[Fundamentals of hygiene in old-age and nursing homes. Recommendations for nursing personnel and for hygiene control by German public health offices].

New German legislative ordinances prescribe hygiene control in nursing homes and homes for the aged, e. g. the Law for Protection against Infectious Diseases and in North-Rhine Westphalia the Public Health Law.

Undiagnosed diabetes mellitus and metabolic control assessed by HbA(1c) among residents of nursing homes.

Aims/hypothesis: Diabetes prevalence and diabetes care in residents of nursing homes is a neglected area of research although the growing number of elderly people with diabetes represents a growing challenge for health care in most countries. In this study, we used HbA(1c) measurement to estimate the percentage of residents with undiagnosed diabetes and the quality of metabolic control of subjects with known diabetes in nursing homes.

Methods: All 41 nursing homes in the county of Heinsberg in Northrhine-Westfalia were asked to complete a structured questionnaire on the prevalence of known diabetes among all residents.

[Community health documentation as an instrument for further developing recommendations in community health].

The local health conference in a North Rhine-Westphalian county of Germany has made proposals to improve immunisation rates against measles, mumps and rubella. Another target was to prevent decubitus by elderly patients in hospitals, nursing homes and in the outpatient nursing. Local public health reports were the basis for the development of (local) health targets in the health conference.

[Management of diabetic patients in inpatient nursing care facilities in the Heinsberg district].

Background And Objective: Little information is available on the diabetes management of elderly people under institutional care. It was therefore aim of this study to assess the quality of diabetes care in this patient group.

Patients And Methods: In the county of Heinsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, after agreement in the local public health conference, all 41 nursing homes were addressed and asked to fill out a structured, detailed questionnaire.

[Care of elderly diabetics by ambulatory nursing in the Heinsberg region].

Objective: The number of elderly people with chronic diseases receiving ambulant nursing care in the German population is continually increasing. However, little information is available on the quality of care of elderly diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of care provided for this group by such ambulatory nursing services.