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Current medical models frequently overlook functional limitations and the home environment even though they partially determine healthcare usage and quality of life. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ( CMS) Innovation Center funds projects that have potential to affect the 'triple aim,' a framework for decreasing costs while improving health and quality of life. This article presents preliminary data from Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders ( CAPABLE), a model funded by the CMS Innovation Center and designed to overcome the functional and home environmental barriers of older adults. CAPABLE is a patient-directed, team-based intervention comprising an occupational therapist, a registered nurse, and a handyman to decrease hospitalization and nursing home usage of community-dwelling older adults with functional limitations who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Activity of daily living limitations improved in 79% of the first 100 people who completed the intervention. Preliminary findings of this novel intervention may have implications for other older adults with functional limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To determine effect size and acceptability of a multicomponent behavior and home repair intervention for low-income disabled older adults. Design Prospective randomized controlled pilot trial. Setting Participants' homes. Participants Forty low-income older adults with difficulties in one or more activities of daily living ( ADLs) or two or more instrumental activities of daily living ( IADLs). Intervention The Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders ( CAPABLE), coordinated occupational therapy, nursing, and handyman visits, was compared with attention-control visits. The intervention consisted of up to six visits with an occupational therapist, up to four visits with a nurse, and an average of $1,300 in handyman repairs and modifications. Each intervention participant received all components of the intervention clinically individualized to risk profile and goals. Each attention-control participant received the same number of visits as the intervention participants, involving sedentary activities of their choice. Measurement Primary outcome: difficulty in performing ADLs and IADLs. Secondary outcomes: health-related quality of life and falls efficacy. Results Thirty-five of 40 adults (87%) completed the 6-month trial, and 93% and 100% of the control and intervention group, respectively, stated that the study benefited them. The intervention group improved on all outcomes. When comparing mean change in the intervention group with mean change in the control group from baseline to follow-up, the CAPABLE intervention had effect sizes of 0.63 for reducing difficulty in ADLs, 0.62 for reducing difficulty in IADLs, 0.89 for quality of life, and 0.55 for falls efficacy. Conclusion The CAPABLE intervention was acceptable to participants and feasible to provide and showed promising results, suggesting that this multicomponent intervention to reduce disability should be evaluated in a larger trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) program, funded by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, aims to reduce the impact of disability among low-income older adults by addressing individual capacities and the home environment. The program, described in this innovation profile, uses an interprofessional team (an occupational therapist, a registered nurse, and a handyman) to help participants achieve goals they set. For example, it provides assistive devices and makes home repairs and modifications that enable participants to navigate their homes more easily and safely. In the period 2012-15, a demonstration project enrolled 281 adults ages sixty-five and older who were dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and who had difficulty performing activities of daily living (ADLs). After completing the five-month program, 75 percent of participants had improved their performance of ADLs. Participants had difficulty with an average of 3.9 out of 8.0 ADLs at baseline, compared to 2.0 after five months. Symptoms of depression and the ability to perform instrumental ADLs such as shopping and managing medications also improved. Health systems are testing CAPABLE on a larger scale. The program has the potential to improve older adults' ability to age in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the willingness-to-pay (WTP) of family caregivers to learn care strategies for persons living with dementia (PLwD)., Design: Randomized clinical trial., Setting: Community-dwelling PLwD and their caregivers (dyads) in Maryland and Washington, DC., Participants: 250 dyads., Intervention: Tailored Activity Program (TAP) compared to attention control. TAP provides activities tailored to the PLwD and instructs caregivers in their use., Measurement: At baseline, 3 and 6 months, caregivers were asked their WTP per session for an 8-session 3-month in-home nonpharmacologic intervention to address behavioral symptoms and functional dependence., Results: At baseline, 3 and 6 months, caregivers assigned to TAP were willing to pay $26.10/session (95%CI:$20.42, $33.00), $28.70 (95%CI:$19.73, $39.30), and $22.79 (95%CI: $16.64, $30.09), respectively; attention control caregivers were willing to pay $37.90/session (95%CI: $27.10, $52.02), $30.92 (95%CI: $23.44, $40.94), $27.44 (95%CI: $20.82, $35.34), respectively. The difference in baseline to 3 and 6 months change in WTP between TAP and the attention control was $9.58 (95%CI: -$5.00, $25.47) and $7.15 (95%CI: -$5.72, $21.81). The difference between TAP and attention control in change in the proportion of caregivers willing to pay something from baseline to 3 and 6 months was -12% (95%CI: -28%, -5%) and -7% (95%CI:-25%, -11%), respectively. The difference in change in WTP, among caregivers willing to pay something, between TAP and attention control from baseline to 3 and 6 months was $17.93 (95%CI: $0.22, $38.30) and $11.81 (95%CI: -$2.57, $28.17)., Conclusions: Family caregivers are willing to pay more for an intervention immediately following participation in a program similar to which they were asked to value.

Purpose: To characterize the locations, circumstances, and outcomes of falls in patients with varying degrees of glaucoma., Design: Prospective cohort study., Methods: Patients with suspected or diagnosed glaucoma completed monthly calendars reporting falls. After each fall, a 30-item questionnaire was administered to determine fall location, circumstances, and injury. Mean deviation on visual field (VF) testing was used to categorize glaucoma severity. Main outcome measures were fall locations, circumstances, and outcomes., Results: One-hundred forty-two patients experienced 330 falls. Falls were most likely to occur in/around the home (71%), and this likelihood did not vary significantly with severity of VF damage (P > .2). The most commonly cited fall circumstances were tripping (43.6%), slipping (31.3%), uneven flooring (23.5%), and poor vision (15.9%). The circumstances related to falls did not vary by severity of VF damage (P > .2), except for poor vision, which was more frequently cited in individuals with more advanced VF damage (P = .001). Forty-three percent of falls resulted in some injury; and the likelihood of injury did not vary by severity of VF loss (P = .60) or any other factor except floor type and number of comorbidities (P < .05 for all). Falls in persons with more severe glaucoma were more likely to result in a fracture (9.4%) or an emergency room visit (18.8%), though these associations did not persist in multivariable models (P > .5 for all)., Conclusions: Glaucoma patients fall mostly in/around the home and demonstrate similar fall circumstances across the spectrum of disease severity, suggesting that current fall prevention interventions, particularly those emphasizing home modification, may be an adequate starting point to prevent falls in this high-risk-group., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To investigate effects of a novel dementia care coordination program on health services utilization., Data Sources/study Setting: A total of 303 community-dwelling adults aged ≥70 with a cognitive disorder in Baltimore, Maryland (2008-2011)., Study Design: Single-blind RCT evaluating efficacy of an 18-month care coordination intervention delivered through community-based nonclinical care coordinators, supported by an interdisciplinary clinical team., Data Collection/extraction Methods: Study partners reported acute care/inpatient, outpatient, and home- and community-based service utilization at baseline, 9, and 18 months., Principal Findings: From baseline to 18 months, there were no significant group differences in acute care/inpatient or total outpatient services use, although intervention participants had significantly increased outpatient dementia/mental health visits from 9 to 18 months (p = .04) relative to controls. Home and community-based support service use significantly increased from baseline to 18 months in the intervention compared to control (p = .005)., Conclusions: While this dementia care coordination program did not impact acute care/inpatient services utilization, it increased use of dementia-related outpatient medical care and nonmedical supportive community services, a combination that may have helped participants remain at home longer. Future care model modifications that emphasize delirium, falls prevention, and behavior management may be needed to influence inpatient service use., (© Health Research and Educational Trust.)