The Diagnostic Accuracy and Clinimetric Properties of Screening Instruments to Identify Frail Older Adults Attending Emergency Departments: A Protocol for a Mixed Methods Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Prompt and efficient identification and stratification of patients who are frail is important, as this cohort are at high risk of adverse healthcare outcomes. Numerous frailty screening tools have been developed to support their identification across different settings, yet relatively few have emerged for use in emergency departments (EDs). This protocol provides details for a systematic review aiming to synthesize the accumulated evidence regarding the diagnostic accuracy and clinimetric properties of frailty screening instruments to identify frail older adults in EDs.

The Persian Version of the Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen (Q-Pr): Psychometric Properties among Middle-Aged and Older Iranian Adults.

Brief cognitive screening instruments are used to identify patients presenting with cognitive symptoms that warrant further assessment. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Persian version of the Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment (Q-Pr) among middle-aged and older Iranian adults. Consecutive patients aged ≥55 years and caregivers attending with them as normal controls (NCs) were recruited from geriatric outpatient clinics and a hospital in Tehran, Iran.

Rethinking palliative care in a public health context: addressing the needs of persons with non-communicable chronic diseases.

Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCCDs) are the main cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Demographic aging has resulted in older populations with more complex healthcare needs. This necessitates a multilevel rethinking of healthcare policies, health education and community support systems with digitalization of technologies playing a central role.

Comparison of the Accuracy of Short Cognitive Screens Among Adults With Cognitive Complaints in Turkey.

Background: Cutoff values of cognitive screen tests vary according to age and educational levels.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy and determine cutoffs for 3 short cognitive screening instruments: the Mini-Mental State Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen-Turkish version (Qmci-TR), in older adults with low literacy in Turkey.

Methods: In all 321 patients, 133 with subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), 88 amnestic-type mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and 100 with probable Alzheimer disease (AD) with a median of 5 years education were included.

Screening for Caregiver Burden in the Community: Validation of the European Portuguese Screening Version of the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI-4).

Brief screening instruments are useful in busy clinical practice to identify those requiring further assessment. This study aims to translate and validate a Portuguese version of the four-item Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI-4) to identify caregiver burden in a community-based sample in Northern Portugal. We collected data from 203 informal caregivers of community-dwellers aged ≥80 years.

Predictors of Delirium Development in Older Medical Inpatients: Readily Identifiable Factors at Admission.

Background: Identifying patients at high risk of delirium is crucial to facilitate prevention. Although dementia is the most consistent risk factor across populations, it remains under-diagnosed. Hence understanding other markers of delirium vulnerability on admission is important.

Dementia in older people admitted to hospital: a regional multi-hospital observational study of prevalence, associations and case recognition.

Background: Previous studies have indicated a prevalence of dementia in older admissions of ∼42% in a single London teaching hospital, and 21% in four Queensland hospitals. However, there is a lack of published data from any European country on the prevalence of dementia across hospitals and between patient groups.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and associations of dementia in older patients admitted to acute hospitals in Ireland.