Vision and hearing impairments and their associations with falling and loss of instrumental activities in daily living in acute hospitalized older persons in five Nordic hospitals.

Background: Many older people believe sensory problems are inevitably, a part of growing old, and avoid assessment and help. Such problems are often also overlooked by health professionals. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of hearing and vision impairment and their associations with loss of instrumental activities in daily living (IADL) and risk of falling in patients aged 75 years or older, admitted to a medical ward in an acute hospital in each of the five Nordic countries.

Comparison of nurses' and physicians' documentation of functional abilities of older patients in acute care--patient records compared with standardized assessment.

Aim: To compare nurses' and physicians' documentation of geriatric issues and explore double documentation and undocumented areas of importance in an acute care setting in two Nordic countries.

Method: 158 participants, aged 75+, of whom the Minimum Data Set for Acute Care (MDS-AC) instrument was conducted at admission and from which 56 variables were taken in comparison with notes from patient records documented by nurses and/or physicians in two acute care hospitals, in Finland and Iceland.

Findings: Documentation of the impairment of personal Activities of Daily Living (ADL) was missing in 40-60% of the nurses' reports and 80-97% of the physician's reports.

[Health care needs and quality of life of elderly in home care in Reykjavik, 1997.].

Objective: It is increasingly emphasized that the elderly should be supported to live at home as long as possible. The purpose of this study was to describe the health and conditions of people in home care.

Material And Methods: Individuals who received home care in the Reykjavik area in autumn of 1997 were assessed with the Minimum Data Set-Resident Assessment Instrument for Home Care, MDS-RAI HC.

[Comparison of MDS-AC registration and conventional medical records in Iceland and other Nordic countries. A part of a Nordic study].

Objective: Complex functional decline and comorbid state is an important indicator of outcome for hospital care of older adults. In today acute care it is important to quickly be able to target those who might benefit from geriatric assessment. The MDS-AC is an evaluation system for geriatric acute care patients that records functional impairment and co-morbid states.