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IMPORTANCE: Assisted living (AL) is the largest provider of residential long-term care in the US, and the morbidity of AL residents has been rising. However, AL is not a health care setting, and concern has been growing about residents medical and mental health needs. No guidance exists to inform this care. OBJECTIVE: To identify consensus recommendations for medical and mental health care in AL and determine whether they are pragmatic. EVIDENCE REVIEW: A Delphi consensus statement study was conducted in 2021; as a separate effort, the extent to which the recommendations are reflected in practice was examined in data obtained from 2016 to 2021 (prepandemic). In the separate effort, data were from a 7-state study (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas). The 19 Delphi panelists constituted nationally recognized experts in medical, nursing, and mental health needs of and care for older adults; dementia care; and AL and long-term care management, advocacy, regulation, and education. One invitee was unavailable and nominated an alternate. The primary outcome was identification of recommended practices based on consensus ratings of importance. Panelists rated 183 items regarding importance to care quality and feasibility. FINDINGS: Consensus identified 43 recommendations in the areas of staff and staff training, nursing and related services, resident assessment and care planning, policies and practices, and medical and mental health clinicians and care. To determine the pragmatism of the recommendations, their prevalence was examined in the 7-state study and found that most were in practice. The items reflected the tenets of AL, the role of AL in providing dementia care, the need for pragmatism due to the diversity of AL, and workforce needs. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this consensus statement, 43 recommendations important to medical and mental health care in AL were delineated that are highly pragmatic as a guide for practice and policy.

The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the UMOVE Mobility Screen in older adults living with dementia using a Rasch analysis and hypothesis testing. The UMOVE Mobility Screen (UMOVE) focuses on nine activities: following commands, muscle strength, and basic functional mobility tasks. Trained evaluators completed assessments on 244 patients, the majority of whom were female (62%), and White (71%). Based on Rasch Analysis, there was evidence of good item and person reliability (indexes > 0.80), good INFIT statistics, and only one item fitting the model based on OUTFIT statistics. Validity was supported based on hypothesis testing. There was no evidence of Differential Item Functioning between races and genders. Item mapping raised concerns about the spread of the items across the full spectrum of mobility assessed in the UMOVE Mobility Screen. Future testing should consider adding some easier and some more difficult items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons with Dementia and Their Caregivers was held on October 16-17, 2017, at the National Institutes of Health. In this paper, participants from the Summit Session on Research on Care Needs and Supportive Approaches for Persons with Dementia summarize the state of the science, identify gaps in knowledge, and offer recommendations to improve science and practice in long-term care. Recommendations cover 4 areas focused on persons living with dementia: (1) symptoms (behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, function, cognition, and sleep); (2) dementia care settings (physical and social environments, home, and residential care); (3) living with dementia (living well with dementia, living alone with dementia, and living with dementia and intellectual and developmental disabilities); and (4) technology as a cross-cutting theme. The participants identify 10 of the most pressing research issues based on the findings from their collective papers. Final Summit recommendations included those presented by session participants and will be used to advise federal agencies and other organizations that fund research.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with engagement in meaningful activity among residents with dementia in assisted living. We hypothesized that greater functional independence, less pain, and lower behavioral and psychological symptom severity would be associated with higher engagement in meaningful activity after controlling for residents' age, gender, comorbidities, and cognition. Understanding factors associated with engagement in meaningful activity can help to inform strategies for optimizing engagement among residents with dementia in assisted living. Method: This descriptive study used baseline data from a randomized controlled trial, Meaningful Activity for Managing Behavioral Symptoms of Distress (MAC-4-BSD). Linear regression was used to examine factors associated with engagement in meaningful activity. Results: A total of 71 residents from 5 assisted living settings were included in the sample. Most participants were female (n = 52, 73%), White (n = 62, 87%), and mean age was 85 years old (SD = 8.2). Controlling for age, gender, comorbidities, and cognition, pain was significantly associated with engagement in meaningful activity (b= −2.09, p < 0.05). There were no associations found between function and behavioral symptoms with engagement in meaningful activity. Conclusion: Findings from this study show that pain is a significant factor that is negatively associated with residents' engagement in meaningful activity. Ongoing research is needed to help improve pain management for residents with dementia in assisted living and support their engagement in meaningful activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveDesignResultsConclusionThe resident population in nursing homes is increasingly racially diverse. The purpose of this study was to assess racial differences in the quality of care interactions among nursing home residents with dementia.The study utilized baseline data from the Testing the Evidence Integration Triangle for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (EIT-4-BPSD), a randomized controlled pragmatic trial. The Quality of Interaction Scale (QuIS) was used to measure quality of staff-resident care interactions. The sample included 531 residents. An analysis of covariance was conducted to address the aim.The majority of interactions were positive social (42%) or positive care (37%). Black residents living with dementia had higher QuIS scores (M = 5.98, SD = 1.66) than White residents with dementia (M = 5.40, SD = 1.75), whereas higher QuIS scores indicating more positive interactions. However, the results of the analysis of covariance indicated that there was not a significant difference in QuIS scores between Black versus White residents living with dementia (p =.203).The findings suggest that care interactions in nursing homes are consistent between Black residents and White residents. Future research should evaluate the impact of staff race on the quality of care interaction among nursing home residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the first 4 months of implementation of the University of Maryland Interdisciplinary Wellness Clinic (UM-IWC). The UM-IWC provided health care services that are difficult for older adults in low-income senior housing communities to access. Design: This was a descriptive study including four low-income communities. Methods: Measures included health information, participation, and services provided. Findings: A total of 165 residents were seen (44%). The residents were mostly female (80%), Black (63%), and non-Hispanic (83%), with an average age of 77 years. We provided 253 patient visits with 98 residents seen once, 38 twice, 19 three times, and 10 four times. Visits included 165 intake assessments, 61 immunizations, 193 blood pressure checks, 28 foot care treatments, 12 cerumen removals, 12 completions of advance directives, 14 Annual Wellness Visits, and 3 home visits for acute medical problems. Conclusions: There was strong engagement of the residents, and we were able to provide a large number of services that were not easily accessible to these individuals. Future work will focus on increasing and maintaining the engagement of residents and sustainability of the clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults continue to spend little time engaged in physical activity when hospitalized. The purpose of this study was to (a) describe activity among hospitalized older adults with dementia and (b) identify the association between specific factors (gender, ambulation independence, comorbidities, race, and hospital setting) and their physical activity. This descriptive study utilized baseline data on the first 79 participants from the Function Focused Care for Acute Care using the Evidence Integration Triangle. Multiple linear regression models were run using accelerometry data from the first full day of hospitalization. The participants spent an average of 83.7% of their time being sedentary. Male gender, ambulation independence, and hospital setting (the hospital in which the patient was admitted) were associated with greater activity. This study reports on the limited time spent in activity for older adults with dementia when hospitalized and highlights patient profiles that are particularly vulnerable to sedentary behavior in the hospital setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]