Safety Investigation Methodology (ISIM) (used for investigating transportation and industrial accidents) to studying seniors' falls.

Defining a fall and reasons for falling: comparisons among the views of seniors, health care providers, and the research literature.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was (a) to obtain information about the perceptions held by seniors and health care providers concerning what constitutes a fall and potential reasons for falling, and (b) to compare these perceptions to the research literature.

Design And Methods: As part of a larger telephone survey, interviewers asked 477 community-dwelling seniors to define a fall and to provide reasons for falling. In addition, we interviewed 31 health care providers from the community on the same topics.

Predictors of whole-body vibration exposure experienced by highway transport truck operators.

Whole-body-vibration (WBV) exposure levels experienced by transport truck operators were investigated to determine whether operator's exposure exceeded the 1997 International Standards Organization (ISO) 2631-1 WBV guidelines. A second purpose of the study was to determine which truck characteristics predicted the levels of WBV exposures experienced. The predictor variables selected based on previous literature and our transportation consultant group included road condition, truck type, driver experience, truck mileage and seat type.

An exploratory study of whole-body vibration exposure and dose while operating heavy equipment in the construction industry.

Whole-body vibration measurements were recorded for various types of heavy equipment used within the construction industry. The purpose of these measurements was to provide more information about the potential levels of whole-body vibration experienced by equipment operators in the construction industry, as well as to identify types of equipment warranting further research. In total, 67 pieces of equipment were tested from 14 different equipment types.