Patient Partnership Tools to Support Medication Safety in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Protocol for a Nonrandomized Stepped Wedge Clinical Trial.

Background: Preventable harms from medications are significant threats to patient safety in community settings, especially among ambulatory older adults on multiple prescription medications. Patients may partner with primary care professionals by taking on active roles in decisions, learning the basics of medication self-management, and working with community resources.

Objective: This study aims to assess the impact of a set of patient partnership tools that redesign primary care encounters to encourage and empower patients to make more effective use of those encounters to improve medication safety.

Medication Management Strategies by Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Multisite Qualitative Analysis.

Objectives: Community-dwelling older adults taking 5 or more medications are at risk for medication-related harm. Managing multiple medications is a challenging task for patients and caregivers. Community-dwelling older adults self-manage their medications with minimal healthcare professional supervision.

Application of a Decisional Capacity Assessment for Older Research Participants with Cognitive Impairment.

Decisional capacity assessment is important for older adult participants who have cognitive impairment. This paper reports the implementation of the University of California, San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC) and its potential for practice and research. Nine of the 10 items remained to use except for adapting the last item.

Reminiscence and Digital Storytelling to Improve the Social and Emotional Well-Being of Older Adults With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study Design and a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Increasing attention is being given to the growing concerns about social isolation, loneliness, and compromised emotional well-being experienced by young adults and older individuals affected by Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD). Studies suggest that reminiscence strategies combined with an intergenerational approach may yield significant social and mental health benefits for participants. Experts also recommended the production of a digital life story book as part of reminiscence.

Attitudes toward Aging among College Students: Results from an Intergenerational Reminiscence Project.

The detrimental effects of negative attitudes toward aging among younger adults extend to both older and young adults, highlighting the need for attention from academics, applied researchers, and practitioners. To improve college students' attitudes toward aging, an intergenerational reminiscence intervention was conducted. College students, who were randomized to intervention or control groups and matched with older adults, made weekly phone calls to community-dwelling older adults with cognitive impairment for ten weeks.

A Multisite Qualitative Analysis of Perceived Roles in Medication Safety: Older Adults' Perspectives.

Older adults and caregivers play an essential role in medication safety; however, self-perception of their and health professionals' roles in medication safety is not well-understood. The objective of our study was to identify the roles of patients, providers, and pharmacists in medication safety from the perspective of older adults. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were held with 28 community-dwelling older adults over 65 years who took five or more prescription medications daily.

Best Practices for Promoting Healthy Aging.

This article outlines key well-known population health practices at the community level that benefit all members of the community, especially older adults.

Rapid nutritional assessment and intervention in orthopedic rehabilitation patients.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify the effect of early nutritional assessment and nutritional intervention on outcomes of older adult patients after discharge from an acute care hospital following fall related fracture.

Methods: This was a feasibility pilot study with post intervention data. One group pretest-posttest study design was implemented.

A Team Disclosure of Error Educational Activity: Objective Outcomes.

Medical errors can involve multiple team members. Few curricula are being developed to provide instruction on disclosing medical errors that include simulation training with interprofessional team disclosure. To explore more objective evidence for the value of an educational activity on team disclosure of errors, faculty developed and assessed the effectiveness of a multimodal educational activity for learning team-based disclosure of a medical error.

Healthy Aging: American Geriatrics Society White Paper Executive Summary.

In July 2015, the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society published a manuscript titled, "Failing to Focus on Healthy Aging: A Frailty of Our Discipline?" In response, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Clinical Practice and Models of Care Committee and Public Education Committee developed a white paper calling on the AGS and its members to play a more active role in promoting healthy aging. The executive summary presented here summarizes the recommendations from that white paper. The full version is published online at GeriatricsCareOnline.

Meta-analysis of Exercise Training on Vascular Endothelial Function in Cancer Survivors.

Cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Vascular endothelial dysfunction, an important contributor in the development of CVD, improves with exercise training in patients with CVD. However, the role of regular exercise to improve vascular function in cancer survivors remains equivocal.

Heart Failure: Exercise-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation: Who, When, and How Intense?

The primary chronic symptom in patients with clinically stable heart failure (HF) is reduced exercise tolerance, measured as decreased peak aerobic power (peak oxygen consumption [Vo]), and is associated with reduced quality of life and survival. Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (EBCR) is a safe and effective intervention to improve peak Vo, muscle strength, physical functional performance, and quality of life and is associated with a reduction in overall and HF-specific hospitalization in clinically stable patients with HF. Despite these salient benefits, fewer than one-tenth of eligible patients with HF are referred for EBCR after hospitalization.

Emerging technologies to enhance the safety of older people in their homes.

As more and more Baby Boomers are growing into their senior years, technology applications are being developed and marketed to increase their ability to remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible. This article reviews currently available devices and products that are intended to meet home safety needs of the elderly. The purpose of the article to share with nurses who care for elderly patients and their families some of the products and services that are currently available.