The "TRAUMA LIFE" initiative: The impact of a multidisciplinary checklist process on outcomes and communication in a Trauma Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Checklists have been advocated to improve quality outcomes/communication in the critical care setting, but results have been mixed. A new checklist process, "TRAUMA LIFE", was implemented in our Trauma Intensive Care Unit (TICU) to replace prior checklists. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the "TRAUMA LIFE" process implementation on quality metrics and on patient/family communication in the TICU.

Using clinical signs of neglect to identify elder neglect cases.

Elder neglect is the one of the most pervasive forms of mistreatment, and often the only place outside of the individual's residence to identify and assist neglected individuals is in a medical setting. However, elder neglect cases treated in hospitals do not present with a single diagnosis or clinical sign, but rather involve a complex constellation of clinical signs. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive guidelines on which clinical signs to use in screening tools for neglect among patients treated in hospitals.

Physical Abuse of Elderly Adults: Victim Characteristics and Determinants of Revictimization.

Objectives: To describe victim characteristics and determinants of recurrent physical abuse of elderly.

Design: Multicenter retrospective analysis of multiple data systems to study victims of elder mistreatment in the greater Chicago metropolitan area.

Setting: Five teaching hospitals with Level 1 trauma centers.