Association between education for home care nurses and their practice of comprehensive client assessment: A cross-sectional study.

Aim: This study examined the home care nurses' implementation of comprehensive assessment of their clients, their education and the association betwwen the two. Staff education in home care nursing agencies has the potential to improve nurses' comprehensive client assessment, contributing to the provision of high-quality home care nursing services.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate educational approaches provided by agencies and comprehensive assessment by home care nurses.

Evaluation of claims-based frailty measurements in older patients with cancer: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Frailty is associated with poor outcomes in older adults with cancer. Several efforts have been made to assess frailty using the administrative claims data based on the number of clinical diagnosis codes, yet the literature reporting on this is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of frailty measures using administrative databases in Japan.

How are the Barthel Index and care need levels associated in residents of nursing homes in Japan?

This study examined the relationship between Long-Term Care Insurance care need levels and Barthel Index scores in Japanese nursing home residents. Findings show a strong correlation (r = -0.68), comparable to community-dwelling individuals, yet certain care need levels exhibited large score variability.

Effects of dementia on functional decline in patients with non-small cell lung cancer at discharge from acute care hospitals: A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Hospital admissions often result in functional decline for patients with dementia, yet evidence on the impact of cancer treatments in this population during hospitalization is limited. We aimed to examine the association between dementia and functional decline after cancer treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: A total of 30,213 patients aged 65 years or older hospitalized for NSCLC treatment, from a dataset of 366 acute care hospitals in Japan, were eligible for this study.

Feasibility of Monitoring Heart and Respiratory Rates Using Nonwearable Devices and Consistency of the Measured Parameters: Pilot Feasibility Study.

Background: As Japan is the world's fastest-aging society with a declining population, it is challenging to secure human resources for care providers. Therefore, the Japanese government is promoting digital transformation and the use of nursing care equipment, including nonwearable devices that monitor heart and respiratory rates. However, the feasibility of monitoring heart and respiratory rates with nonwearable devices and the consistency of the rates measured have not been reported.

Physical Function Trajectory among High-Functioning Long-Term Care Facility Residents: Utilizing Japanese National Data.

Physical function trajectory (PFT) is associated with mortality and hospitalization risks. We aimed to identify and compare the PFTs of newly admitted high-functioning older adults during their first six months at long-term care (LTC) facilities. In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, we included newly admitted high-functioning older adults (Barthel index > 60) from 47 Japanese LTC facilities.

Home Care Services in the Last Year of Life by Type of Care Management.

Care management of home-based long-term care is vital for community-dwelling older adults. Regarding care planning, which is a part of care management, appropriate care plans according to individual conditions are extremely important for older adults to continue living independently in their familiar environment for as long as possible. We compared the use of care services in the last year of life between advanced and conventional care management.

Development of the FAce-to-face Cooperation Evaluation scale Short-version (FACES) to enhance collaboration among health and long-term care providers.

This study aimed to develop the FAce-to-face Cooperation Evaluation scale Short-version (FACES) to create a simple low-burden rating scale for promoting collaboration between health and long-term care providers. A survey was conducted with 151 care providers, obtaining valid responses from 147 (30 nurses, 67 care managers, and 50 care workers; response rate 97.4 %).

Patterns of long-term care service use and multimorbidity in older Japanese adults: A cross-sectional study of claim data.

Aim: The long-term care (LTC) insurance system provides a combination of several services in Japan; therefore, it is important to clarify service utilization. Furthermore, it is important to consider multimorbidity among older adults, who frequently present several diseases. This study aimed to clarify LTC service utilization patterns, including those for newly added multifunctional services, and to describe the basic characteristics, including multimorbidity, of these patterns.

Physical function decline predictors in nursing home residents using new national quality indicators.

Aim: To determine the predictors of physical function (PF) decline among nursing home residents using items from the Long-term care Information system For Evidence (LIFE), a system launched in 2021 to ensure the quality of long-term care.

Methods: The LIFE data of 1648 residents from 45 nursing homes in Japan were retrospectively collected in July 2021 (T0) and January 2022 (T1), including demographics, PF assessed by the Barthel index (BI), nutrition and oral health, and cognitive function. The Dementia Behavior Disturbance scale was used to assess the frequency of certain behaviors, such as "waking at midnight.

Impact of family involvement and an advance directive to not hospitalize on hospital transfers of residents in long-term care facilities.

Objective: With the rapidly aging population, the number of residents transferred to hospitals from long-term care facilities (LTCFs) is increasing globally. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between family involvement and an advance directive (AD) for not hospitalizing and hospital transfers among LTCF residents with dementia.

Method: Using the InterRAI assessment database from September 2014 to June 2019, we included 874 residents from 16 LTCFs in Japan.

Impact of home-visit nursing service use on costs in the last 3 months of life among older adults: A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Considering Japan's aging society, the number of older individuals who die at home is expected to increase. In Japan, there are challenges in utilizing and promoting home-visit nursing services at the end of life for community-dwelling older adults. We examined the use of home-visit nursing services at the end of patients' lives and the recommended use patterns of this service (utilization, timing of initiation, and continuity) that contribute to reducing the medical care and long-term care costs (total costs) in the last 3 months of life.

Unplanned Hospital Visits and Poor Oral Health With Undernutrition in Nursing Home Residents.

Objectives: In 2021, the Japanese government began operating a long-term care (LTC) database called the Long-Term Care Information System for Evidence (LIFE). However, its utility has not been verified. Regarding unplanned hospital visits of nursing home residents, one of the challenges in LTC is that poor oral health with undernutrition could indicate high-risk residents.

Patterns of visiting nurse services for older adults in Japanese residential facilities: A latent class analysis.

Aim: To examine the patterns of the visiting nurse services provided to older adults in a type of residential facility in Japan and to identify associated factors.

Methods: This secondary analysis used past survey data from visiting nurse service agencies providing services to older adults in residential facilities with few nurses, known as non-specified facilities in Japan. Approximately 515 cases were used to determine the patterns of visiting nurse services using latent class analysis.

Gradient boosting decision tree becomes more reliable than logistic regression in predicting probability for diabetes with big data.

We sought to verify the reliability of machine learning (ML) in developing diabetes prediction models by utilizing big data. To this end, we compared the reliability of gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) and logistic regression (LR) models using data obtained from the Kokuho-database of the Osaka prefecture, Japan. To develop the models, we focused on 16 predictors from health checkup data from April 2013 to December 2014.

Factors related to a sense of security with medical and long-term care services among community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults in Japan.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify factors related to a sense of security with regard to medical and long-term care services among middle-aged and older adults. These are for consideration of strategies for the establishment of a community-based integrated care system.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2400 men and women aged ≥40 years in two cities.

Factors Related to End-of-Life Care Discussions Among Community-Dwelling People in Japan.

Context: End-of-life discussions regarding healthcare preferences are important to ensure a dignified end of life.

Objectives: This study clarifies the factors associated with such discussions among community-dwelling people in Japan.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 2400 randomly selected community-dwelling adults over the age of 40 in one urban and rural area each, in Japan.

The change over time of vital signs with consideration for opioid use in the last 2 weeks of life among cancer patients in a palliative care unit: Continuous measurement of vital signs using a non-wearable monitor.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the following by using a non-wearable monitor: (ⅰ) the trajectory of vital signs (VS) in the last 2 weeks of life among cancer patients, and (ⅱ) the difference in change over time of VS between cancer patients with and without opioid use.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study involving cancer patients in a palliative care unit (PCU) from April 2018 to October 2019. VS were collected continuously using a non-wearable monitor, and we calculated the means of respiratory rate (RR) and heart rate (HR) per hour, and counts of apnea per hour as outcome variables.

Measuring well-being in older adults: Identifying an appropriate single-item questionnaire.

Aim: As the older adult population increases globally, it is important for local governments to measure their health and well-being consistently to effectively support this group. Because definitions of subjective well-being - such as happiness, life satisfaction and subjective health - overlap, it is worth considering which single-item indicator local governments can rely on to measure individual well-being. This study, therefore, explored the correlation between three single-item questionnaires on happiness, life satisfaction and subjective health used in government surveys, and established psychometric scales of happiness, life satisfaction and quality of life, and analyzed which of the three single-item indicators most effectively captured the target well-being.

Nonwearable actigraphy to assess changes in motor activity before and after rescue analgesia in terminally ill patients with cancer: A pilot study.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of nonwearable actigraphy to assess changes in motor activity before and after rescue analgesic administration in terminally ill cancer patients.

Background: Evaluating pain in terminally ill cancer patients is difficult; pain assessment tools are needed.

Methods: This was an exploratory descriptive study conducted within a palliative care unit.

Provision and related factors of end-of-life care in elderly housing with care services in collaboration with home-visiting nurse agencies: a nationwide survey.

Background: Japan has the largest population of older adults in the world; it is only growing as life expectancy increases worldwide. As such, solutions to potential obstacles must be studied to maintain healthy, productive lives for older adults. In 2011, the Japanese government has started a policy to increase "Elderly Housing with Care Services (EHCS)", which is one of a private rental housing, as a place where safe and secure end-of-life care can be provided.

Care needs level in long-term care insurance system and family caregivers' self-perceived time-dependent burden in patients with home palliative care for cancer: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Although home care improves patients' quality of life (QOL), several studies have suggested that home care lowers the QOL of family caregivers and decreases their mortality. To alleviate the deleterious impact of home care on caregivers, the major burdens on caregivers and the clinical characteristics of the caregivers vulnerable to the major burden needs to be clarified.

Method: A survey questionnaire was distributed to 710 family caregivers of patients with cancer in Japan, and 342 valid responses were obtained (valid response rate: 48.