Occupational Therapy Interventions for Productive Aging Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Evidence Connection articles provide clinical application of systematic reviews developed in conjunction with the American Occupational Therapy Association's (AOTA's) Evidence-Based Practice Project. In this Evidence Connection article, we describe a case report of an older adult who was referred to outpatient occupational therapy services due to chronic back pain from herniated discs. Findings from the systematic review of occupational therapy for community-dwelling older adults were published in the July/August 2018 issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (Berger et al.

Occupational Therapy Fall Prevention Interventions for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Accidental falls among community-dwelling older adults are preventable and increase the risk of morbidity, hospitalization, and institutionalization. We updated and broadened a 2008 systematic review examining the evidence for the effectiveness of fall prevention interventions in improving fall-related outcomes, occupational performance, quality of life, and health care facility readmissions for community-dwelling older adults.

Method: We searched and analyzed literature published from 2008 to 2015 from five electronic databases.

Occupational therapy in fall prevention: current evidence and future directions.

Falls are a serious public health concern among older adults in the United States. Although many fall prevention recommendations exist, such as those published by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and the British Geriatrics Society (BGS) in 2010, the specific role of occupational therapy in these efforts is unclear. This article presents a scoping review of current published research documenting the role of occupational therapy in fall prevention interventions among community-dwelling older adults, structured by the AGS and BGS guidelines.

A comprehensive systematic review of the use of simulation in the continuing education and training of qualified medical, nursing and midwifery staff.

Background: Simulation can be defined as a person, device or set of conditions made to resemble a real life situation. It is used in many high-risk industries particularly when reality is dangerous, critical events are rare and errors are costly in human and/or financial terms. The use of simulation in the UK is now considered an essential component of education programmes designed for healthcare practitioners.

Living alone and fall risk factors in community-dwelling middle age and older adults.

As part of a larger study on fall-related risk factors, this study investigated the relationship between living alone status and fall-related variables among community-dwelling adults who lived in a rural county in eastern North Carolina. A convenience sample of 666 community-dwelling adults ages 50 and over participated in this 4-year study and completed a fall questionnaire. Significant findings were found in relation to living alone status and experiencing a fall, who they informed about their fall, injuries, safety equipment, ambulatory devices, and personal emergency response system usage.

Consumption of fructose-sweetened beverages for 10 weeks increases postprandial triacylglycerol and apolipoprotein-B concentrations in overweight and obese women.

Fructose consumption in the USA has increased over the past three decades. During this time, obesity, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome have also increased in prevalence. While diets high in fructose have been shown to promote insulin resistance and increase TAG concentrations in animals, there are insufficient data available regarding the long-term metabolic effects of fructose consumption in humans.

Dietary fructose reduces circulating insulin and leptin, attenuates postprandial suppression of ghrelin, and increases triglycerides in women.

Previous studies indicate that leptin secretion is regulated by insulin-mediated glucose metabolism. Because fructose, unlike glucose, does not stimulate insulin secretion, we hypothesized that meals high in fructose would result in lower leptin concentrations than meals containing the same amount of glucose. Blood samples were collected every 30-60 min for 24 h from 12 normal-weight women on 2 randomized days during which the subjects consumed three meals containing 55, 30, and 15% of total kilocalories as carbohydrate, fat, and protein, respectively, with 30% of kilocalories as either a fructose-sweetened [high fructose (HFr)] or glucose-sweetened [high glucose (HGl)] beverage.

Fructose, weight gain, and the insulin resistance syndrome.

This review explores whether fructose consumption might be a contributing factor to the development of obesity and the accompanying metabolic abnormalities observed in the insulin resistance syndrome. The per capita disappearance data for fructose from the combined consumption of sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup have increased by 26%, from 64 g/d in 1970 to 81 g/d in 1997. Both plasma insulin and leptin act in the central nervous system in the long-term regulation of energy homeostasis.

Neurophysiological monitoring for the nucleus caudalis dorsal root entry zone operation.

Objective: The purpose of this report is to describe a neurophysiological monitoring technique that can decrease the incidence of complications while maintaining the effectiveness of the nucleus caudalis dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) operation.

Methods: Needle electrodes were used to stimulate the supraorbital, infraorbital, mental, and median nerves after the nucleus caudalis was surgically exposed. The DREZ electrode was used to record responses from the various areas in and near the nucleus.

The use of theory in everyday practice: an exploratory study.

Purpose: This exploratory study, using a phenomenological framework with ethnographic methodology investigated the use of theory in everyday practice as described by three registered occupational therapists.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three practicing occupational therapists. Ethnographic observations and field notes supplemented the data collection.