Associations Between Cognitive Performance and Self-Efficacy for Pain Management in Older Adults With Chronic Pain.

Background: Self-efficacy for pain management is the key to successful pain management, yet little is known about the effect of cognitive performance on self-efficacy for pain management. This study aimed to examine to what extent cognitive performance is related to self-efficacy for pain management in older adults with chronic pain.

Methods: The analyses utilized data from the baseline assessment of the MOBILIZE Boston Study.

Social and Religious Networks with Respect to the Health Behaviors of African American Women: A Systematic Review.

The aim of this systematic mixed studies review was to examine how social networks influence physical activity and dietary patterns among African American women. We searched PUBMED, CINAHL, JSTOR, SocioIndex, Medline, Cochrane Library, sportDISCUS, and PsycINFO to review articles published between Jan 1, 2007, and July 1, 2021. Only 23 studies met the inclusion criteria.

Clinical research nurses' perceptions of the unique needs of people of color for successful recruitment to cancer clinical trials.

Background: Clinical trials (CTs) test new medical products for safety and effectiveness. Despite federal policy aimed at generating greater inclusivity of people of color (POC) in CTs, disparity in (CT) enrollment persists. Non-Hispanic White patients comprise the majority of CT participants while Black and Hispanic patient participation has declined over the past decade.

Homelessness and Vulnerably-Housed Defined: A Synthesis of the Literature.

There is no single accepted definition used in policy or research for the concepts of homelessness and vulnerably housed. Neuman's systems model (NSM) was the framework for this mixed-studies review, with the client system defined as these social issues and categorized as environmental stressors. Eighteen unique definitions of the concepts were identified in 30 studies.

The role of clinical research nurses in minority recruitment to cancer clinical trials.

Clinical trials (CTs) are the established research mechanism designed to examine how new medical therapies are tested for safety and effectiveness. Specifically, non-Hispanic White patients still account for most CT participants and Black patient participation has declined over the past decade. Clinical Research Nurses (CRNs) whose scope of practice includes the recruitment of participants for CTs, have the potential to significantly increase minority patients participation in cancer clinical trials (CCTs).

Is pain catastrophizing associated with poor mobility performance and falls in older adults?

Background: Pain catastrophizing has been associated with pain intensity and mobility limitations in adults, and may be associated with mobility problems among older adults with chronic pain. This study examined the associations between pain catastrophizing and pain characteristics, and physical performance in older people.

Methods: The MOBILIZE Boston Study II (MBS) included 354 adults aged ≥70 years, living in the Boston area, originally enrolled in the MBS I from 2005-2008.

Inter-facility communication barriers delay resolving medication discrepancies during transitions of care.

Background: Medication discrepancies occurring during transitions of care between hospitals and nursing homes increase the risk of adverse events for patients. Resolving mismatched information between hospitals and nursing homes adds additional burden to nursing home staff.

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize challenges facing nursing home staff in receiving and resolving medication discrepancies during resident intake.

Persistent Pain Quality as a Novel Approach to Assessing Risk for Disability in Community-Dwelling Elders With Chronic Pain.

Background: This study aims to test whether persistent pain quality is associated with incident or worsening disability in four domains: mobility, activity of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) difficulty, and physical performance.

Methods: From the MOBILIZE Boston Study, a population-based cohort of adults aged ≥70 years, we studied participants with chronic pain who endorsed at least one pain quality descriptor (N = 398) and completed baseline and 18-month assessments. Pain quality was assessed using an adapted short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire with 20 pain quality descriptors in three categories: sensory, cognitive/affective, neuropathic.

Persistence of pain quality in community-dwelling older adults with chronic non-cancer pain.

Longitudinal assessment of chronic geriatric pain is complicated by an age-associated plateau in pain severity and increase in widespread pain, calling for innovative measures such as pain quality descriptors that characterize how pain may feel. We characterized persistence of pain quality and its relation to severity, activity interference and distribution of sites, in a population-based sample of adults aged≥70 years with chronic pain (n = 398). Persistent pain quality was defined as reporting descriptors within the same category: sensory, cognitive/affective, or neuropathic at baseline and 18 months.

Optimal Aging: A Neuman Systems Model Perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to describe aspects of optimal aging from the perspective of the Neuman systems model. An overview of the model is presented followed by a discussion of usual stressors encountered as people age and their common responses to these stressors. The position taken is that optimal aging for an individual is not necessarily equated with high-level wellness but rather is the best possible aging for that individual.

Pain quality descriptors in community-dwelling older adults with nonmalignant pain.

This study aimed to characterize the prevalence of various pain qualities in older adults with chronic nonmalignant pain and determine the association of pain quality to other pain characteristics namely: severity, interference, distribution, and pain-associated conditions. In the population-based MOBILIZE Boston Study, 560 participants aged ≥70 years reported chronic pain in the baseline assessment, which included a home interview and clinic exam. Pain quality was assessed using a modified version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) consisting of 20 descriptors from which 3 categories were derived: cognitive/affective, sensory, and neuropathic.

Subtypes of potentially inappropriate medications in older Chinese-Americans during care transitions: cross sectional retrospective study.

Background: The number of Chinese Americans is growing and nearly 20% of older Chinese-American home care patients have at least one potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) prescribed at hospital discharge. Further examination of PIMs during care transition is warranted, especially among older Chinese-Americans.

Objectives: To describe, during care transitions from hospital to home care: (i) the subtypes of PIMs, (ii) the difference of PIM prevalence prescribed at hospital discharge as compared to home care admission, (iii) the relationship between subtypes of PIMs, and (iv) issues affecting medication reconciliation among older Chinese-Americans.

Automating the medication regimen complexity index.

Objective: To adapt and automate the medication regimen complexity index (MRCI) within the structure of a commercial medication database in the post-acute home care setting.

Materials And Methods: In phase 1, medication data from 89 645 electronic health records were abstracted to line up with the components of the MRCI: dosage form, dosing frequency, and additional administrative directions. A committee reviewed output to assign index weights and determine necessary adaptations.

Medication discrepancy and potentially inappropriate medication in older Chinese-American home-care patients after hospital discharge.

Background: Studies of potential medication problems among older adults have focused on English-speaking populations in a single health care setting or a single potential medication problem. No previous studies investigated potential inappropriate medications (PIMs) and medication discrepancies (MDs) among older Chinese Americans during care transitions from hospital discharge to home care.

Objective: The aims of this study were to examine, in older Chinese Americans, the prevalence of both PIMs and MDs; the relationship between PIMs and MDs; and the patient and hospitalization characteristics associated with them during care transitions from hospital discharge to home care.

Measuring nursing care time and tasks in long-term services and supports: one size does not fit all.

Background: Although most staff in long-term care services and support (LTSS) are nursing care personnel, a method for measuring the provision of nursing care has not yet been developed.

Purpose/methods: We sought to understand the challenges of measuring nursing care across different types of LTSS using a qualitative approach that included the triangulation of data from three unique sources.

Results: Six primary challenges to measuring nursing care across LTSS emerged.

Health-related quality of life: expanding a conceptual framework to include older adults who receive long-term services and supports.

For older adults receiving long-term services and supports (LTSS), health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has emerged as a critical construct to examine because of its focus on components of well-being, which are affected by progressive changes in health status, health care, and social support. HRQoL is a health-focused quality of life (QOL) concept that encompasses aspects of QOL that affect health such as function, physical, and emotional health. Examining existing theoretical constructs and indicators of HRQoL among LTSS recipients led us to posit a revised conceptual framework for studying HRQoL among LTSS recipients.

Medication problems occurring at hospital discharge among older adults with heart failure.

Medication reconciliation problems are common among older adults at hospital discharge and lead to adverse events. The purpose of this study was to examine the rates and types of medication reconciliation problems among older adults hospitalized for acute episodes of heart failure who were discharged home. This secondary analysis of data generated from a transitional care intervention included 198 hospital discharge medical records, representing 162 patients.

Hospital to home health care transition: patient, caregiver, and clinician perspectives.

Increasing national attention is focused on improving posthospital transitions. Home health patients are in an opportune position to provide insight into this transition as they resume care for themselves with informal caregivers and home health professionals. This qualitative study describes the experiences of patients, informal caregivers, and home health clinicians during the posthospital transition.

Discharge planning as part of daily nursing practice.

Nurses deal with planning posthospitalization care within increasingly urgent focused environments and amid competing priorities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine nurses' discharge planning efforts as these occurred in practice. Eight nurses were observed and interviewed as they cared for selected patients.

Opportunities for improving post-hospital home medication management among older adults.

Effective post-hospital home medication management among older adults is a convoluted, error-prone process. Older adults, whose complex medication regimens are often changed at hospital discharge, are susceptible to medication-related problems (e.g.

Hospital discharge referral decision making: a multidisciplinary perspective.

Patients discharged without home care referral were presented as case studies to nurses, social workers, physicians, and discharge planners experienced in discharge planning. Observations and tape-recorded interviews were used to identify patterns clinicians used when gathering information, determine information essential to discharge referral decisions, and explore why patients in need may not be referred for service. Clinicians collected information randomly, and content analysis of their interviews identified mental and functional status, treatment adherence, medical and co-existing conditions, medication management, social support, and prior hospitalization as essential information.

Patient characteristics at hospital discharge and a comparison of home care referral decisions.

Objectives: Describe the characteristics of hospitalized older adults who were not referred for home care, compare the referral decisions of hospital clinicians with those of nurses with expertise in discharge planning and transitional care, and compare the characteristics of hospitalized older adults who did not receive a home care referral with patients who did receive a home care referral.

Design: Secondary analysis, descriptive, case series.

Setting: Subjects were discharged to home from one of two urban hospitals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.