Search Results (6)

This study aimed to investigate the impact of epidemic prevention and isolation policies on residents’ health and well-being and assess the effectiveness of implementing intervention measures to maintain their quality of life. This mixed-methods research study involved a retrospective record review of residents’ daily life diaries and descriptive statistical analysis. Data were collected between March 2021 and June 2022, and epidemic-prevention measures were implemented using Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control guidelines. Three interventions were developed to address residents’ health, social, and rehabilitation needs. Despite an overall infection rate of 10% at various times between 2021 and 2022, there were no reported outbreaks of nosocomial infections. The concept of reablement proved effective in helping residents maintain their independence and physical function, with a maintenance rate of 66.6%, thereby improving their quality of life. By implementing epidemic-prevention measures, we found that proper hand washing and the use of surgical masks were effective in controlling infections. Furthermore, the decline in physical function is a continuous and gradual process for older adults. Even under the restriction of social interaction, it is essential to incorporate rehabilitation plans into residents’ daily activities and encourage their active participation, as this promotes improved physical function and enhances their overall quality of life. Full article

Living Labs (LL) are a novel and potentially robust way of addressing real-life health challenges, especially within the dementia field. Generally, LLs focus on co-creating through implementing the quadruple helix partnership as a user-centric approach to co-creating. In the context of this paper, the users were people with dementia and their informal carers. LL are not necessarily environments that evaluate these co-created innovations within the real world. Considering this disconnect between co-creation and real-world evaluation, this paper, as a critical commentary, will reflect on the methodological lessons learnt during the development of an LL model aimed at addressing this discrepancy. The LL at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) was commissioned to co-create and then evaluate a new Dementia Reablement Service. The case study findings revealed that the Dementia Reablement Service had a positive impact on the quality of life of people with dementia, suggesting that the service is a catalyst for positive change. In addition, the critical learning from this case study highlights the potential role of LLs in seamlessly co-creating and then evaluating the co-created solution within the real world. A benefit of this way of working is that it provides opportunities for LLs to secure access to traditional research funding. Full article

Reablement services are approaches for maintaining and improving the functional independence of older adults. Previous reablement studies were conducted in a home environment. Due to the limited evidence on the effects of multicomponent interventions and reablement in a community-based context, this study aimed to develop and evaluate the effect of community-based physical–cognitive training, health education, and reablement (PCHER) among rural community-dwelling older adults with mobility deficits. The trial was conducted in rural areas of New Taipei City, Taiwan. Older adults with mild to moderate mobility deficits were recruited from six adult daycare centers, and a cluster assignment was applied in a counterbalanced order. The experimental group (n = 16) received a PCHER intervention, comprising 1.5 h of group courses and 1 h of individualized reablement training, while the control group (n = 12) underwent PCHE intervention, comprising 1.5 h of group courses and 1 h of placebo treatment. A 2.5-h training session was completed weekly for 10 weeks. The outcome measures contained the de Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI), the Saint Louis University Mental Status (SLUMS) Examination, the Barthel Index (BI), the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). The PCHER significantly improved the DEMMI, SLUMS, BI, SPPB, and COPM (all p < 0.05), with medium-to-large effect sizes. PCHER also showed an advantage over PCHE in terms of the SPPB (p = 0.02). This study verified that combining individualized reablement with group-based multicomponent training was superior to group courses alone in enhancing the functional abilities of community-dwelling older adults with mobility deficits. Full article

Background: The traditional home care model entails caring “for” people with disabilities, not “with” them. Reablement care has been applied to long-term care, but the evidence for care attendants, home care recipients, and family caregivers simultaneously is limited. Methods: First, a survey was conducted to explore the needs of home care recipients and family caregivers to achieve independence at home to develop the reablement home care model for home care. Then, an intervention with two groups was implemented. The experimental group included a total of 86 people who participated in the reablement home care model. The control group included 100 people and received usual home care. The self-reliance concept, job satisfaction, and sense of achievement for care attendants; quality of life for home care users; and caregiving burden for family caregivers were assessed. Results: The reablement home care model improved the job satisfaction and achievement of home care attendants, improved mutual support and independence in the self-reliance concept and quality of life among the users, and reduced the stress of the users and family caregivers. Conclusion: The reablement home care model improved the outcomes for providers, care recipients, and family caregivers. Reablement home care is suggested in long-term care policies. Full article

The aim of this article was to identify the main contributing factors to optimising improved experience and better outcomes for older adults participating in intermediate care setting. Background: Intermediate care is an integrated team intervention for patients experiencing an acute change in their function and well-being. Crisis intervention is one of several intermediate care pathways and provides a timely, person-centred, goal setting assessment to determine appropriate care and support for patients in the community. Method: This systematic review was conducted using key search terms and Boolean operators. A Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool was used to evaluate the studies and the data was extracted and synthesised systematically to develop themes relating to the research question. Results: Seven qualitative primary research studies and one mixed methods study were identified. The main themes were ‘communicating with patients’ and ‘patient participation’. Results showed neither themes are parallel entities but co-dependent. Patient-centred approaches to communication by professionals encouraged active patient participation, in turn optimising patient outcomes. Conclusion: This review showed that patient participation in intermediate care requires professionals using advanced communication skills and taking time to actively listen to what is important to the patients. In addition, poor professional communication resulted in passive patient participation. Implications for future practice are discussed. Full article

We aimed to assess the efficacy of a reablement program in improving the independence from long-term care services of older adults with mild disability. This parallel, two-arm, randomized controlled, superiority trial was conducted in Neyagawa, a local government area in Osaka, Japan. Eligible participants were community-dwelling individuals aged ≥65 years certified as support-required level. They were assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either a community-based, multicomponent, multidisciplinary, individualized goal-directed, and time-limited intervention (the CoMMIT program) plus standard care or standard care alone. The primary outcome was independence, that is, the nonuse of long-term care services during the three-month follow-up period. The study was terminated early due to slow enrollment. A total of 375 participants were enrolled and randomized to either the intervention (n = 190) or control (n = 185) group. The proportions of independence were 11.1% and 3.8% in the intervention and control groups, respectively (absolute difference: 7.3; 95% confidence interval: 2.0–12.5). There was no difference in the risk of serious adverse events between the groups. The CoMMIT program plus standard care was found superior to standard care alone in enhancing the independence from long-term care services of older adults with mild disability. Full article