| 1. |
- Tucker, S., et al.
(författare)
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Improving the mix of institutional and community care for older people with dementia : an application of the balance of care approach in eight European countries
- 2016
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Ingår i: Aging and Mental Health. - Abingdon : Informa UK Limited. - 1360-7863 .- 1364-6915. ; 20:12, s. 1327-1338
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To examine whether the mix of community and institutional long-term care (ILTC) for people with dementia (PwD) in Europe could be improved; assess the economic consequences of providing alternative services for particular groups of ILTC entrants and explore the transnational application of the ‘Balance of Care’ (BoC) approach. Method: A BoC study was undertaken in Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK as part of the RightTimePlaceCare project. Drawing on information about 2014 PwD on the margins of ILTC admission, this strategic planning framework identified people whose needs could be met in more than one setting, and compared the relative costs of the possible alternatives. Results: The findings suggest a noteworthy minority of ILTC entrants could be more appropriately supported in the community if enhanced services were available. This would not necessarily require innovative services, but more standard care (including personal and day care), assuming quality was ensured. Potential cost savings were identified in all countries, but community care was not always cheaper than ILTC and the ability to release resources varied between nations. Conclusions: This is believed to be the first transnational application of the BoC approach, and demonstrates its potential to provide a consistent approach to planning across different health and social care systems. Better comparative information is needed on the number of ILTC entrants with dementia, unit costs and outcomes. Nevertheless, the findings offer important evidence on the appropriateness of current provision, and the opportunity to learn from different countries' experience.
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| 2. |
- Afram, Basema, et al.
(författare)
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Predicting institutional long-term care admission in dementia: a mixed-methods study of informal caregivers' reports
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Advanced Nursing. - Chichester : Wiley. - 0309-2402 .- 1365-2648. ; 71:6, s. 1351-1362
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AimTo investigate agreement between: (1) expected reasons and actual reasons for admission of people with dementia according to informal caregivers; (2) scores on measurement instruments prior to admission and the actual reasons for admission according to informal caregivers. BackgroundTimely admission of people with dementia is a crucial issue. Information is highly warranted on whether informal caregivers are capable of prior identification of causes of admission and, can thus be considered a reliable prospective source on causes of admission. DesignA cohort study among informal caregivers of people with dementia who made a transition to institutional long-term care. MethodsQualitative data on the expected and actual reasons for admission were collected via open-ended questions at baseline and follow-up. Furthermore, at baseline, data were collected using measurement instruments to measure pre-admission characteristics. Interviews took place between November 2010-April 2012. After categorizing the answers, the agreement between the expected and actual reasons was calculated. Furthermore, bivariate associations were calculated between the actual reasons for admission and scores on corresponding measurement instruments. Results/FindingsFor most informal caregivers, there was agreement between their statements on the expected reason and the actual reason for admission. A third of the caregivers showed no conformity. Bivariate associations showed that there is also agreement between the actual reasons for admission and scores on corresponding measurement instruments. ConclusionInformal caregivers can be considered reliable sources of information regarding what causes the admission of a person with dementia. Professional care should anticipate informal caregivers' statements and collaborate with them to strive for timely and appropriate admission.
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| 3. |
- Afram, Basema, et al.
(författare)
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Reasons for Institutionalization of People With Dementia: Informal Caregiver Reports From 8 European Countries
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. - : Elsevier BV. - 1525-8610. ; 15:2, s. 108-116
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To explore reasons for institutionalization of people with dementia according to informal caregivers as well as variation in reasons between countries. Design: An explorative cross-sectional study was conducted in 8 European countries. Setting: Per country, a minimum of 3 long term care facilities, offering care and accommodation as a package, participated in this study. Participating countries were selected to represent different geographic areas in Europe. Participants: Of the 791 informal caregivers involved in the RightTimePlaceCare project of people with dementia who were recently admitted to a long term care facility, 786 were included for this study. Measurements: As part of a semistructured interview, informal caregivers were asked the main reason for institutionalization in an open-ended question. Answers were categorized according to a conventional coding approach. All reasons were then quantified and tested. Results: Mainly patient-related reasons were stated, such as neuropsychiatric symptoms (25%), care dependency (24%), and cognition (19%). Neuropsychiatric symptoms were among the most often mentioned reasons in most countries. Besides patient-related reasons, caregiver burden and the inability of the informal caregiver to care for the patient were stated as reasons (both 15%). Further analyses showed countries differ significantly in reasons according to informal caregivers. Additionally, reasons were analyzed for spouses and child-caregivers, showing that spouses more often stated reasons related to themselves compared with child-caregivers. Conclusion: Multiple reasons contribute to the institutionalization for people with dementia, with several factors that may influence why there were country differences. Variation in the organization of dementia care and cultural aspects, or the relationship between the informal caregiver and person with dementia may be factors influencing the reasons. Because of a wide variation in reasons between countries, no one-size-fits-all approach can be offered to guide informal caregivers when facing the possibility of institutionalization of the person with dementia. (C) 2014 - American Medical Directors Association, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 4. |
- Beerens, Hanneke C., et al.
(författare)
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Change in quality of life of people with dementia recently admitted to long-term care facilities
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Advanced Nursing. - : Wiley. - 0309-2402. ; 71:6, s. 1435-1447
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AimTo assess which factors are associated with change in quality of life of people with dementia who have recently been admitted to long-term care facilities. BackgroundMany people with dementia will be admitted to long-term care facilities at some point during their disease. It is currently unknown which factors are associated with improvement and/or deterioration of quality of life immediately following admission. DesignAn observational and longitudinal survey. MethodsData on 343 people with dementia who have been recently admitted to long-term care facilities across eight European countries were collected between November 2010-April 2012. Quality of life was assessed by people with dementia and their proxies using the Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease scale'. Explanatory variables included cognitive status, comorbidities, activities of daily living, depressive symptoms and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Descriptive and multilevel regression analyses were performed. ResultsBetter cognitive abilities at baseline were associated with a decrease in self-reported quality of life. Greater dependency and more depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with declined proxy-reported quality of life. Furthermore, an increased dependency and an increase of depressive symptoms between baseline and follow-up were associated with a decreased proxy-reported quality of life. On an individual level, three groups were identified, namely people whose quality of life: (1) decreased; (2) stayed the same; and (3) increased. ConclusionCognitive functioning, functional rehabilitation and treatment of depressive symptoms should receive special attention. However, quality of life of people with dementia does not necessarily decrease after institutionalization.
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| 5. |
- Beerens, Hanneke C., et al.
(författare)
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Quality of Life and Quality of Care for People With Dementia Receiving Long Term Institutional Care or Professional Home Care: The European RightTimePlaceCare Study
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. - : Elsevier BV. - 1525-8610. ; 15:1, s. 54-61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To explore how quality of life (QoL) and quality of care (QoC) for people with dementia (PwD) vary across 8 European countries; to explore how QoL and QoC for PwD vary across living arrangements; and to assess the association between QoL and QoC. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Institutional long term care and home care in 8 European countries (England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden). Participants: PwD receiving formal home care but at risk for admission to an institutional setting, and PwD who were recently admitted. Measurements: QoL was assessed by the PwD and by their best informed proxies using the Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease scale (QoL-AD) (range 13-52). QoC was measured using quality of care indicators (eg, the presence of depressive symptoms, the presence of pressure ulcers). Results: A total of 1123 PwD living at home (mean age 82.2, 63%women) and 791 PwD living in institutional care (mean age 84.1, 74% women) participated. QoL of PwD was most often rated highest in Sweden and England and lowest in Estonia and Spain. No differences in QoL were detected among the settings. For the QoC indicators, no consistent patterns were visible in such away that certain countries or settings scored "higher" or "lower." The presence of depressive symptoms was most consistently associated with lower QoL (P <= .001). Conclusion: There is great variation in QoL and QoC scores among European countries and settings. To gain insight into the underlying causes of these differences, more knowledge is needed about the effect of different national health care systems and dementia strategies on QoL and QoC indicators. Depressive symptoms were associated with QoL, and executing longitudinal studies investigating which factors are associated with change in QoL is highly recommended. Copyright (C) 2014 - American Medical Directors Association, Inc.
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| 6. |
- Daamen, Mariëlle A M J, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence of heart failure in nursing homes : a systematic literature review.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. - : Wiley. - 0283-9318 .- 1471-6712. ; 24:1, s. 202-208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Heart failure is an important problem in western countries. In nursing home residents heart failure is expected to be highly prevalent. However, accurate diagnosis of heart failure in these patients is often hampered due to atypical findings and concomitant co-morbidity. In order to deliver adequate nursing care and medical treatment, it is important to get insight into the prevalence of heart failure in this target group of patients. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of heart failure as well as the co-morbidity interfering with heart failure in nursing home residents. METHODS AND RESULTS: A systematic literature review was conducted in Medline, Embase, Cinahl and the Cochrane Library. Ten studies were ultimately included. Findings indicate that the mean prevalence of heart failure is 20% (range 15-45%) and that there is a significant level of co-morbidity (dementia, diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) in nursing home residents with heart failure. CONCLUSION: The reported prevalence of heart failure in nursing home residents is higher than in the general population and is associated with considerably co-morbidity. However there are also indications that the prevalence of heart failure in nursing home residents is underestimated, negatively affecting quality of life and quality of care. Therefore, prospective prevalence studies and studies aiming to improve the care for nursing home residents with heart failure are warranted.
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| 7. |
- Harju, Mikael, et al.
(författare)
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Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship Modeling on in Vitro Endocrine Effects and Metabolic Stability Involving 26 Selected Brominated Flame Retardants
- 2007
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Ingår i: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. - 1552-8618. ; 26:4, s. 816-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this work, quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSARs) were developed to aid human and environmental risk assessment processes for brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Brominated flame retardants, such as the high-production-volume chemicals polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), tetrabromobisphenol A, and hexabromocyclododecane, have been identified as potential endocrine disruptors. Quantitative structure–activity relationship models were built based on the in vitro potencies of 26 selected BFRs. The in vitro assays included interactions with, for example, androgen, progesterone, estrogen, and dioxin (aryl hydrocarbon) receptor, plus competition with thyroxine for its plasma carrier protein (transthyretin), inhibition of estradiol sulfation via sulfotransferase, and finally, rate of metabolization. The QSAR modeling, a number of physicochemical parameters were calculated describing the electronic, lipophilic, and structural characteristics of the molecules. These include frontier molecular orbitals, molecular charges, polarities, log octanol/water partitioning coefficient, and two- and three-dimensional molecular properties. Experimental properties were included and measured for PBDEs, such as their individual ultraviolet spectra (200–320 nm) and retention times on three different high-performance liquid chromatography columns and one nonpolar gas chromatography column. Quantitative structure–activity relationship models based on androgen antagonism and metabolic degradation rates generally gave similar results, suggesting that lower-brominated PBDEs with bromine substitutions in ortho positions and bromine-free meta- and para positions had the highest potencies and metabolic degradation rates. Predictions made for the constituents of the technical flame retardant Bromkal 70-5DE found BDE 17 to be a potent androgen antagonist and BDE 66, which is a relevant PBDE in environmental samples, to be only a weak antagonist.
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| 8. |
- Verbeek, Hilde, et al.
(författare)
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A European study investigating patterns of transition from home care towards institutional dementia care: the protocol of a RightTimePlaceCare study
- 2012
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2458. ; 12:68
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Health care policies in many countries aim to enable people with dementia to live in their own homes as long as possible. However, at some point during the disease the needs of a significant number of people with dementia cannot be appropriately met at home and institutional care is required. Evidence as to best practice strategies enabling people with dementia to live at home as long as possible and also identifying the right time to trigger admission to a long-term nursing care facility is therefore urgently required. The current paper presents the rationale and methods of a study generating primary data for best-practice development in the transition from home towards institutional nursing care for people with dementia and their informal caregivers. The study has two main objectives: 1) investigate country-specific factors influencing institutionalization and 2) investigate the circumstances of people with dementia and their informal caregivers in eight European countries. Additionally, data for economic evaluation purposes are being collected. Methods/design: This paper describes a prospective study, conducted in eight European countries (Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, United Kingdom). A baseline assessment and follow-up measurement after 3 months will be performed. Two groups of people with dementia and their informal caregivers will be included: 1) newly admitted to institutional long-term nursing care facilities; and 2) receiving professional long-term home care, and being at risk for institutionalization. Data will be collected on outcomes for people with dementia (e. g. quality of life, quality of care), informal caregivers (e. g. caregiver burden, quality of life) and costs (e. g. resource utilization). Statistical analyses consist of descriptive and multivariate regression techniques and cross-country comparisons. Discussion: The current study, which is part of a large European project 'RightTimePlaceCare', generates primary data on outcomes and costs of long-term nursing care for people with dementia and their informal caregivers, specifically focusing on the transition from home towards institutional care. Together with data collected in three other work packages, knowledge gathered in this study will be used to inform and empower patients, professionals, policy and related decision makers to manage and improve health and social dementia care services.
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| 9. |
- Verbeek, Hilde, et al.
(författare)
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Inter-country exploration of factors associated with admission to long-term institutional dementia care: evidence from the RightTimePlaceCare study
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Advanced Nursing. - Chichester : Wiley. - 0309-2402 .- 1365-2648. ; 71:6, s. 1338-1350
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AimTo explore inter-country variation of factors associated with institutionalization of people with dementia. BackgroundThere is an urgent need for evidence on whether factors associated with admission to institutional dementia care are applicable across healthcare systems, as increasing evidence suggests that these factors could be country-specific. DesignA prospective cohort study. MethodPrimary data were collected in eight European countries, at baseline and after 3months follow-up (November 2010-April 2012). The sample included 2014 dyads of people with dementia and their informal caregivers; 791 patients were recently institutionalized, 1223 patients lived at home and were at risk of institutionalization. Associations between care setting (institution vs. home) and factors shown to influence institutionalization (e.g. cognition, independence in activities of daily life, behaviour) were studied. ResultsConsiderable differences were found between the eight countries in characteristics of people with dementia who had been recently admitted to ILTC. However, caregiver burden appeared the most consistent factor associated with institutionalization in all analyses. Indications for the importance of independence in activities of daily life were found as well, although country differences may be more prominent for this factor. ConclusionEvidence was found for two common factors, crucial in the process of institutionalization across countries: caregiver burden and independency in activities of daily life. However, this study also suggests that admission to institutional dementia care is context-specific, as wide variation exists in factors associated with institutionalization across countries. Tailored best-practice strategies are needed to reflect variations in response to these needs.
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