The concerns of older carers of an adult with disabilities have been well documented. The sudden incapacity or death of the carer can result in a crisis response rather than a planned transition to a chosen sustainable alternative care arrangement for the person with disability. Building on previous ‘Futures Planning’ projects, the aim of this project was to enrich the lives of people with disabilities and their carers whilst ensuring that their wishes for the future are documented to provide security. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
The randomized phase (phase 2) of the Prolonging Remission in Depressed Elderly (PRIDE) study evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of continuation ECT plus medication compared with medication alone in depressed geriatric patients after a successful course of ECT (phase 1). Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
To describe and interpret how older adults who have returned home to recover from a hip fracture cope with life in a health promoting perspective.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Background: elder maltreatment is a major risk for older adults’ mental health, quality of life, health, institutionalisation and even mortality.
Objectives: to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions designed to prevent or stop elder abuse. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Fear of falling is an important problem among older adults, even those with relatively low rates of objective fall risk, who are often overlooked as targets for intervention. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
The clinical and public mental health aspects of alcohol misuse in older people (both men and women) have increasing relevance for both old age and addiction psychiatrists. Clinical presentations are often complex and involve a number of different psychiatric, physical and psychosocial factors. The assessment, treatment and aftercare of alcohol-related and comorbid other mental disorders will also involve a broad range of interventions from a wide range of practitioners. Given its growing clinical relevance, there are particular areas, such as alcohol-related brain damage and drug interactions with alcohol, that deserve special attention. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Mobility is important to older people in nursing homes and residential facilities since it contributes to their health and quality of life. Many residents in such facilities require some form of assistance to move and accomplish activities of daily living. Therefore, nurses and healthcare assistants should have the knowledge and skills to provide effective mobility care. This article discusses three important aspects of mobility care: safety, mobility optimisation and person-centred approaches to care. Safety is important as residents and staff are at risk of injury during mobility care. Mobility optimisation is essential to ensure residents maintain their independence. Person-centred approaches to care are central to providing an integrated approach to mobility care. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Use of anticholinergic drugs in older people is associated with increased risk of cognitive decline and of dementia and death. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
The impact of working memory (WM) training on everyday life functioning has rarely been examined, and it is not clear whether WM training gains are transferred to reasoning abilities. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a verbal WM training in older adults, in terms of specific gains and transfer effects to everyday life and reasoning abilities. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are earlier frail than people in the general population. Although this may be explained by lifelong unfavourable social, psychological and clinical causes, underlying physiological pathways might be considered too. Biological measures can help identify pathophysiological pathways. Therefore, we examined the association between frailty and a range of serum markers on inflammation, anaemia, the metabolic system, micronutrients and renal functioning. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
A recent study into the quality of care homes which has sparked a much wider legal investigation has been called 'a manifestation of our buckling social care system' by Age UK.
older people aged 80 and over are increasingly providing end-of-life care to spouses at home and often do so for long periods of time, while also trying to manage their own illnesses and disabilities. Little of the research on older spousal carers has focussed on the oldest carers; hence, the needs of this particular population are not fully known. Please contact the library to receive a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
To describe what characterizes residents with higher levels compared with those with lower levels of thriving in nursing homes using the Thriving of Older People Assessment Scale. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness (improvement in health status and/or functioning and use of health services) of transdiagnostic health management interventions for people aged 65 years and older. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Peaceful Living, a cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for late-life generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), produced positive outcomes in GAD severity, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and mental health quality of life relative to usual care with treatment delivered by either bachelor-level lay providers (BLPs) or PhD-level expert providers (PLPs). We examined long-term maintenance of gains during 12 months following CBT for patients in this trial who received the intervention delivered by BLPs and PLPs and completed post-treatment assessments. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Depression is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline. The present study compared two-year change in cognitive performance between depressed older persons and a non-depressed control group, between remitted and non-remitted patients, and evaluated whether vascular burden at baseline was associated with more cognitive decline in depressed older persons. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
To explore communicative challenges in encounters between nurse assistants and older persons during home care visits. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
It is conventional wisdom that primary care for community-dwelling older people needs to shift from vertical, disease-oriented system of care to horizontal, problem-based, person-centred, goal-oriented care, integrating all healthcare providers. Although plausible, there is little evidence that such horizontal care, when embedded into routine practice, is effective in reducing disability and improving function, quality of life or well-being among older people. The negative findings of the ISCOPE trial, published in this issue [1], add to the argument that conventional wisdom may be wrong. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Preserved social functioning is of utmost importance for older individuals living in the community to maintain independency. However, in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, it remains unclear which factors influence social functioning in later life. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Background: evidence from inspection programmes suggest that the quality of care provided by individual care homes for older people is very variable. Aside from periodic inspection, there is limited information that is routinely collected and can be used to monitor quality.
Objectives: to describe a method for using routine hospital data on admissions of older people as means for monitoring quality of care within a care home. To explore how this might be applied and used. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
This discussion paper concludes that whilst there is potential for older people with a learning disability to benefit from policy and practice aimed at improving the lives of older people generally, the tendency for policy to be targeted at specific groups without adequately considering the diversity of those groups often leaves those with a learning disability at the margins of being able to make the most of changes. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Ageing—along with its associated physiological and pathological changes—places individuals at a higher risk of multimorbidity and treatment-related complications. Today, polypharmacy, a common and important problem related to drug use, occurs subsequent to this multimorbidity in the elderly in all populations. In recent decades, several scientific investigations have studied polypharmacy and its correlates, using different approaches and definitions, and their results have been inconclusive. Differences in definitions and approaches in these studies form a barrier against reaching a conclusion regarding the risk factors and consequences of polypharmacy. It is therefore imperative to establish an appropriate definition of polypharmacy. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
A recent study by Mirza et al (2016) published in The Lancet Psychiatry with an accompany editorial (Reppermund, 2016) suggests that older people whose depression symptoms increase over time are at increased risk of developing dementia. According to the authors of this study, they come closer to establishing whether depression is a risk factor for dementia, or vice versa, because they follow a group of people with depressive symptoms over time, rather than assessing them at one time point.
The aim of this study was to determine clinical and outcome differences between older bipolar patients with early onset (EO) and late onset (LO) of the illness and between younger and EO older patients with a bipolar disorder under long-term treatment in an outpatient clinical setting. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
delirium and dementia co-exist commonly in hospital. Older people with delirium have high rates of undiagnosed dementia, but delirium affects the use of cognitive testing in dementia diagnosis. Novel methods to detect dementia in delirium are needed. The purpose of the study was to investigate the diagnostic test accuracy of informant tools to detect dementia in hospitalised older people with delirium. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
A proportion of older individuals report subjective memory complaints (SMCs), which can predict the development of cognitive impairment and dementia. Previous studies based on secondary care suggest that SMC is also associated with other adverse health consequences, including falls, fractures and increased healthcare utilization. In this study, we aimed to establish whether similar findings are observed in the wider population. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Depression in older people is commonly under diagnosed and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Because older people currently occupy 65% of acute hospital beds, it is crucial for them to be properly assessed for depression to optimise their medical care. The aim of this study was to identify potential risk factors for depression in the medically ill in order to improve their inpatient care. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
To examine the influence of specific chronic somatic diseases and overall somatic diseases burden on the course of depression in older persons. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Care home residents in England have variable access to health care services. There is currently no coherent policy or consensus about the best arrangements to meet these needs. The purpose of this review was to explore the evidence for how different service delivery models for care home residents support and/or improve wellbeing and health-related outcomes in older people living and dying in care homes.
older people often experience complex problems. Because of multiple problems, care for older people in general practice needs to shift from a ‘problem-based, disease-oriented’ care aiming at improvement of outcomes per disease to a ‘goal-oriented care’, aiming at improvement of functioning and personal quality of life, integrating all healthcare providers. Feasibility and cost-effectiveness of this proactive and integrated way of working are not yet established.
Psychological Services (May 19, 2016).
Interest in animal assisted interventions (AAI) has grown over the years, but acceptance of AAI by the clinical and research community has been hampered by safety, hygiene, and logistical concerns. Advances in the field of social robotics have provided a promising route to deliver AAI while avoiding these aforementioned obstacles. Although there has been promising initial research on social robotics in older adults, to date there has been no such research conducted with a veteran population. The present pilot study followed 23 veteran residents of a Veterans Affairs (VA) geropsychiatric long-term care facility over the span of approximately a year and a half. It was found that use of Paro, a social robot, resulted in increased observed positive affective and behavioral indicators, with concomitant decreases observed in negative affective and behavioral indicators. The authors concluded that Paro is likely an effective nonpharmacological approach for managing dementia-related mood and behavior problems with veterans in VA long term care facilities. They additionally observed that Paro is best presented to residents who are relatively calm and approachable, as opposed to actively exhibiting behavior or mood problems. Future research directions are discussed in light of both the positive results noted and the inherent limitations of our pilot study.
Cognitive training offers a promising way to mitigate cognitive deterioration in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This randomized control pilot trial examined the effects of Gist Reasoning Training on cognition as compared with a training involving New Learning in a well-characterized MCI group. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Neuropsychology30.5 (Jul 2016): 543-557.
Objective: Stimulating environments foster cognitive vitality in older age. However, it is not known whether and how geographical and physical characteristics of lived environments contribute to cognitive aging. Evidence of higher prevalence of dementia in rural rather than urban contexts suggests that urban environments may be more stimulating either cognitively, socially, or in terms of lifestyle. The present study explored urban/rural differences in cognition for healthy community-dwelling older people while controlling for a comprehensive spectrum of confounding factors. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
The goal of this article was to test a companion robot supporting older adults in their home environments. SSSFT - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
post-hospitalisation functional decline is a widely described phenomenon, yet factors related to new disability in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in previously independently functioning older adults are rarely studied. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
The “Internal Struggle Hypothesis” (Kovacs and Beck, 1977) suggests that suicidal persons may have both a wish to live (WTL) and a wish to die (WTD). The current study investigates whether the three-group typology – “WTL”, “ambivalent (AMB)”, and “WTD” – is determined by common correlates of suicidality and whether these groups can be ordinally ranked. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
To test the relationship between greenery in gardens at residential facilities for older people and the self-perceived health of residents, mediated by experiences of being away and fascination when in the garden and the frequency of visitation there. To examine how these indirect effects vary with the number of physical barriers to visiting the garden. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Meta-analyses of antidepressant drug treatment trials have found that increasing age is associated with a less favourable outcome. Because the prevalence of geriatric characteristics, like disability, medical co-morbidity, malnutrition, cognitive (dys)function and frailty increase with age and are associated with depression, these characteristics are likely to modify the treatment outcome of antidepressant drugs in late-life depression. This review examines how these five characteristics are taken into account in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with antidepressant drugs for major depressive disorder in patients aged 60 years or above. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Ageing with mental illness is a neglected area of research and policy. People who grow older to later life with ongoing mental health problems may not have their needs well understood. This understanding is important if mental health services are to ensure direct or indirect age discrimination is avoided. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
American Psychologist71.4 (May-Jun 2016): 268-275.
Behavioral prevention strategies can help maintain high levels of cognition and functional integrity, and can reduce the social, medical, and economic burden associated with cognitive aging and age-associated neurodegenerative diseases. Interventions involving physical exercise and cognitive training have consistently shown positive effects on cognition in older adults. “Brain fitness” interventions have now been shown to have sustained effects lasting 10 years or more. A meta-analysis suggests these physical exercise and brain fitness exercises produce nearly identical impact on formal measures of cognitive function. Behavioral interventions developed and deployed by psychologists are key in supporting healthy cognitive aging.
delirium is under-recognised in comparison to other common and serious acute disorders. A 2006 survey of UK junior doctors (not undertaking specialist training) identified poor knowledge of the diagnostic criteria and treatment of delirium. We hypothesised that increased prominence accorded to delirium in the form of national initiatives and guidelines may have had an impact on understanding among junior doctors. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Traumatology: An International Journal21.3 (Sep 2015): 259-266.
The psychological suffering of caregivers is a widely established fact. Indeed, the patients present numerous aggressive behaviors directed nursing staff, considering their diagnoses. This violence has effects on caregivers’ mental health. Numerous articles have studied this question; however, it is rare that French studies have combined qualitative and quantitative approaches to the problem. With the aim of examining the effect of these attacks, we set up the 2 following studies.
essential aspects of independence in community mobility among older people concern the control over where, when and how to participate (perceived autonomy), and actual mobility (life-space mobility; frequency, distance and need of assistance). We studied relationships between frailty and life-space mobility and perceived autonomy in participation outdoors among community-dwelling 75–90 years old people. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
the ‘triad of impairment’ phenomenon describes the co-occurrence of age-related cognitive, emotional and physical functioning deficits. We investigated how occupational profile and childhood intelligence contribute to the triad of impairment in late life. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Neuropsychology 30.2 (Feb 2016): 135-142.
Objective: To test the hypothesis that late-life depression is associated with dementia-related pathology. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
absolute numbers of older prisoners and their proportion of the total prison population are increasing. They have multiple health and social care needs that are prominent on entry into prison. No previous studies have identified older prisoners' health and social care needs at this crucial point. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library