Reliability and Validity of Four Step Tests in Older Adults With Dementia.

Objectives: To determine the test-retest and inter-rater reliability, concurrent and discriminative validity of the Four Square Step Test (FSST), the Choice Stepping Reaction Time Test (CSRTT), the Maximum Step Length Test (MSLT), and the Alternate Step Test (AST) in older adults with dementia.

Methods: Thirty-seven older adults with dementia who could walk independently for at least 10 m were recruited at community centers and day care centers for older adults. The participants completed the step tests conducted by two independent raters on three separate testing occasions within 3 weeks.

Assessment of the Psychometric Properties of the Mask Usability Scale: A Measure of the Perceived Usability of N95 Respirators Among Healthcare Students and Staff.

Aim: To test the reliability and construct validity of the Mask Usability Scale in healthcare students and staff.

Design: A methodological study involving repeated measures.

Methods: The study included two batches of participants: (1) 283 university nursing students and (2) 1753 participants composed of students (61%) and clinical staff (39%).

The Effect of Aerobic Exercises on Arterial Stiffness in Older People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Objectives: Aerobic exercise is a cost-effective intervention to improve arterial stiffness, but its effects on older people are unclear; this review aims to determine those effects.

Research Design And Methods: Five databases were searched for randomized controlled trials of aerobic exercises. Backward and forward citations and clinical trial registries were also reviewed.

The effects of interventions to enhance cognitive and physical functions in older people with cognitive frailty: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Cognitive frailty is the co-existence of mild cognitive impairment and physical frailty that increases the risk of adverse health outcomes. The existing systematic reviews on cognitive frailty in the literature have focused only on identifying associated factors and adverse outcomes, and their relationship with frailty and cognition. This study aimed to examine the effects of interventions on cognitive functions, frailty, and physical functions and provide an overview of intervention components used in older people with cognitive frailty.

A Home-Based Dyadic Music-with-Movement Intervention for People with Dementia and Caregivers: A Hybrid Type 2 Cluster-Randomized Effectiveness-Implementation Design.

Background: Integrating evidence-based music-with-movement into routine practices for people with dementia requires effective implementation strategies. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the clinical efficacy of the intervention and to examine the effectiveness of the implementation strategies in promoting home-based adoption.

Methods: This was a cluster randomized controlled trial adopting a clinical effectiveness-implementation hybrid design.

The effects of involvement in training and volunteering with families of people with dementia on the knowledge and attitudes of volunteers towards dementia.

Background: Volunteers have been a valuable resource in supporting people with dementia and their caregivers in the community. However, factors such as misconceptions, negative attitudes towards dementia, and a lack of motivation might impact the quality of volunteer care. The present paper aims to examine the effect of training and service provision on the knowledge and attitudes of volunteers towards dementia and the association between knowledge and attitudes with the levels of motivation to volunteer.

Decision-making preferences on end-of-life care for older people: Exploration and comparison of Japan, the Hong Kong SAR and South Korea in East Asia.

Aims And Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine and compare decision-making preferences on end-of-life care for older people in Japan, the Hong Kong SAR and South Korea.

Background: Cultural values and beliefs influence decision-making on end-of-life care.

Design: A cross-sectional design was adopted.

Contribution of sleep quality to fatigue following a stroke: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The prevalence of fatigue and sleep disturbances is high in stroke populations. Sleep quality can be targeted by interventions to alleviate fatigue following a stroke. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of fatigue and poor sleep quality, and to quantify the contribution of sleep quality to fatigue following a stroke, in chronic (≥1 year) stroke survivors.

Factors Associated With Improving or Worsening the State of Frailty: A Secondary Data Analysis of a 5-Year Longitudinal Study.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the frailty transition patterns of older adults recruited from both community and residential care settings within a 5-year period, and to identify the physical and psychosocial factors associated with the transitions.

Design: This study is a secondary data analysis of a longitudinal study for tracking the change of health status of older adults 60 years of age or older. Participants who had undergone at least two assessments during 2013-2017 were selected for analysis.

Validation of the Chinese Non-pharmacological Therapy Experience Scale in persons with intellectual disability.

Aim: To validate the 4- and 7-point Chinese Non-pharmacological Therapy Experience Scales and test the psychometric properties of the scales on persons with intellectual disability.

Design: A validation study.

Methods: Sixty-seven persons with intellectual disability were recruited from six hostels or centres for persons with intellectual disability in Hong Kong.

Survival prediction among nursing home residents: A longitudinal study.

Aim: To determine the survival time and predictors of survival of residents in a nursing home.

Methods: Nursing home residents admitted from June 2008 (when the nursing home started operating) to December 2012 (n = 230) to a new nursing home in Hong Kong were prospectively followed. The predictors of survival in the residents were assessed annually, with the exception of those who did not want to continue with the study, or were hospitalized, discharged from the nursing home or died, to compare changes occurring from 2008 to 2012.