Transition of care from post-acute services for the older adults in Quebec: a pilot impact evaluation.

Background: Early discharge of frail older adults from post-acute care service may result in individuals' reduced functional ability to carry out activities of daily living, and social, emotional, and psychological distress. To address these shortcomings, the Montreal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre in Quebec, Canada piloted a post-acute home physiotherapy program (PAHP) to facilitate the transition of older adults from the hospital to their home. This study aimed to evaluate: (1) the implementation fidelity of the PAHP program; (2) its impact on the functional independence, physical and mental health outcomes and quality of life of older adults who underwent this program (3) its potential adverse events, and (4) to identify the physical, psychological, and mental health care needs of older adults following their discharge at home.

Modified 30-second Sit to Stand test predicts falls in a cohort of institutionalized older veterans.

Physical function performance tests, including sit to stand tests and Timed Up and Go, assess the functional capacity of older adults. Their ability to predict falls warrants further investigation. The objective was to determine if a modified 30-second Sit to Stand test that allowed upper extremity use and Timed Up and Go test predicted falls in institutionalized Veterans.

The Psychometric Properties of a Modified Sit-to-Stand Test With Use of the Upper Extremities in Institutionalized Older Adults.

Current sit-to-stand protocols do not permit use of upper extremities, limiting the protocols' utility for institutionalized older adults with diminished physical function. The objective of this study was to modify a 30-s sit-to-stand protocol to allow for arm use and to examine test-retest reliability and convergent validity; 54 institutionalized older adult men (age = 91 ± 3 year) performed the 30-s sit-to-stand twice within a span of 3 to 7 days. Results suggest good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = .

Benefits of physical exercise training on cognition and quality of life in frail older adults.

Objectives: Frailty is a state of vulnerability associated with increased risks of fall, hospitalization, cognitive deficits, and psychological distress. Studies with healthy senior suggest that physical exercise can help improve cognition and quality of life. Whether frail older adults can show such benefits remains to be documented.

The multiple dimensions of frailty: physical capacity, cognition, and quality of life.

Background: Frailty is a complex health state of increased vulnerability associated with adverse outcomes such as disability, falls, hospitalization, and death. Along with physical impairments, cognition and quality of life may be affected in frail older adults. Yet, evidence is still lacking.