Publications by authors named "Kimberly S Van Haitsma"
Purpose: To understand direct care workers' perceptions of the impact of implementing a person-centered communication tool, Preference for Activity and Leisure (PAL) Cards, into care.
Method: PAL Cards provide at-a-glance information about a nursing home (NH) resident's background and important preferences for activities and leisure. As a quality improvement project, 11 NHs implemented use of PAL Cards in their communities and provided feedback ( = 91 feedback forms received) on their perceptions of impact of PAL Cards on care communication and delivery.
Person or patient-centered care (PCC) is touted as the gold standard in geriatric medical care across care settings. However, despite more than 3 decades of research and practice initiatives, it remains a challenge to consistently implement PCC that fully places the individual at the center of care planning and the delivery process. The lack of universal implementation of PCC, we argue, may be in large part due to the use of multiple terms and ideologies leading to an inability to coordinate efforts across medical settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding patient preferences is core to person-centered care. The consistency of everyday preference reporting was assessed comparing responses of Veteran (VA) and non-VA nursing home (NH) residents on the Preferences for Everyday Living Inventory (PELI) at baseline and 5 to 7 days later. Non-VA NH residents demonstrated higher perfect agreement than VA residents (66% vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are prevalent in people with neurodegenerative diseases.
Purpose: In this scoping review the Kales, Gitlin and Lykestos framework is used to answer the question: What high quality evidence exists for the patient, caregiver and environmental determinants of five specific BPSD: aggression, agitation, apathy, depression and psychosis?
Method: An a priori review protocol was developed; 692 of 6013 articles retrieved in the search were deemed eligible for review. Gough's Weight of Evidence Framework and the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias were used.
A valid tool is needed to assess preferences that are relevant and important to nursing home (NH) residents. Originally developed for older adults receiving home care services, the authors adapted the Preferences for Everyday Living Inventory (PELI) for use with NH residents. Content validity was initially established using a panel of experts in long-term care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) occur in people with dementia throughout disease course and across etiologies. NPS are associated with significant morbidities and hastened disease processes. Nevertheless, people with dementia are not systematically assessed for NPS in clinical settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This randomized controlled study tested the effectiveness of individualized activities, led by certified nursing assistants (CNAs), to increase positive and reduce negative affect and behavior among nursing home residents with dementia.
Method: Nursing home residents with mild to advanced dementia (N = 180) were randomly assigned to usual care (UC, n = 93) or 1 of 2 experimental conditions. Residents in the attention control group (AC, N = 43) participated in standardized one-to-one activities with their CNAs.
Purpose: Despite its prevalence and negative consequences, research on elder abuse has rarely considered resident-to-resident aggression (RRA) in nursing homes. This study employed a qualitative event reconstruction methodology to identify the major forms of RRA that occur in nursing homes.
Design And Methods: Events of RRA were identified within a 2-week period in all units (n = 53) in nursing homes located in New York City.