Regional Workshops to Disseminate Decision Guide to Reduce Potentially Preventable Hospital Transfers: Application of the Diffusion of Innovation Model.

Introduction: Medically unnecessary, potentially preventable transfers of nursing home (NH) residents to acute care poses multiple risks for residents. Family and resident insistence on these preventable transfers has not been thoroughly addressed in transfer reduction programs.

Methods: The Diffusion of Innovation model guided dissemination of an evidence-based patient decision guide that addressed resident and family insistence on hospital transfer.

Nursing Home Resident, Family, and Staff Perspectives on Achieving Comfort at End of Life: A Qualitative Study.

Increasing numbers of US older adults die in long-term care facilities. This qualitative study explored nursing home resident, family member, and staff perspectives and preferences regarding end-of-life care for the resident. From 67 potential participants referred by staff, 47 were found eligible and consented, including 16 residents, 10 family members, and 20 staff.

Communicating With Nursing Home Residents About End of Life.

Approximately 33% of the 1.2 million older individuals residing in nursing homes have the capacity to discuss their preferences for end-of-life care, and 35% will die within their first year in the nursing home. These conversations necessary to promote care consistent with the resident's preferences are often limited and most often occur when the resident is actively dying.

Nursing Home Resident, Family, and Staff Perspectives on Hospital Transfers for End-of-Life Care.

Residents who are terminally ill often experience transfers to the emergency department resulting in hospitalizations, which may be potentially avoidable with treatment in the nursing home. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of 15 residents, 10 family members, and 20 nursing home staff regarding end-of-life care and the circumstances prompting resident transfers. Data analysis of participant interviews conducted January to May 2019 in a South Florida nursing home identified four themes related to transfer to the hospital: time left to live, when aggressive treatments would be unavailing, not knowing what the nursing home can do, and transfer decisions are situation-dependent.

Helpful Approaches for Older Adults Living in a Retirement Community to Move Forward After the Death of a Significant Other.

The loss of a significant other often creates emotional distress for family members that can hamper the ability to meet everyday challenges and pursue wellness. The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the challenge of losing a significant other for older adult family members and the approaches identified as most helpful to promote their own well-being after this person dies. Story inquiry method guided the interview process with 15 older adult bereaved family members residing in a continuing care retirement community.

Challenges of older adults when a loved one was dying: Implications for nursing practice.

Aims: To explore the challenge of losing a loved one who was hospitalized at end of life and identify approaches deemed most helpful by older adult family members to resolve this challenge.

Background: Nurses will be caring for a growing number of terminally ill older adults and their families. Research specific to older adults to address their needs when a loved one is dying is necessary to promote quality family-oriented care.

Older Adults' Perspectives of End of Life After the Death of a Significant Other: A Secondary Analysis.

Many older adults have experienced the death of a significant other. Understanding their perspectives from this past experience may heighten nursing insights about the type of care they desire at the end of their lives. The aim of this secondary analysis was to describe how the death of a significant other influenced older adults' perspectives about their end of life.

Remembering Pearl Harbor at 75 Years.

: On December 7, 1941, the Sunday-morning quiet of the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was shattered by dive-bombing Japanese fighter planes.

Social, Economic, and Political Issues Affecting End-of-Life Care.

For many decades, Americans showed a preference for delaying death through a technological imperative that often created challenges for nurses in caring for dying patients and their families. Because of their vast knowledge of health and healing, and their proximity to patients' bedsides, nurses are often well positioned to advocate for healthcare reform and legislation to improve end-of-life care. This article provides an overview of the social, economic, and political factors that are shaping end-of-life care in the United States.