"I really should've gone to the doctor": older adults and family caregivers describe their experiences with community-acquired pneumonia.

Background: Responding to acute illness symptoms can often be challenging for older adults. The primary objective of this study was to describe how community-dwelling older adults and their family members responded to symptoms of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Methods: A qualitative study that used face-to-face semi-structured interviews to collect data from a purposeful sample of seniors aged 60+ and their family members living in a mid-sized Canadian city.

Assessing, treating and preventing community acquired pneumonia in older adults: findings from a community-wide survey of emergency room and family physicians.

Background: Respiratory infections, like pneumonia, represent an important threat to the health of older Canadians. Our objective was to determine, at a community level, family and emergency room physicians' knowledge and beliefs about community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in older adults and to describe their self-reported assessment, management and prevention strategies.

Methods: All active ER and family physicians in Brant County received a mailed questionnaire.