1.
Religa, D., et al.
(author)
SveDem, the Swedish Dementia Registry - A tool for improving the quality of diagnostics, treatment and care of dementia patients in clinical practice
2015
In: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 10:2
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Background: The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagnostic work-up, treatment and care of patients with dementia disorders in Sweden. Methods: SveDem is an internet based quality registry where several indicators can be followed over time. It includes information about the diagnostic work-up, medical treatment and community support (www.svedem.se). The patients are diagnosed and followed-up yearly in specialist units, primary care centres or in nursing homes. Results: The database was initiated in May 2007 and covers almost all of Sweden. There were 28 722 patients registered with a mean age of 79.3 years during 2007-2012. Each participating unit obtains continuous online statistics from its own registrations and they can be compared with regional and national data. A report from SveDem is published yearly to inform medical and care professionals as well as political and administrative decision-makers about the current quality of diagnostics, treatment and care of patients with dementia disorders in Sweden. Conclusion: SveDem provides knowledge about current dementia care in Sweden and serves as a framework for ensuring the quality of diagnostics, treatment and care across the country. It also reflects changes in quality dementia care over time. Data from SveDem can be used to further develop the national guidelines for dementia and to generate new research hypotheses.
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Barbabella, Francesco, 1984-, et al.
(author)
A multilingual web platform supporting informal carers in 27 EU member states
2015
In: Broader, bigger, better: AAL solutions for Europe. Proceedings of the 6<sup>th</sup> AAL Forum 2014. - Bucharest : UEFISCDI. - 9789730201192 ; , s. 169-172
Conference paper (peer-reviewed) abstract
Informal care is a hot topic in research and policy agendas at European and national level, since it greatly contributes to the sustainability and efficiency of national health care systems. A specific intervention – part of the wider INNOVAGE project funded by FP7 – was planned for developing and testing a new multilingual web platform for informal carers of dependent older people in the EU-27. Preliminary results of the pilot study, conducted in Italy, Germany and Sweden will be discussed. The final platform will be accessible in all official languages of the EU-27 and publicly available in spring 2015.
4.
Johansson, Karin, et al.
(author)
Patients' experiences of support for learning to live with diabetes to promote health and well-being : A lifeworld phenomenological study
2016
In: International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1748-2623 .- 1748-2631. ; 11:1
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Learning to live with diabetes in such a way that the new conditions will be a normal and natural part of life imposes requirements on the person living with diabetes. Previous studies have shown that there is no clear picture of what and how the learning that would allow persons to incorporate the illness into their everyday life will be supported. The aim of this study is to describe the phenomenon of support for learning to live with diabetes to promote health and well-being, from the patient's perspective. Data were collected by interviews with patients living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The interviews were analysed using a reflective lifeworld approach. The results show that reflection plays a central role for patients with diabetes in achieving a new understanding of the health process, and awareness of their own responsibility was found to be the key factor for such a reflection. The constituents are responsibility creating curiosity and willpower, openness enabling support, technology verifying bodily feelings, a permissive climate providing for participation and exchanging experiences with others. The study concludes that the challenge for caregivers is to create interactions in an open learning climate that initiates and supports reflection to promote health and well-being.
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Mosallanezhad, Z., et al.
(author)
A structural equation model of the relation between socioeconomic status, physical activity level, independence and health status in older Iranian people
2017
In: Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-4943 .- 1872-6976. ; 70, s. 123-129
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Background and aim: Health status is an independent predictor of mortality, morbidity and functioning in older people. The present study was designed to evaluate the link between socioeconomic status (SES), physical activity (PA), independence (I) and the health status (HS) of older people in Iran, using structural equation modelling. Methods: Using computerized randomly selection, a representative sample of 851 75-year-olds living in Tehran (2007-2008), Iran, was included. Participants answered questions regarding indicators of HS, SES and also PA and I through interviews. Both measurement and conceptual models of our hypotheses were tested using Mplus 5. Maximum-likelihood estimation with robust standard errors (MLR estimator), chisquare tests, the goodness of fit index (and degrees of freedom), as well as the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RSMEA) were used to evaluate the model fit. Results: The measurement model yielded a reasonable fit to the data, chi(2) = 110.93, df = 38; CFI = 0.97; RMSEA = 0.047, with 90% C.I. = 0.037-0.058. The model fit for the conceptual model was acceptable; chi(2) = 271.64, df = 39; CFI = 0.91; RMSEA = 0.084, with 90% C.I. = 0.074-0.093. SES itself was not a direct predictor of HS (beta = 0.13, p = 0.059) but it was a predictor of HS either through affecting PA (beta = 0.31, p < 0.001) or I (beta = 0.57, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Socioeconomic status appeared to influence health status, not directly but through mediating some behavioral and self-confidence aspects including physical activity and independence in ADL. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
7.
Smedback, Jonas, et al.
(author)
Palliative care during the final week of life of older people in nursing homes : A register-based study
2017
In: Palliative & Supportive Care. - : Cambridge University Press. - 1478-9515 .- 1478-9523. ; 15:4, s. 417-424
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Objective: Our aim was to explore the presence of symptoms, symptom relief, and other key aspects of palliative care during the final week of life among older people residing in nursing homes. Method: Our study employed data from the Swedish Palliative Care Register on all registered individuals aged 60 and older who had died in nursing homes during the years 2011 and 2012. Variables pertaining to monitoring and treatment of symptoms, end-of-life discussions, circumstances around the death, and the individual characteristics of deceased individuals were explored using descriptive statistics. Results: The most common underlying causes of death among the 49,172 deceased nursing home residents were circulatory diseases (42.2%) and dementia (22.7%). The most prevalent symptom was pain (58.7%), followed by rattles (42.4%), anxiety (33.0%), confusion (21.8%), shortness of breath (14.0%), and nausea (11.1%). Pain was the symptom with the highest degree of total relief (46.3%), whereas shortness of breath and confusion were totally relieved in 6.1 and 4.3% of all individuals, respectively. The use of valid instruments for symptom assessment was reported for pain in 12.3% and for other symptoms in 7.8% of subjects. The most prevalent individual prescriptions for injection PRN (pro re nata, according to circumstances) were for pain treatment (79.5%) and rattles (72.8%). End-of-life discussions were performed with 27.3% of all the deceased individuals and with 53.9% of their relatives. Of all individuals, 82.1% had someone present at death, and 15.8% died alone. Of all the nursing home resident deaths recorded, 45.3% died in their preferred place. Significance of results: There were large variations in degree of relief from different symptoms during the final week of life. Pain was the most prevalent symptom, and it was also the symptom with the highest proportion of total/partial relief. Other symptoms were less prevalent but also less well-relieved. Our results indicate a need for improvement of palliative care in nursing home settings, focusing on management of distressing symptoms and promotion of end-of-life discussions.
8.
Barbabella, Francesco, 1984-, et al.
(author)
Launching an interdisciplinary “International Summer School on Ageing” (ISSA) : Aims, methodology and outcomes
2016
In: Educational gerontology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0360-1277 .- 1521-0472. ; 42:4, s. 253-264
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Despite the increasing availability of gerontological training programmes, knowledge of theircontents, characteristics, methods and outcomes remains limited. However, the transitionfrom multidisciplinarity to interdisciplinary orientations is now fundamental to such training,providing participants from diverse academic orientations and professional backgrounds withopportunities to interact ‘across boundaries’. In response to recommendations of the EUFuturage Road Map for European Ageing Research (2011) concerning training and careerdevelopmentneeds of future cohorts of practitioners and scholars in aging, an InternationalSummer School on Ageing (ISSA) was developed in 2012. Its aim was to initiate the practicalimplementation of some of the capacity building goals identified by Futurage. The design andstructure of the ISSA was informed by the experience of Canada’s Summer Programme inAgeing - run by the Institute of Aging of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – and bythe cross-border academic training activities organized by Lund University (Sweden) inScandinavian countries. As Italy has lacked a tradition of comprehensive, interdisciplinarytraining programmes in gerontology, the Italian National Institute of Health and Science onAgeing undertook to launch the inaugural ISSA. In this article, the core aims andmethodology of the ISSA are presented, together with an analysis of its main outcomes, asmeasured by participant evaluations. These are discussed in the context of internationaldebate on this topic.
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