Advance care plans in UK care home residents: a service evaluation using a stepped wedge design.

Introduction: advance care planning (ACP) in care homes has high acceptance, increases the proportion of residents dying in place and reduces hospital admissions in research. We investigated whether ACP had similar outcomes when introduced during real-world service implementation.

Methods: a service undertaking ACP in Lincoln, UK care homes was evaluated using routine data.

Investigating the prevalence of malnutrition, frailty and physical disability and the association between them amongst older care home residents.

Background: Malnutrition, frailty and physical disability are inter-related, more prevalent in the older population and increase the risk of adverse health outcomes. Thus, screening is essential, especially in the understudied care home setting where the population is vulnerable and at higher risk of malnutrition. Furthermore, prevalence may vary depending upon screening tools used.