Remote visits to address loneliness for people living with dementia in care homes: A descriptive qualitative study of visitors' perceptions.

Aims: To assess visitors' perceptions of the benefits and challenges related to engaging in a remote visit intervention, which was designed to address the loneliness of people living with moderate to severe dementia in care homes.

Design: A qualitative descriptive study.

Methods: Twenty-four people living with dementia in care homes in Canada and their family and friends (i.

Acceptability of a Personal Contact Intervention among People Living with Dementia: Might Baseline Contact Matter?

Our study aimed to explore how perceived baseline contact may influence acceptability of , a personal contact intervention, among people living with dementia. We aimed to generate hypotheses for testing in future studies. This was a sub-group analysis of pilot study data.

Connecting Today: Feasibility and acceptability of a remote visiting program for people living with dementia in long-term care homes.

Objectives: Social isolation and loneliness affect the quality of life of people living with dementia, yet few interventions have been developed for this population. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of 'Connecting Today', a remote visiting program designed for use with care home residents living with dementia.

Methods: This was a feasibility study to assess whether Connecting Today can be delivered in care homes, and was acceptable to family and friends and people living with dementia.

Music Connects Us: Development of a Music-Based Group Activity Intervention to Engage People Living with Dementia and Address Loneliness.

There is a need for intervention research to understand how music-based group activities foster engagement in social interactions and relationship-building among care home residents living with moderate to severe dementia. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to describe the design of 'Music Connects Us', a music-based group activity intervention. Music Connects Us primarily aims to promote social connectedness and quality of life among care home residents living with moderate to severe dementia through engagement in music-making, supporting positive social interactions to develop intimate connections with others.

Women's Caregiving Experience of Older Persons Living With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias and Multiple Chronic Conditions: Using Wuest's Theory.

Introduction: Care of persons living with chronic conditions rests heavily on women within the context of the family. Research demonstrates that women experience more caregiving strain compared to men, yet less is known about the differences in experiences between women carers: namely, wives and daughters.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the experiences of wife and daughter carers of older adults living with Alzheimer disease and related dementias, plus at least two other chronic conditions.

Sustainability of a rural volunteer program (Nav-CARE): a case study.

Introduction: Nav-CARE (Navigation: Connecting, Accessing, Resourcing and Engaging) is an evidence-based program that was implemented over 1 year in a rural community in western Canada. Nav-CARE uses volunteers who are trained in navigation to facilitate access to resources and provide social support to older persons living in the community with serious illness such as cancer, congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Following implementation in which Nav-CARE was found to be feasible, acceptable and have positive outcomes, Nav-CARE was integrated into the local community-based hospice society program.

Study protocol: pragmatic randomized control trial of my tools 4 care- in care (MT4C-in care) a web-based tool for family Carers of persons with dementia residing in long term care.

Background: When a family member resides in long term care facility (LTC), family carers continue caregiving and have been found to have decreases in mental health. The aim of My Tools 4 Care - In Care (an online intervention) is to support carers of persons living with dementia residing in LTC through transitions and increase their self-efficacy, hope, social support and mental health. This article comprises the protocol for a study to evaluate My Tools 4 Care-In Care (MT4C-In Care) by asking the following research questions: 1) Is there a 2 month (immediately post-intervention) and 4 month (2 months post-intervention) increase in mental health, general self-efficacy, social support and hope, and decrease in grief and loneliness, in carers of a person living with dementia residing in LTC using MT4C-In CARE compared to an educational control group? 2) Do carers of persons living with dementia residing in LTC perceive My Tools 4 Care- In Care helps them with the transitions they experience?

Methods: This study is a single blinded pragmatic mixed methods randomized controlled trial.

Qualitative Research and Its Importance in Adapting Interventions.

Systematic approaches are essential when adapting interventions, so the adapted intervention is feasible, acceptable, and holds promise for positive outcomes in the new target population and/or setting. Qualitative research is critical to this process. The purpose of this article is to provide an example of how qualitative research was used to guide the adaptation a web-based intervention for family carers of persons with dementia residing in long-term care (LTC) and to discuss challenges associated with using qualitative methodologies in this regard.

A Comparison of Users and Nonusers of a Web-Based Intervention for Carers of Older Persons With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias: Mixed Methods Secondary Analysis.

Background: A self-administered Web-based intervention was developed to help carers of persons with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) and multiple chronic conditions (MCC) deal with the significant transitions they experience. The intervention, My Tools 4 Care (MT4C), was evaluated during a pragmatic mixed methods randomized controlled trial with 199 carers. Those in the intervention group received free, password-protected access to MT4C for three months.

Caregivers of older adults with dementia and multiple chronic conditions: Exploring their experiences with significant changes.

Family caregiving is considered a social transition as changes in the health of the care recipient create a process of transition for the caregiver when they are more vulnerable to threats to their own health. Family and friend caregivers take on many responsibilities and experience high levels of burden when caring for community-dwelling older adults living with dementia and multiple chronic conditions. However, little is known about the changes they experience in their caring roles or how they cope with these changes.

Mixed-methods single-arm repeated measures study evaluating the feasibility of a web-based intervention to support family carers of persons with dementia in long-term care facilities.

Background: Following institutionalization of a relative with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD), family carers continue to provide care. They must learn to negotiate with staff and navigate the system all of which can affect their mental health. A web-based intervention, My Tools 4 Care-In Care (MT4C-In Care) was developed by the research team to aid carers through the transitions experienced when their relative/friend with ADRD resides in a long-term care (LTC) facility.

Web-Based Intervention for Family Carers of Persons with Dementia and Multiple Chronic Conditions (My Tools 4 Care): Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: My Tools 4 Care (MT4C) is a Web-based intervention that was developed based on the transitions theory. It is an interactive, self-administered, and portable toolkit containing six main sections intended to support carers of community-living persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia and multiple chronic conditions through their transition experiences.

Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of MT4C with respect to increasing hope, self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life in carers of community-living older persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia and multiple chronic conditions.

Coding for Conscious Sedation.

Conscious sedation codes are based on time intervals and patient age.

Feasibility Study of an Online Intervention to Support Male Spouses of Women With Breast Cancer.

Purpose/objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of a web-based psychosocial supportive intervention entitled Male Transition Toolkit (MaTT). 
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Design: Randomized, controlled trial, mixed methods, concurrent feasibility design.

A metasynthesis study of family caregivers' transition experiences caring for community-dwelling persons with advanced cancer at the end of life.

Background: Family caregivers (broadly defined as family and friends) experience multiple concurrent transitions when caring for a person with advanced cancer.

Aims: To (a) explore the transition experience of family caregivers caring for persons with advanced cancer living in the community, (b) describe potential triggers for transitions, (c) identify what influences this experience, and (d) develop a conceptual framework of their transition experience.

Design: Sandelowski and Barroso's methodology for synthesizing qualitative research included (a) a comprehensive search of empirical literature, (b) quality appraisal of qualitative studies, (c) classification of studies, and (d) synthesis of the findings.

New Hypertension Category Offers Specificity.

Physicians must indicate a diagnosis for hypertension as coders cannot code from vital sign data.

Coding for Prolonged Office Visits.

If a provider spends longer than expected on a patient office visit, how can this time be captured and accounted for in payment?

Developing Navigation Competencies to Care for Older Rural Adults with Advanced Illness.

Navigators help rural older adults with advanced illness and their families connect to needed resources, information, and people to improve their quality of life. This article describes the process used to engage experts - in rural aging, rural palliative care, and navigation - as well as rural community stakeholders to develop a conceptual definition of navigation and delineate navigation competencies for the care of this population. A discussion paper on the important considerations for navigation in this population was developed followed by a four-phased Delphi process with 30 expert panel members.

Self-administered intervention for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease.

The purpose of this article is to describe the development and feasibility testing of a Transition Toolkit to support caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in dealing with transitions. Using the Medical Research Council (MRC; UK) guidelines for complex intervention development, Step 1 was to develop a theoretical understanding of the likely processes of change, by reviewing existing evidence and theory, and conducting new primary research. Based on Step 1, the intervention was developed with the Alzheimer's Society experts (Step 2), followed by concept mapping of the critical inputs of the intervention with the theoretical understanding (Step 3).

A mixed methods study of hope, transitions, and quality of life in family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Several research studies have reported the poor quality of life of family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, factors that influence their quality of life have not been clearly defined. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with the quality of life of these caregivers such as demographic variables, their transition experience, and hope.

Aging in rural Canada: a retrospective and review.

Research on rural aging has developed considerably since publication of the book Aging in Rural Canada (Butterworths, 1991). The purpose of this article is twofold: to provide a retrospective on issues in rural aging from this book, and to review Canadian literature on rural aging since its publication. The review highlights new directions in conceptual definitions of rural, and in issues of social engagement, independence, family and social networks, and rural services and health.