Measuring care of the elderly: psychometric testing and modification of the Time in Care instrument for measurement of care needs in nursing homes.

Background: Aging entails not only a decrease in the ability to be active, but also a trend toward increased dependence to sustain basic life functions. An important aspect for appropriately elucidating the individual's care needs is the ability to measure them both simply and reliably. Since 2006 a new version of the Time in Care needs (TIC-n) instrument (19-item version) has been explored and used in one additional municipality with the same structure as the one described in an earlier study.

Can care of elderly be measured? A method for estimating the individual care of recipients in community health care.

Background: Almost every country in the Western world has great difficulties allocating enough financial resources to meet the needs in the care of the increasing elderly population. The main problem is common to all countries and concerns the efforts to meet elderly persons' needs on an individual level while still maintaining society's responsibility for distributing justice. The aim of this study is to elaborate an instrument for measuring the quality of individual care and staff's working time in order to allocate public resources fairly.

Alterations of prolyl endopeptidase activity in the plasma of children with autistic spectrum disorders.

Background: Prolyl Endopeptidase (PEP, EC 3.4.21.