Frailty Screening in Primary Care-Based Memory Clinics: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Findings.

We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of frailty screening using handgrip strength with gait speed measures within four primary care-based memory clinics in Ontario. This mixed methods quality improvement initiative examined the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of frailty screening from the perspective of patients ( = 216), care partners ( = 142), and healthcare providers ( = 9). Frailty screening was well-received by patients and care partners and perceived as quick and easy to administer and integrate into assessment processes by healthcare providers at all four memory clinics.

Adapting Complicated Grief Therapy for Use With People With Intellectual Disabilities: An Action Research Study.

Background: There is established evidence of complicated grief among people with an intellectual disability. This paper describes the process of adapting complicated grief therapy (CGT) for this population.

Method: Action research documented the adaptation of CGT.

Use of adapted or modified methods with people with dementia in research: A scoping review.

People with dementia are excluded from research due to methodological challenges, stigma, and discrimination. Including perspectives of people with dementia across a spectrum of abilities is essential to understanding their perspectives and experiences. Engaging people living with dementia in qualitative research can require adaptation of methods.

In Their Own Words: How COVID-19 Has Impacted the Well-Being of Persons Living with Dementia in the Community.

COVID-19 has had a devasting impact on older adults in Canada, including persons living with dementia. This intrinsic case study sought to understand the perceptions of persons living with dementia regarding how COVID-19 has impacted their well-being. Ten persons living with dementia participated in in-depth qualitative interviews about their experience with COVID-19.

An initial examination of the psychometric properties of the Diagnostic Instrument for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO-11) in a clinical sample of children with a diagnosis of Autism spectrum disorder.

Introduction: The diagnostic interview for social and communication disorders (DISCO - 11; Wing 2006), is a semi-structured, interview-based instrument used in the diagnosis of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This paper explores the psychometric properties of the DISCO-11 used in a specialist Paediatric clinical setting. Two key research questions were examined; (1) Does the factor structure of the DISCO-11 reflect the diagnostic and statistical manual 5th edition (DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) dyad of impairment in ASD? (2) Is there evidence of diagnostic stability over time using the DISCO?

Methods: Review assessments of 65 children with ASD were carried out using standardised measures including the DISCO-11 and the autism diagnostic observation schedule.

Emerging roles of T helper 17 and regulatory T cells in lung cancer progression and metastasis.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Lung cancer risk factors, including smoking and exposure to environmental carcinogens, have been linked to chronic inflammation. An integral feature of inflammation is the activation, expansion and infiltration of diverse immune cell types, including CD4 T cells.

Cancer symptom scale preferences: does one size fit all?

Objectives: Patients with advanced cancer do not report all symptoms, so assessment is best done systematically. However, for such patients, completion rates of some symptom instruments are <50%. Symptoms can be quantified by various scales including the Categorical Response Scale (CRS), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).

Macrophages, Inflammation, and Lung Cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, and at only 18%, it has one of the lowest 5-year survival rates of all malignancies. With its highly complex mutational landscape, treatment strategies against lung cancer have proved largely ineffective. However with the recent success of immunotherapy trials in lung cancer, there is renewed enthusiasm in targeting the immune component of tumors.