Changes in hospitalisation rates in older people before and after moving to a retirement village.

Objectives: An increasing proportion of older people live in Retirement Villages ('villages'). This population cites support for health-care issues as one reason for relocation to villages. Here, we examine whether relocation to villages is associated with a decline in hospitalisations.

The prevalence and intensity of pain in older people living in retirement villages in Auckland, New Zealand.

Chronic pain is common in older people. However, little is known about how pain is experienced in residents of retirement villages ('villages'), and how pain intensity and associations are experienced in relation to characteristics of residents and village living. We thus aimed to examine pain levels, prevalence and associated factors in village residents.

Factors associated with healthcare utilization and trajectories in retirement village residents.

Background: To study healthcare utilization and trajectories, and associated factors, in older adults in retirement villages (RVs), also known as continuing care retirement communities.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of 578 cognitively intact residents from 34 RVs in Auckland, New Zealand (NZ).

Measurement: InterRAI-Community Health Assessment (includes core items that may trigger functional supplement (FS) completion in those with higher needs, and generates clinical assessment protocols (CAPs) in those with potential unmet needs).

Learning from a multidisciplinary randomized controlled intervention in retirement village residents.

Background: Retirement villages (RVs), also known as continuing care retirement communities, are an increasingly popular housing choice for older adults. The RV population has significant health needs, possibly representing a group with needs in between community-dwelling older adults and those in long-term residential care (LTC). Our previous work shows Gerontology Nurse Specialist (GNS)-facilitated multidisciplinary team (MDT) interventions may reduce hospitalizations from LTC.

Research in the retirement village community-The problems of recruiting a representative cohort of residents in Auckland, New Zealand.

Objectives: Retirement villages are semi-closed communities, access usually being gained via village managers. This paper explores issues recruiting a representative resident cohort, as background to a study of residents, to acquire sociodemographic, health and disability data and trial an intervention designed to improve outcomes.

Methods: We planned approaching all Auckland/Waitematā District villages and, via managers, contacting residents ('letter-drop'; 'door-knocks').

Health profile of residents of retirement villages in Auckland, New Zealand: findings from a cross-sectional survey with health assessment.

Objectives: Retirement villages (RV) have expanded rapidly, now housing perhaps one in eight people aged 75+ years in New Zealand. Health service initiatives might better support residents and offer cost advantages, but little is known of resident demographics, health status or needs. This study describes village residents-their demographics, socio-behavioural and health status-noting differences between participants who volunteered and those who were sampled.

Lonely in a crowd: loneliness in New Zealand retirement village residents.

Objectives: The number of older people choosing to relocate to retirement villages (RVs) is increasing rapidly. This choice is often a way to decrease social isolation while still living independently. Loneliness is a significant health issue and contributes to overall frailty, yet RV resident loneliness is poorly understood.

Convergent Validity, Concurrent Validity, and Diagnostic Accuracy of the interRAI Depression Rating Scale.

Aims: Depression Rating Scale (DRS) is one of the clinical outcome measures of the International Resident Assessment Instrument (interRAI) assessment. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the diagnostic accuracy and concurrent validity of the 3-day assessment window version of the DRS.

Methods: The performance of DRS was compared with a gold standard clinical diagnosis of depression in 92 patients (age ≥65) who had interRAI version 9.

Bar-code verification: reducing but not eliminating medication errors.

Using observation, eye tracking, and clinical simulation with embedded errors, we studied the impact of bar-code verification on error identification and recovery during medication administration. Data supported that bar-code verification may reduce but does not eliminate patient identification (ID) and medication errors during clinical simulation of medication administration.