Geriatric Nursing Commons^™

Investigating The Perspectives Of Older Adults In Residential Aged Care On Oral Health-Related Quality Of Life, Parisa Malekpour, Amanda Devine, Julie Dare, Leesa Costello

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objective

The objective of the study was to explore how older people living in a residential aged care facility perceived that their oral health influenced their food preferences and attitudes towards food, their social interactions and their self-esteem.

Background

Poor oral health can have biological, behavioural and social impacts on quality of life among older adults (aged 65+ years). In terms of biological impacts, oral health impairments may cause older adults to avoid many types of foods. This shift in dietary pattern can lead to malnutrition among older people, undermine general health and negatively impact quality of life (QOL).

Materials …

Relationship Between Residential Aged Care Facility Characteristics And Breaches Of The Australian Aged Care Regulatory Standards: Non-Compliance Notices And Sanctions, Janine Alan, Sean Randall, Anna Ferrante, Davina Porock

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objectives

To examine the relationship between structural characteristics of Australian residential aged care facilities (RACFs) and breaches of the aged care quality standards.

Methods

Facility-level analysis of audits, sanctions and non-compliance notices of all accredited Australian RACFs between 2015/16 and 2018/19. Structural factors of interest included RACF size, remoteness, ownership type and jurisdiction. Two government data sources were joined. Each outcome was analysed to calculate time trends, unadjusted rates and relative risks.

Results

Non-compliance notices were imposed on 369 RACFs (13%) and 83 sanctions on 75 RACFs (3%). Compared with New South Wales (NSW), non-compliance notices were less likely in …

Comparing Clinico-Demographics And Neuropsychiatric Symptoms For Immigrant And Non-Immigrant Aged Care Residents Living With Dementia: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study From An Australian Dementia-Specific Support Service, Pelden Chejor, Mustafa Atee, Patricia Cain, Daniel Whiting, Thomas Morris, Davina Porock

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background:

Neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia such as agitation and aggression are common in people living with dementia. The presentation of neuropsychiatric symptoms is influenced by the cultural background of people living with dementia. Further, identifying factors contributing to neuropsychiatric symptoms may be complicated if people living with dementia are immigrants or from non-English-speaking backgrounds. Most of what is known about differences in neuropsychiatric symptoms between racial and ethnic groups living with dementia come from community-based samples. This study investigated differences in clinico-demographics and neuropsychiatric symptoms between immigrants and non-immigrants living with dementia in residential aged care homes who were referred …

Health-Services Utilisation Amongst Older Persons During The Last Year Of Life: A Population-Based Study, Danielle Ní Chróinín, David E. Goldsbury, Alexander Beveridge, Patricia M. Davidson, Afaf Girgis, Nicholas Ingham, Jane L. Phillips, Anne M. Wilkinson, Jane M. Ingham, Dianne L. O'Connell

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

BACKGROUND: Accurate population-based data regarding hospital-based care utilisation by older persons during their last year of life are important in health services planning. We investigated patterns of acute hospital-based service use at the end of life, amongst older decedents in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

METHODS: Data from all persons aged ≥70 years who died in the state of NSW Australia in 2007 were included. Several measures of hospital-based service utilisation during the last year of life were assessed from retrospectively linked data comprising data for all registered deaths, cause of death, hospital care during the last year of life …

Barriers To Promoting Mobility In Hospitalized Older Adults, Gordana Dermody, Christine R. Kovach

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Hospitalized older adults who do not receive sufficient mobility are more likely to sustain negative health outcomes, including higher rates of mortality and institutionalization. Accordingly, the purpose of the current secondary data analysis was to examine the nurse-promoted mobility of hospitalized older adults and the association between nurses’ barriers and nurse-promoted mobility. In addition, the relationship among patient severity of illness, proxy levels for function, and nurse-promoted mobility was examined. The final study sample included 61 nurses working in medical units caring for a total of 77 older adults. Findings suggest nurse knowledge gaps and attitude barriers could potentially influence …

Effects Of Emergency Department Care Coordination Team Referrals In Older People Presenting With A Fall, Kristie J Harper, Nicholas P. Gibson, Annette D Barton, Antonio C Petta, Sara K Pearson, Antonio Celenza

Research outputs 2013

Objectives: The study aims to describe the characteristics of patients presenting to an ED with a fall and evaluate multidisciplinary Care Coordination Team (CCT) referrals on patient outcomes.

Methods: A single-centred retrospective analysis of electronic data at an adult tertiary hospital was performed using data from 2004 to 2009 of presentations for patients aged 65 years or over with a fall. The primary outcome measure was representation to hospital within 30 days, comparing patients referred to CCT and those not referred. Secondary outcomes were differences in demographic characteristics, mode of arrival, triage score and readmission.

Results: The proportion of ED …

Understanding Personal Carers' Experiences Of Caring For Older People In Pain, Kristi Holloway

Theses : Honours

Pain is a complex phenomenon that can be challenging for staff working in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) (Fisher et al., 2002; Twycross, 2002). A high prevalence of pain reported by older individuals has been reported and suggests that further study in this area is warranted (Higgins, Madjar & Walton, 2004). Research suggests that a significant barrier to effective pain management in the elderly is the provision of primary care by care staff who have little or no education about pain, pain assessment or pain management (Allcock, McGarry & Elkan, 2002). Studies have identified personal carers as being in a …

A Comparison Of Nurses' Clinical Judgement And The Short Form-Mini Nutritional Assessment Tool In Assessing The Nutritional Status Of Older Patients In An Acute Clinical Setting, Roger Shreeve

Theses : Honours

Decreased nutritional status of older hospitalised patients has been identified as a significant problem. The prevalence of malnutrition in older people has been reported to be between 17% and 65% in acute hospital settings. This has led to the recognition of a need for a valid instrument to adequately assess nutritional status. Tools developed to date still require much time and expertise to implement, limiting their use within the practical setting. Nurses are in an ideal position to conduct nutritional assessments. They possess clinical knowledge which can be utilised to provide individualised and timely assessment. To. date, the literature does …

Nurses' Perceptions Of The Pharmacological Management Of Acute Pain Experienced By Patients Hospitalised In The General Ward Setting, Susan Slatyer

Theses : Honours

This study explored and described the experiences and perceptions of nurses managing acute pain in a Western Australian public hospital. The focus was nurses practising in the general ward setting and using current prescribing guidelines. The aim of this research was to explore nurses' attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about pain and pain pharmacology and how this practice setting influences efficient pain management. Qualitative methodology was selected for its ability to explore complex issues in order to build nursing knowledge and guide nursing practice. This study used a descriptive, exploratory design based on a phenomenological approach. The sample comprised ten Registered …

Perceived Social Support Of Family Members Of Aged Care Facility Residents And Its Relationship With Family Members Well-Being And Their Support Of Relatives In Residential Care, Christine Toye

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

When elderly people are cared for In Aged Care Facilities (ACFs) it is known that their family members frequently suffer negative effects. These effects may be alleviated by social support and, because they feel better, family members may then offer more support to residents. In this study, the researcher tested a model with a sample of 213 family members of ACF residents. Predictive relationships were hypothesised among incentives for family members to support residents, stress related factors, the perceived formal and Informal support of family members, their psychological wellbeing, and the support they offered to residents. The researcher also developed …

Attitudes Of Nurses To Palliative Care In Nursing Homes In The Perth Metropolitan Region, Lynne Cohen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Zanna and Rempel (1988) have proposed that attitudes are a summary evaluation of an attitude object based on three classes of information, namely: cognitive information, affective information and behavioural information. This model has mainly been tested in the social groups and social policies area investigating two classes of information: cognitive and affective, and therefore there is a need for research to test the validity of this model in other areas. The present study applies the model to the area of palliative care in nursing homes. 76 directors of nursing, 76 clinical nurse specialists, and 76 nursing assistants working in nursing …

The Effect Of Facilitating Increased Involvement In Nursing Home Caregiving On Former Caregivers' Satisfaction With The Care Arrangement, Christine Toye

Theses : Honours

This study examined the effect of a programme that facilitated fanner caregivers' increased involvement with nursing home care giving on their satisfaction with the care provided for their relatives. It was guided by Ray's Adaptation Model of Nursing (Ray, 1984, 1989). The hypotheses stated that the programme would help former caregivers to adapt to the institutionalisation of their loved ones, as manifested by their increased satisfaction with aspects of the care arrangement (overall care, nursing care, relationships, and the environment). The convenience sample consisted of 31 former care givers of long term residents admitted to a metropolitan nursing home 1 …

The Effect Of 'Environmental Manipulation' On Agitation And 24-Hour Sleep In Dementia Sufferers In An Institutional Setting, Ernest A. Matthews

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Living in an institutional setting places on residents certain constraints in relation to freedom of choice as to when, where, and how they conduct activities of daily living, such as, sleeping eating, attending to hygiene needs. Studies indicate this loss of control over the environment contributes to loss of self-esteem, leads to stress, and at times precipitates agitation among nursing home residents. Cognitive impairment may render dementia sufferers more vulnerable to loss of control over their control over their environment and result in agitation, which may in turn influence sleep. The study therefore, investigated if ‘environmental manipulation’ as in introducing …

The Post-Discharge Medication Compliance Of Elderly Medical Patients: Incidence And Influencing Factors, Donna L. Mitchell

Theses : Honours

This study was designed to estimate the extent to which elderly patients complied with their medication regimens post-discharge from three general medical wards of an acute hospital in Perth. Relationships between medication compliance and age, education, cognitive function, medication supervision, number of drugs taken, number of doses per drug per day, regimen recall and drug knowledge were observed. The sample of the study was the general medical patients of three medical wards who were 60 years or older, fluent in the English language, returning to a home in the metropolitan area with no full-time nursing care needs and discharged during …

The Development Of The 'Nursing Home/Hostel - Quality Of Life Index': A Tool To Measure The Quality Of Life Of Permanent Residents In Geriatric Care Institutions, Linda Pettit

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to develop the 'Nursing Home/Hostel: Quality of Life Index' (NH/H:QLI). This was to be a tool which would indicate the 'quality of life' of elderly residents in geriatric care institutions, such as nursing homes and hostels. Several means were employed to establish the validity of the tool. These were: consultation with experienced geriatric nurses, an examination of similar types of tools and correlation with another already established tool; Bigot's Life Satisfaction Index. The reliability of the NH/H:QLI was established by determining how well the scores correlated on a test re-test format. Kendall's Tau was …