The value of hospital social work is supported by one hospital's tracking system that monitored social work discharge services and compared outcome with non-social work discharges. The sample consisted of a total of 64,722 patients admitted to the "med-surg" hospital unit over a two and one-half year time period from 2002 to 2004. Of the total patients in the sample, 15.7% (n = 10,156) had social work involvement. Sixty percent of the social worker patients were age 70 or over compared with the mean age of the sample of 56.2 years. The mean length of stay for social work served patients was 11.4 days (sd = 13.9) compared to 4.3 days (sd = 6.3) non-social work patients, a difference that was significant (t =-68.3; p = .000). The authors attribute the longer lengths of stay to social workers' receiving older and more difficult-to-place patients. An evidence-based case is made for the cost-containment value of social workers in hospitals and for the creation of a tracking infrastructure to aid in monitoring the daily achievements of medical/surgical social workers.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J010v44n04_02 | DOI Listing |
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Background: Our authors from around the world met to summarise the available knowledge, decide which potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia have compelling evidence and create the most comprehensive analysis to date for potentially modifiable risk factors to inform policy, give individuals the opportunity to control their risks and generate research.
Method: We incorporated all risk factors for which we judged there was strong enough evidence. We used the largest recent worldwide meta-analyses for risk factor prevalence and relative risk and if not available the best data.
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
School of Medical and Health Sciences, Tung Wah College, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Background: Understanding how caregivers perceive their own aging process is essential for addressing their well-being and the quality of care they provide. This study aimed at exploring the relationship between caregivers' self-perception of ageing in relation to their strain experienced in caregiving, and their perceived physical and mental health symptoms. Moreover, to examine if the strain experience and perceived health condition were key predictors to their self-perception of ageing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimers Dement
December 2024
SingHealth Community Hospitals, Singapore, Singapore.
Background: Social robots have been used in other countries for improvement of quality of life for persons with dementia.
Method: LOVOT was introduced as an adjunct to regular therapy sessions (either Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy) and as an interactive companion during the patient's inpatient stay. The project was carried out over a span of 6 weeks (weekdays) for a maximum of 10-15 mins on an ad-hoc basis.
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA.
Background: Medical records present a rich potential source of information on the lived experiences of people with dementia. These records are extensive and the work of extracting relevant data is labor-intensive. We sought to determine whether we could use natural language processing (NLP) approaches to sift through medical records to prioritize an enriched subset of notes illuminating the lived experiences of people with dementia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimers Dement
December 2024
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Background: Social media platforms are increasingly used by people living with dementia and their care partners to seek information and advice, share personal stories, raise awareness, and offer support to others. Engagement with social media is often accompanied by a personal disclosure of a dementia diagnosis or identification as a care partner, but the impact of this disclosure remains unknown. Social media engagement can be beneficial by facilitating peer-interactions and social support; however experts have raised concerns about the potential for exposure to misinformation and stigma as a result of self-disclosure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!