Being a close family member of a person with dementia living in a nursing home.

Science.gov (United States)

Seiger Cronfalk, Berit; Ternestedt, Britt-Marie; Norberg, Astrid

2017-11-01

To illuminate how family members of persons with dementia describe their own experiences, before and after placing their relative in a nursing home. In the Western world and with a growing population of older people, the number of persons with dementia increases. Family members often become carers in their own homes creating stressful and exhausting situation that eventually leads to relocating the person to a nursing home. This may lead to troubled conscience among family members. This is a qualitative study with descriptive design based on interviews with ten family members to residents with dementia at one small nursing home ward. Data were analysed using content analysis. Five categories were derived from data: relocating a person with dementia - a responsibility; visiting the resident - a relief or a burden; the participants taking part in and monitoring the residents' care needs; participants meeting their own needs; and thoughts about the future and resident's death. The result shows both positive and negative aspects of being a family member to persons with dementia. Family members described feeling relief as well as having a troubled conscience when placing a relative in a nursing home. They held themselves responsible for monitoring and evaluating the quality of the care. Family members expressed fearing a slow death for the person with dementia as well as for their own sake. Most felt well treated by the staff. Family members were responsible for relocating the residents to the nursing home. This in itself was found to cause feelings of moral concerns and generating troubled conscience. Staff at nursing homes needs to exercise family-centred care to benefit the persons with dementia, their family members and the staff themselves. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Personality in multiple sclerosis (MS): impact on health, psychological well-being, coping, and overall quality of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Strober, L B

2017-02-01

Personality has long been considered a factor that can account for differences in health, well-being, and overall quality of life (QOL). A 'Distressed or Type D Personality' has been studied in medical populations as a predictor of several outcomes. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the presence of Type D Personality in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its role on disease symptoms, disease management, health-related behaviors, coping, psychological well-being, and overall QOL and functioning. Two hundred and thirty (230) individuals with MS completed a survey assessing personality, disease symptoms, disease management, coping, self-efficacy, locus of control (LOC), psychological well-being, and QOL. Thirty-seven (16%) individuals were found to be 'Type D+.' Such individuals reported greater fatigue, pain, depression, and anxiety and worse disease management and adherence. They also reported engaging in maladaptive means of coping. Compared to 'Type D-' they reported lower self-efficacy, LOC, QOL and greater perceived stress. Finally, 'Type D+' individuals were more likely to be considering leaving the workforce. Findings suggest that 'Type D' Personality is associated with various negative outcomes in MS. Consideration of the routine assessment of personality in MS seems warranted and may better inform interventions and ward off poor outcomes.

Personal Web home pages of adolescents with cancer: self-presentation, information dissemination, and interpersonal connection.

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Suzuki, Lalita K; Beale, Ivan L

2006-01-01

The content of personal Web home pages created by adolescents with cancer is a new source of information about this population of potential benefit to oncology nurses and psychologists. Individual Internet elements found on 21 home pages created by youths with cancer (14-22 years old) were rated for cancer-related self-presentation, information dissemination, and interpersonal connection. Examples of adolescents' online narratives were also recorded. Adolescents with cancer used various Internet elements on their home pages for cancer-related self-presentation (eg, welcome messages, essays, personal history and diary pages, news articles, and poetry), information dissemination (e.g., through personal interest pages, multimedia presentations, lists, charts, and hyperlinks), and interpersonal connection (eg, guestbook entries). Results suggest that various elements found on personal home pages are being used by a limited number of young patients with cancer for self-expression, information access, and contact with peers.

Communicative challenges in the home care of older persons: a qualitative exploration.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sundler, A.J.; Eide, H.; Dulmen, S. van; Holmström, I.K.

2016-01-01

Aim To explore communicative challenges in encounters between nurse assistants and older persons during home care visits. Background The older population is increasing worldwide. Currently, there is a shift in care for older people from institutional care to home

["Gender-specific needs of nursing home residents" : Focus on personal hygiene].

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Heusinger, J; Dummert, S

2016-12-01

Residential nursing homes are specialized in dealing with people in need of care and are required to respect their dignity and right to self-determination. This includes the respectful handling of gender-specific needs and wishes of residents. Personal hygiene is one important area to which this applies. This study was carried out to investigate residents' gender-specific perception of life and care in nursing homes. This article focuses on unspecific and gender-specific needs in the area of personal hygiene, seeking to identify where changes are needed. Structured interviews were conducted in four nursing homes with a total of ten male and ten female residents without cognitive impairments. Content analysis and description of findings proceeded in two stages: interviewees' experiences of everyday life and care were first reconstructed before gender-specific aspects were analyzed. Both universal and gender-specific needs were identified in the area of personal hygiene. The gender-unspecific wish for respect for dignity and privacy was in some cases neglected. A need for meaningful communication and respectful relationships was also gender-unspecific. Gender-specific wishes related in particular to the gender of persons assisting with or conducting personal hygiene measures. In addition to improved perception and consideration of gender-specific needs, it is also necessary to adapt nursing in residential institutions more closely to the individual needs of residents. Further research is needed in relation to the perspectives of nursing staff and the development of participatory methods for involving residents in shaping everyday life in residential institutions.

Economic evaluation of home-based telebehavioural health care compared to in-person treatment delivery for depression.

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Bounthavong, Mark; Pruitt, Larry D; Smolenski, Derek J; Gahm, Gregory A; Bansal, Aasthaa; Hansen, Ryan N

2018-02-01

Introduction Home-based telebehavioural healthcare improves access to mental health care for patients restricted by travel burden. However, there is limited evidence assessing the economic value of home-based telebehavioural health care compared to in-person care. We sought to compare the economic impact of home-based telebehavioural health care and in-person care for depression among current and former US service members. Methods We performed trial-based cost-minimisation and cost-utility analyses to assess the economic impact of home-based telebehavioural health care versus in-person behavioural care for depression. Our analyses focused on the payer perspective (Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs) at three months. We also performed a scenario analysis where all patients possessed video-conferencing technology that was approved by these agencies. The cost-utility analysis evaluated the impact of different depression categories on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to test the robustness of the model assumptions. Results In the base case analysis the total direct cost of home-based telebehavioural health care was higher than in-person care (US$71,974 versus US$20,322). Assuming that patients possessed government-approved video-conferencing technology, home-based telebehavioural health care was less costly compared to in-person care (US$19,177 versus US$20,322). In one-way sensitivity analyses, the proportion of patients possessing personal computers was a major driver of direct costs. In the cost-utility analysis, home-based telebehavioural health care was dominant when patients possessed video-conferencing technology. Results from probabilistic sensitivity analyses did not differ substantially from base case results. Discussion Home-based telebehavioural health care is dependent on the cost of supplying video-conferencing technology to patients but offers the opportunity to

Health-illness transition among persons using advanced medical technology at home.

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Fex, Angelika; Flensner, Gullvi; Ek, Anna-Christina; Söderhamn, Olle

2011-06-01

This study aimed to elucidate meanings of health-illness transition experiences among adult persons using advanced medical technology at home. As an increasing number of persons perform self-care while using different sorts of advanced medical technology at home, knowledge about health-illness transition experiences in this situation may be useful to caregivers in supporting these patients. A qualitative design was used. Five women and five men, all of whom performed self-care at home, either using long-term oxygen therapy from a ventilator or oxygen cylinder, or performing peritoneal or haemodialysis, were interviewed. Ethics committee approval was obtained. Informed consent was received from all participants, and ethical issues concerning their rights in research were raised. The interviews were analysed using a phenomenological hermeneutical methodology, including both an inductive and a deductive structural analysis. This method offers possibilities to obtain an increased understanding by uncovering a deeper meaning of lived experiences through interviews transcribed as texts. The health-illness transition for adult persons in this context was found to mean a learning process of accepting, managing, adjusting and improving daily life with technology, facilitated by realizing the gain from technology at home. Further, the meaning of the health-illness transition experience was interpreted as contentment with being part of the active and conscious process towards transcending into a new state of living, in which the individual and the technology were in tune. The healthy transition experience was characterized by human growth and becoming. This study elucidates one meaning of health-illness transition experiences in relation to the use of advanced medical technology on a more generic level, independent of the specific type of technology used. A positive attitude towards technology at home facilitates the transition. © 2010 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of

Integration of Multisensor Hybrid Reasoners to Support Personal Autonomy in the Smart Home

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Ángel Valero

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The deployment of the Ambient Intelligence (AmI paradigm requires designing and integrating user-centered smart environments to assist people in their daily life activities. This research paper details an integration and validation of multiple heterogeneous sensors with hybrid reasoners that support decision making in order to monitor personal and environmental data at a smart home in a private way. The results innovate on knowledge-based platforms, distributed sensors, connected objects, accessibility and authentication methods to promote independent living for elderly people. TALISMAN+, the AmI framework deployed, integrates four subsystems in the smart home: (i a mobile biomedical telemonitoring platform to provide elderly patients with continuous disease management; (ii an integration middleware that allows context capture from heterogeneous sensors to program environment´s reaction; (iii a vision system for intelligent monitoring of daily activities in the home; and (iv an ontologies-based integrated reasoning platform to trigger local actions and manage private information in the smart home. The framework was integrated in two real running environments, the UPM Accessible Digital Home and MetalTIC house, and successfully validated by five experts in home care, elderly people and personal autonomy.

Integration of multisensor hybrid reasoners to support personal autonomy in the smart home.

Science.gov (United States)

Valero, Miguel Ángel; Bravo, José; Chamizo, Juan Manuel García; López-de-Ipiña, Diego

2014-09-17

The deployment of the Ambient Intelligence (AmI) paradigm requires designing and integrating user-centered smart environments to assist people in their daily life activities. This research paper details an integration and validation of multiple heterogeneous sensors with hybrid reasoners that support decision making in order to monitor personal and environmental data at a smart home in a private way. The results innovate on knowledge-based platforms, distributed sensors, connected objects, accessibility and authentication methods to promote independent living for elderly people. TALISMAN+, the AmI framework deployed, integrates four subsystems in the smart home: (i) a mobile biomedical telemonitoring platform to provide elderly patients with continuous disease management; (ii) an integration middleware that allows context capture from heterogeneous sensors to program environment's reaction; (iii) a vision system for intelligent monitoring of daily activities in the home; and (iv) an ontologies-based integrated reasoning platform to trigger local actions and manage private information in the smart home. The framework was integrated in two real running environments, the UPM Accessible Digital Home and MetalTIC house, and successfully validated by five experts in home care, elderly people and personal autonomy.

Integration of Multisensor Hybrid Reasoners to Support Personal Autonomy in the Smart Home

Science.gov (United States)

Valero, Miguel Ángel; Bravo, José; Chamizo, Juan Manuel García; López-de-Ipiña, Diego

2014-01-01

The deployment of the Ambient Intelligence (AmI) paradigm requires designing and integrating user-centered smart environments to assist people in their daily life activities. This research paper details an integration and validation of multiple heterogeneous sensors with hybrid reasoners that support decision making in order to monitor personal and environmental data at a smart home in a private way. The results innovate on knowledge-based platforms, distributed sensors, connected objects, accessibility and authentication methods to promote independent living for elderly people. TALISMAN+, the AmI framework deployed, integrates four subsystems in the smart home: (i) a mobile biomedical telemonitoring platform to provide elderly patients with continuous disease management; (ii) an integration middleware that allows context capture from heterogeneous sensors to program environment's reaction; (iii) a vision system for intelligent monitoring of daily activities in the home; and (iv) an ontologies-based integrated reasoning platform to trigger local actions and manage private information in the smart home. The framework was integrated in two real running environments, the UPM Accessible Digital Home and MetalTIC house, and successfully validated by five experts in home care, elderly people and personal autonomy. PMID:25232910

Personalized gesture interactions for cyber-physical smart-home environments

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yihua LOU; Wenjun WU; Radu-Daniel VATAVU; Wei-Tek TSAI

2017-01-01

A gesture-based interaction system for smart homes is a part of a complex cyber-physical environment,for which researchers and developers need to address major challenges in providing personalized gesture interactions.However,current research efforts have not tackled the problem of personalized gesture recognition that often involves user identification.To address this problem,we propose in this work a new event-driven service-oriented framework called gesture services for cyber-physical environments (GS-CPE) that extends the architecture of our previous work gesture profile for web services (GPWS).To provide user identification functionality,GS-CPE introduces a two-phase cascading gesture password recognition algorithm for gesture-based user identification using a two-phase cascading classifier with the hidden Markov model and the Golden Section Search,which achieves an accuracy rate of 96.2％ with a small training dataset.To support personalized gesture interaction,an enhanced version of the Dynamic Time Warping algorithm with multiple gestural input sources and dynamic template adaptation support is implemented.Our experimental results demonstrate the performance of the algorithm can achieve an average accuracy rate of 98.5％ in practical scenarios.Comparison results reveal that GS-CPE has faster response time and higher accuracy rate than other gesture interaction systems designed for smart-home environments.

38 CFR 17.46 - Eligibility for hospital, domiciliary or nursing home care of persons discharged or released from...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

..., domiciliary or nursing home care of persons discharged or released from active military, naval, or air service... Hospital, Domiciliary and Nursing Home Care § 17.46 Eligibility for hospital, domiciliary or nursing home care of persons discharged or released from active military, naval, or air service. (a) In furnishing...

Derivation and validation of the Personal Support Algorithm: an evidence-based framework to inform allocation of personal support services in home and community care.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinn, Chi-Ling Joanna; Jones, Aaron; McMullan, Janet Legge; Ackerman, Nancy; Curtin-Telegdi, Nancy; Eckel, Leslie; Hirdes, John P

2017-11-25

Personal support services enable many individuals to stay in their homes, but there are no standard ways to classify need for functional support in home and community care settings. The goal of this project was to develop an evidence-based clinical tool to inform service planning while allowing for flexibility in care coordinator judgment in response to patient and family circumstances. The sample included 128,169 Ontario home care patients assessed in 2013 and 25,800 Ontario community support clients assessed between 2014 and 2016. Independent variables were drawn from the Resident Assessment Instrument-Home Care and interRAI Community Health Assessment that are standardised, comprehensive, and fully compatible clinical assessments. Clinical expertise and regression analyses identified candidate variables that were entered into decision tree models. The primary dependent variable was the weekly hours of personal support calculated based on the record of billed services. The Personal Support Algorithm classified need for personal support into six groups with a 32-fold difference in average billed hours of personal support services between the highest and lowest group. The algorithm explained 30.8% of the variability in billed personal support services. Care coordinators and managers reported that the guidelines based on the algorithm classification were consistent with their clinical judgment and current practice. The Personal Support Algorithm provides a structured yet flexible decision-support framework that may facilitate a more transparent and equitable approach to the allocation of personal support services.

Derivation and validation of the Personal Support Algorithm: an evidence-based framework to inform allocation of personal support services in home and community care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi-Ling Joanna Sinn

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Personal support services enable many individuals to stay in their homes, but there are no standard ways to classify need for functional support in home and community care settings. The goal of this project was to develop an evidence-based clinical tool to inform service planning while allowing for flexibility in care coordinator judgment in response to patient and family circumstances. Methods The sample included 128,169 Ontario home care patients assessed in 2013 and 25,800 Ontario community support clients assessed between 2014 and 2016. Independent variables were drawn from the Resident Assessment Instrument-Home Care and interRAI Community Health Assessment that are standardised, comprehensive, and fully compatible clinical assessments. Clinical expertise and regression analyses identified candidate variables that were entered into decision tree models. The primary dependent variable was the weekly hours of personal support calculated based on the record of billed services. Results The Personal Support Algorithm classified need for personal support into six groups with a 32-fold difference in average billed hours of personal support services between the highest and lowest group. The algorithm explained 30.8% of the variability in billed personal support services. Care coordinators and managers reported that the guidelines based on the algorithm classification were consistent with their clinical judgment and current practice. Conclusions The Personal Support Algorithm provides a structured yet flexible decision-support framework that may facilitate a more transparent and equitable approach to the allocation of personal support services.

Feasibility study design and methods for a home-based, square-stepping exercise program among older adults with multiple sclerosis: The SSE-MS project.

Science.gov (United States)

Sebastião, Emerson; McAuley, Edward; Shigematsu, Ryosuke; Motl, Robert W

2017-09-01

We propose a randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the feasibility of square-stepping exercise (SSE) delivered as a home-based program for older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). We will assess feasibility in the four domains of process, resources, management and scientific outcomes. The trial will recruit older adults (aged 60 years and older) with mild-to-moderate MS-related disability who will be randomized into intervention or attention control conditions. Participants will complete assessments before and after completion of the conditions delivered over a 12-week period. Participants in the intervention group will have biweekly meetings with an exercise trainer in the Exercise Neuroscience Research Laboratory and receive verbal and visual instruction on step patterns for the SSE program. Participants will receive a mat for home-based practice of the step patterns, an instruction manual, and a logbook and pedometer for monitoring compliance. Compliance will be further monitored through weekly scheduled Skype calls. This feasibility study will inform future phase II and III RCTs that determine the actual efficacy and effectiveness of a home-based exercise program for older adults with MS.

Interventions to delay institutionalization of frail older persons: design of a longitudinal study in the home care setting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

De Almeida Mello Johanna

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Older people usually prefer staying at home rather than going into residential care. The Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance wishes to invest in home care by financing innovative projects that effectively help older people to stay at home longer. In this study protocol we describe the evaluation of 34 home care projects. These projects are clustered according to the type of their main intervention such as case management, night care, occupational therapy at home and psychological/psychosocial support. The main goal of this study is to identify which types of projects have the most effect in delaying institutionalization of frail older persons. Methods/design This is a longitudinal intervention study based on a quasi-experimental design. Researchers use three comparison strategies to evaluate intervention - comparison among different types of projects, comparisons between older persons in the projects and older persons not benefiting from a project but who are still at home and between older persons in the projects and older persons who are already institutionalized. Projects are asked to include clients who are frail and at risk of institutionalization. In the study we use internationally validated instruments such as the interRAI Home Care instrument, the WHO-QOL-8 and the Zarit Burden Interview-12. These instruments are filled out at baseline, at exit from the project and 6 months after baseline. Additionally, caregivers have to do a follow-up every 6 months until exit from the project. Criteria to exit the cohort will be institutionalization longer than 3 months and death. The main analysis in the study consists of the calculation of incidence rates, cumulative incidence rates and hazard rates of definitive institutionalization through survival analyses for each type of project. Discussion This research will provide knowledge on the functional status of frail older persons who are still living at

Interventions to delay institutionalization of frail older persons: design of a longitudinal study in the home care setting.

Science.gov (United States)

De Almeida Mello, Johanna; Van Durme, Therese; Macq, Jean; Declercq, Anja

2012-08-06

Older people usually prefer staying at home rather than going into residential care. The Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance wishes to invest in home care by financing innovative projects that effectively help older people to stay at home longer. In this study protocol we describe the evaluation of 34 home care projects. These projects are clustered according to the type of their main intervention such as case management, night care, occupational therapy at home and psychological/psychosocial support. The main goal of this study is to identify which types of projects have the most effect in delaying institutionalization of frail older persons. This is a longitudinal intervention study based on a quasi-experimental design. Researchers use three comparison strategies to evaluate intervention--comparison among different types of projects, comparisons between older persons in the projects and older persons not benefiting from a project but who are still at home and between older persons in the projects and older persons who are already institutionalized. Projects are asked to include clients who are frail and at risk of institutionalization. In the study we use internationally validated instruments such as the interRAI Home Care instrument, the WHO-QOL-8 and the Zarit Burden Interview-12. These instruments are filled out at baseline, at exit from the project and 6 months after baseline. Additionally, caregivers have to do a follow-up every 6 months until exit from the project. Criteria to exit the cohort will be institutionalization longer than 3 months and death. The main analysis in the study consists of the calculation of incidence rates, cumulative incidence rates and hazard rates of definitive institutionalization through survival analyses for each type of project. This research will provide knowledge on the functional status of frail older persons who are still living at home. This is important information to identify determinants of

Older persons' experiences of a home-based exercise program with behavioral change support.

Science.gov (United States)

Arkkukangas, Marina; Sundler, Annelie J; Söderlund, Anne; Eriksson, Staffan; Johansson, Ann-Christin

2017-12-01

It is a challenge to promote exercise among older persons. Knowledge is needed regarding the maintenance of exercise aiming at preventing falls and promoting health and well-being in older persons. This descriptive study used a qualitative inductive approach to describe older persons' experiences of a fall-preventive, home-based exercise program with support for behavioral change. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 elderly persons aged 75 years or older, and a qualitative content analysis was performed. Four categories emerged: facilitators of performing exercise in everyday life, the importance of support, perceived gains from exercise, and the existential aspects of exercise. With support from physiotherapists (PTs), home-based exercise can be adapted to individual circumstances in a meaningful way. Including exercises in everyday life and daily routines could support the experience of being stronger, result in better physical functioning, and give hope for an extended active life in old age.

Personalized Monitoring and Assistive Systems: Case Study of Efficient Home Solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lhotska, Lenka; Doležal, Jaromír; Adolf, Jindřich; Potůček, Jiří; Křížek, Miroslav; Chbani, Baha

2018-01-01

The rapid emergence and proliferation of connected medical devices and their application in healthcare are already part of the Healthcare Internet of Things (IoT) - as this area started to be named. Their true impact on patient care and other aspects of healthcare remains to be seen and is highly dependent on the quality and relevancy of the data acquired. There is also the trend of application of IoT in telemedicine and home care environment. Currently many research groups focus on design and development of various solutions that can assist elderly and handicapped people in their home environment. However, many of these solutions are sophisticated and require advanced users that are able to control the device, handle error states and exceptions. They are frequently using expensive technologies that are good for laboratory environment but they are not affordable for many elderly or handicapped persons. In the paper we will analyze the current situation, present identified needs of elderly population and propose potential solutions. On a case study of efficient home solution of a personalized and assistive system we will show possibilities of technologically simple solutions using off-the-shelf devices and elements.

Care and Service at Home for Persons With Dementia in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Bökberg, Christina; Ahlström, Gerd; Leino-Kilpi, Helena; Soto-Martin, Maria E; Cabrera, Esther; Verbeek, Hilde; Saks, Kai; Stephan, Astrid; Sutcliffe, Caroline; Karlsson, Staffan

2015-09-01

To describe available and utilized formal care and service at home for persons with dementia, from diagnosis to end-of-life stage, in eight European countries. A descriptive cross-country design concerning eight European countries as a part of the European research project RightTimePlaceCare. The research team in each country used a mapping system to collect country-specific information concerning dementia care and service system. The mapping system consists of 50 types of care and service activities. Sixteen of the 50 predefined activities concerning care and service at home were selected for this study and subdivided into three categories, following the stages of dementia. Availability was reported to be higher than utilization, and the findings indicated more similarities than differences among the eight countries involved. Even though there were several available activities of "basic care and services" and "healthcare interventions," they were utilized by few in most countries. Furthermore, "specialized dementia care and services" were sparsely available and even more sparsely utilized in the participating countries. The findings indicated that persons with dementia in Europe received formal care and service on a general, basic level but seldom adjusted to their specific needs. This study describes the gap between service provision and utilization enabling nurses to develop individually adjusted care plans for persons with dementia during the progress of the disease. The findings do not include matters of quality of care or how to best organize effective care and services. However, the activities of care and services presented here should shed light on what room there is for improvement when it comes to enabling persons with dementia to go on living at home. © 2015 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)

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Full Text Available ... Life d Cognitive Health d Work, Home & Leisure Employment Insurance & Financial Information Staying Mobile Reclaiming Control Accessibility ... Living with MS (.pdf) Download Brochure Focus on Employment (.pdf) Download Brochure Working with MS (.pdf) Download ...

MRI-Guided Regional Personalized Electrical Stimulation in Multisession and Home Treatments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Cancelli

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The shape and position of the electrodes is a key factor for the efficacy of transcranial electrical stimulations (tES. We have recently introduced the Regional Personalized Electrode (RePE, a tES electrode fitting the personal cortical folding, that has been able to differentiate the stimulation of close by regions, in particular the primary sensory (S1 and motor (M1 cortices, and to personalize tES onto such an extended cortical district. However, neuronavigation on individual brain was compulsory for the correct montage. Here, we aimed at developing and testing a neuronavigation-free procedure for easy and quick positioning RePE, enabling multisession RePE-tES at home. We used off-line individual MRI to shape RePE via an ad-hoc computerized procedure, while an ad-hoc developed Adjustable Helmet Frame (AHF was used to properly position it in multisession treatments, even at home. We used neuronavigation to test the RePE shape and position obtained by the new computerized procedure and the re-positioning obtained via the AHF. Using Finite Element Method (FEM model, we also estimated the intra-cerebral current distribution induced by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS comparing RePE vs. non-RePE with fixed reference. Additionally, we tested, using FEM, various shapes, and positions of the reference electrode taking into account possible small displacements of RePE, to test feasibility of RePE-tES sessions at home. The new RePE neuronavigation-free positioning relies on brain MRI space distances, and produced a mean displacement of 3.5 ± 0.8 mm, and the re-positioning of 4.8 ± 1.1 mm. Higher electric field in S1 than in M1 was best obtained with the occipital reference electrode, a montage that proved to feature low sensitivity to typical RePE millimetric displacements. Additionally, a new tES accessory was developed to enable repositioning the electrodes over the scalp also at home, with a precision which is acceptable according to

Establishing a culturally specific nursing home for Finnish-speaking older persons in Sweden: A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadziabdic, Emina; Hjelm, Katarina

2018-04-01

The study aims to describe the establishment of a culturally specific nursing home for Finnish-speaking older persons in Sweden. A descriptive qualitative study. A descriptive case study based on a review of 14 public documents and individual interviews with two experts in the area, analysed with qualitative content analysis. This study found that shared language, preservation of customs and habits and collaboration between the representatives of the municipality, Finnish-speaking migrant associations and staff at the nursing home influenced the development of the culturally specific nursing home for older Finnish-speaking people intended to avoid loneliness, isolation and misunderstandings among older Finnish-speaking. Collaboration between healthcare service for older persons and minority people resulted in an optimal culturally specific nursing home, simultaneously encountering the majority culture. Nursing and healthcare services need to be aware of positive effects of collaboration with stakeholders to achieve optimal culturally specific nursing homes.

Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)

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Full Text Available ... Area Donate Donate Search v What Is MS? Definition of MS What Causes MS? Who Gets MS? ... Support Personal Stories d What Is MS? d Definition of MS Myelin Immune-Mediated Disease T Cells ...

The evolving role of the personal support worker in home care in Ontario, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Saari, Margaret; Patterson, Erin; Kelly, Shawna; Tourangeau, Ann E

2018-03-01

To meet increasing demand for home care, the role of personal support workers (PSWs) is shifting from providing primarily personal and supportive care to include care activities previously provided by regulated health professionals (RHPs). Much of the research examining this shift focuses on specialty programmes, with few studies investigating the daily care being provided by PSWs, frequency of care activities being provided by PSWs, and characteristics of the population receiving more complex tasks. Between January and April 2015, a review of 517 home-care service user charts was undertaken in Ontario, Canada, to: (1) describe the range of tasks being performed by PSWs in home care, (2) identify tasks transferred by RHPs to PSWs, and (3) examine characteristics of service users receiving transferred care. Findings indicate that normally, PSWs provide personal and supportive care commensurate with their training. However, in approximately one quarter of care plans reviewed, PSWs also completed more complex care activities transferred to them by RHPs. Service users receiving transferred care were older and had higher levels of cognitive and functional impairment. Although there is potential for the expansion of home-care services through increased utilisation of PSWs, healthcare leadership must ensure that the right provider is being utilised at the right time and in the right place to ensure safe and effective quality care. Thus, several actions are recommended: PSW core competencies be clearly articulated, processes used to transfer care activities from RHPs to PSWs be standardised and a team-based approach to the delivery of home-care services be considered. Utilisation of a team-based model can help establish positive relationships among home-care providers, provide increased support for PSWs, allow for easier scheduling of initial training and ensure regular reassessments of PSW competence among PSWs providing added skills. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)

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Full Text Available ... Another Condition Aging with MS Anesthesia and Surgery Managing Your MS d Emotional Well-Being Mood Changes d Spiritual Well-Being Building Spirituality into Your Life d Cognitive Health d Work, Home & Leisure Employment Insurance & Financial Information Staying Mobile ...

The development of the Person-Centred Situational Leadership Framework: Revealing the being of person-centredness in nursing homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Brighide M; McCance, Tanya; McCormack, Brendan; Brown, Donna

2018-01-01

To implement and evaluate the effect of using the Person-Centred Situational Leadership Framework to develop person-centred care within nursing homes. Many models of nursing leadership have been developed internationally in recent years but do not fit with the emergent complex philosophy of nursing home care. This study develops the Person-Centred Situational Leadership Framework that supports this philosophy. It forms the theoretical basis of the action research study described in this article. This was a complex action research study using the following multiple methods: nonparticipatory observation using the Workplace Culture Critical Analysis Tool (n = 30); critical and reflective dialogues with participants (n = 39) at time 1 (beginning of study), time 2 (end of study) and time 3 (6 months after study had ended); narratives from residents at time 1 and time 2 (n = 8); focus groups with staff at time 2 (n = 12) and reflective field notes. Different approaches to analyse the data were adopted for the different data sources, and the overall results of the thematic analysis were brought together using cognitive mapping. The Person-Centred Situational Leadership Framework captures seven core attributes of the leader that facilitate person-centredness in others: relating to the essence of being; harmonising actions with the vision; balancing concern for compliance with concern for person-centredness; connecting with the other person in the instant; intentionally enthusing the other person to act; listening to the other person with the heart; and unifying through collaboration, appreciation and trust. This study led to a theoretical contribution in relation to the Person-Centred Practice Framework. It makes an important key contribution internationally to the gap in knowledge about leadership in residential care facilities for older people. The findings can be seen to have significant applicability internationally, across other care settings and contexts. �

Lifestyle physical activity in persons with multiple sclerosis: the new kid on the MS block.

Science.gov (United States)

Motl, Robert W

2014-07-01

Supervised exercise training has substantial benefits for persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), yet 80% of those with MS do not meet recommended levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). This same problem persisted for decades in the general population of adults and prompted a paradigm shift away from "exercise training for fitness" toward "physical activity for health." The paradigm shift reflects a public health approach of promoting lifestyle physical activity through behavioral interventions that teach people the skills, techniques, and strategies based on established theories for modifying and self-regulating health behaviors. This paper describes: (a) the definitions of and difference between structured exercise training and lifestyle physical activity; (b) the importance and potential impact of the paradigm shift; (c) consequences of lifestyle physical activity in MS; and (d) behavioral interventions for changing lifestyle physical activity in MS. The paper introduces the "new kid on the MS block" with the hope that lifestyle physical activity might become an accepted partner alongside exercise training for inclusion in comprehensive MS care. © The Author(s) 2014.

Ageing out of place: The meaning of home among hispanic older persons living in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtin, Alicia; Martins, Diane C; Gillsjö, Catharina; Schwartz-Barcott, Donna

2017-09-01

To explore the meaning of home among older Hispanic immigrants who are "aging out of place." Emerging evidence supports the concept of older persons ageing in place. Nurse researchers have demonstrated that older person who age in place have better physical, psychological and cognitive outcomes. Less, however, is known about older persons who are "aging out of place," meaning out of their country of origin. With the growth of home health care, there is a need to understand the older immigrants' meaning of home when ageing out of their country of origin. An inductive, qualitative descriptive research design was used. Seventeen Hispanic participants, ranging in age from 65 to 83 years were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. Two major finding of the study focused on participants' descriptions of home in their country of origin and in the USA. The majority of participants described their home in their native country as the community, countryside or town (pueblo) and in the U.S.A. as family. The level of social isolation and loneliness among participants was evident. Older Hispanic immigrants who are "aging out of place" integrate their past experiences of sense of place in their native country with their present experiences of home in the USA. The need to understand the role of the community and the family in the provision of nursing care in the home may be more important than the physical structure or setting in which it is delivered. Further intra- and cross-national studies are needed to provide a framework for understanding the issues of ageing and immigration globally. Gerontological nurses need to recognise the complexity of family relationships for older Hispanic persons who are ageing out of place of origin and their risk of depression, social isolation, and loneliness. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Experience of Persons With Multiple Sclerosis Using MS INFoRm: An Interactive Fatigue Management Resource.

Science.gov (United States)

Pétrin, Julie; Akbar, Nadine; Turpin, Karen; Smyth, Penelope; Finlayson, Marcia

2018-04-01

We aimed to understand participants' experiences with a self-guided fatigue management resource, Multiple Sclerosis: An Interactive Fatigue Management Resource ( MS INFoRm), and the extent to which they found its contents relevant and useful to their daily lives. We recruited 35 persons with MS experiencing mild to moderate fatigue, provided them with MS INFoRm, and then conducted semistructured interviews 3 weeks and 3 months after they received the resource. Interpretive description guided the analysis process. Findings indicate that participants' experience of using MS INFoRm could be understood as a process of change, influenced by their initial reactions to the resource. They reported experiencing a shift in knowledge, expectations, and behaviors with respect to fatigue self-management. These shifts led to multiple positive outcomes, including increased levels of self-confidence and improved quality of life. These findings suggest that MS INFoRm may have a place in the continuum of fatigue management interventions for people with MS.

Unmet needs of people with severe multiple sclerosis and their carers: qualitative findings for a home-based intervention.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Borreani

Full Text Available Few data on services for people with severe multiple sclerosis (MS are available. The Palliative Network for Severely Affected Adults with MS in Italy (PeNSAMI developed a home palliative care program for MS patients and carers, preceded by a literature review and qualitative study (here reported.To identify unmet needs of people with severe MS living at home by qualitative research involving key stakeholders, and theorize broad areas of intervention to meet those needs.Data were collected from: at least 10 personal interviews with adults with severe MS (primary/secondary progressive, EDSS≥8.0; three focus group meetings (FGs of carers of people with severe MS; and two FGs of health professionals (HPs. Grounded theory guided the analysis of interview and FG transcripts, from which the areas of intervention were theorized.Between October 2012 and May 2013, 22 MS patients, 30 carers and 18 HPs participated. Forty-eight needs themes were identified, grouped into 14 categories and four domains. Seven, highly interdependent intervention areas were theorized. Patients had difficulties expressing needs; experiences of burden and loneliness were prominent, chiefly in dysfunctional, less affluent families, and among parent carers. Needs differed across Italy with requirements for information and access to services highest in the South. All participants voiced a strong need for qualified personnel and care coordination in day-to-day home care. Personal hygiene emerged as crucial, as did the need for a supportive network and preservation of patient/carer roles within family and community.Unmet needs transcended medical issues and embraced organizational and psychosocial themes, as well as health policies. The high interdependence of the seven intervention areas theorized is in line with the multifaceted approach of palliative care. At variance with typical palliative contexts, coping with disability rather than end-of-life was a major concern of patients

24 CFR 982.612 - Group home: State approval of group home.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Group home: State approval of group... Types Group Home § 982.612 Group home: State approval of group home. A group home must be licensed..., Retardation, or Social Services) as a group home for elderly persons or persons with disabilities. ...

Proposal of a service delivery integration index of home care for older persons: application in several European cities.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Henrard, J.C.; Ankri, J.; Frijters, D.; Carpenter, I.; Topinkova, E.; Garms-Homolova, V.; Finne-Soveri, H.; Wergeland Sorbye, L.; Jonsson, P.V.; Ljunggren, G.; Schroll, M.; Wagner, C.; Bernabei, R.

2006-01-01

PURPOSE: To propose an integration index of home care delivery to older persons, to study its validity and to apply it to home care services of European cities. THEORY: Home care delivery integration was based on two dimensions referring to process-centred integration and organisational structure

Towards enhanced emotional interactions with older persons: findings from a nursing intervention in home health care.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veenvliet, C.; Eide, H.; Lange, M.A. de; Dulmen, S. van

2016-01-01

Background. Living at home with a physical condition that requires assistance places high emotional burden on older persons that needs to be attended to by nurses. However, nurses in home health care have previously been found to communicate primarily in an instrumental way. This increases the risk

Home aids and personal assistance 10-45 years after spinal cord injury

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Biering-Sørensen, T; Hansen, R B; Biering-Sørensen, F

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Assessment of home aids, adaptations and personal assistance received after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Clinic for Spinal Cord Injuries, Denmark. Uptake area, 2.5 million inhabitants. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Cross-sectional follow-up with retrospective data from...... medical files. MATERIALS: Individuals with traumatic SCI before 1 January 1991, still in regular follow-up and with sufficient medical record. In all, 279 were included, and 236 answered the questionnaire (193 men and 43 women), with a response rate of 84.6%. Mean age at follow-up was 50.5 years, and mean...... that their source of information about aid had been various journals and magazines. Twenty-one percent had personal helpers, with 60 h per week in median (range 2-168). Thirty-three percent received domestic help with 2.5 h per week in median (range 0.5-37). Eight percent had a home nurse. A total of 98.7% were...

Personality and the collective: bold homing pigeons occupy higher leadership ranks in flocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Sasaki, Takao; Mann, Richard P; Warren, Katherine N; Herbert, Tristian; Wilson, Tara; Biro, Dora

2018-05-19

While collective movement is ecologically widespread and conveys numerous benefits on individuals, it also poses a coordination problem: who controls the group's movements? The role that animal 'personalities' play in this question has recently become a focus of research interest. Although many animal groups have distributed leadership (i.e. multiple individuals influence collective decisions), studies linking personality and leadership have focused predominantly on the group's single most influential individual. In this study, we investigate the relationship between personality and the influence of multiple leaders on collective movement using homing pigeons, Columba livia , a species known to display complex multilevel leadership hierarchies during flock flights. Our results show that more exploratory (i.e. 'bold') birds are more likely to occupy higher ranks in the leadership hierarchy and thus have more influence on the direction of collective movement than less exploratory (i.e. 'shy') birds during both free flights around their lofts and homing flights from a distant site. Our data also show that bold pigeons fly faster than shy birds during solo flights. We discuss our results in light of theories about the evolution of personality, with specific reference to the adaptive value of heterogeneity in animal groups.This article is part of the theme issue 'Collective movement ecology'. © 2018 The Author(s).

The quality of the work–home and home–work relationship in the context of personal resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulina Szymańska

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background: The aim of the study was to examine whether gain or loss of personal resources is associated with conflict or facilitation between work and family. Material and Methods: The study involved 90 employees (mean age: 34.5 years. The Polish version of COR-Evaluation (Conservation of Resources-Evaluation questionnaire, developed by Hobfoll and adapted by Dudek et al, was used to assess personal resources. The questionnaire enables to estimate gain and loss of 40 resources and calculate the overall level of gained or lost resources. SWING Questionnaire (Survey Work-Home Interaction, Nijmegen, developed by Geurts et al. and adapted by Mościcka-Teske and Merecz, was used to examine the quality of work–home and home–work relationship. Results: The gain of personal resources positively correlates with both home–work facilitation (HWF and work–home facilitation (WHF. Improvement of the family relations proved to be the most significant predictor of HWF and WHF. The loss of personal resources coincides with high level of conflict between the investigated areas of life. The main predictor of home–work conflict (HWC was the variable relating to restrictions of access to medical services. In case of work–home conflict (WHC the reduction of material security in case of dramatic life events was the major predictor. Conclusions: The results confirmed that the gain of resources is crucial for HWF/WHF, while their loss is an important factor, when the HWC/WHC is considered. The resources, which proved to be the main predictors of work–home and home–work relationship were also indicated. The obtained information may be beneficial to human resources managers, especially in designing the activities aimed at increasing the satisfaction and effectiveness of employees. Med Pr 2014;65(6:755–764

Home Care Services

Science.gov (United States)

Home care is care that allows a person with special needs stay in their home. It might be for people who are getting ... are chronically ill, recovering from surgery, or disabled. Home care services include Personal care, such as help ...

Assessing Commercially Available Personal Health Records for Home Health: Recommendations for Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Kneale, Laura; Choi, Yong; Demiris, George

2016-01-01

Home health nurses and clients experience unmet information needs when transitioning from hospital to home health. Personal health records (PHRs) support consumer-centered information management activities. Previous work has assessed PHRs associated with healthcare providers, but these systems leave home health nurses unable to access necessary information. To evaluate the ability of publically available PHRs to accept, manage, and share information from a home health case study. Two researchers accessed the publically available PHRs on myPHR.com, and attempted to enter, manage, and share the case study data. We qualitatively described the PHR features, and identified gaps between the case study information and PHR functionality. Eighteen PHRs were identified in our initial search. Seven systems met our inclusion criteria, and are included in this review. The PHRs were able to accept basic medical information. Gaps occurred when entering, managing, and/or sharing data from the acute care and home health episodes. The PHRs that were reviewed were unable to effectively manage the case study information. Therefore, increasing consumer health literacy through these systems may be difficult. The PHRs that we reviewed were also unable to electronically share their data. The gap between the existing functionality and the information needs from the case study may make these PHRs difficult to use for home health environments. Additional work is needed to increase the functionality of the PHR systems to better fit the data needs of home health clients.

Home is where the head is: a distributed cognition account of personal health information management in the home among those with chronic illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, Nicole E; Jolliff, Anna F; Casper, Gail; Martell, Thomas; Ponto, Kevin

2018-08-01

Managing chronic illness requires personal health information management (PHIM) to be performed by lay individuals. Paramount to understanding the PHIM process is understanding the sociotechnical system in which it frequently occurs: the home environment. We combined distributed cognition theory and the patient work system model to investigate how characteristics of the home interact with the cognitive work of PHIM. We used a 3D virtual reality CAVE that enabled participants who had been diagnosed with diabetes (N = 20) to describe how they would perform PHIM in the home context. We found that PHIM is distinctly cognitive work, and rarely performed 'in the head'. Rather, features of the physical environment, tasks, people, and tools and technologies present, continuously shape and are shaped by the PHIM process. We suggest that approaches in which the individual (sans context) is considered the relevant unit of analysis overlook the pivotal role of the environment in shaping PHIM. Practitioner Summary: We examined how Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) is performed in the homes of diabetic patients. We found that approaches to studying cognition that focus on the individual, to the exclusion of their context, overlook the pivotal role of environmental, social, and technological features in shaping PHIM.

The impact of personality on person-centred care: a study of care staff in Swedish nursing homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Elfstrand Corlin, Tinna; Kajonius, Petri J; Kazemi, Ali

2017-06-01

In this study, we explore how personal and situational factors relate to the provision of person-centred care (PCC) in nursing homes. Specifically, we focus on the relationship between the care staff's personality traits and provision of PCC and to what extent perceptions of the working environment influences this relationship. The ultimate goal of elderly care is to meet the older person's needs and individual preferences (PCC). Interpersonal aspects of care and the quality of relationship between the care staff and the older person are therefore central in PCC. A cross-sectional Swedish sample of elderly care staff (N = 322) completed an electronic survey including measures of personality (Mini-IPIP) and person-centred care (Individualized Care Inventory, ICI). A principal component analysis was conducted on the ICI-data to separate the user orientation (process quality) of PCC from the preconditions (structure quality) of PCC. Among the five factors of personality, neuroticism was the strongest predictor of ICI user orientation. ICI preconditions significantly mediated this relationship, indicating the importance of a supportive working environment. In addition, stress was introduced as a potential explanation and was shown to mediate the impact of neuroticism on ICI preconditions. Personality traits have a significant impact on user orientation, and the perception of a supportive and stress free working environment is an important prerequisite for achieving high-quality person-centred elderly care. Understanding how personality is linked to the way care staff interacts with the older person adds a new perspective on provision of person-centred elderly care. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Meeting psychosocial needs for persons with dementia in home care services - a qualitative study of different perceptions and practices among health care providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Anette; Hauge, Solveig; Bergland, Ådel

2017-09-11

The majority of persons with dementia are home-dwelling. To enable these persons to stay in their own homes as long as possible, a holistic, individual and flexible care is recommended. Despite a requirement for meeting psychological, social and physical needs, home care services seem to focus on patients' physical needs. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to explore how the psychosocial needs of home-dwelling, older persons with dementia were perceived, emphasized and met by home care services. A descriptive, qualitative approach was used. Data were collected through semi-structured focus group interviews with 24 health care providers in home care services from four municipalities. Data were analysed using systematic text condensation. This study showed major differences in how health care providers perceived the psychosocial needs of older home-dwelling persons with dementia and how they perceived their responsibilities for meeting those psychosocial needs. The differences in the health care providers' perceptions seemed to significantly influence the provided care. Three co-existing logics of care were identified: the physical need-oriented logic, the renouncement logic and the integrated logic. The differences in how health care providers perceived the psychosocial needs of persons with dementia and their responsibilities for meeting those needs, influenced how the psychosocial needs were met. These differences indicates a need for a clarification of how psychosocial needs should be conceptualized and who should be responsible for meeting these needs. Further, increased competence and increased consciousness of psychosocial needs and how those needs can be met, are essential for delivering high-quality holistic care that enables persons with dementia to live in their own home for as long as possible.

Home outdoor models for traffic-related air pollutants do not represent personal exposure measurements in Southern California

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ducret-Stich, R; Gemperli, A; Ineichen, A; Phuleria, H C; Delfino, R J; Tjoa, T; Wu, J; Liu, L-J S

2009-01-01

Recent studies have used measurements or estimates of traffic-related air pollutants at home or school locations to link associations between exposure and health. However, little is known about the validity of these outdoor concentrations as an estimate for personal exposure to traffic. This paper compares modelled outdoor concentrations at home with personal exposure to traffic air pollution of 63 children in two areas in Los Angeles in 2003/2004. Exposure monitoring consisted of sixteen 10-day monitoring runs, with each run monitoring 4 subjects concurrently with the active personal DataRAM for particulate matter 25 ), elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC). One child per run had concurrent indoor/outdoor home monitoring. Measurements at central sites (24-hr PM 25 , EC, OC) were taken daily and concentrations of PM 25 , EC, and OC from traffic sources were calculated using the CALINE4 model for individual residences. We modelled outdoor concentrations of PM 2 5 , EC and OC with multilinear regression including GIS and meteorological parameters and adjusted for auto-correlation between repeated measurements. The model fit (R 2 ) for home outdoor estimates was 0.94, 0.74 and 0.80 for PM 25 , EC and OC, respectively. Comparisons between these outdoor estimates and the personal measurements showed a good agreement for PM 25 (R 2 =0.65-0.70) with a mean bias of -0.7±11.8|ag for the smog receptor area, and 18.9±16.2|ag for the traffic impacted area. However the outdoor estimates were not related to personal exposure for EC (R 2 =0.01-0.29) and OC (R 2 =0.03- 0.14). Conclusions: Predictions of outdoor concentrations can be used as approximations of personal exposure to PM 25 . However, they are not appropriate for estimating personal exposure to traffic-related air pollutants including EC and OC in studies of acute exposure-response relationships.

Personalized Home-Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Soler, José; Gandy, Michael

2007-01-01

The paper provides details of a home-networking architecture based on an enhanced residential gateway. Initially the need for mechanisms allowing user-dependent network behavior is described and afterwards details of an initial implementation are provided in terms of architectural description...

Social dancing in the care of persons with dementia in a nursing home setting: a phenomenological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Palo-Bengtsson, L; Ekman, S L

1997-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the phenomenon of social dancing in the care of persons with dementia in a nursing home setting. Social dancing is an activity that has taken place once a month regularly during the last 10 years at a nursing home in Stockholm. The period of data collection for this study was the year 1995. At the time of the investigation, the subjects were in special units for persons with dementia. The analysis is based on the data contained in five 45-minute video tapes. All videotapes were analysed based on Husserl's philosophy and Giorgi's method of phenomenological analysis. The results suggested that dance music was a good stimulus for making social contacts. The earlier-trained social patterns, old social habits, and general rules seemed to awaken to life in the persons with dementia. It was important that the caregivers showed individual creativity, spontaneity, and supportive nursing care. Social dancing at the nursing home was found in this study to be very positive and successful for patients with dementia.

The third person in the room: The needs of care partners of older people in home care services-A systematic review from a person-centred perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Anker-Hansen, Camilla; Skovdahl, Kirsti; McCormack, Brendan; Tønnessen, Siri

2018-04-01

To identify and synthesise the needs of care partners of older people living at home with assistance from home care services. "Ageing in place" is a promoted concept where care partners and home care services play significant roles. Identifying the needs of care partners and finding systematic ways of meeting them can help care partners to cope with their role. This study is based on the PRISMA reporting guidelines. The systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies was guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. In total, 16 studies were included in the review, eleven qualitative and five quantitative. Three main categories were revealed in the analysis: the need for quality interaction, the need for a shared approach to care and the need to feel empowered. Care partners of older people have several, continuously unmet needs. A person-centred perspective can contribute new understandings of how to meet these needs. A knowledge gap has been identified regarding the needs of care partners of older people with mental health problems. There is a need to develop a tool for systematic collaboration between home care services and care partners, so that the identified needs can be met in a more thorough, systematic and person-centred way. The carers in home care services need competence to identify and meet the needs of care partners. The implementation of person-centred values in home care services can contribute to meet the needs of care partners to a greater extent than today. Future research on the needs of care partners of older people with mental health problems needs to be undertaken. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evaluation and Comparison of Cognitive State and Depression in Elderly Admitted in Sanitarium with Elderly Sited in Personal Home

OpenAIRE

Mohamad-baghere Sohrabi; Pone Zolfaghari; Farzane Mahdizade; Seyd-Mohammad Aghayan; Mojtaba Ghasemian- Aghmashhadi; Zahra Shariati; Ahmad Khosravi

2008-01-01

Introduction: In this study cognitive state and geriatric depression in elderly living in sanatorium and personal home were evaluated. Methods: The present study was conducted on 46 aged subjects living in sanitarium and 90 aged subjects staying in personal homes. Mini mental status examination (MMSE) and geriatric depression scale (GDS) questionnaires were completed according to the standard examination. Results: As for the cognitive state of the aged living in sanitarium, 13 cases (28.3%) s...

Family Home Food Environment and Nutrition-Related Parent and Child Personal and Behavioral Outcomes of the Healthy Home Offerings via the Mealtime Environment (HOME) Plus Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Fulkerson, Jayne A; Friend, Sarah; Horning, Melissa; Flattum, Colleen; Draxten, Michelle; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; Gurvich, Olga; Garwick, Ann; Story, Mary; Kubik, Martha Y

2018-02-01

Research has demonstrated a significant positive association between frequent family meals and children's dietary intake; however, the promotion of healthful family meals has not been rigorously tested for key food environment and nutrition-related behavioral outcomes in a randomized trial. To describe family home food environment and nutrition-related parent and child personal and behavioral outcomes of the Healthy Home Offerings via the Mealtime Environment Plus program, the first rigorously tested family meals intervention targeting childhood obesity prevention. Randomized controlled trial. Baseline, postintervention (12 months, 93% retention), and follow-up (21 months, 89% retention) data (surveys and dietary recalls) were collected. Children aged 8 to 12 years (N=160) and their parents were randomized to intervention (n=81) or control (n=79) groups. The intervention included five parent goal-setting calls and 10 monthly sessions delivered to families in community settings that focused on experiential nutrition activities and education, meal planning, cooking skill development, and reducing screen time. Family home food environment outcomes and nutrition-related child and parent personal and behavioral outcomes. Analyses used generalized linear mixed models. Primary comparisons were contrasts between intervention and control groups at postintervention and follow-up, with adjustments for child age and parent education. Compared with control parents, intervention parents showed greater improvement over time in scores of self-efficacy for identifying appropriate portion sizes, with significant differences in adjusted means at both post-intervention (P=0.002) and follow-up (P=0.01). Intervention children were less likely to consume at least one sugar-sweetened beverage daily at post-intervention than control children (P=0.04). The Healthy Home Offerings via the Mealtime Environment Plus program involved the entire family and targeted personal, behavioral, and

Mental models of adherence: parallels in perceptions, values, and expectations in adherence to prescribed home exercise programs and other personal regimens.

Science.gov (United States)

Rizzo, Jon; Bell, Alexandra

2018-05-09

A mental model is the collection of an individual's perceptions, values, and expectations about a particular aspect of their life, which strongly influences behaviors. This study explored orthopedic outpatients mental models of adherence to prescribed home exercise programs and how they related to mental models of adherence to other types of personal regimens. The study followed an interpretive description qualitative design. Data were collected via two semi-structured interviews. Interview One focused on participants prior experiences adhering to personal regimens. Interview Two focused on experiences adhering to their current prescribed home exercise program. Data analysis followed a constant comparative method. Findings revealed similarity in perceptions, values, and expectations that informed individuals mental models of adherence to personal regimens and prescribed home exercise programs. Perceived realized results, expected results, perceived social supports, and value of convenience characterized mental models of adherence. Parallels between mental models of adherence for prescribed home exercise and other personal regimens suggest that patients adherence behavior to prescribed routines may be influenced by adherence experiences in other aspects of their lives. By gaining insight into patients adherence experiences, values, and expectations across life domains, clinicians may tailor supports that enhance home exercise adherence. Implications for Rehabilitation A mental model is the collection of an individual's perceptions, values, and expectations about a particular aspect of their life, which is based on prior experiences and strongly influences behaviors. This study demonstrated similarity in orthopedic outpatients mental models of adherence to prescribed home exercise programs and adherence to personal regimens in other aspects of their lives. Physical therapists should inquire about patients non-medical adherence experiences, as strategies patients

Factors perceived as being related to accidental falls by persons with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsagård, Ylva; Denison, Eva; Gunnarsson, Lars-Gunnar; Boström, Katrin

2009-01-01

This study explores and describes factors that persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) perceive as being related to accidental falls. A qualitative content analysis with primarily deductive approach was conducted using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Twelve persons with MS, and identified as fallers, were interviewed. Factors perceived to cause accidental falls that had not previously been targeted in MS populations in relation to falls were identified as divided attention, reduced muscular endurance, fatigue and heat sensitivity. Previously reported risk factors such as changed gait pattern, limited walking ability, impaired proprioception, vision and spasticity were supported. Activities involving walking, recreation and leisure, maintaining and changing body position, lifting or carrying, taking care of the home, washing the body, moving around, preparing meals and housekeeping were limited and considered to be risk activities. Supportive persons and assistive device reduced falls, and unsuitable physical environments and climate conditions induced falls. Several preventative strategies were described as partially compensating for the impairments, limitations and restrictions. Investigating accidental falls using the perspective of the patient gave important information about variables not earlier targeted in MS research.

Pattern of disability among persons who availed half-way home-care services for psychosocial rehabilitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Ranganathan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: There is dearth of studies related to pattern of disability among persons who availed psychosocial rehabilitation services in India. We studied the pattern of disability among persons who availed half-way home-care services for psychosocial rehabilitation. Materials and Methods: Out of 130 case files of discharged patients, 50 files were randomly selected for data collection. Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Schedule was used to assess the pattern of disability in the sample. Results: The study revealed that only one-third (35% of the residents had disability in self-care, 41% in communication and understanding and 47% in interpersonal relationship. Overall, majority (76% of the respondents had moderate level of psychiatric disability at the time of discharge from half-way home. There was no significant relationship between gender and type of psychiatric illness with the level of disability. The overall disability correlated positively with the duration of illness (rs=0.39. Conclusion: Three-fourth of the residents who availed half-way home-care services had moderate level of disability.

The role of leadership in the implementation of person-centred care using Dementia Care Mapping: a study in three nursing homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork; Vatne, Solfrid; Engedal, Knut; Selbæk, Geir

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of leadership in the implementation of person-centred care (PCC) in nursing homes using Dementia Care Mapping (DCM). Leadership is important for the implementation of nursing practice. However, the empirical knowledge of positive leadership in processes enhancing person-centred culture of care in nursing homes is limited. The study has a qualitative descriptive design. The DCM method was used in three nursing homes. Eighteen staff members and seven leaders participated in focus-group interviews centring on the role of leadership in facilitating the development process. The different roles of leadership in the three nursing homes, characterized as 'highly professional', 'market orientated' or 'traditional', seemed to influence to what extent the DCM process led to successful implementation of PCC. This study provided useful information about the influence of leadership in the implementation of person-centred care in nursing homes. Leaders should be active role models, expound a clear vision and include and empower all staff in the professional development process. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

At Home in the Office. A Guide for the Home Worker.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Neil; And Others

This guide provides information to persons interested in establishing a work-at-home program, specifically those in clerical or support staff positions who use modern automated office equipment. The text is divided into two sections. The Home Worker section provides a summary of the At Home in the Office Project, personality characteristics…

The cost and benefits of employment: a qualitative study of experiences of persons with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Kurt L; Yorkston, Kathryn M; Klasner, Estelle R; Kuehn, Carrie M; Johnson, Erica; Amtmann, Dagmar

2004-02-01

To attain a better understanding of the benefits and barriers faced by persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the workplace. Qualitative research methodology comprising a series of semistructured interviews. Community-based setting. Fourteen women and 2 men with MS living in the community who were employed or recently employed at the time of interviews. Not applicable. Accounts of personal experiences related to employment. Four themes emerged: the cost-benefit economy of working; fatigue and cognitive changes; stress in the workplace; and accommodations made to address barriers. Although participants valued work highly, they were also aware of the cost of being employed. The consequences of unemployment or changing jobs were considered negative and appeared stressful. For persons with MS, employment had both costs and significant benefits. Accommodations in the workplace and modifications of roles and responsibilities at home made it possible for individuals to continue working. Health care providers must consider the complexity and timing of decisions by people with MS to continue or leave employment before recommending either action. Identifying critical periods of intervention to stabilize this cost-benefit balance is a critical next step for understanding issues of employment and MS.

Effects and meanings of a person-centred and health-promoting intervention in home care services - a study protocol of a non-randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Bölenius, Karin; Lämås, Kristina; Sandman, Per-Olof; Edvardsson, David

2017-02-16

The literature indicates that current home care service are largely task oriented with limited focus on the involvement of the older people themselves, and studies show that lack of involvement might reduce older people's quality of life. Person-centred care has been shown to improve the satisfaction with care and quality of life in older people cared for in hospitals and nursing homes, with limited published evidence about the effects and meanings of person-centred interventions in home care services for older people. This study protocol outlines a study aiming to evaluate such effects and meanings of a person-centred and health-promoting intervention in home aged care services. The study will take the form of a non-randomised controlled trial with a before/after approach. It will include 270 older people >65 years receiving home care services, 270 relatives and 65 staff, as well as a matched control group of equal size. All participants will be recruited from a municipality in northern Sweden. The intervention is based on the theoretical concepts of person-centredness and health-promotion, and builds on the four pedagogical phases of: theory apprehension, experimental learning, operationalization, and clinical supervision. Outcome assessments will focus on: a) health and quality of life (primary outcomes), thriving and satisfaction with care for older people; b) caregiver strain, informal caregiving engagement and relatives' satisfaction with care: c) job satisfaction and stress of conscience among care staff (secondary outcomes). Evaluation will be conducted by means of self-reported questionnaires and qualitative research interviews. Person-centred home care services have the potential to improve the recurrently reported sub-standard experiences of home care services, and the results can point the way to establishing a more person-centred and health-promoting model for home care services for older people. NCT02846246 .

The relationship between prenatal care, personal alcohol abuse and alcohol abuse in the home environment

Science.gov (United States)

GREKIN, EMILY R.; ONDERSMA, STEVEN J.

2013-01-01

Aims Nearly one-fourth of African-American women receive no prenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy. The aim of the current study is to identify factors that underlie inadequate prenatal care among African-American women. Maternal alcohol abuse has been examined as one risk factor for inadequate prenatal care, but findings have been inconsistent, perhaps because (a) alcohol use during pregnancy is substantially under-reported and (b) studies have not considered the wider social network in which maternal alcohol use takes place. The current study attempts to clarify relationships between personal alcohol use, alcohol use in the home environment, and prenatal care in a sample of post-partum women. Methods Participants were 107 low-income, primarily African-American women. All participants completed a computer-based screening which assessed personal and environmental alcohol use, prenatal care and mental health. Findings Environmental alcohol use was related to delayed prenatal care while personal alcohol use was not. More specifically, after controlling for demographic variables, the presence of more than three person-episodes of binge drinking in a woman’s home environment increased the odds of seriously compromized prenatal care by a factor of seven. Conclusions Findings suggest the need to further assess environmental alcohol use and to examine the reliability of personal alcohol use measures. PMID:24391354

MS in Your Relationships

Science.gov (United States)

... MS Relationships Share this page Facebook Twitter Email Relationships MS poses additional challenges, but it also enriches ... when it is not. Keeping balance in your relationship When one person in a couple is affected ...

Methicillin resistance of airborne coagulase-negative staphylococci in homes of persons having contact with a hospital environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lis, Danuta O; Pacha, Jerzy Z; Idzik, Danuta

2009-04-01

The persons having contact with a hospital environment (hospital personnel workers and discharged patients) are highly exposed to colonization with multidrug-resistant bacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the airborne Staphylococcus genus features in homes in which inhabitants have had contact with the hospital environment. Airborne bacteria were collected using a 6-stage Anderson impactor. The Staphylococcus species composition and resistance to methicillin, and other antimicrobial agents among 3 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) species (S cohnii spp cohnii, S epidermidis, S hominis), were determined. Antibiotic resistance of isolates was tested using the agar screen method with methicillin, the polymerase chain reaction technique to detect the mecA gene, and the disk diffusion method. A higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant (MR) strains among the species isolated (40% of S epidermidis, 40% of S hominis, and 60% of S cohnii spp cohnii) was found in homes of persons who had contact with a hospital environment compared with the reference homes (only 12% of S hominis). The mecA gene was revealed in all MR S epidermidis strains and in some MR S hominis (50%) and S cohnii spp cohnii (33%) strains. All isolated MR CNS strains were susceptible to vancomycin, rifampicin, and linezolid. High numbers of airborne multidrug-resistant MR CNS in the homes of persons having contact with a hospital environment indicates that such inhabitants pose a risk of intrafamilial spreading of MR strains via air.

Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Behaviors Emotional Well-Being Spiritual Well-Being Cognitive Health Work, Home & Leisure Relationships Research Participate in Research ... Nutrition Exercise Heat & Temperature Sensitivity Sleep Vaccinations Women's Health Unhealthy Habits Managing MS and Another Condition Aging ...

Relationship between Childhood Meal Scenes at Home Remembered by University Students and their Current Personality

OpenAIRE

恩村, 咲希; Onmura, Saki

2013-01-01

This study examines the relationship between childhood meal scenes at home that are remembered by university students and their current personality. The meal scenes are analyzed in terms of companions, conversation content, conversation frequency, atmosphere, and consideration of meals. The scale of the conversation content in childhood meal scenes was prepared on the basis of the results of a preliminary survey. The result showed that a relationship was found between personality traits and c...

Person-centredness in elder care: A secondary analysis of data from a study among home-dwelling men and women in the Faroe Islands.

Science.gov (United States)

Róin, Ása

2018-06-01

As individuals in Western societies age, there is increasing demand for home-based care to help older people stay in their homes for as long as possible and provide services that ensure a person's quality of life in old age. Numerous attempts are made to develop a framework to secure quality of care. However, research has shown insufficient quality in care for older people. In this study, the purpose is to study how older people's experiences with home care reflect a person-centred approach to care. Data derived from an earlier study on ageing among home-dwelling men and women who are aged 67-91 and living in the Faroe Islands. Person-centredness as a concept is an often quoted, but ill-defined concept. Most studies concerning person-centred care are conducted within hospital wards or long-term care institutions. Empirical studies concerning home-dwelling older people receiving home care are scarce. The study is a secondary analysis of data from an earlier qualitative study. Latent thematic analysis was used which meant coding issues of potential interest and collecting these codes into themes. Three themes appeared to combine the initial codes: sense of involvement, sense of meaningfulness and contextual conditions. Overall, the analysis showed that the users were seldom involved in planning or scheduling the care they received. What they were offered did not always make sense to them or correspond to their needs or preferences. The number of interviews included was limited. However, findings from this study point at some possible barriers to successful implementation of person-centredness within elder care. Especially, contextual conditions seem to limit the facilitation of person-centred practices. Healthcare providers must take the user's preferences, resources and networks into consideration when coordinating and planning home care and, importantly, be open for negotiating needs. It is important to draw attention to the contrast between political intentions

Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... for Specific Populations Find Programs & Services in Your Area Calendar of Programs and Events Living Well with MS Diet, Exercise & Healthy Behaviors Emotional Well-Being Spiritual Well-Being Cognitive Health Work, Home & Leisure Relationships Research Participate in ...

Smart Homes and Sensors for Surveillance and Preventive Education at Home: Example of Obesity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacques Demongeot

2016-08-01

Full Text Available (1 Background: The aim of this paper is to show that e-health tools like smart homes allow the personalization of the surveillance and preventive education of chronic patients, such as obese persons, in order to maintain a comfortable and preventive lifestyle at home. (2 Technologies and methods: Several types of sensors allow coaching the patient at home, e.g., the sensors recording the activity and monitoring the physiology of the person. All of this information serves to personalize serious games dedicated to preventive education, for example in nutrition and vision. (3 Results: We built a system of personalized preventive education at home based on serious games, derived from the feedback information they provide through a monitoring system. Therefore, it is possible to define (after clustering and personalized calibration from the at home surveillance of chronic patients different comfort zones where their behavior can be estimated as normal or abnormal and, then, to adapt both alarm levels for surveillance and education programs for prevention, the chosen example of application being obesity.

Pain management for older persons living in nursing homes: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tse, Mimi M Y; Ho, Suki S K

2013-06-01

Because the prevalence of chronic pain among the elderly in nursing homes is high and decreases their quality of life, effective nonpharmacologic pain management should be promoted. The purpose of this quasiexperimental pretest and posttest control design was to enhance pain management in nursing homes via an integrated pain management program (IPMP) for staff and residents. Nursing staff and residents from the experimental nursing home were invited to join the 8-week IPMP, whereas staff and residents from the control nursing home did not receive the IPMP. Baseline data were collected from nursing staff and residents in both groups before and after the IPMP. The IPMP consisted of eight lectures on pain assessment, drug knowledge,and nondrug strategies for the nursing staff, and 8 weeks of activities, including gardening therapy and physiotherapy exercise, for the residents. There were 48 and 42 older people in the experimental and control groups, respectively. No significant differences were found in their educational level, sleep quality, bowel habits, past and present health conditions, pain conditions and psychologic well-being parameters (p > .05) at baseline. After the IPMP, the experimental nursing staff showed a significant improvement in their knowledge of and attitudes to pain management (p pain scores and used more nondrug strategies for pain relief compared with the control group (p nursing staff, as well as reducing pain conditions and enhancing psychologic well-being for older persons in nursing homes. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Location, Location, Location: Characteristics and Services of Long-Stay Home Care Recipients in Retirement Homes Compared to Others in Private Homes and Long-Term Care Homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Poss, Jeffrey W; Sinn, Chi-Ling Joanna; Grinchenko, Galina; Blums, Jane; Peirce, Tom; Hirdes, John

2017-02-01

We examine recipients of publicly funded ongoing care in a single Ontario jurisdiction who reside in three different settings: long-stay home care patients in private homes and apartments, other patients in retirement homes and residents of long-term care homes, using interRAI assessment instruments. Among home care patients, those in retirement homes have higher proportions of dementia and moderate cognitive impairment, less supportive informal care systems as well as more personal care and nursing services above those provided by the public home care system, more frequent but shorter home support visits and lower than expected public home care expenditures. These lower expenditures may be because of efficiency of care delivery or by retirement homes providing some services otherwise provided by the public home care system. Although persons in each setting are mostly older adults with high degrees of frailty and medical complexity, long-term care home residents show distinctly higher needs. We estimate that 40% of retirement home residents are long-stay home care patients, and they comprise about one in six of this Community Care Access Centre's long-stay patients. Copyright © 2017 Longwoods Publishing.

Personalized Medication Management: Towards a Design of Individualized Support for Elderly Citizens at Home

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Verdezoto, Nervo; Olsen, Jesper Wolff

2012-01-01

Several technologies have been developed to support people's medication management, including pillboxes, specialized software applications, reminders and paper-based medication lists. Several of these technologies were discovered in older adults' homes during user studies carried out with the main...... purpose to help them to manage their medications and recall challenges. We confirm that a considerable number of older adults integrate their medication treatments into their daily life routines, and that the lack of knowledge, caregiver's support, medicine outside the home, forgetting medication intake...... towards the design of a personalized medication management system. We further describe our initial stage in a participatory design process as part of the ongoing Lev Vel Consortium....

The work pattern of personal care workers in two Australian nursing homes: a time-motion study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qian Si-Yu

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of the study is to describe the work pattern of personal care workers (PCWs in nursing homes. This knowledge is important for staff performance appraisal, task allocation and scheduling. It will also support funding allocation based on activities. Methods A time-motion study was conducted in 2010 at two Australian nursing homes. The observation at Site 1 was between the hours of 7:00 and 14:00 or 15:00 for 14 days. One PCW was observed on each day. The observation at Site 2 was from 10:00 to 17:00 for 16 days. One PCW working on a morning shift and another one working on an afternoon shift were observed on each day. Fifty-eight work activities done by PCWs were grouped into eight categories. Activity time, frequency, duration and the switch between two consecutive activities were used as measurements to describe the work pattern. Results Personal care workers spent about 70.0% of their time on four types of activities consistently at both sites: direct care (30.7%, indirect care (17.6%, infection control (6.4% and staff break (15.2%. Oral communication was the most frequently observed activity. It could occur independently or concurrently with other activities. At Site 2, PCWs spent significantly more time than their counterparts at Site 1 on oral communication (Site 1: 47.3% vs. Site 2: 63.5%, P = 0.003, transit (Site 1: 3.4% vs. Site 2: 5.5%, P  Conclusions At both nursing homes, direct care, indirect care, infection control and staff break occupied the major part of a PCW’s work, however oral communication was the most time consuming activity. Personal care workers frequently switched between activities, suggesting that looking after the elderly in nursing homes is a busy and demanding job.

In-home Telerehabilitation for Older Persons with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michel Tousignant

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the efficacy of in-home telerehabilitation for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD. Three community-living elders with COPD were recruited in a rehabilitation outpatient group and by direct referrals from pneumologists with outpatients who have COPD. A pre/post-test design without a control group was used for this pilot study. Telerehabilitation sessions (15 sessions were conducted by two trained physio­therapists from a service center to the patient’s home. Locomotor function (walking performance and quality of life were measured in person prior to and at the end of the treatment by an independent assessor. Clinical outcomes improved for all subjects except for locomotor function in the first participant. In-home telerehabilitation for people with COPD is a realistic alternative to dispense rehabilitation services for patients requiring physical therapy follow-up. 

DATA TRANSFER FROM A DEC PDP-11 BASED MASS-SPECTROMETRY DATA STATION TO AN MS-DOS PERSONAL-COMPUTER

NARCIS (Netherlands)

RAFFAELLI, A; BRUINS, AP

This paper describes a simple procedure for obtaining better quality graphic output for mass spectrometry data from data systems equipped with poor quality printing devices. The procedure uses KERMIT, a low cost public domain software, to transfer ASCII tables to a MS-DOS personal computer where

HOME Participating Jurisdictions Vacant Units Reports

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Housing and Urban Development — This report is an MS Excel spreadsheet broken up by state, similar to the HOME Participating Jurisdiction's Open Activities Reports. The purpose of the HOME...

Home care for life-supported persons: the French system of quality control, technology assessment, and cost containment.

OpenAIRE

Goldberg, A I

1989-01-01

Home care for persons who require the prolonged use of life-supportive medical technology is a reality in several nations. France has had more than a quarter of a century of experience with providing home care for patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency and with a system to evaluate the patients' outcomes. The French approach features decentralized regional organizations which offer grassroots involvement by the beneficiaries who participate directly in the system. Since June 1981, a ...

Validity of at home model predictions as a proxy for personal exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from mobile phone base stations.

Science.gov (United States)

Martens, Astrid L; Bolte, John F B; Beekhuizen, Johan; Kromhout, Hans; Smid, Tjabe; Vermeulen, Roel C H

2015-10-01

Epidemiological studies on the potential health effects of RF-EMF from mobile phone base stations require efficient and accurate exposure assessment methods. Previous studies have demonstrated that the 3D geospatial model NISMap is able to rank locations by indoor and outdoor RF-EMF exposure levels. This study extends on previous work by evaluating the suitability of using NISMap to estimate indoor RF-EMF exposure levels at home as a proxy for personal exposure to RF-EMF from mobile phone base stations. For 93 individuals in the Netherlands we measured personal exposure to RF-EMF from mobile phone base stations during a 24h period using an EME-SPY 121 exposimeter. Each individual kept a diary from which we extracted the time spent at home and in the bedroom. We used NISMap to model exposure at the home address of the participant (at bedroom height). We then compared model predictions with measurements for the 24h period, when at home, and in the bedroom by the Spearman correlation coefficient (rsp) and by calculating specificity and sensitivity using the 90th percentile of the exposure distribution as a cutpoint for high exposure. We found a low to moderate rsp of 0.36 for the 24h period, 0.51 for measurements at home, and 0.41 for measurements in the bedroom. The specificity was high (0.9) but with a low sensitivity (0.3). These results indicate that a meaningful ranking of personal RF-EMF can be achieved, even though the correlation between model predictions and 24h personal RF-EMF measurements is lower than with at home measurements. However, the use of at home RF-EMF field predictions from mobile phone base stations in epidemiological studies leads to significant exposure misclassification that will result in a loss of statistical power to detect health effects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Personality traits predict perceived health-related quality of life in persons with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zarbo, Ignazio Roberto; Minacapelli, Eleonora; Falautano, Monica; Demontis, Silvia; Carpentras, Giovanni; Pugliatti, Maura

2016-04-01

Personality traits can affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in different disorders. In multiple sclerosis (MS), personality traits can determine patients' willingness to take on more risky treatment options, predispose to neuropsychiatric symptoms and affect coping strategies. We investigated the role of personality traits as possible predictors of HRQoL in a large cohort of persons with MS (PwMS). In total, 253 consecutively recruited PwMS were screened for intellectual deficits with Raven Colour Progressive Matrices (RCPM), state anxiety with STAI-X1 and major depression on a clinical basis. PwMS' self-perceived mental and physical health status was measured with the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the personality profile with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R). The correlation between HRQoL and personality traits was investigated by means of analysis of variance, adjusting for possible confounders. Of the 253 MS patients, 195 (F:M=2.75), aged 41.7±10.2 years were included in the analysis. The variance of SF-36 mental and physical composite score was largely explained by extraversion and neuroticism. Our data confirm that PwMS' HRQoL is largely influenced by personality traits, which may therefore act as predictors of perceived quality of life and should be included in clinical and experimental settings focusing on HRQoL. © The Author(s), 2015.

Multidimensional measures validated for home health needs of older persons: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

de Rossi Figueiredo, Daniela; Paes, Lucilene Gama; Warmling, Alessandra Martins; Erdmann, Alacoque Lorenzini; de Mello, Ana Lúcia Schaefer Ferreira

2018-01-01

To conduct a systematic review of the literature on valid and reliable multidimensional instruments to assess home health needs of older persons. Systematic review. Electronic databases, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scientific Electronic Library Online and the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Information. All English, Portuguese and Spanish literature which included studies of reliability and validity of instruments that assessed at least two dimensions: physical, psychological, social support and functional independence, self-rated health behaviors and contextual environment and if such instruments proposed interventions after evaluation and/or monitoring changes over a period of time. Older persons aged 60 years or older. Of the 2397 studies identified, 32 were considered eligible. Two-thirds of the instruments proposed the physical, psychological, social support and functional independence dimensions. Inter-observer and intra-observer reliability and internal consistency values were 0.7 or above. More than two-thirds of the studies included validity (n=26) and more than one validity was tested in 15% (n=4) of these. Only 7% (n=2) proposed interventions after evaluation and/or monitoring changes over a period of time. Although the multidimensional assessment was performed, and the reliability values of the reviewed studies were satisfactory, different validity tests were not present in several studies. A gap at the instrument conception was observed related to interventions after evaluation and/or monitoring changes over a period of time. Further studies with this purpose are necessary for home health needs of the older persons. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Concordance of In-Home "Smart" Scale Measurement with Body Weight Measured In-Person.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Kathryn M; Wing, Rena R

2016-06-01

Newer "smart" scales that transmit participants' body weights directly to data collection centers offer the opportunity to simplify weight assessment in weight management research; however, little data exist on the concordance of these data compared to weights measured at in-person assessments. We compared the weights of 58 participants (mean±SD BMI = 31.6±4.8, age = 52.1±9.7 years, 86.2% White, 65.5% Female) measured by study staff at an in-person assessment visit to weights measured on the same day at home using BodyTrace "smart" scales. These measures occurred after 3 months of an internet-based weight management intervention. Weight (mean±SD) measured at the 3-month in-person assessment visit was 81.5±14.7kg compared to 80.4±14.5kg measured on the same day using in-home body weight scales; mean bias =1.1±0.8kg, 95% limits of agreement = -0.5 to 2.6. Two outliers in the data suggest that there may be greater variability between measurements for participants weighing above 110 kg. Results suggest good concordance between the measurements and support the use of the BodyTrace smart scale in weight management research. Future trials using BodyTrace scales for outcome assessment should clearly define protocols for measurement and associated instructions to participants (e.g., instruct individuals to weigh at the same time of day, similarly clothed). Finally, measure concordance should be investigated in a group of individuals weighing more than 110kg.

A Review of the Monograph “Home as a Living Environment of a Person: a Psychological Study”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vachkov I.V.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The reviewed book is a fundamental work of a group of scientists led by a well-known expert in the field of environment psychology, Professor S.K. Nartova – Bochaver. The monograph presents results of a systematic and multifaceted study of a completely new scientific field – the psychology of the home, as the main human life environment that determines one's individuality, social interaction and life success and which is the most powerful ecological and social resource. Prerequisites for the selection of the new subject of study, stages of developing of the completely new category apparatus and also methodology of home – person relations are outlined. The main content of the book is a description of the research results of the formation of various home concepts, subjective models of a friendly home in adolescence, home resources for positive functioning in adolescence and youth, affection and estrangement to home in one’s life perspective. Present book is addressed to a wide range of readers and will be useful to specialists of different profiles: psychologists, psychotherapists, teachers, architects, designers.

Evaluation of the QuEChERS method for the extraction of pharmaceuticals and personal care products from drinking-water treatment sludge with determination by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Cerqueira, Maristela B R; Guilherme, Juliana R; Caldas, Sergiane S; Martins, Manoel L; Zanella, Renato; Primel, Ednei G

2014-07-01

A modified version of the QuEChERS method has been evaluated for the determination of 21 pharmaceuticals and 6 personal care products (PPCPs) in drinking-water sludge samples by employing ultra high liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The performance of the method was evaluated through linearity, recovery, precision (intra-day), method detection and quantification limits (MDL and MQL) and matrix effect. The calibration curves prepared in acetonitrile and in the matrix extract showed a correlation coefficient ranging from 0.98 to 0.99. MQLs values were on the ng g(-1) order of magnitude for most compounds. Recoveries between 50% and 93% were reached with RSDs lower than 10% for most compounds. Matrix effect was almost absent with values lower than 16% for 93% of the compounds. By coupling a quick and simple extraction called QuEChERS with the UPLC-MS/MS analysis, a method that is both selective and sensitive was obtained. This methodology was successfully applied to real samples and caffeine and benzophenone-3 were detected in ng g(-1) levels. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wide-scope screening of pesticides in fruits and vegetables using information-dependent acquisition employing UHPLC-QTOF-MS and automated MS/MS library searching.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhibin; Cao, Yanzhong; Ge, Na; Liu, Xiaomao; Chang, Qiaoying; Fan, Chunlin; Pang, Guo-Fang

2016-11-01

This paper presents an application of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) for simultaneous screening and identification of 427 pesticides in fresh fruit and vegetable samples. Both full MS scan mode for quantification, and an artificial-intelligence-based product ion scan mode information-dependent acquisition (IDA) providing automatic MS to MS/MS switching of product ion spectra for identification, were conducted by one injection. A home-in collision-induced-dissociation all product ions accurate mass spectra library containing more than 1700 spectra was developed prior to actual application. Both qualitative and quantitative validations of the method were carried out. The result showed that 97.4 % of the pesticides had the screening detection limit (SDL) less than 50 μg kg -1 and more than 86.7 % could be confirmed by accurate MS/MS spectra embodied in the home-made library. Meanwhile, calibration curves covering two orders of magnitude were performed, and they were linear over the concentration range studied for the selected matrices (from 5 to 500 μg kg -1 for most of the pesticides). Recoveries between 80 and 110 % in four matrices (apple, orange, tomato, and spinach) at two spiked levels, 10 and 100 μg kg -1 , was 88.7 or 86.8 %. Furthermore, the overall relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 12) for 94.3 % of the pesticides in 10 μg kg -1 and 98.1 % of the pesticides in 100 μg kg -1 spiked levels was less than 20 %. In order to validate the suitability for routine analysis, the method was applied to 448 fruit and vegetable samples purchased in different local markets. The results show 83.3 % of the analyzed samples have positive findings (higher than the limits of identification and quantification), and 412 commodity-pesticide combinations are identified in our scope. The approach proved to be a cost-effective, time-saving and powerful strategy for routine large

Improving person-centred care in nursing homes through dementia-care mapping: design of a cluster-randomised controlled trial

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background The effectiveness and efficiency of nursing-home dementia care are suboptimal: there are high rates of neuropsychiatric symptoms among the residents and work-related stress among the staff. Dementia-care mapping is a person-centred care method that may alleviate both the resident and the staff problems. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of dementia-care mapping in nursing-home dementia care. Methods/Design The study is a cluster-randomised controlled trial, with nursing homes grouped in clusters. Studywise minimisation is the allocation method. Nursing homes in the intervention group will receive a dementia-care-mapping intervention, while the control group will receive usual care. The primary outcome measure is resident agitation, to be assessed with the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. The secondary outcomes are resident neuropsychiatric symptoms, assessed with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory - Nursing Homes and quality of life, assessed with Qualidem and the EQ-5D. The staff outcomes are stress reactions, job satisfaction and job-stress-related absenteeism, and staff turnover rate, assessed with the Questionnaire about Experience and Assessment of Work, the General Health Questionnaire-12, and the Maastricht Job Satisfaction Scale for Health Care, respectively. We will collect the data from the questionnaires and electronic registration systems. We will employ linear mixed-effect models and cost-effectiveness analyses to evaluate the outcomes. We will use structural equation modelling in the secondary analysis to evaluate the plausibility of a theoretical model regarding the effectiveness of the dementia-care mapping intervention. We will set up process analyses, including focus groups with staff, to determine the relevant facilitators of and barriers to implementing dementia-care mapping broadly. Discussion A novelty of dementia-care mapping is that it offers an integral person

Improving person-centred care in nursing homes through dementia-care mapping: design of a cluster-randomised controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van de Ven Geertje

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The effectiveness and efficiency of nursing-home dementia care are suboptimal: there are high rates of neuropsychiatric symptoms among the residents and work-related stress among the staff. Dementia-care mapping is a person-centred care method that may alleviate both the resident and the staff problems. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of dementia-care mapping in nursing-home dementia care. Methods/Design The study is a cluster-randomised controlled trial, with nursing homes grouped in clusters. Studywise minimisation is the allocation method. Nursing homes in the intervention group will receive a dementia-care-mapping intervention, while the control group will receive usual care. The primary outcome measure is resident agitation, to be assessed with the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. The secondary outcomes are resident neuropsychiatric symptoms, assessed with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory - Nursing Homes and quality of life, assessed with Qualidem and the EQ-5D. The staff outcomes are stress reactions, job satisfaction and job-stress-related absenteeism, and staff turnover rate, assessed with the Questionnaire about Experience and Assessment of Work, the General Health Questionnaire-12, and the Maastricht Job Satisfaction Scale for Health Care, respectively. We will collect the data from the questionnaires and electronic registration systems. We will employ linear mixed-effect models and cost-effectiveness analyses to evaluate the outcomes. We will use structural equation modelling in the secondary analysis to evaluate the plausibility of a theoretical model regarding the effectiveness of the dementia-care mapping intervention. We will set up process analyses, including focus groups with staff, to determine the relevant facilitators of and barriers to implementing dementia-care mapping broadly. Discussion A novelty of dementia-care mapping is that it offers an

Seeing the first-person perspective in dementia : a qualitative personal evaluation game to evaluate assistive technology for people affected by dementia in the home context

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Suijkerbuijk, S.; Brankaert, R.G.A.; Kort, de Y.A.W.; Snaphaan, L.J.A.E.; Ouden, den P.H.

2015-01-01

The number of people with dementia is increasing rapidly. As a result, care has to be extended towards the home context. This increases the burden on both informal caregivers and persons affected by dementia. To support these people more effectively, technology could play an important role. However,

Russell Brains Review of MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Tj

2011-05-01

In 1930 there were many conflicting views on the cause, incidence, precipitating factors, inheritance and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). A young, London neurologist summarized the state of understanding of the disease with his personal view of many of the uncertain areas, and clarified the thinking for the neurological community at that time. Although his later career was influential in many fields of medicine, and his personal influence was extraordinary in many areas as an author, educator, administrator, opinion leader and historian, his review was an important milestone in the history of MS.

24 CFR 982.610 - Group home: Who may reside in a group home.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Group home: Who may reside in a group home. 982.610 Section 982.610 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and... Housing Types Group Home § 982.610 Group home: Who may reside in a group home. (a) An elderly person or a...

Promoting Physical Activity Through a Manual Wheelchair Propulsion Intervention in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Ian M; Rice, Laura A; Motl, Robert W

2015-10-01

To examine the efficacy and feasibility of a multifactorial intervention to increase lifestyle physical activity in nonambulatory persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) based on wheelchair optimization, propulsion skill/technique training, and behavioral strategies based on social cognitive theory. Randomized controlled trial, 3-month postintervention follow-up. Home and general community, and university research laboratory. Nonambulatory individuals with MS (N=14; mean age ± SD, 53.6±8.7y) were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG) or a control group (CG). After baseline testing, the IG participants received custom-fit, ultralightweight manual wheelchairs with propulsion/skills training, followed by 3 months of at-home use with the custom ultralightweight wheelchair and weekly phone calls to deliver support through a multifactorial intervention. The CG participants received no training and used their own wheelchairs at home during this time. All subjects were assessed at baseline and 3 months later for fatigue (Fatigue Severity Scale), upper extremity strength (digital handheld dynamometer), and propulsion technique (on a treadmill [0.5m/s] with instrumented wheels). Two 1-week bouts of physical activity were measured in both groups from home with wrist-worn accelerometry at the beginning (IG and CG in own wheelchairs) and end (IG in study wheelchair, CG in own) of the 3-month period of home use. The intervention was well tolerated, and no adverse events were reported. The IG demonstrated increased strength (P=.008) and a trend toward less fatigue (P=.068), both with large effect sizes (d>0.8), as well as reduced application of braking torque during propulsion (P=.003) with a moderate/large effect size (d=.73), compared with the CG. Findings suggest a 3-month physical activity intervention based on manual wheelchair propulsion and training is safe and feasible for some wheelchair users living with MS and may produce secondary benefits in strength

The Ms. Stereotype Revisited: Implicit and Explicit Facets

Science.gov (United States)

Malcolmson, Kelly A.; Sinclair, Lisa

2007-01-01

Implicit and explicit stereotypes toward the title Ms. were examined. Participants read a short description of a target person whose title of address varied (Ms., Mrs., Miss, Mr.). They then rated the person on agentic and communal traits and completed an Implicit Association Test. Replicating earlier research (Dion, 1987), at an explicit level,…

Becoming a guest in your own home: Home care in Sweden from the perspective of older people with multimorbidities.

Science.gov (United States)

Jarling, Aleksandra; Rydström, Ingela; Ernsth-Bravell, Marie; Nyström, Maria; Dalheim-Englund, Ann-Charlotte

2018-03-30

To describe the meaning of the phenomenon home care from the perspective of older persons who live alone with multimorbidity. In line with worldwide changing demographics, conditions for older people in need of home care are changing. In Sweden there is a stay-in-place policy and older people are expected to live and be cared for in their own home as long as possible. Home care, instituted by different laws, is a challenge affecting the older person when the private home becomes a workplace. This study uses a qualitative design with a lifeworld approach. The study having been conducted in Sweden in 2016, the researchers interviewed 12 older persons that live alone and receive home care. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The findings illustrate four sub-themes: adapting to a caring culture, feeling exposed, unable to influence care and forced relations. The overall theme reveals that older people experience a life-changing situation when receiving home care and they become a guest in their own home. Becoming older with increased needs means to disrupt one's life when one's private home becomes a public arena. The gap between an older person's rights by law and the older person's experiences of receiving home care needs to be highlighted to meet the oncoming challenges in providing a home care that includes participation of the older themselves. Only then can care be offered that enables older people to have a sense of control and experience their home as their own. The findings emphasise the need to view older people as being self-determinant and independent. Older people receiving home care need to be seen as individuals, and their entire life situation should be considered by also acknowledging the important role played by relatives and caregivers. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Participation in physical and social activities among home-dwelling persons with dementia – experiences of next of kin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Söderhamn U

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Ulrika Söderhamn,1 Bjørg Landmark,2,3 Sissel Eriksen,2 Olle Söderhamn11Center for Caring Research – Southern Norway, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad, 2Institute of Research and Development for Nursing and Care Services, Municipality of Drammen, Drammen, 3Faculty of Health Sciences, Buskerud University College, Drammen, NorwayIntroduction: To be next of kin to a home-dwelling person with dementia is known to be a heavy burden, especially early in the process. Studies have revealed a need for information and support during the disease process. Likewise, there is support for the positive impacts of physical and social activities for wellbeing in home-dwelling people with dementia. It is important to obtain experiences from next of kin whose spouses or parents participate in such physical and social activities.Aim: The aim of this study was to elucidate the experiences of next of kin to home-dwelling persons in an early stage of dementia who had an opportunity to participate in organized physical and social activities.Method: The study has a qualitative design. Focus group interviews were conducted with ten next of kin to home-dwelling dementia sufferers, who participated in physical and social activities in an activity center. The interview texts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.Findings: In the analysis, two categories emerged: "a break in the everyday" and "being attended and cared about." Two sub-categories identified in each of the two main categories were: "need of relief" and "meaningful activities;" and "being confirmed" and "sharing experiences and getting advice and help," respectively. These categories were interpreted in an overall theme: "contentment with adapted activities and group meetings provided with a person-centered approach."Conclusion: Adapted physical and social activities led by highly qualified personnel can provide needed relief and support to the next of kin, and

Person-Centered Care in the Home Setting for Parkinson’s Disease: Operation House Call Quality of Care Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nawaz Hack

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. (1 To evaluate the feasibility of implementing and evaluating a home visit program for persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD in a rural setting. (2 To have movement disorders fellows coordinate and manage health care delivery. Background. The University of Florida, Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration established Operation House Call to serve patients with PD who could not otherwise afford to travel to an expert center or to pay for medical care. PD is known to lead to significant disability, frequent hospitalization, early nursing home placement, and morbidity. Methods. This was designed as a quality improvement project. Movement disorders fellows travelled to the home(s of underserved PD patients and coordinated their clinical care. The diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease was confirmed using standardized criteria, and the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale was performed and best treatment practices were delivered. Results. All seven patients have been followed up longitudinally every 3 to 6 months in the home setting, and they remain functional and independent. None of the patients have been hospitalized for PD related complications. Each patient has a new updatable electronic medical record. All Operation House Call cases are presented during video rounds for the interdisciplinary PD team to make recommendations for care (neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, psychiatry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and social work. One Operation House Call patient has successfully received deep brain stimulation (DBS. Conclusion. This program is a pilot program that has demonstrated that it is possible to provide person-centered care in the home setting for PD patients. This program could provide a proof of concept for the construction of a larger visiting physician or nurse program.

A Mobile System for Music Anamnesis and Receptive Music Therapy in the Personal Home.

Science.gov (United States)

Denecke, Kerstin

2017-01-01

Receptive music therapy is active hearing of music that is specifically selected to cause a certain effect on a person, such as pain reduction, mental opening, confrontation etc. This active, guided hearing could be helpful as a supporting ritual for patients at home and could extend traditional therapy. However, patients are often unable to select the music pieces that might be helpful for them in a current situation. We are suggesting a self-learning decision support system that allows a patient to answer questions on music anamnesis, is ready for inclusion into an electronic health record, and which enables a therapist to compile a therapeutic music program for the patient at home. Beyond this, the system also suggests appropriate music and duration of listening based on the patient's reported current mental state. In this paper, a concept for such a mobile system for receptive music therapy will be proposed.

Improving person-centred care in nursing homes through dementia-care mapping: design of a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ven, G. van de; Draskovic, I.; Adang, E.M.M.; Donders, R.; Post, A.; Zuidema, S.U.; Koopmans, R.T.C.M.; Vernooij-Dassen, M.J.F.J.

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness and efficiency of nursing-home dementia care are suboptimal: there are high rates of neuropsychiatric symptoms among the residents and work-related stress among the staff. Dementia-care mapping is a person-centred care method that may alleviate both the resident and the

Cost-effectiveness implications based on a comparison of nursing home and home health case mix.

OpenAIRE

Kramer, A M; Shaughnessy, P W; Pettigrew, M L

1985-01-01

Case-mix differences between 653 home health care patients and 650 nursing home patients, and between 455 Medicare home health patients and 447 Medicare nursing home patients were assessed using random samples selected from 20 home health agencies and 46 nursing homes in 12 states in 1982 and 1983. Home health patients were younger, had shorter lengths of stay, and were less functionally disabled than nursing home patients. Traditional long-term care problems requiring personal care were more...

Email based remote access and surveillance system for smart home infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pooshkar Rajiv

2016-09-01

Full Text Available With the rapid rise of Internet of Things in public domain, people expect fast, reliable and on-demand home security via the Internet. However, existing remote home surveillance systems place a very rigid constraint on authentication and require customized hardware and software. In this paper we have proposed an ingenious and reliable internet based, home access system for smart homes that can be easily deployed on generic hardware. The proposed architecture uses popular email service providers to notify and update the user about the home access. It sends an email to the owner with the attached picture of the person who is at the door. It also incorporates a protected mechanism to give access of the door to a remote user by responding to that email. It essentially means that we can view and give access to the person at our door via sending and receiving an email. Furthermore, an image processing based mechanism has also been incorporated to provide access without email, to few selected personnel who are trusted by the owner. It works by capturing and comparing the visitor's image with the stored images in the database. Perceptual hashing or fingerprint matching algorithm is used for comparison purposes. Similarity percentage based on hamming distance was evaluated, and the similarity threshold for providing access was set. The simulations were performed in rigorous environment. The efficiency of the hashing algorithm was found to be 97% at the similarity threshold of 95%. The results validate that the average latency is only 155 ms with low standard deviation. The CPU utilization remained quite low with a minimum value of 10 MHz and a maximum value of 30 MHz when the payload size of the sent mail was increased to 1500 kB. Thus, the proposed system can be used for developing a larger low power infrastructure.

[Personal emergency call system based on human vital and system technical parameters in a Smart Home environment].

Science.gov (United States)

Hampicke, M; Schadow, B; Rossdeutscher, W; Fellbaum, K; Boenick, U

2002-11-01

Progress in microtechnology and radio transmission technology has enabled the development of highly reliable emergency-call systems. The present article describes systems that have been specially designed to improve the safety and independence of handicapped and elderly persons living at home. For such persons immediate help in an emergency situation is of crucial importance. The technical state of the art of emergency-call systems specially developed for use by the elderly, is briefly discussed, in particular the well-known radio emergency-call button, with the aid of which an alarm can be activated manually. This system, however, does not offer adequate safety in all emergency situations. Alternative or complementary systems designed to automatically trigger an alarm on the basis of the recording and evaluation of so-called vital parameters, are therefore proposed. In addition, in a smart-home environment with networked devices, further parameters--so-called environment parameters can be used. It is found that the identification of an emergency situation becomes more reliable as the number of parameters employed increases.

Home as a health promotion setting for older adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mahler, Marianne; Sarvimäki, Anneli; Clancy, Anne

2014-01-01

promotion care. As official guidelines in the Nordic countries state that home is the best place to grow old, it is essential that older persons keep their health and functional capacity in order to be able to live at home for as long as possible. As current policy emphasises living at home, home care......The number and the proportion of older persons is growing in the Nordic Countries. The growth in the older population has a clear impact on the care system for older persons. One trend is to prioritise home care instead of care in institutions. Another trend is to emphasise preventive and health......, preventive work and health promotion it becomes essential to study the home as a health promotion setting. Objective: The aim of this study was to reach a new understanding of home as a health promotion setting for older persons. Study design: The method used was a literature reflection and analysis...

Social Workers in Home Care: The Israeli Case

Science.gov (United States)

Ayalon, Liat; Baum, Nehami

2010-01-01

In Israel, the government partially supports personal home care services (grooming, feeding, assistance with transfers) as a means to maintain frail individuals in their home environment for as long as possible. Social workers capture a prominent position in these arrangements as initiators and supervisors of personal home care services. This…

Home e-health system integration in the Smart Home through a common media server.

Science.gov (United States)

Pau, I; Seoane, F; Lindecrantz, K; Valero, M A; Carracedo, J

2009-01-01

Home e-health systems and services are revealed as one of the most important challenges to promote Quality of Life related to Health in the Information Society. Leading companies have worked on e-health systems although the majority of them are addressed to hospital or primary care settings. The solution detailed in this paper offers a personal health system to be integrated with Smart Home services platform to support home based e-care. Thus, the home e-health system and architecture detailed in this research work is ready to supply a seamless personal care solution both from the biomedical data analysis, service provision, security guarantee and information management s point of view. The solution is ready to be integrated within the Accessible Digital Home, a living lab managed by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid for R&D activities.

Prospective cohort study of fever incidence and risk in elderly persons living at home

Science.gov (United States)

Yokobayashi, Kenichi; Matsushima, Masato; Watanabe, Takamasa; Fujinuma, Yasuki; Tazuma, Susumu

2014-01-01

Objective To determine the incidence of fever among elderly persons under home medical management, diagnosis at fever onset and outcomes from a practical standpoint. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting 5 clinics in residential areas of Tokyo that process an average of 50–200 outpatients/day. Participants Patients (n=419) aged ≥65 years who received home medical management from the five clinics between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Main outcome measures Fever (≥37.5°C or ≥1.5°C above usual body temperature), diagnosis at onset and outcomes (cure at home, hospitalisation and death). Results The incidence of fever was 2.5/1000 patient-days (95% CI 2.2 to 2.8). Fever occurred at least once (229 fever events) among one-third of the participants during the study period. Fever was more likely to arise in the wheelchair users or bedridden than in ambulatory individuals (HR 1.9 (95% CI 1.3 to 2.8; p<0.01); in patients with moderate-to-severe rather than those with none-to-mild cognitive impairment (HR, 1.7 (95% CI 1.1 to 2.6, p=0.01); and in those whose care-need levels were ≥3 rather than ≤2 (HR, 4.5 (95% CI 2.9 to 7.0; p<0.01). The causes of fever were pneumonia/bronchitis (n=103), skin and soft tissue infection (n=26), urinary tract infection (n=22) and the common cold (n=13). Fever was cured in 67% and 23% of patients at home and in hospital, respectively, and 5% of patients each died at home and in hospital. Antimicrobial agents treated 153 (67%) events in the home medical care setting. Conclusions Fever was more likely to occur in those requiring higher care levels and the main cause of fever was pneumonia/bronchitis. Healthcare providers should consider the conditions of elderly residents with lower objective functional status. PMID:25009132

Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... without symptoms of which the person is aware. What happens in RRMS? Relapsing-remitting MS is defined ... a different mechanism of action in order to control the disease activity more effectively and help prevent ...

Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... in RRMS; however, each person's experience with RRMS will be unique. Following a relapse, the new symptoms ... and worsening, you and your MS care provider will likely want to consider a more aggressive treatment ...

Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... An increase in disability is confirmed when the person exhibits the same level of disability at the ... to 12 months later. Approximately 85 percent of people with MS are initially diagnosed with RRMS. This ...

Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Team Make the Most of Your Doctor Visits Advance Medical Directives d Find an MS Care Provider ... in RRMS; however, each person's experience with RRMS will be unique. Following a relapse, the new symptoms ...

Non-invasive, home-based electroencephalography hypoglycaemia warning system for personal monitoring using skin surface electrodes: a single-case feasibility study.

Science.gov (United States)

Clewett, Christopher J; Langley, Phillip; Bateson, Anthony D; Asghar, Aziz; Wilkinson, Antony J

2016-03-01

Hypoglycaemia unawareness is a common condition associated with increased risk of severe hypoglycaemia. The purpose of the authors' study was to develop a simple to use, home-based and non-invasive hypoglycaemia warning system based on electroencephalography (EEG), and to demonstrate its use in a single-case feasibility study. A participant with type 1 diabetes forms a single-person case study where blood sugar levels and EEG were recorded. EEG was recorded using skin surface electrodes placed behind the ear located within the T3 region by the participant in the home. EEG was analysed retrospectively to develop an algorithm which would trigger a warning if EEG changes associated with hypoglycaemia onset were detected. All hypoglycaemia events were detected by the EEG hypoglycaemia warning algorithm. Warnings were triggered with blood glucose concentration levels at or below 4.2 mmol/l in this participant and no warnings were issued when in euglycaemia. The feasibility of a non-invasive EEG-based hypoglycaemia warning system for personal monitoring in the home has been demonstrated in a single case study. The results suggest that further studies are warranted to evaluate the system prospectively in a larger group of participants.

Personal, family and school influences on secondary pupils’ feelings of safety at school, in the school surroundings, and at home

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mooij, Ton

2012-01-01

Mooij, T. (2012). Personal, family and school influences on secondary pupils’ feelings of safety at school, in the school surroundings, and at home. Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 18(2), 129-157. doi:10.1080/13540602.2012.632270

Proposal of a service delivery integration index of home care for older persons: application in several European cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Claude Henrard

2006-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To propose an integration index of home care delivery to older persons, to study its validity and to apply it to home care services of European cities. Theory: Home care delivery integration was based on two dimensions referring to process-centred integration and organisational structure approach. Method: Items considered as part of both dimensions according to an expert consensus (face validity were extracted from a standardised questionnaire used in “Aged in Home care” (AdHoc study to capture basic characteristics of home care services. Their summation leads to a services' delivery integration index. This index was applied to AdHoc services. A factor analysis was computed in order to empirically test the validity of the theoretical constructs. The plot of the settings was performed. Results: Application of the index ranks home care services in four groups according to their score. Factor analysis identifies a first factor which opposes working arrangement within service to organisational structure bringing together provisions for social care. A second factor corresponds to basic nursing care and therapies. Internal consistency for those three domains ranges from 0.78 to 0.93. When plotting the different settings different models of service delivery appear. Conclusion: The proposed index shows that behind a total score several models of care delivery are hidden. Comparison of service delivery integration should take into account this heterogeneity.

Mental status testing in the elderly nursing home population.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadler, J D; Relkin, N R; Cohen, M S; Hodder, R A; Reingold, J; Plum, F

1995-07-01

The clinical utility of selected brief cognitive screening instruments in detecting dementia in an elderly nursing home population was examined. One hundred twenty nursing home residents (mean age 87.9) were administered the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) and the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam (3MS). The majority of the subjects (75%) were also administered the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS). Both clinically diagnosed demented (n = 57) and non-demented (n = 63) subjects participated in the study. Dementia was diagnosed in accordance with DSM-III-R criteria by physicians specializing in geriatric medicine. Using standard cutoffs for impairment, the 3MS, MMSE, and DRS achieved high sensitivity (82% to 100%) but low specificity (33% to 52%) in the detection of dementia among nursing home residents. Positive predictive values ranged from 52% to 61%, and negative predictive values from 77% to 100%. Higher age, lower education, and history of depression were significantly associated with misclassification of non-demented elderly subjects. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analyses revealed optimal classification of dementia with cutoff values of 74 for the 3MS, 22 for the MMSE, and 110 for the DRS. The results suggest that the 3MS, MMSE, and DRS do not differ significantly with respect to classification accuracy of dementia in a nursing home population. Elderly individuals of advanced age (i.e., the oldest-old) with lower education and a history of depression appear at particular risk for dementia misclassification with these instruments. Revised cutoff values for impairment should be employed when these instruments are applied to elderly residents of nursing homes and the oldest-old.

Personal, family, and school influences on secondary pupils’ feelings of safety at school, in the school surroundings, and at home

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mooij, Ton

2010-01-01

Mooij, T. (2010, 26-28 August). Personal, family, and school influences on secondary pupils’ feelings of safety at school, the school surroundings, and at home. Presentation at the ‘European Conference on Educational Research’ of the 'European Educational Research Association' (EERA), Helsinki.

A pilot mixed-methods evaluation of MS INFoRm: a self-directed fatigue management resource for individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Akbar, Nadine; Turpin, Karen; Petrin, Julie; Smyth, Penny; Finlayson, Marcia

2018-06-01

Fatigue management interventions for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) often feature structured programmes requiring repeated, in-person attendance that is not possible for all individuals. We sought to determine whether MS INFoRm, a self-directed fatigue management resource for individuals with MS, was worth further, more rigorous evaluation. Our indicators of worthiness were actual use of the resource by participants over 3 months, reductions in fatigue impact and increases in self-efficacy, and participant reports of changes in fatigue management knowledge and behaviours. This was a single-group, mixed-methods, before-after pilot study in individuals with MS reporting mild to moderate fatigue. Thirty-five participants were provided with MS INFoRm by a USB flash drive to use at home for 3 months, on their own volition. Twenty-three participants completed all standardized questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and study process measures. Participants reported actively using MS INFoRm over the 3-month study period (median total time spent using MS INFoRm=315 min) as well as significantly lower overall fatigue impact (Modified Fatigue Impact Scale: t=2.6, P=0.01), increased knowledge of MS fatigue (z=-2.8, P=0.01) and greater confidence in managing MS fatigue (z=-3.3, P=0.001). Individuals with significant reductions in fatigue impact also reported behavioural changes including tracking fatigue, better communication with others, greater awareness, improved quality of life and being more proactive. This study provides evidence that further rigorous evaluation of MS INFoRm, a self-directed resource for managing fatigue, is worth pursuing.

Sensitivity of GC-EI/MS, GC-EI/MS/MS, LC-ESI/MS/MS, LC-Ag(+) CIS/MS/MS, and GC-ESI/MS/MS for analysis of anabolic steroids in doping control.

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Eunju; Kim, Sohee; Kim, Ho Jun; Lee, Kang Mi; Kim, Ki Hun; Kwon, Oh-Seung; Lee, Jaeick

2015-01-01

This study compared the sensitivity of various separation and ionization methods, including gas chromatography with an electron ionization source (GC-EI), liquid chromatography with an electrospray ionization source (LC-ESI), and liquid chromatography with a silver ion coordination ion spray source (LC-Ag(+) CIS), coupled to a mass spectrometer (MS) for steroid analysis. Chromatographic conditions, mass spectrometric transitions, and ion source parameters were optimized. The majority of steroids in GC-EI/MS/MS and LC-Ag(+) CIS/MS/MS analysis showed higher sensitivities than those obtained with other analytical methods. The limits of detection (LODs) of 65 steroids by GC-EI/MS/MS, 68 steroids by LC-Ag(+) CIS/MS/MS, 56 steroids by GC-EI/MS, 54 steroids by LC-ESI/MS/MS, and 27 steroids by GC-ESI/MS/MS were below cut-off value of 2.0 ng/mL. LODs of steroids that formed protonated ions in LC-ESI/MS/MS analysis were all lower than the cut-off value. Several steroids such as unconjugated C3-hydroxyl with C17-hydroxyl structure showed higher sensitivities in GC-EI/MS/MS analysis relative to those obtained using the LC-based methods. The steroids containing 4, 9, 11-triene structures showed relatively poor sensitivities in GC-EI/MS and GC-ESI/MS/MS analysis. The results of this study provide information that may be useful for selecting suitable analytical methods for confirmatory analysis of steroids. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Eldercare at Home: Mobility Problems

Science.gov (United States)

... Community Home › Resources › Eldercare at Home: Mobility Problems Font size A A A Print Share Glossary previous ... doctor or physical therapist to find out what type of cane or walker the older person needs. ...

A posture recognition based fall detection system for monitoring an elderly person in a smart home environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Miao; Rhuma, Adel; Naqvi, Syed Mohsen; Wang, Liang; Chambers, Jonathon

2012-11-01

We propose a novel computer vision based fall detection system for monitoring an elderly person in a home care application. Background subtraction is applied to extract the foreground human body and the result is improved by using certain post-processing. Information from ellipse fitting and a projection histogram along the axes of the ellipse are used as the features for distinguishing different postures of the human. These features are then fed into a directed acyclic graph support vector machine (DAGSVM) for posture classification, the result of which is then combined with derived floor information to detect a fall. From a dataset of 15 people, we show that our fall detection system can achieve a high fall detection rate (97.08%) and a very low false detection rate (0.8%) in a simulated home environment.

Body composition differences between adults with multiple sclerosis and BMI-matched controls without MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Wingo, Brooks C; Young, Hui-Ju; Motl, Robert W

2018-04-01

Persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) have many health conditions related to overweight and obesity, but little is known about how body composition among those with MS compares to those without MS at the same weight. To compare differences in whole body and regional body composition between persons with and without MS matched for sex and body mass index (BMI). Persons with MS (n = 51) and non-MS controls (n = 51) matched for sex and BMI. Total mass, lean mass, fat mass, and percent body fat (%BF) of total body and arm, leg, and trunk segments were assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Men with MS had significantly less whole body lean mass (mean difference: 9933.5 ± 3123.1 g, p MS counterparts. Further, men with MS had significantly lower lean mass in the arm (p = 0.02) and leg (p MS. Men with MS had significantly higher %BF in all three regions (p MS. There were no differences between women with and without MS. We observed significant differences in whole body and regional body composition between BMI-matched men with and without MS. Additional research is needed to further explore differences in body composition, adipose distribution, and the impact of these differences on the health and function of men with MS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Wireless Posture Monitoring System for Personalized Home-Based Rehabilitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Macedo

2015-06-01

Full Text Available We live in an aging society, an issue that will be exacerbated in the coming decades, due to low birth rates and increasing life expectancy. With the decline in physical and cognitive functions with age, it is of the utmost importance to maintain regular physical activity, in order to preserve an individual’s mobility, motor capabilities and coordination. Within this context, this paper describes the development of a wireless sensor network and its application in a human motion capture system based on wearable inertial and magnetic sensors. The goal is to enable, through continuous real- time monitoring, the creation of a personalized home-based rehabilitation system for the elderly population and/or injured people. Within this system, the user can benefit from an assisted mode, in which their movements can be compared to a reference motion model of the same movements, resulting in visual feedback alerts given by the application. This motion model can be created previously, in a ‘learning phase’, under supervision of a caregiver.

Survival and mortality rates among Danes with MS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brønnum-Hansen, H; Stenager, Egon; Hansen, Thomas

2006-01-01

Long-term survival and trends in overall and cause-specific excess mortality among people with MS have been studied using the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Registry, which contains information about all Danish MS patients since the mid-20th Century. A total of 4254 deaths among approximately 10......,000 people with MS, representing more than 200,000 person-years of observation, have been analysed. Overall, mortality was almost three times higher and life expectancy 10 years less among people with MS than for the general population. However, excess mortality has declined significantly since 1950....

Home telecare for older persons: experiences and perceived effects.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peeters, J.; Francke, A.

2010-01-01

Introduction: Western countries have to face a strongly increasing health care demand, related to ageing of population and an increasing number of chronically ill. At the same time, a growing nursing shortage exists. Home telecare provides opportunities in this regard. Up till now, home telecare in

Doing Fieldwork at Home: Some Personal Experiences among the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

My extended stay at home was interpreted differently by my own people and ... had nowhere to go apart from home) and someone who was after “their” women. ... did not understand why I had to stay in my research site, claiming that it must be ...

Validity of self-reported intensity of exposure to second-hand smoke at home against environmental and personal markers.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Sánchez, José M; González-Marrón, Adrián; Martín-Sánchez, Juan Carlos; Sureda, Xisca; Fu, Marcela; Pérez-Ortuño, Raúl; Lidón-Moyano, Cristina; Galán, Iñaki; Pascual, José Antonio; Fernández, Esteve

2017-11-02

The objective of this study was to assess the validity of two questions about the perception of intensity of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) at home using as a reference environmental markers (airborne nicotine and benzene) and biomarkers of exposure (cotinine in saliva and urine). This was a cross-sectional study in a convenience sample of 49 non-smoking volunteers. We found a high correlation between self-reported SHS exposure and airborne nicotine (r sp =0.806, p0.05). In conclusion, the significant correlation of the two questions proposed with environmental markers and personal markers indicates their potential validity to assess exposure to SHS at home. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The Role of the External Personal Assistants for Children with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities Working in the Children's Home

Science.gov (United States)

Axelsson, Anna Karin

2015-01-01

Background: Children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities need support to function in an optimal way. However, there is a limited knowledge about the role of external personal assistants working in the children's home. Materials and Methods: A mixed method study was performed including qualitative data from interviews with 11…

Experimental Study of 6LoPLC for Home Energy Management Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Augustine Ikpehai

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Ubiquitous connectivity is already transforming residential dwellings into smart homes. As citizens continue to embrace the smart home paradigm, a new generation of low-rate and low-power communication systems is required to leverage the mass market presented by energy management in homes. Although Power Line Communication (PLC technology has evolved in the last decade, the adaptation of PLC for constrained networks is not fully charted. By adapting some features of IEEE 802.15.4 and IPv6 over Low-power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN into power lines, this paper demonstrates a low-rate, low-power PLC system over the IPv6 network (referred to as 6LoPLC, for Home Energy Management System (HEMS applications. The overall idea is to provide a framework for assessing various scenarios that cannot be easily investigated with the limited number of evaluation hardware available. In this respect, a network model is developed in NS-3 (Version 21 to measure several important characteristics of the designed system and then validated with experimental results obtained using the Hanadu evaluation kits. Following the good agreement between the two, the NS-3 model is utilised to investigate more complex scenarios and various use-cases, such as the effects of impulsive noise, the number of nodes and packet size on the latency and Bit Error Rate (BER performances. We further demonstrate that for different network and application configurations, optimal data sizes exist. For instance, the results reveal that in order to guarantee 99% system reliability, the HEMS application data must not exceed 64 bytes. Finally, it is shown that with impulsive noise in a HEMS network comprising 50 appliances, provided the size of the payload does not exceed 64 bytes, monitoring and control applications incur a maximum latency of 238.117 ms and 248.959 ms, respectively; both of which are within acceptable limits.

Home-based care, technology, and the maintenance of selves.

Science.gov (United States)

Parks, Jennifer A

2015-06-01

In this paper, I will argue that there is a deep connection between home-based care, technology, and the self. Providing the means for persons (especially older persons) to receive care at home is not merely a kindness that respects their preference to be at home: it is an important means of extending their selfhood and respecting the unique selves that they are. Home-based technologies like telemedicine and robotic care may certainly be useful tools in providing care for persons at home, but they also have important implications for sustaining selfhood in ways that are of value to individuals and those who care for them. I will argue, by appealing to Hilde Lindemann's notion of "holding" persons' identities in place, that technological interventions are not only useful tools for improving and sustaining health and good care at home, but that they may also help to extend our personal identities and relational capacities in ways that are practically and ethically good. Because of these important goods, I will claim that there is a prima facie moral duty to do this "holding" work and that it is best done by family members and loved ones who are well suited to the job because of their history and relationship with the individual that needs to be "held" in place.

Trajectories of At-Homeness and Health in Usual Care and Small House Nursing Homes

Science.gov (United States)

Molony, Sheila L.; Evans, Lois K.; Jeon, Sangchoon; Rabig, Judith; Straka, Leslie A.

2011-01-01

Background: Long-term care providers across the United States are building innovative environments called "Green House" or small-house nursing homes that weave humanistic person-centered philosophies into clinical care, organizational policies, and built environments. Purpose: To compare and contrast trajectories of at-homeness and health over…

39 CFR 777.26 - Mobile homes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Mobile homes. 777.26 Section 777.26 Postal Service... POLICIES Uniform Relocation Assistance § 777.26 Mobile homes. (a) Moving Expenses. Displaced persons who are occupants of mobile homes are eligible for moving expenses under § 777.23 subject to the following...

Nursing home residents' views on dying and death: nursing home employee's perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Dwyer, Lise-Lotte; Hansebo, Görel; Andershed, Birgitta; Ternestedt, Britt-Marie

2011-12-01

To reveal nursing home employees' views on dying and death among older people they cared for. Palliative care stakeholders recently included more groups in their definition of palliative care; older people constitute one such group. Consequently, palliative care systems, which will serve a large, aging cohort, will require new skills. The first stage in skills acquisition is to gather current views on dying and death. Qualitative descriptive study that uses focus group discussions for data collection; 20 employees in 4 Swedish nursing homes participated. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The following categories were conceptualised: alleviating suffering and pain; finding meaning in everyday life; revealing thoughts and attitudes about death; taking care of the dead person's body; and coping with the gap between personal ideals and reality. A deeper understanding of the palliative care philosophy is needed to further develop and tailor care for the dying persons in nursing homes. To get public support for palliative care, the silence surrounding dying and death must be broken. Employees must receive education to prepare for all aspects of their work, and management must account for employees' situation when planning the care. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Dom IRIS in njegova vloga v rehabilitaciji: Smart Home IRIS and its role in rehabilitation: Smart Home IRIS and its role in rehabilitation:

OpenAIRE

Jenko, Mojca; Ocepek, Julija; Zupan, Anton

2010-01-01

Smart Home IRIS is a demonstrative apartment, founded in 2008 on the basis of numerous European smart home projects. The aim of this study was to establish the role of Smart Home IRIS in improving quality of life for persons with disabilities and elderly in Slovenia and the satisfaction of persons who have already been involved in a treatment in it. We analyzed a satisfaction questionnaire of the treatment in Smart Home IRIS, sent to all patients in 2008 (79 in total), as well as the problems...

Internet protocol television for personalized home-based health information: design-based research on a diabetes education system.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Kathleen Mary; Clarke, Ken; Alzougool, Basil; Hines, Carolyn; Tidhar, Gil; Frukhtman, Feodor

2014-03-10

The use of Internet protocol television (IPTV) as a channel for consumer health information is a relatively under-explored area of medical Internet research. IPTV may afford new opportunities for health care service providers to provide health information and for consumers, patients, and caretakers to access health information. The technologies of Web 2.0 add a new and even less explored dimension to IPTV's potential. Our research explored an application of Web 2.0 integrated with IPTV for personalized home-based health information in diabetes education, particularly for people with diabetes who are not strong computer and Internet users, and thus may miss out on Web-based resources. We wanted to establish whether this system could enable diabetes educators to deliver personalized health information directly to people with diabetes in their homes; and whether this system could encourage people with diabetes who make little use of Web-based health information to build their health literacy via the interface of a home television screen and remote control. This project was undertaken as design-based research in two stages. Stage 1 comprised a feasibility study into the technical work required to integrate an existing Web 2.0 platform with an existing IPTV system, populated with content and implemented for user trials in a laboratory setting. Stage 2 comprised an evaluation of the system by consumers and providers of diabetes information. The project succeeded in developing a Web 2.0 IPTV system for people with diabetes and low literacies and their diabetes educators. The performance of the system in the laboratory setting gave them the confidence to engage seriously in thinking about the actual and potential features and benefits of a more widely-implemented system. In their feedback they pointed out a range of critical usability and usefulness issues related to Web 2.0 affordances and learning fundamentals. They also described their experiences with the system in

Communicative Coping Behavior Checklist: Observation of Persons With Dementia in the Home Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, Pamela A; Ruth, Julia; Latella, Lauren; Talisman, Nicholas

2016-08-01

Communication contributes to increased stress, mortality, and decreased quality of life (QOL) for persons with dementia (PWD) and caregivers. PWD use communicative coping behaviors (CCBs) to manage the demands of the disease. However, most assessments neither look for nor give credit to communication behaviors. This is the first study to examine CCBs in the home environment as measured by the Communicative Coping Behavior Checklist (CCBC). This cross-sectional quantitative study included 26 dementia and 18 cognitively normal control dyads. Raters observed their partners' CCBs at home, over several weeks and completed the CCBC. We analyzed the endorsement rates (how often behaviors were observed by a rater) of emotion and activity-focused CCBs in dementia and control dyads. The primary outcome was rate of CCB endorsement. Secondary outcomes included dementia diagnosis, cognitive status, depressive mood, life satisfaction (SWL) and QOL. Dementia dyads endorsed 11 of 23 CCBs significantly more than control dyads. Action-focused CCBs (p endorsement rates of action-focused than emotion-focused CCBs were seen in dementia dyads. We conclude that attention to CCBs during treatment and care will improve QOL and SWL of PWD and caregivers. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Paramedic-Initiated Home Care Referrals and Use of Home Care and Emergency Medical Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Amol A; Klich, John; Thurston, Adam; Scantlebury, Jordan; Kiss, Alex; Seddon, Gayle; Sinha, Samir K

2018-01-01

We examined the association between paramedic-initiated home care referrals and utilization of home care, 9-1-1, and Emergency Department (ED) services. This was a retrospective cohort study of individuals who received a paramedic-initiated home care referral after a 9-1-1 call between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Home care, 9-1-1, and ED utilization were compared in the 6 months before and after home care referral. Nonparametric longitudinal regression was performed to assess changes in hours of home care service use and zero-inflated Poisson regression was performed to assess changes in the number of 9-1-1 calls and ambulance transports to ED. During the 24-month study period, 2,382 individuals received a paramedic-initiated home care referral. After excluding individuals who died, were hospitalized, or were admitted to a nursing home, the final study cohort was 1,851. The proportion of the study population receiving home care services increased from 18.2% to 42.5% after referral, representing 450 additional people receiving services. In longitudinal regression analysis, there was an increase of 17.4 hours in total services per person in the six months after referral (95% CI: 1.7-33.1, p = 0.03). The mean number of 9-1-1 calls per person was 1.44 (SD 9.58) before home care referral and 1.20 (SD 7.04) after home care referral in the overall study cohort. This represented a 10% reduction in 9-1-1 calls (95% CI: 7-13%, p home care referral and 0.79 (SD 6.27) after home care referral, representing a 7% reduction (95% CI: 3-11%, p home care records were included in the analysis, the reductions in 9-1-1 calls and ambulance transports to ED were attenuated but remained statistically significant. Paramedic-initiated home care referrals in Toronto were associated with improved access to and use of home care services and may have been associated with reduced 9-1-1 calls and ambulance transports to ED.

A Lightweight, User-controlled System For The Home

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynne Baillie

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper explores how we designed, with input from some elderly persons, a multi-agent user-controlled network for the home. The system was designed to support the elderly in living longer at home with minimal support. We describe how our work attempts to tackle issues such as privacy, control of personal space, and enjoyment within the home. As the number of elderly individuals’ increases, a certain amount of information gathering or support may be required to assist the elderly in their homes. However, we strongly believe that we should preserve people’s privacy in their homes and ensure that any artifact we propose is seen as enjoyable, aesthetically pleasing and, most importantly, not stigmatizing. We describe in this paper how a lightweight setup, using a multimodal mobile robot, a PDA, and an interactive television, can assist the elderly in the home in an enjoyable and unobtrusive way.

Assessment of Personality Types and Locus of Control in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sh. Mazaheri

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction & Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS is an autoimmune disease with unknown cause. MS is one of the disabling neurologic diseases in adult especially young range that myelin part of central nervous system (CNS is destructed. The aim of this study was assessment of types A and B personality and internal and external locus of control in multiple sclerosis (MS patients and comparison of the results with control group.Materials & Methods: In a case-control study, 30 patients with MS and 30 normal persons as control group evaluated with neurological examination, Rotter locus of control test and Friedman-Rosenman questionnaire for detection of types A and B personality. We employed to analyze the results.Results: 43 percent and 57 percent of MS patients had internal and external locus of control respectively. 63 percent and 37 percent of MS patients had type A and B personality respectively. 60 percent and 40 percent of control group had internal and external locus of control respectively. 20 percent and 80 percent of control group had type A and B personality respectively. Difference between personality type in two groups was significant (P<0.01.Conclusions: In this study, MS patients had more type A personality in comparison to control group.

Broken Homes: Impact on Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Koziey, Paul W.; Davies, Leigh

1982-01-01

Tends to support assertion that children from homes broken by separation, divorce, or death are less well-adjusted in terms of California Personality Inventory scales of self-control, socialization, femininity, and good impression, than children from intact homes. Age and sex were not found to be linked to the degree of maladjustment. (AH)

In-home contextual reality: a qualitative analysis using the Multiple Errands Test Home Version (MET-Home).

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Suzanne Perea; Pickens, Noralyn Davel; Dawson, Deirdre R; Perea, Jaimee D; Vas, Asha K; Marquez de la Plata, Carlos; Neville, Marsha

2018-02-06

Adults with stroke frequently experience executive dysfunction. Despite the range of assessments that examine the effects of executive dysfunction on daily tasks, there remains a paucity of literature that examines the influence of the environment on performance in the community. The MET-Home is an ecologically valid assessment for examining post-stroke executive dysfunction in the home environment. This qualitative study explores the relationship between the environment and MET-Home performance among home-dwelling adults with stroke and matched controls. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, we analysed video, interview, and observation notes from a MET-Home validation study. An overarching theme of interplay between everyday task performance and the home environment produced further themes: naturalistically emerging supports and barriers and environment as strategy. Within naturalistically emerging supports and barriers, five contextual sub-themes were discovered: physical environment, social environment, temporal context, virtual context, and personal context. Within environment as strategy, we identified four sub-themes: reducing distractions, using everyday technologies, planning in context, and seeking social support. These findings extend the conceptualisation of how we evaluate executive dysfunction in the context of the community to also consider the inherent influence of the environment.

Do personality traits predict work outcomes of certified nursing assistants?

Science.gov (United States)

Kovach, Christine R; Simpson, Michelle R; Reitmaier, Amy B; Johnson, Addie; Kelber, Sheryl T

2010-10-01

The purposes of this study were to describe personality traits of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) employed at nursing homes and explore relationships between personality traits, job satisfaction, and job performance. The sample included 177 CNAs providing direct care to residents in three nursing homes. CNAs with high and low job performance skills were distinguished by the cluster of traits associated with teamwork skills. Overall, 21.3% of the variance in job satisfaction was explained by the personality traits of Adjustment, Prudence, Likeability, Excitable, and Dutiful, F(8, 145) = 4.899, p personality, job satisfaction, and job performance provide important information about the personality traits of nursing staff who are most likely to enjoy and perform well in the nursing home setting. Knowledge of these links may be useful for hiring the appropriate person for direct care nursing home positions. Copyright 2010, SLACK Incorporated.

Motivation to take part in integrated care – an assessment of follow-up home visits to elderly persons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjelmar, U; Hendriksen, Carsten; Hansen, K

2011-01-01

to implement because of a number of organizational obstacles, including co-ordination between the organizations involved in the process. In this paper we look at the factors that affect motivation to participate in a cross-sectoral programme in Copenhagen, Denmark, implementing follow-up home visits to elderly...... persons. Theory and methods: The analysis is based on inter-organizational network theory in an attempt to explain the role of motivation in network formation between organizational systems. The empirical findings are based on focus groups and in-depth interviews with hospital staff, general practitioners...... understanding of values and learning potentials. Conclusions: The study concludes that we need to focus on specific care fields and actors to reduce complexity in the area and more fully understand what motivates care providers to participate in cross-sectoral activities, such as a follow-up home visit...

Does It Matter Where You Work? A Comparison of How Three Work Venues (Traditional Office, Virtual Office, and Home Office) Influence Aspects of Work and Personal/Family Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, E. Jeffrey; Ferris, Maria; Martinson, Vjollca

2003-01-01

A comparison was made of IBM employees in traditional offices (n=4,316), virtual offices (n=767), and home offices (n=441). Home office teleworking helped balance work and family and enhanced business performance with cost savings. Virtual office teleworking was associated with less work-family balance and less successful personal/family life.…

Potential of a suite of robot/computer-assisted motivating systems for personalized, home-based, stroke rehabilitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Xin

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a need to improve semi-autonomous stroke therapy in home environments often characterized by low supervision of clinical experts and low extrinsic motivation. Our distributed device approach to this problem consists of an integrated suite of low-cost robotic/computer-assistive technologies driven by a novel universal access software framework called UniTherapy. Our design strategy for personalizing the therapy, providing extrinsic motivation and outcome assessment is presented and evaluated. Methods Three studies were conducted to evaluate the potential of the suite. A conventional force-reflecting joystick, a modified joystick therapy platform (TheraJoy, and a steering wheel platform (TheraDrive were tested separately with the UniTherapy software. Stroke subjects with hemiparesis and able-bodied subjects completed tracking activities with the devices in different positions. We quantify motor performance across subject groups and across device platforms and muscle activation across devices at two positions in the arm workspace. Results Trends in the assessment metrics were consistent across devices with able-bodied and high functioning strokes subjects being significantly more accurate and quicker in their motor performance than low functioning subjects. Muscle activation patterns were different for shoulder and elbow across different devices and locations. Conclusion The Robot/CAMR suite has potential for stroke rehabilitation. By manipulating hardware and software variables, we can create personalized therapy environments that engage patients, address their therapy need, and track their progress. A larger longitudinal study is still needed to evaluate these systems in under-supervised environments such as the home.

Frail aged persons residing in South African' homes for the aged ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

economic incomes (i.e. less than R450 per month) living in homes for the aged in rural areas who require more staff time and/or expertise and/or medical equipment than can be sup- plied in a home and who, consequently, would benefit by admission to a hospital, 29 rural homes for the aged in the. Orange Free State were ...

Effect of animal-assisted activity on balance and quality of life in home-dwelling persons with dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Christine; Pedersen, Ingeborg; Bergland, Astrid; Enders-Slegers, Marie-José; Ihlebæk, Camilla

2016-01-01

Purpose of the study was to examine if animal-assisted activity with a dog (AAA) in home-dwelling persons with dementia (PWDs) attending day-care centers would have an effect on factors related to risk of fall accidents, with balance (Berg balance scale) and quality of life (Quality of Life in Late-stage Dementia) as main outcome. The project was conducted as a prospective and cluster-randomized multicenter trial with a follow-up. 16 adapted day-care centers recruited respectively 42 (intervention group) and 38 (control group with treatment as usual) home-dwelling PWDs. The intervention consisted of 30 min sessions with AAA led by a qualified dog handler twice a week for 12 weeks in groups of 3-7 participants. The significant positive effect on balance indicates that AAA might work as a multifactorial intervention in dementia care and have useful clinical implication by affecting risk of fall. ClinicalTrial.gov; NCT02008630. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Older persons' worries expressed during home care visits: Exploring the content of cues and concerns identified by the Verona coding definitions of emotional sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Hafskjold, Linda; Eide, Tom; Holmström, Inger K; Sundling, Vibeke; van Dulmen, Sandra; Eide, Hilde

2016-12-01

Little is known about how older persons in home care express their concerns. Emotional cues and concerns can be identified by the Verona coding definitions of emotional sequences (VR-CoDES), but the method gives no insight into what causes the distress and the emotions involved. The aims of this study are to explore (1) older persons' worries and (2) the content of these expressions. An observational exploratory two-step approach was used to investigate audiotaped recordings from 38 Norwegian home care visits with older persons and nurse assistants. First, 206 cues and concerns were identified using VR-CoDES. Second, the content and context of these expressions were analysed inductively. Four main categories emerged: worries about relationships with others, worries about health care-related issues, worries about aging and bodily impairment, and life narratives and value issues, with several subcategories showing the causes of worry and emotions involved. The two-step approach provides an in-depth knowledge of older persons' worries, causes of worries, and their related emotions. The subcategories described in a language close to the experience can be useful in practice development and communication training for students and health care providers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Happy in a nursing home?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cretien van Campen; Debbie Verbeek-Oudijk

2017-01-01

Original title: Gelukkig in een verpleeghuis? Life in Dutch residential nursing and care homes is changing. The number of frail older persons in the Netherlands is increasing. Older people are increasingly living independently for longer, and only the most frail older persons move to a nursing or

Personal Reflections

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education. Personal Reflections. Articles in Resonance – Journal of Science Education. Volume 6 Issue 3 March 2001 pp 90-93 Personal Reflections. Why did I opt for Career in Science? Jayant V Narlikar · More Details Fulltext PDF. Volume 9 Issue 8 August 2004 pp 89-89 ...

Personal endotoxin exposure in a panel study of school children with asthma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tjoa Thomas

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Endotoxin exposure has been associated with asthma exacerbations and increased asthma prevalence. However, there is little data regarding personal exposure to endotoxin in children at risk, or the relation of personal endotoxin exposure to residential or ambient airborne endotoxin. The relation between personal endotoxin and personal air pollution exposures is also unknown. Methods We characterized personal endotoxin exposures in 45 school children with asthma ages 9-18 years using 376 repeated measurements from a PM2.5 active personal exposure monitor. We also assayed endotoxin in PM2.5 samples collected from ambient regional sites (N = 97 days and from a subset of 12 indoor and outdoor subject home sites (N = 109 and 111 days, respectively in Riverside and Whittier, California. Endotoxin was measured using the Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate kinetic chromogenic assay. At the same time, we measured personal, home and ambient exposure to PM2.5 mass, elemental carbon (EC, and organic carbon (OC. To assess exposure relations we used both rank correlations and mixed linear regression models, adjusted for personal temperature and relative humidity. Results We found small positive correlations of personal endotoxin with personal PM2.5 EC and OC, but not personal PM2.5 mass or stationary site air pollutant measurements. Outdoor home, indoor home and ambient endotoxin were moderately to strongly correlated with each other. However, in mixed models, personal endotoxin was not associated with indoor home or outdoor home endotoxin, but was associated with ambient endotoxin. Dog and cat ownership were significantly associated with increased personal but not indoor endotoxin. Conclusions Daily fixed site measurements of endotoxin in the home environment may not predict daily personal exposure, although a larger sample size may be needed to assess this. This conclusion is relevant to short-term exposures involved in the acute exacerbation of

Solo Living - the meaning of home for persons living alone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Toke Haunstrup

observed. Firstly, solo livers emphasize independence from others as important. Several of the informants have had negative experiences with living together with a partner, and they like the feeling of being independent. At the same time, most informants also keep a door open for the possibility of moving...... together with "the right one", which indicates that ambiguity is related to the situation of solo living. Secondly, some of the solo livers spend more time outside home (occupied by leisure activities or together with friends) compared to people living in family households in general, which suggests...... a different balance between time at home and outside home for some solo livers....

Do care homes deliver person-centred care? A cross-sectional survey of staff-reported abusive and positive behaviours towards residents from the MARQUE (Managing Agitation and Raising Quality of Life) English national care home survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Claudia; Marston, Louise; Barber, Julie; Livingston, Deborah; Rapaport, Penny; Higgs, Paul; Livingston, Gill

2018-01-01

There are widespread concerns about abuse of care home residents. We report, in the largest care home survey, prevalence of staff anonymously-reported, perpetrated/witnessed abusive behaviours towards care home residents over 3 months. We also report positive care behaviours. 1544 staff in 92 English care home units completed the revised Modified Conflict Tactics Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory. Most staff reported positive care behaviours, but specific person-centred activities were sometimes infrequent. Many care home staff were never or almost never aware of a resident being taken out of the home for their enjoyment (34%, n = 520); or an activity planned around a resident's interests (15%, n = 234). 763 (51%; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 47% to 54%) of care home staff reported carrying out or observing potentially abusive or neglectful behaviours at least sometimes in the preceding 3 months; some abuse was reported as happening "at least sometimes" in 91/92 care homes. Neglect was most frequently reported: making a resident wait for care (n = 399, 26%), avoiding a resident with challenging behaviour (n = 391, 25%), giving residents insufficient time for food (n = 297, 19%), and taking insufficient care when moving residents (n = 169, 11%). 1.1% of staff reported physical and 5% verbal abuse. More staff reported abusive/neglectful behaviour in homes with higher staff burnout-depersonalisation scores (adjusted odds ratio 1.191, CI 1.052-1.349). Staff anonymous reports of abusive behaviour and neglect could be used to monitor care quality, as cases currently reported are probably tip of the iceberg, and be an outcome in intervention studies.

Characteristics of communication with older people in home care: A qualitative analysis of audio recordings of home care visits.

Science.gov (United States)

Kristensen, Dorte V; Sundler, Annelie J; Eide, Hilde; Hafskjold, Linda; Ruud, Iren; Holmström, Inger K

2017-12-01

To describe the characteristics of communication practice in home care visits between older people (over 65 years old) and nurse assistants and to discuss the findings from a person-centered perspective. The older population is increasing worldwide, along with the need for healthcare services in the person's home. To achieve a high-quality care, person-centered communication is crucial. A descriptive design with a qualitative inductive approach was used. Fifteen audio recordings of naturally occurring conversations between 12 nurse assistants and 13 older people in Norway were analysed by qualitative content analysis. Four categories were revealed through analysis: (i) supporting older people's connection to everyday life; (ii) supporting older people's involvement in their own care; (iii) attention to older people's bodily and existential needs; and (iv) the impact of continuity and predictability on older people's well-being. The communication between the older people and the nurse assistants during home care visits was mainly task-oriented, but also related to the person. The older people were involved in the tasks to be carried out and humour was part of the communication. Greater attention was paid to bodily than existential needs. The communication was connected with the older people's everyday life in several ways. Time frames and interruptions concern the older people; hearing and speech impairments were a challenge to communication. To enhance person-centred communication, further studies are needed, especially intervention studies for healthcare professionals and students. Being responsive to older people's subjective experiences is important in meeting their needs in home care. Communication that addresses the need for trust and predictability is important for older people. Responding to existential needs require more attention. The home care setting has an impact on communication. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Home care services for sick children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Castor, Charlotte; Hallström, Inger; Hansson, Eva Helena

2017-01-01

as challenging for healthcare professionals in home care services used to providing care predominately for adults. DESIGN: An inductive qualitative design. METHOD: Seven focus group interviews were performed with 36 healthcare professionals from multidisciplinary home care services. Data were analysed stepwise......AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore healthcare professionals' conceptions of caring for sick children in home care services. BACKGROUND: Families often prefer home care to hospital care, and the number of home care services for children is increasing. Caring for children at home has been recognised...... using a phenomenographic analysis. RESULTS: Three description categories emerged: "A challenging opportunity", "A child perspective", and "Re-organise in accordance with new prerequisites." Providing home care services for children was conceived to evoke both professional and personal challenges...

Inclusion of persons with mental illness in patient-centred medical homes: cross-sectional findings from Ontario, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, Leah S; Durbin, Anna; Sibley, Lyn M; Glazier, Richard

2013-01-01

In Ontario, Canada, the patient-centred medical home is a model of primary care delivery that includes 3 model types of interest for this study: enhanced fee-for-service, blended capitation, and team-based blended capitation. All 3 models involve rostering of patients and have similar practice requirements but differ in method of physician reimbursement, with the blended capitation models incorporating adjustments for age and sex, but not case mix, of rostered patients. We evaluated the extent to which persons with mental illness were included in physicians' total practices (as rostered and non-rostered patients) and were included on physicians' rosters across types of medical homes in Ontario. Using population-based administrative data, we considered 3 groups of patients: those with psychotic or bipolar diagnoses, those with other mental health diagnoses, and those with no mental health diagnoses. We modelled the prevalence of mental health diagnoses and the proportion of patients with such diagnoses who were rostered across the 3 medical home model types, controlling for demographic characteristics and case mix. Compared with enhanced fee-for-service practices, and relative to patients without mental illness, the proportions of patients with psychosis or bipolar disorders were not different in blended capitation and team-based blended capitation practices (rate ratio [RR] 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.82-1.01; RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.96-1.17, respectively). However, there were fewer patients with other mental illnesses (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.90-0.99; RR 0.89, 95% CI 0.85-0.94, respectively). Compared with expected proportions, practices based on both capitation models were significantly less likely than enhanced fee-for-service practices to roster patients with psychosis or bipolar disorders (for blended capitation, RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.90-0.93; for team-based capitation, RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.88-0.93) and also patients with other mental illnesses (for blended capitation

Virtual street-crossing performance in persons with multiple sclerosis: Feasibility and task performance characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Stratton, M E; Pilutti, L A; Crowell, J A; Kaczmarski, H; Motl, R W

2017-01-02

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease that commonly results in physical and cognitive dysfunction. Accordingly, MS might impact the ability to safely cross the street. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of a simulated street-crossing task in persons with MS and to determine differences in street-crossing performance between persons with MS and non-MS controls. 26 participants with MS (median Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] score = 3.5) and 19 controls completed 40 trials of a virtual street-crossing task. There were 2 crossing conditions (i.e., no distraction and phone conversation), and participants performed 20 trials per condition. Participants were instructed that the goal of the task was to cross the street successfully (i.e., without being hit be a vehicle). The primary outcome was task feasibility, assessed as completion and adverse events. Secondary outcomes were measures of street-crossing performance. Overall, the simulated street-crossing task was feasible (i.e., 90% completion, no adverse events) in participants with MS. Participants with MS waited longer and were less attentive to traffic before entering the street compared with controls (all P .05). A virtual street-crossing task is feasible for studying street-crossing behavior in persons with mild MS and most individuals with moderate MS. Virtual street-crossing performance is impaired in persons with MS compared to controls; however, persons with MS do not appear to be more vulnerable to a distracting condition. The virtual reality environment presents a safe and useful setting for understanding pedestrian behavior in persons with MS.

The Home as aural Haven

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Rowland Atkinson

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The home is not only a place of physical refuge from the elements and unwanted intruders. It is also a refuge from unwanted sound, a place where we can enjoy calm spaces that permit quiet reflection. Our homes, as discrete and personally modifiable micro-soundscapes, offer a kind of environmental nourishment to us as social beings. Noise in the home – from neighbours, roads, airports, air conditioners, parties – unsettles our sense of control, autonomy and authorship over what is our primary territorial domain.

Longing for home: displacement, memory and identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-Yoseph, Miriam

2005-01-01

This article focuses on the relationship between the country of birth and the ability of the individual from that country to create a sense of home, identity and belonging in other countries and cultures. What is home? Is home the place where you were born and raised, where your parents live or where they are buried? Is home the place from where you were dislocated or where you live now? What does longing for home mean? The author draws on theory to address these questions but her personal story plays a prominent part.

Ecological risks of home and personal care products in the riverine environment of a rural region in south China without domestic wastewater treatment facilities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, N.; Liu, Y.; Brink, van den P.J.; Price, O.R.; Ying, G.G.

2015-01-01

Home and personal care products (HPCPs) including biocides, benzotriazoles (BTs) and ultraviolet (UV) filters are widely used in our daily life. After use, they are discharged with domestic wastewater into the receiving environment. This study investigated the occurrence of 29 representative HPCPs,

Mobility, balance and falls in persons with multiple sclerosis.

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Jacob J Sosnoff

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: There is a lack of information concerning the relation between objective measures of gait and balance and fall history in persons with MS (PwMS. This investigation assessed the relation between demographic, clinical, mobility and balance metrics and falls history in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS. METHODS: 52 ambulatory persons with MS (PwMS participated in the investigation. All persons provided demographic information including fall history over the last 12 months. Disease status was assessed with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS. Walking speed, coordination, endurance and postural control were quantified with a multidimensional mobility battery. RESULTS: Over 51% of the participants fell in the previous year with 79% of these people being suffering recurrent falls. Overall, fallers were older, had a greater prevalence of assistive devices use, worse disability, decreased walking endurance, and greater postural sway velocity with eyes closed compared to non-fallers. Additionally, fallers had greater impairment in cerebellar, sensory, pyramidal, and bladder/bowel subscales of the EDSS. CONCLUSIONS: The current observations suggest that PwMS who are older, more disabled, utilize an assistive device, have decreased walking coordination and endurance and have diminished balance have fallen in the previous year. This suggests that individuals who meet these criteria need to be carefully monitored for future falls. Future research is needed to determine a prospective model of falls specific to PwMS. Additionally, the utility of interventions aimed at reducing falls and fall risk in PwMS needs to be established.

Mobility, Balance and Falls in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis

Science.gov (United States)

Sosnoff, Jacob J.; Socie, Michael J.; Boes, Morgan K.; Sandroff, Brian M.; Pula, John H.; Suh, Yoojin; Weikert, Madeline; Balantrapu, Swathi; Morrison, Steven; Motl, Robert W.

2011-01-01

Background There is a lack of information concerning the relation between objective measures of gait and balance and fall history in persons with MS (PwMS). This investigation assessed the relation between demographic, clinical, mobility and balance metrics and falls history in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods 52 ambulatory persons with MS (PwMS) participated in the investigation. All persons provided demographic information including fall history over the last 12 months. Disease status was assessed with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Walking speed, coordination, endurance and postural control were quantified with a multidimensional mobility battery. Results Over 51% of the participants fell in the previous year with 79% of these people being suffering recurrent falls. Overall, fallers were older, had a greater prevalence of assistive devices use, worse disability, decreased walking endurance, and greater postural sway velocity with eyes closed compared to non-fallers. Additionally, fallers had greater impairment in cerebellar, sensory, pyramidal, and bladder/bowel subscales of the EDSS. Conclusions The current observations suggest that PwMS who are older, more disabled, utilize an assistive device, have decreased walking coordination and endurance and have diminished balance have fallen in the previous year. This suggests that individuals who meet these criteria need to be carefully monitored for future falls. Future research is needed to determine a prospective model of falls specific to PwMS. Additionally, the utility of interventions aimed at reducing falls and fall risk in PwMS needs to be established. PMID:22132196

Person-organization fit and organizational identification as predictors of positive and negative work-home interactions

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Dorota Merecz

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of the presented research was to explore the links between complementary and supplementary dimensions of Person-Organization fit (P-O fit, organizational identification (OI and negative (WHI- versus positive (WHI+ work-home interactions. It was assumed that both complementary and supplementary P-O fit and OI were positively related to WHI+ and negatively to WHI-. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on a large sample of Polish blue and white collar workers. The subjects were interviewed by means of questionnaires measuring: supplementary and complementary dimensions of P-O fit, OI and WHI. General work ability and demographic variables were also controlled in the study, and statistical analysis of ANOVA, pairwise comparison as well as regression were performed. Results: P-O fit and OI differentiated the subjects in terms of WHI. For women supplementary fit was a significant predictor of WHI- and explained 12% of its variance, for men it was complementary fit with the number of working days per week and the level of education, which explained 22% of variance. Supplementary fit and OI explained 16% of WHI+ variance in women; OI, tenure at the main place of employment and the level of education explained 8% of WHI+ variance in men. Conclusions: It has been proven that not only are the effects of P-O fit and OI limited to the work environment but they also permeate boundaries between work and home and influence private life - good level of P-O fit and good OI play facilitating role in the positive spillover between work and home. Gender differences in the significance and predictive values of P-O fit and OI for WHI were also found. The innovative aspect of the work is the inclusion of P-O fit and OI in the range of significant predictors of work-home interaction. The results can serve as rationale for employers that improvement of P-O fit and employees' organizational identification should be included in work

Person-organization fit and organizational identification as predictors of positive and negative work-home interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Merecz, Dorota; Andysz, Aleksandra

2014-01-01

The aim of the presented research was to explore the links between complementary and supplementary dimensions of Person-Organization fit (P-O fit), organizational identification (OI) and negative (WHI(-)) versus positive (WHI(+)) work-home interactions. It was assumed that both complementary and supplementary P-O fit and OI were positively related to WHI(+) and negatively to WHI(-). The study was conducted on a large sample of Polish blue and white collar workers. The subjects were interviewed by means of questionnaires measuring: supplementary and complementary dimensions of P-O fit, OI and WHI. General work ability and demographic variables were also controlled in the study, and statistical analysis of ANOVA, pairwise comparison as well as regression were performed. P-O fit and OI differentiated the subjects in terms of WHI. For women supplementary fit was a significant predictor of WHI(-) and explained 12% of its variance, for men it was complementary fit with the number of working days per week and the level of education, which explained 22% of variance. Supplementary fit and OI explained 16% of WHI(+) variance in women; OI, tenure at the main place of employment and the level of education explained 8% of WHI(+) variance in men. It has been proven that not only are the effects of P-O fit and OI limited to the work environment but they also permeate boundaries between work and home and influence private life - good level of P-O fit and good OI play facilitating role in the positive spillover between work and home. Gender differences in the significance and predictive values of P-O fit and OI for WHI were also found. The innovative aspect of the work is the inclusion of P-O fit and OI in the range of significant predictors of work-home interaction. The results can serve as rationale for employers that improvement of P-O fit and employees' organizational identification should be included in work-life balance programs.

The survey of the psychological and personality characteristics of delinquent girls and women running away from home

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mandana Saki

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Saki M1, Safa M2, Jazayeri H3, Asti P4, Jariani M2, Saki M5 1. Instructor, Department of psychology, Faculty of nursing and midwifery, Lorestan University of medical sciences 2. Assistant professor, Department of psychology, Faculty of medicine, Lorestan University of medical sciences 3. Master of science, psychology 4. Instructor, Department of midwifery, Faculty of nursing and midwifery, Lorestan University of medical sciences 5. Instructor, Department of pediatrics, Faculty of health, Lorestan University of medical sciences Abstract Background: Family environment is the first place in which child may recognize his potentialities and talents and tries to raise those potentialities. If family fails to provide the child with an appropriate situation to grow and evolve his character, he may develop the basis of social delinquencies.All kinds of crimes may form in the family. Studies show family as a social factor and character as an inner factor can create the grounds for the criminal behavior. The present study tries to investigate the psychological and personality factors learning people to run away from their homes. Materials and methods: The present survey is a descriptive- analytical study. The cases were selected by census method. All the women and girls who were kept in the intervening centers were studied during one year. A two-section questionnaire containing demographic, family characteristics as well as the standard questionnaire named SCL 90 were used for data collection. The questionnaire was completed using clinical interview. The data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Among 73 cases participated in the study, 37.5% was under 20 years, 91.7% was housewife and 58.3% had elementary education, 58 % was of those who migrated from villages to towns. Most of them were among the mid born of the families. 36% had imprisonment, 30.6% had substance abuse, and 63.9% was among those who had previous crime records. 46.3% of the married

Personal vulnerability and work-home interaction: the effect of job performance-based self-esteem on work/home conflict and facilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Innstrand, Siw Tone; Langballe, Ellen Melbye; Espnes, Geir Arild; Aasland, Olaf Gjerløw; Falkum, Erik

2010-12-01

The aim of the present study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between job performance-based self-esteem (JPB-SE) and work-home interaction (WHI) in terms of the direction of the interaction (work-to-home vs. home-to-work) and the effect (conflict vs. facilitation). A sample of 3,475 respondents from eight different occupational groups (lawyers, physicians, nurses, teachers, church ministers, bus drivers, and people working in advertising and information technology) supplied data at two points of time with a two-year time interval. The two-wave, cross-lagged structural equations modeling (SEM) analysis demonstrated reciprocal relationships between these variables, i.e., job performance-based self-esteem may act as a precursor as well as an outcome of work-home interaction. The strongest association was between job performance-based self-esteem and work-to-home conflict. Previous research on work-home interaction has mainly focused on situational factors. This longitudinal study expands the work-home literature by demonstrating how individual vulnerability (job performance-based self-esteem) contributes to the explanation of work-home interactions. © 2010 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2010 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

24 CFR 982.611 - Group home: Lease and HAP contract.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Group home: Lease and HAP contract... Types Group Home § 982.611 Group home: Lease and HAP contract. For assistance in a group home, there is a separate HAP contract and lease for each assisted person. ...

Home is Private…Do Not Enter! Introversion and Sensitivity to Work-Home Conflict.

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Baer, Stacy M; Jenkins, Jade S; Barber, Larissa K

2016-10-01

This study examined extraversion as a moderator of the relationship between negative work-home conflict and stress-related outcomes among US employees using conservation of resources theory and privacy regulation theory. Introverts only experienced stronger negative effects of negative work-home conflict on work-related resource depletion (job burnout, low engagement, low satisfaction with balance) rather than general resource depletion (personal burnout) and strain (physical and psychological). This finding suggests that introverts selectively withdraw from the work domain to conserve resources when privacy at home is threatened. Employers may want to consider ways to help introverts increase work-home segmentation, such as reducing workplace norms that encourage employees to be continuously accessible. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Is personality profile a relevant determinant of fatigue in multiple sclerosis ?

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Herbert eSchreiber

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The origin and pathophysiological background of MS-associated fatigue is poorly understood. There is no unifying concept of its nature and its determinants to date. This paper reviews possible influences of factors determining personality profile on mental fatigue in MS. Likewise, the role of psychological factors and their interaction with personality to promote fatigue is discussed. Current data suggests that fatigue, especially in early MS states, may be influenced by vulnerable personality traits and personality-associated features. Among them are depressive disease coping, avoidance behavior and inhibition, irritability, less extraversion, neuroticism, disturbed reward responsiveness and somatization behavior. However, among the validated personality factors no genuine influences that are independent of depression have been documented. From a psychological perspective, depressiveness, anxiety and perhaps somatization may be relevant mediators of fatigue. Interesting to note that in early MS a psychiatric diagnosis is significantly more likely than on a later stage of the disease and that fatigue and motivation might share neural circuits. It is hypothesized that psychological factors promote fatigue in MS by psychological distress and sustained neuro-endocrine and neurovegetative stress response. Despite there are limitations of data as discussed in the paper, personality research might help to disentangle specific promoting factors of fatigue in MS. Further research efforts are warranted since they might open ways to early psychological intervention of MS-associated fatigue. This is all the more important since medication is insufficient until now.

On the Prototyping of an ICT-Enhanced Toilet System for Assisting Older Persons Living Independently and Safely at Home.

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Panek, Paul; Fazekas, Gabor; Lüftenegger, Theresa; Mayer, Peter; Pilissy, Tamas; Raffaelli, Matteo; Rist, Atilla; Rosenthal, Ramona; Savanovic, Arso; Sobjak, Anna; Sonntag, Franziska; Toth, Andras; Unger, Birgit

2017-01-01

Standard toilets often do not meet the needs of a significant number of older persons and persons with disabilities. The EU funded iToilet project aims at design and development of a new type of ICT enhanced modular toilet system which shall be able to support autonomy, dignity and safety of older persons living at home. Methodologically the project started with gathering user requirements by means of questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussion involving a total of 74 persons, thereof 41 subjects with movement disorders (primary users), 21 caregivers (secondary users) and 12 healthcare managers (tertiary users). Most important wishes were bilateral removable handrails, height and tilt adjustment, emergency detection, simplicity. In parallel to the ongoing technical development participatory design activities have been carried out at user test sites in order to continuously involve users into the design process and to allow quick feedback with regards to early prototype parts. The project currently is working on the finalization of the first prototype ready to enter the lab trial stage in spring 2017. The experiences will be used for redesigning a prototype 2 which is planned to be tested in real life settings early 2018.

Improving Accessibility to Medical Services for Persons with Disabilities in Thailand

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Anpatcha Sakhornkhan

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This action research aimed at developing an action plan to improve the accessibility to home health care and assistive devices for persons with disabilities in a rural community, and to evaluate changes in the numbers of such persons who received appropriate home health care and assistive devices after a three-month implementation of the action plan.Method: The study was conducted at a sub-district of Maha Sarakham Province, Thailand. The main beneficiaries were 99 persons with disabilities (mean age55.4±18.7 years. Group meetings were organised for persons with disabilities, caregivers, and various community members. An action plan for improving the accessibility of persons with disabilities to home health care and assistive devices was collaboratively formulated and implemented for three months.Results: The main strategy for improving accessibility was to increase the competency of village health volunteers in providing home health care and assistive devices to persons with disabilities. After the three-month action plan implementation, the number of persons with disabilities who received appropriate home health care, i.e. at least once a month, significantly increased from 33.3% to 72.2% (Chi-square test, PConclusions: Under the supervision of physical therapists and/or other allied health professionals, the village health volunteer is likely to be a key person for improving the accessibility to home health care and assistive devices for persons with disabilities in a rural community.Limitations: The study was limited to only one sub-district. No comparable areas were studied. Further, since the study recruited persons with disabilities from a rural community, applicability of the findings to persons with disabilities in an urban community should be considered judiciously.

The commercial home enterprise: Labour with love

OpenAIRE

Harris, Candice; McIntosh, Alison; Lewis, Kate

2007-01-01

Within the wider context of critical discourse, this paper examines the personal experiences of commercial home hosts in New Zealand, focusing on issues of copreneurship and work-life balance. When the home has a commercial domain, the impact of hosting on a host’s life can be immense; hence the commercial home provides a unique context in which to examine the issue of work-life balance. This paper presents the findings of a study of 12 commercial home hosts conducted to explore the strategie...

Different types of out-of-home activities and well-being amongst urban residing old persons with mobility impediments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siren, Anu; Hjorthol, Randi; Levin, Lena

2015-01-01

, a complex one. The present study explicates this by focusing on how utilitarian and discretionary activities—representing different types out-of-home activities—contribute to well-being, using data from individual interviews with persons aged 80–95, living in Copenhagen, Denmark. We structured the material...... by the two activity types and found both to contribute to participants׳ well-being by representing different sides of ‘being’. Utilitarian activities were important in maintaining independence and fulfilling basic needs, while discretionary activities were important for the individual existing in relation...

The impact of past and present preferences on stimulus engagement in nursing home residents with dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Marx, Marcia S; Thein, Khin; Dakheel-Ali, Maha

2010-01-01

We examined engagement with stimuli in 193 nursing home residents with dementia. We hypothesized that activities and stimuli based on a person's past and current preferences would result in more engagement than other activities/stimuli. The expanded version of the self-identity questionnaire [Cohen-Mansfield, J., Golander, H. & Arheim, G. (2000)] was used to determine participants' past/present interests (as reported by relatives) in the following areas: art, music, babies, pets, reading, television, and office work. We utilized the observational measurement of engagement (Cohen-Mansfield, J., Dakheel-Ali, M., & Marx, M.S. (2009). Analysis revealed that residents with current interests in music, art, and pets were more engaged by stimuli that reflect these interests than residents without these interests. Our findings demonstrate the utility of determining a person's preferences for stimuli in order to predict responsiveness. Lack of prediction for some stimuli may reflect differences between past preferences and activities that are feasible in the present.

Older persons' worries expressed during home care visits: exploring the content of cues and concerns identified by the Verona coding definitions of emotional sequences.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hafskjold, L.; Eide, T.; Holmström, I.K.; Sundling, V.; Dulmen, S. van; Eide, H.

2016-01-01

Objective: Little is known about how older persons in home care express their concerns. Emotional cues and concerns can be identified by the Verona coding definitions of emotional sequences (VR-CoDES), but the method gives no insight into what causes the distress and the emotions involved. The aims

Striking a Balance: A Qualitative Study of Next of Kin Participation in the Care of Older Persons in Nursing Homes in Sweden

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Birgitta Wallerstedt

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Most of the care in nursing homes is palliative in nature, as it is the oldest and the frailest people who live in nursing homes. The aim of this study was to explore next of kin’s experiences of participating in the care of older persons at nursing homes. A qualitative design was used, based on semi-structured interviews with 40 next of kin, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. An overarching theme emerged, a balancing act consisting of three categories: (1 visiting the nursing home; (2 building and maintaining relationships; and (3 gathering and conveying information. The next of kin have to balance their own responsibility for the older person’s wellbeing by taking part in their care and their need to leave the responsibility to the staff due to critical health conditions. The next of kin wanted to participate in care meetings and conversations, not only in practical issues. The findings indicate the need to improve the next of kin’s participation in the care as an equal partner. Increased knowledge about palliative care and decision-making of limiting life-prolonging treatment may lead to a higher quality of care.

Stir bar sorptive extraction with EG-Silicone coating for bisphenols determination in personal care products by GC-MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Cacho, Juan Ignacio; Campillo, Natalia; Viñas, Pilar; Hernández-Córdoba, Manuel

2013-05-05

An easy to perform analytical method for the determination of three bisphenol compounds (BPs) in commonly used personal care products (PCPs) is presented. Ethylene glycol-silicone (EG-Silicone) coated stir bars, which have recently become commercially available, are evaluated in this study for the simultaneous determination of bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol Z (BPZ) by stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) in combination with thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). This new sorptive extraction phase allows the analysis of these compounds without any previous derivatization procedure. Different parameters affecting both SBSE extraction and thermal desorption were carefully optimized, using experimental designs based on the Taguchi orthogonal arrays. The procedure was applied to analyzing easily bought PCPs, providing detection limits of about 8 ng g(-1), with precisions lower than 11% in terms of relative standard deviation. Recovery studies performed at two different concentration levels provided satisfactory values for all the compounds. The analyzed personal care samples contained BPA at concentration levels ranging from 30.9 to 88.3 ng g(-1). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The incidence of depression and its risk factors in Dutch nursing homes and residential care homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Boorsma, Marijke; Joling, Karlijn; Dussel, Martine; Ribbe, Miel; Frijters, Dinnus; van Marwijk, Harm W J; Nijpels, Giel; van Hout, Hein

2012-11-01

Although it is known that depression is highly prevalent in institutionalized older adults, little is known about its incidence and risk factors in nursing homes and residential care homes. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the incidence and associated risk factors for depression in Dutch nursing homes and residential care homes. Data on depression were extracted from the Vrije Universiteit naturalistic cohort on routine care monitoring with the Minimum Data Set of the Resident Assessment Instrument. A total of 1,324 residents in six nursing homes and 1,723 residents in 23 residential care homes with an average follow-up of 1.2 years. Depression was defined as a clinical diagnosis according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria and the use of antidepressants. Residents with prevalent depression at baseline were excluded. The incidence rate was 13.6 per 100 person years in the nursing homes and 10.2 per 100 person years in the residential care homes. The independent risk factors for in-home depression for residents in nursing homes included dementia (OR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.02-2.95) and a score of 3 or more on the Depression Rating Scale (odds ratio [OR]: 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23-3.70). A protective effect was seen on the use of a hearing aid (OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.12-0.80). In the residential care homes, being male (OR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.27-3.30), having cancer (OR: 2.9; 95% CI: 1.64-4.95), and a score of 2 or higher on the Cognitive Performance Scale (OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.05-2.22) increased the risk to develop depression. Age greater than 85 years (OR: 0.5; 95% CI: 0.31-0.67) and hearing impairment (OR: 0.8; 95% CI: 0.60-1.00) appeared to be protective. The incidence rate for depression in residents of Dutch nursing homes and residential care homes was high and the associated risk factors found may have important implications for staff. 2012 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

Representing in-home and out-of-home energy consumption behavior in Beijing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Biying; Zhang Junyi; Fujiwara, Akimasa

2011-01-01

It is expected that in-home and out-of-home energy consumption behavior in a household might be correlated with each other, probably due to the existence of household budget constraints. Ownership and usage of energy-saving technologies for in-home appliances (or vehicles) might lead to the increase in out-of-home (or in-home) energy consumption. It is therefore necessary to jointly represent in-home and out-of-home energy consumption in the same modeling framework. With this consideration, we first build a new type of energy consumption model based on the Multiple Discrete-Continuous Extreme Value (MDCEV) modeling framework. Next, we conducted a questionnaire survey in Beijing in 2009 and successfully collected the information about households' energy consumption, ownership/usage of in-home appliances and vehicles, and households' and their members' attributes from 1014 households. Throughout an empirical analysis, it is confirmed that the MDCEV model is effective to simultaneously describe the in-home and out-of-home energy consumption behavior. In addition, it is revealed that a set of household and personal attributes affect the ownership and usage of in-home appliances and vehicles. Furthermore, it is shown that the unobserved factors play a much more important role in explaining energy consumption behavior than the observed attributes of households and their members. - Highlights: → Representing in-home and out-of-home energy consumption behavior jointly. → MDCEV model is built to describe household energy consumption behavior. → Log-linear competitive relationships are found among expenditures of end-uses. → Model results provide some insights about the influence of varied observed factors. → Unobserved factors are more important in explaining energy consumption behavior.

Correlates of Smoke-Free Home Policies in Shanghai, China

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Pinpin Zheng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Approximately 63.7% of nonsmokers in China are exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS in their homes. The current study documents the prevalence and correlates of smoke-free home policies in Shanghai, as well as reasons for implementing such a policy and places where smoking is most commonly allowed. Methods. We conducted in-person surveys of 500 participants using a multistage proportional random sampling design in an urban and suburban district. Results. Overall, 35.3% had a smoke-free home policy. In the logistic regression, having higher income, not having smokers in the home, having children in the home, having fewer friends/relatives who permit smoking at home, and not being a current smoker were correlates of having a smoke-free home policy P<0.05. Concern about the health impact of SHS was reportedly the most important reason for establishing a smoke-free home. Among participants with no or partial bans, the most common places where smoking was allowed included the living room (64.2%, kitchen (46.1%, and bathroom (33.8%. Conclusions. Smoke-free home policies were in place for a minority of households surveyed. Establishing such a policy was influenced by personal smoking behavior and social factors. These findings suggest an urgent need to promote smoke-free home policies through tobacco control programs.

Home-Based Comprehensive Assessment of Rural Elderly Persons: The CARE Project

Science.gov (United States)

Cravens, David D.; Mehr, David R.; Campbell, James D.; Armer, Jane; Kruse, Robin L.; Rubenstein, Laurence Z.

2005-01-01

Context: Home-based comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) has been effective in urban areas but has had little study in rural areas. CGA involves medical history taking, a physical exam, and evaluation of functional status, mental status, cognitive status, gait and balance, medications, vision, extent of social supports, and home safety. We…

Home Network Security

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholten, Hans; van Dijk, Hylke

2008-01-01

Service discovery and secure and safe service usage are essential elements in the deployment of home and personal networks. Because no system administrator is present, setup and daily operation of such a network has to be automated as much as possible with a high degree of user friendliness. To

Latest Trends in Home Networking Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Tsutsui, Akihiro

Broadband access service, including FTTH, is now in widespread use in Japan. More than half of the households that have broadband Internet access construct local area networks (home networks) in their homes. In addition, information appliances such as personal computers, networked audio, and visual devices and game machines are connected to home networks, and many novel service applications are provided via the Internet. However, it is still difficult to install and incorporate these devices and services because networked devices have been developed in different communities. I briefly explain the current status of information appliances and home networking technologies and services and discuss some of the problems in this and their solutions.

Utilisation of home-based physician, nurse and personal support worker services within a palliative care programme in Ontario, Canada: trends over 2005-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Zhuolu; Laporte, Audrey; Guerriere, Denise N; Coyte, Peter C

2017-05-01

With health system restructuring in Canada and a general preference by care recipients and their families to receive palliative care at home, attention to home-based palliative care continues to increase. A multidisciplinary team of health professionals is the most common delivery model for home-based palliative care in Canada. However, little is known about the changing temporal trends in the propensity and intensity of home-based palliative care. The purpose of this study was to assess the propensity to use home-based palliative care services, and once used, the intensity of that use for three main service categories: physician visits, nurse visits and care by personal support workers (PSWs) over the last decade. Three prospective cohort data sets were used to track changes in service use over the period 2005 to 2015. Service use for each category was assessed using a two-part model, and a Heckit regression was performed to assess the presence of selectivity bias. Service propensity was modelled using multivariate logistic regression analysis and service intensity was modelled using log-transformed ordinary least squares regression analysis. Both the propensity and intensity to use home-based physician visits and PSWs increased over the last decade, while service propensity and the intensity of nurse visits decreased. Meanwhile, there was a general tendency for service propensity and intensity to increase as the end of life approached. These findings demonstrate temporal changes towards increased use of home-based palliative care, and a shift to substitute care away from nursing to less expensive forms of care, specifically PSWs. These findings may provide a general idea of the types of services that are used more intensely and require more resources from multidisciplinary teams, as increased use of home-based palliative care has placed dramatic pressures on the budgets of local home and community care organisations. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Differential Impact and Use of a Telehealth Intervention by Persons with MS or SCI.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercier, Hannah W; Ni, Pensheng; Houlihan, Bethlyn V; Jette, Alan M

2015-11-01

The objective of this study was to compare outcomes and patterns of engaging with a telehealth intervention (CareCall) by adult wheelchair users with severe mobility limitations with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) or spinal cord injury (SCI). The design of this study is a secondary analysis from a pilot randomized controlled trial with 106 participants with SCI and 36 participants with MS. General linear model results showed that an interaction between baseline depression score and study group significantly predicted reduced depression at 6 mos for subjects with both diagnoses (P = 0.01). For those with MS, CareCall increased participants' physical independence (P SCI (P = 0.005). Those with SCI missed more calls (P SCI, and in increasing health care access and physical independence for those with a diagnosis of MS. Future research should aim to enhance the efficacy of such an intervention for participants with SCI.

Development of the interRAI home care frailty scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John N. Morris

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The concept of frailty, a relative state of weakness reflecting multiple functional and health domains, continues to receive attention within the geriatrics field. It offers a summary of key personal characteristics, providing perspective on an individual’s life course. There have been multiple attempts to measure frailty, some focusing on physiologic losses, others on specific diseases, disabilities or health deficits. Recently, multidimensional approaches to measuring frailty have included cognition, mood and social components. The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate a Home Care Frailty Scale and provide a grounded basis for assessing a person’s risk for decline that included functional and cognitive health, social deficits and troubling diagnostic and clinical conditions. Methods A secondary analysis design was used to develop the Home Care Frailty Scale. The data set consisted of client level home care data from service agencies around the world. The baseline sample included 967,865 assessments while the 6-month follow-up sample of persons still being served by the home care agencies consisted of 464,788 assessments. A pool of 70 candidate independent variables were screened for possible inclusion and 16 problem outcomes referencing accumulating declines and clinical complications served as the dependent variables. Multiple regression techniques were used to analyze the data. Results The resulting Home Care Frailty Scale consisted of a final set of 29 items. The items fall across 6 categories of function, movement, cognition and communication, social life, nutrition, and clinical symptoms. The prevalence of the items ranged from a high of 87% for persons requiring help with meal preparation to 3.7% for persons who have experienced a recent decline in the amount of food eaten. Conclusions The interRAI Home Care Frailty Scale is based on a strong conceptual foundation and in our analysis, performed as

Perilaku Hygienitasi Pengelolaan dan Pembuatan Kue Home Industri Rumahan di Desa Lampanah Kecamatan Seulimeum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fajriansyah Fajriansyah

2017-05-01

Full Text Available There are many home-based food managers that do not maintain the hygiene of the food they manage, other than that the habit of managers who do not pay attention to personal hygiene in making home food. The purpose of this research is to know the management of home cake making in Lampanah Village, Seulimeum District, Aceh. This descriptive study includes knowledge, personal hygiene and the habit of home-made cake management. The research location was conducted in Lampanah Village, Seulimeum District. The results of the research are known that the management of home cake is still much less good that is equal to 60,0%. Although generally high knowledge (80.0%, but has a poor hygienist of 60.0%. Likewise with the habit of cake-making is generally not good (80.0%. In conclusion, the high knowledge of home industry managers does not necessarily have an impact on hygiene and habits on positive behavior related to business management in the health sector. The suggestion is expected to the public more to maintain hygiene, especially personal hygiene so that the food served can be protected from various diseases, in addition to counseling to the community related to the management of home-cooked food needs to be done by health personnel. Keywords:   Home industry, habits, knowledge, personal hygiene Terdapat banyak pengelola makanan rumahan yang tidak menjaga kebersihan makanan yang dikelolanya, selain itu kebiasaan pengelola yang tidak memperhatikan personal hygiene dalam pembuatan makanan rumahan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui tinjauan pengelolaan pembuatan kue rumahan di Desa Lampanah Kecamatan Seulimeum Kabupaten Aceh Besar. Penelitian dekriptif ini meliputi pengetahuan, personal hygiene dan kebiasaan pengelolaan pembuatan kue rumahan. Lokasi penelitian dilakukan di Desa Lampanah Kecamatan Seulimeum Kabupaten Aceh Besar. Hasil penelitian diketahui pengelolaan pembuatan kue rumahan masih banyak yang kurang baik yaitu sebesar 60

Staff views on how to improve mealtimes for elderly people with dementia living at home.

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Johansson, Linda; Björklund, Anita; Sidenvall, Birgitta; Christensson, Lennart

2017-10-01

Dementia commonly leads to difficulties in performing daily activities, which can also often affect the ability to prepare and eat meals. As a result, formal support to maintain good nutritional intake might be needed, but there is a lack of knowledge concerning how to support older persons with dementia living at home. The aim of this study was to explore and describe staff views on how to improve mealtimes for persons with dementia who are still living at home. A qualitative descriptive study was performed and data were collected during 2011-2012 through four focus group interviews with staff working in the homes of persons with dementia. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. The participants described several ways to improve mealtimes for persons with dementia and advocated adjustments facilitating the preservation of the persons' independence. Finding suitable actions calls for knowledge about the person and his/her individual situation. Proposed actions were enabling meals at home, taking over, and moving meals outside of the home. In addition, it was found that, the types of meals served to these persons should be as familiar to the individual as possible. The results of this study indicate the importance of using a person-centered approach and meeting the individual needs when supporting people with dementia in regards to their meals when living at home. Individualized care in the home may be expensive, however, it is fair to say that people who become malnourished and admitted to hospitals is even more costly. Furthermore, sharing and reflecting experiences and knowledge can assist staff to identify ways to manage complex situations. Therefore, the use of refection should be a part of staff members' everyday work.

Model of competence: a conceptual framework for understanding the person-environment interaction for persons with motor disabilities.

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Rousseau, Jacqueline; Potvin, Louise; Dutil, Elisabeth; Falta, Patricia

2002-01-01

The "Model of Competence" has been recently elaborated to help expand our understanding relating to a person's interaction with the environment. Specifically, it seeks to deal with the issues related to the home adaptation (the home layout and equipment) for a person living with motor disabilities. This theoretical model takes into account various characteristics of the person as well as of the environment, by re-grouping six concepts: person, environment, activity, role, competence and handicap situation. The "Model of Competence" is distinct because it includes: (1) both the human and the nonhuman dimension of the environment; (2) personal characteristics other than the strictly physical ones; (3) a clear identification of the interaction between the person and the environment; and (4) a means of operationalizing it via an assessment instrument. This model proposes an innovative approach to the person-environment relation in terms of personalizing accessibility, and thereby offers a new approach to understanding the concept of universal access. It has been developed for research and application, and addresses several disciplines.

Understanding the agency of home-based care volunteers ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In traditional Zulu communities, caregiving is rooted in compassionate and hardworking personal identity precepts and the traditional identity expectations of women. Home-based-care volunteerism in the community represents the performance of this identity. Data from a series of interviews with 15 home-based care ...

[Organising a successful return home].

Science.gov (United States)

Mézière, Anthony

Discharge from hospital is a major component of the quality and efficiency of the healthcare system. The failures of the return home of elderly people testify to the difficulties of applying guidelines in the area of hospital discharge. The action plan decided in the hospital for a successful return home can be jeopardised for personal, relational, functional and structural reasons originating from the different players involved in the hospital discharge. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Contribution of various microenvironments to the daily personal exposure to ultrafine particles: Personal monitoring coupled with GPS tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Bekö, Gabriel; Kjeldsen, Birthe Uldahl; Olsen, Yulia; Schipperijn, Jasper; Wierzbicka, Aneta; Karottki, Dorina Gabriela; Toftum, Jørn; Loft, Steffen; Clausen, Geo

2015-06-01

Exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) may have adverse health effects. Central monitoring stations do not represent the personal exposure to UFP accurately. Few studies have previously focused on personal exposure to UFP. Sixty non-smoking residents living in Copenhagen, Denmark were asked to carry a backpack equipped with a portable monitor, continuously recording particle number concentrations (PN), in order to measure the real-time individual exposure over a period of ˜48 h. A GPS logger was carried along with the particle monitor and allowed us to estimate the contribution of UFP exposure occurring in various microenvironments (residence, during active and passive transport, other indoor and outdoor environments) to the total daily exposure. On average, the fractional contribution of each microenvironment to the daily integrated personal exposure roughly corresponded to the fractions of the day the subjects spent in each microenvironment. The home environment accounted for 50% of the daily personal exposure. Indoor environments other than home or vehicles contributed with ˜40%. The highest median UFP concentration was obtained during passive transport (vehicles). However, being in transit or outdoors contributed 5% or less to the daily exposure. Additionally, the subjects recorded in a diary the periods when they were at home. With this approach, 66% of the total daily exposure was attributable to the home environment. The subjects spent 28% more time at home according to the diary, compared to the GPS. These results may indicate limitations of using diaries, but also possible inaccuracy and miss-classification in the GPS data.

Children's Uses and Gratifications of Home VCRs: Evolution or Revolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Akiba A.; And Others

1988-01-01

Examines gratifications associated with home video cassette recorder (VCR) use among Israeli school children. Finds that while the VCR is often used, it has not achieved any special priority in its perceived utility to gratify various needs. (MS)

Attitudes About Cognitive Screening: A Survey of Home Care Physical Therapists.

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, Jean D; Staples, William H; Lee, Daniel J

2018-02-14

Home care physical therapists (PTs) are inconsistent regarding cognitive screening, possibly because screening tools were traditionally considered the domain of other home care disciplines, or because therapists perceive their dementia training to be inadequate. A cross sectional study was designed to survey home care therapists' attitudes and beliefs about the management of persons with dementia and to find out whether any specific cognitive tools or measures are currently used. A 5-point Likert-type survey was administered to home care PTs via an online survey. Three state home care associations and individual home care agencies agreed to share the survey link. The survey was also made available to American Physical Therapy Association members through the Home Health and Geriatric Section listservs. Two hundred fifty-one PTs opened the survey and 233 completed the survey. Respondents included 180 females and 53 males. Seventy-four had a bachelor's degree (BS), 53 held a master's degree (MS), 104 had achieved a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) or doctor of philosophy (PhD) degree, and 2 did not provide this information. Significant differences were found between those with the highest doctoral degrees and those with master's or bachelor's degrees (P = .01) regarding whether they were qualified to screen (strongly agree, agree) for cognitive deficits. Therapists with the highest degrees also attended continuing education for dementia training more than those with less formal education (P = .042.) Gender differences were found in 2 questions regarding positive outcomes (P = .010 and .42); for both questions, males were more likely to believe that dementia has a negative impact. Eighty-seven percent indicated that PTs are qualified (strongly agree, agree), but only 53% said that they possess the necessary skills (strongly agree, agree) to perform cognitive screens. Specialty certification revealed significant differences in several of the questions. No significance

Eldercare at Home: Communication Problems

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... Join our e-newsletter! Resources Eldercare at Home: Communication Problems Caregiving How Tos Understanding the Problem Communication ... when the older person is most alert. Talk face-to-face and maintain eye contact. A good way to ...

Disinfection of bacteriophage MS2 by copper in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, Andrew M; Sobsey, Mark D; Casanova, Lisa M

2017-09-01

Households that lack piped water supply are often forced to meet water needs by storing in the home, leaving water vulnerable to contamination by viruses. Storage in copper containers can potentially prevent this type of contamination, but the inactivation kinetics of viruses by copper need to be described to make appropriate storage recommendations. This work characterized inactivation kinetics of bacteriophage MS2 as a surrogate for enteric viruses by dissolved ionic copper in water. Reduction of MS2 increased with increasing doses of copper. At 0.3 mg/L, there was a 1.8-log 10 reduction of MS2 within 6 h. At 1 and 3 mg/L, 2-2.5 log 10 inactivation could be achieved between 6 and 24 h. Parameters for the Chick-Watson, Hom, and One Hit-Two Population models of inactivation were calculated and evaluated, all of which demonstrated strong goodness-of-fit and predictability at various contact times. Copper inactivates MS2 under controlled conditions at doses between 0.3 and 3 mg/L. Although requiring longer contact times than conventional disinfectants, it is a candidate for improving the safety of stored drinking water.

On the Design of Smart Homes: A Framework for Activity Recognition in Home Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Cicirelli, Franco; Fortino, Giancarlo; Giordano, Andrea; Guerrieri, Antonio; Spezzano, Giandomenico; Vinci, Andrea

2016-09-01

A smart home is a home environment enriched with sensing, actuation, communication and computation capabilities which permits to adapt it to inhabitants preferences and requirements. Establishing a proper strategy of actuation on the home environment can require complex computational tasks on the sensed data. This is the case of activity recognition, which consists in retrieving high-level knowledge about what occurs in the home environment and about the behaviour of the inhabitants. The inherent complexity of this application domain asks for tools able to properly support the design and implementation phases. This paper proposes a framework for the design and implementation of smart home applications focused on activity recognition in home environments. The framework mainly relies on the Cloud-assisted Agent-based Smart home Environment (CASE) architecture offering basic abstraction entities which easily allow to design and implement Smart Home applications. CASE is a three layered architecture which exploits the distributed multi-agent paradigm and the cloud technology for offering analytics services. Details about how to implement activity recognition onto the CASE architecture are supplied focusing on the low-level technological issues as well as the algorithms and the methodologies useful for the activity recognition. The effectiveness of the framework is shown through a case study consisting of a daily activity recognition of a person in a home environment.

Where the Rubber Hits the Road: What Home Healthcare Professionals Need to Know About Driving Safety for Persons With Dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pastor, Diane K; Jones, Andrea; Arms, Tamatha

2017-01-01

Driving cessation for people with dementia is a significant personal safety and public health issue. Home healthcare professionals frequently encounter situations where patients/clients should not continue to drive, and family members are unaware of how to approach the issue. This article will inform readers of the current state of the healthcare driving assessment process, measures and instruments used to assess, and effective strategies and resources when working with families facing the dilemma of how and when to proceed with a driving cessation plan.

Low back pain among personal care workers in an old age home: work-related and individual factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeung, Simon S; Yuan, Jun

2011-08-01

This cross-sectional study explored the work-related and individual factors that contributed to the occurrence of low back pain and affected activities of 36 personal care workers at an old age home in Hong Kong. The study was divided into four parts: (1) a questionnaire documenting workload exposure factors; (2) a musculoskeletal symptoms survey documenting the prevalence of low back pain in this group of workers; (3) a worksite evaluation focusing on personal care workers' work postures and the work environment; and (4) an evaluation of physical fitness and lifting capacities of personal care workers. Univariate followed by multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify the risk factors associated with low back pain that affected work activities. The results revealed that low back pain was associated with the perceived physical demands of cleaning tasks (odds ratio [OR] = 7.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.35-39.35, p stress at work (OR = 49.80, CI = 0.70-3541.79, p = .072). The results of the current study indicated that the work environment contributed to low back pain at work. Workers perceived that exertion in workplaces has a role in assessing workplace risk. To avoid progression of low back pain in the workplace, work adjustment or modification should be considered when workers report high levels of perceived exertion at work. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

Treatment of acute relapses in multiple sclerosis at home with oral dexamethasone : a pilot study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Keyser, J; Zwanikken, C; Zorgdrager, A; Oenema, D

The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of treating relapses of multiple sclerosis (MS) at home with oral dexamethasone. Twenty-five out of 28 consecutive patients with MS who presented with a relapse of less than 2 weeks' duration were treated on an open basis with oral

Nursing home staff's views on residents' dignity: a qualitative interview study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G.; Pasman, H. Roeline W.; van Gennip, Isis E.; Willems, Dick L.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D.

2013-01-01

Maintaining dignity is an important element of end-of-life care and also of the care given in nursing homes. Factors influencing personal dignity have been studied from both nursing home residents' and staff's perspective. Little is however known about the way nursing home staff perceive and promote

Home Features and Assistive Technology for the Home-Bound Elderly in a Thai Suburban Community by Applying the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health

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Supawadee Putthinoi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The ageing population is having an impact worldwide and has created a serious challenge in Thailand’s healthcare systems, whereby healthcare practitioners play a major role in promoting independent interaction of their client’s abilities, as well as environmental factors. The purpose of this study was to survey features of the home and assistive technology (AT for the home-bound elderly in the community of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Home evaluation included features inside and outside the home, and AT was based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF concept. Methods included observation and an interview that were used by the researcher for evaluation. The study found that every home had at least one hazardous home feature such as inappropriate width of the door, high door threshold, tall stair steps, no bedside rail, and inappropriate height of the toilet pan. AT was found in houses as general products and technology for personal use in daily living and for personal indoor and outdoor mobility as well as transportation. Therefore, home features and AT can afford the home-bound elderly independent living within the community. Perspective AT according to the ICF concept could provide a common language for ageing in place benefits.

76 FR 28917 - Medical Foster Homes

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-19

... facilities do not adequately protect bedridden patients. The current regulations are only intended to address homes where personal care services are provided to veterans and are not intended to address bedridden...

Estimating chemical emissions from home and personal care products in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hodges, J.E.N.; Holmes, C.M.; Vamshi, R.; Mao, D.; Price, O.R.

2012-01-01

China's economy has grown significantly and concomitantly so has the demand for home and personal care (HPC) products. The detection of chemicals used in HPC products is increasing in profile as China strives to improve its environmental management. China is developing robust exposure models for use in regulatory risk-based assessments of chemicals, including those chemicals used in HPC products. Accurate estimates of chemical emissions play an important role within this. A methodology is presented to derive spatially refined emissions from demographic and economic indicators with large variations in emissions calculated, showing product usage being higher in East and South China. The less affordable a product, the greater the influence per capita Gross Domestic Product has on the product distribution. Lastly, more spatially resolved input data highlights greater variation of product use. Linking product sales data with population density increased the observed variability in absolute usage distribution of HPC products at the county > province > regional > country scale. - Highlights: ► We combined sales data with spatial datasets on demographic and economic indicators. ► Large variation in chemical emissions exists across China. ► More spatially resolved input data results in greater variation of product use. ► Results could be used to parameterise future exposure models in China. - A methodology to derive accurate estimates of chemical emissions for China using demographic and economic indicators.

Webcasting in home and hospice care services: virtual communication in home care.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith-Stoner, Marilyn

2011-06-01

The access to free live webcasting over home computers was much more available in 2007, when three military leaders from West Point, with the purpose of helping military personnel stay connected with their families when deployed, developed Ustream.tv. There are many types of Web-based video streaming applications. This article describes Ustream, a free and effective communication tool to virtually connect staff. There are many features in Ustream, but the most useful for home care and hospice service providers is its ability to broadcast sound and video to anyone with a broadband Internet connection, a chat room for users to interact during a presentation, and the ability to have a "co-host" or second person also broadcast simultaneously. Agencies that provide community-based services in the home will benefit from integration of Web-based video streaming into their communication strategy.

Use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 with Persons Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, Danielle; Granello, Darcy Haag

2009-01-01

Counselors who assess persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; T. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) may find scale elevations on Scales 1, 2, 3, and 8. These elevations may be due, at least in part, to specific questions on the MMPI-2 that…

Fab the coming revolution on your desktop : from personal computers to personal fabrication

CERN Document Server

Gershenfeld, Neil

2005-01-01

What if you could someday put the manufacturing power of an automobile plant on your desktop? According to Neil Gershenfeld, the renowned MIT scientist and inventor, the next big thing is personal fabrication-the ability to design and produce your own products, in your own home, with a machine that combines consumer electronics and industrial tools. Personal fabricators are about to revolutionize the world just as personal computers did a generation ago, and Fab shows us how.

Investigating the interactive role of stressful life events, reinforcement sensitivity and personality traits in prediction of the severity of Multiple Sclerosis (MS symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background & Objective: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neurological condition recognized by demyelination in the central nervous system. The present study was conducted to investigate the interactive role of stressful life events, reinforcement sensitivity, and personality traits in prediction of the severity of symptoms of Multiple sclerosis (MS symptoms. Materials & Methods: This is a correlational study whose statistical population consisted of all the patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis in Shiraz in the first half of 1394, among whom 162 patients were included in this research by means of purposive sampling method. Five-Factor Personality Inventory, Jackson Personality Inventory, Stressful Life Events Scale, and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS were utilised as research tools. In order to analyze the data, descriptive and inferential methods were used. The data were analysed using Pearson correlation and hierarchical regression. Results: The findings revealed that stressful life events (β = 0.41, p <0.001, Behavioral Inhibition System (β = 0.26, p<0.05, and neuroticism index (β = 0.92, p <0.05 were able to predict variance of scores of the severity of symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis significantly. Conclusion: Stressful life events, Behavioral Inhibition System, and neuroticism showed a significant relationship with the severity of symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis; thus, it seems that interaction of personality traits and environmental conditions are among influential factors of the severity of symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. This fact implies that individuals' personal traits play an eminent role in the progression of the disease.

Decreased re-conviction rates of DUI offenders with intensive supervision and home confinement.

Science.gov (United States)

Barta, William D; Fisher, Virginia; Hynes, Patrick

2017-11-01

In some jurisdictions, persons who are convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) are allowed to serve some portion of their prison sentence under home confinement as part of Intensive Supervision Programs (ISPs) which include pre-release psycho-education and close post-release supervision. Test the hypothesis that persons convicted of DUI offenses who have spent some portion of their sentence under home confinement, as compared to a historical comparison group, will exhibit a relatively low re-conviction rate. Using administrative data for 1,410 repeat DUI offenders (302 members of the historical comparison group, 948 ISP members, and 160 persons who appear in both groups at different points in time), with a follow-up period of up to 3 years and 10 months, a marginal Cox model was employed to compare conviction rates of persons who experienced intensive supervision and home confinement with historical comparison group members. Persons with ISP + home confinement experience a re-conviction rate that is less than half that observed in the comparison group. Age, ethnicity (white vs. non-white), and gender are also significant predictors of re-conviction. Home confinement, in conjunction with psycho-education and other program elements, is one means of reducing the costs of incarceration. The results of this study suggest that, in addition to cost savings, states may realize a public safety benefit in the form of a reduction in DUI offense rates.

Important considerations for feasibility studies in physical activity research involving persons with multiple sclerosis: a scoping systematic review and case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Learmonth, Yvonne C; Motl, Robert W

2018-01-01

Much research has been undertaken to establish the important benefits of physical activity in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). There is disagreement regarding the strength of this research, perhaps because the majority of studies on physical activity and its benefits have not undergone initial and systematic feasibility testing. We aim to address the feasibility processes that have been examined within the context of physical activity interventions in MS. A systematic scoping review was conducted based on a literature search of five databases to identify feasibility processes described in preliminary studies of physical activity in MS. We read and extracted methodology from each study based on the following feasibility metrics: process (e.g. recruitment), resource (e.g. monetary costs), management (e.g. personnel time requirements) and scientific outcomes (e.g. clinical/participant reported outcome measures). We illustrate the use of the four feasibility metrics within a randomised controlled trial of a home-based exercise intervention in persons with MS. Twenty-five studies were identified. Resource feasibility (e.g. time and resources) and scientific outcomes feasibility (e.g. clinical outcomes) methodologies were applied and described in many studies; however, these metrics have not been systematically addressed. Metrics related to process feasibility (e.g. recruitment) and management feasibility (e.g. human and data management) are not well described within the literature. Our case study successfully enabled us to address the four feasibility metrics, and we provide new information on management feasibility (i.e. estimate data completeness and estimate data entry) and scientific outcomes feasibility (i.e. determining data collection materials appropriateness). Our review highlights the existing research and provides a case study which assesses important metrics of study feasibility. This review serves as a clarion call for feasibility trials that will

Genetics Home Reference: hereditary fructose intolerance

Science.gov (United States)

... Twitter Home Health Conditions Hereditary fructose intolerance Hereditary fructose intolerance Printable PDF Open All Close All Enable ... to view the expand/collapse boxes. Description Hereditary fructose intolerance is a condition that affects a person's ...

Analysis of phytochemical variations in dioecious Tinospora cordifolia stems using HPLC/QTOF MS/MS and UPLC/QqQLIT -MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Bajpai, Vikas; Singh, Awantika; Chandra, Preeti; Negi, M P S; Kumar, Nikhil; Kumar, Brijesh

2016-01-01

The stem of dioecious Tinospora cordifolia (Menispermaceae) is a commonly used traditional Ayurvedic medicine in India having several therapeutic properties. To develop and validate LC-MS methods for the identification and simultaneous quantitation of various secondary metabolites and to study metabolomic variations in the stem of male and female plants. Ethanolic extract of stems were analysed by HPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS/MS for rapid screening of bioactive phytochemicals. High resolution MS and MS/MS in positive ESI mode were used for structural investigation of secondary metabolites. An UPLC/ESI-QqQ(LIT) -MS/MS method in MRM mode was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitation of five bioactive alkaloids. Identification and characterisation of 36 metabolites including alkaloids, sesquiterpenes and phytoecdysteroids were performed using LC-MS and MS/MS techniques. The bioactive alkaloids such as jatrorrhizine, magnoflorine, isocorydine, palmatine and tetrahydropalmatine were successfully quantified in male and female plants. The mean abundances of magnoflorine jatrorrhizine, and oblongine were significantly (P Phytochemicals in the stem of male and female Tinospora cordifolia showed significant qualitative and quantitative variations. LC-MS and MS/MS methods can be used to differentiate between male and female plants based on their chemical profiles and quantities of the marker bioactive alkaloids. This chemical composition difference was also evident during vegetative stage when there were no male and female flowers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Determination of Glyphosate Levels in Breast Milk Samples from Germany by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steinborn, Angelika; Alder, Lutz; Michalski, Britta; Zomer, Paul; Bendig, Paul; Martinez, Sandra Aleson; Mol, Hans G.J.; Class, Thomas J.; Costa Pinheiro, Nathalie

2016-01-01

This study describes the validation and application of two independent analytical methods for the determination of glyphosate in breast milk. They are based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), respectively. For

Modelizing home safety as experienced by people with mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Désormeaux-Moreau, Marjorie; Larivière, Nadine; Aubin, Ginette

2018-05-01

As more individuals with mental disorders now live in the community and as the custodial care housing model has shifted to supported housing, home safety has become a rising issue, however, not well documented. To describe the phenomenon of home safety for people with a mental disorder as well as its contributing factors. A descriptive qualitative design was used. Individual interviews were conducted with persons with a mental disorder (n = 8), while focus groups were conducted with relatives, health and social service providers and community stakeholders (n = 21). The data were analyzed with the grounded theory analysis as described by Paillé (1994). Findings suggest that home safety implies risk and protective factors, which are associated with (1) the person's characteristics; (2) the quality of the home environment; (3) the nature of the activities in which the individual engages. These dimensions are interrelated so that home incidents arise from a dynamic interaction between risk and protective factors. Home incidents therefore occur when the interaction between these dimensions is altered. Considering this situation, Occupational Therapists are well positioned to play a leading role and act as key contributors in the area of home safety in people with mental disorders.

The values and qualities of being a good helper: a qualitative study of adult foster home caregivers for persons with serious mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Piat, Myra; Ricard, Nicole; Sabetti, Judith; Beauvais, Louise

2007-11-01

Canadian foster homes for adults with serious mental illness are operated by non-professional caregivers, usually women, whose mandate is to support residents and reintegrate them into the community. While mental health professionals recognize that adult foster homes are an important service for this population, there is little understanding of how caregivers impact on the lives of their residents. This article draws on the findings of a larger study which examined both caregiver and resident perspectives on the helping relationship in adult foster homes. Caregiver perspectives on the values and qualities required to help people living in foster homes are reported. With no pre-set theoretical framework, this qualitative study employed an inductive approach within a naturalistic paradigm. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 caregivers. Data analysis was an ongoing, 2-year process, involving the identification of categories and themes through several distinct stages. The study included Montreal adult foster homes (n=242) for persons with serious mental illness, supervised by two university-affiliated psychiatric hospitals. Twenty caregivers, selected according to years of experience and number of residents in the home, were diverse in terms of age, cultural background, family composition, education and occupational background. Caregivers possess a clearly articulated value system, and 21 specific qualities which reflect the attributes of both professional and informal helpers. These values and qualities provide caregivers with a "professional" or "vocational" orientation. A deeply held system of values and qualities is critically important to caregiver effectiveness and job satisfaction. Findings suggest that caregivers are highly motivated, and should be recognized as full participants in the mental health system at both policy and practice levels.

Mildly disabled persons with multiple sclerosis use similar net joint power strategies as healthy controls when walking speed increases.

Science.gov (United States)

Brincks, John; Christensen, Lars Ejsing; Rehnquist, Mette Voigt; Petersen, Jesper; Sørensen, Henrik; Dalgas, Ulrik

2018-01-01

To improve walking in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), it is essential to understand the underlying mechanisms of walking. This study examined strategies in net joint power generated or absorbed by hip flexors, hip extensors, hip abductors, knee extensors, and plantar flexors in mildly disabled persons with MS and healthy controls at different walking speeds. Thirteen persons with MS and thirteen healthy controls participated and peak net joint power was calculated using 3D motion analysis. In general, no differences were found between speed-matched healthy controls and persons with MS, but the fastest walking speed was significantly higher in healthy controls (2.42 m/s vs. 1.70 m/s). The net joint power increased in hip flexors, hip extensors, hip abductors, knee extensors and plantar flexors in both groups, when walking speed increased. Significant correlations between changes in walking speed and changes in net joint power of plantar flexors, hip extensors and hip flexors existed in healthy controls and persons with MS, and in net knee extensor absorption power of persons with MS only. In contrast to previous studies, these findings suggest that mildly disabled persons with MS used similar kinetic strategies as healthy controls to increase walking speed.

Comportamiento del riesgo de caídas en el hogar en adultos mayores Behavior of falls risk at home of the elderly persons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arlene Salas Mainegra

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Introducción: se realizó un estudio descriptivo, en la población de adultos mayores atendidos por el Consultorio del Médico de Familia # 4, perteneciente al policlínico "Ramón González Coro", del municipio Marianao, durante 2008. Objetivo: se realizó el análisis del comportamiento del riesgo de caídas de los adultos mayores en el hogar. Métodos: estudio de investigación descriptiva, en cuyo desarrollo se utilizó un modelo cualicuantitativo, y en su ejecución se emplearon métodos teóricos, empíricos y procedimientos estadísticos. Resultados: hubo un predomino del sexo femenino, el mayor por ciento de los adultos mayores presentó algún grado de dependencia, y tuvieron un mediano riesgo de sufrir una caída en su hogar.Introduction: a descriptive study was conducted in the elderly person population seen in the # 4 Family Physician Consulting Room of the "Ramón González Coro" polyclinic from the Marianao municipality during 2008. Objective: an analysis of the falls risk behavior of elderly persons at home was made. Methods: a descriptive research study was conducted using the qualitative and quantitative model and in its implementation theoretical, empirical methods as well as statistic procedures were used. Results: there was predominance of female sex, the higher percentage of elderly persons had some degree of dependence and also had a middle risk of suffering a fall at home.

Work-home interference : how does it manifest itself from day to day?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hooff, M.L.M. van; Geurts, S.A.E.; Kompier, M.A.J.; Taris, T.W.

2006-01-01

Although work-home interference (WHI) refers to a process of negative interaction between the work and home domains, little attention has been paid to the actual processes involved in the within-person, day-to-day management of work and home. Therefore, this study investigated if, and how, a global

Utilisation of formal and informal care and services at home among persons with dementia: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bökberg, Christina; Ahlström, Gerd; Karlsson, Staffan

2017-09-04

The progression of dementia disease implies increasing needs for both informal and formal care and services but also risk of institutionalisation. To better adjust care and services in the phase preceding institutionalisation it is important to find out whether utilisation of formal and informal care and services is determined by increased needs and by who meets the needs. The aim was to compare persons with dementia (65+) with different levels of cognitive impairment, regarding utilisation of formal and informal care and service at home. The participants consisted of 177 persons with dementia ≥65 years old and at risk of nursing home admission, divided into groups according to their cognitive function. Structured interviews were conducted based on questionnaires about type and amount of formal and informal care utilised, as well as questions regarding cognitive impairment, dependency in activities of daily living (ADLs) and neuropsychiatric symptoms. To analyse the data, descriptive and comparative statistics were used. The findings revealed that the group with severe dementia used significantly more help with ADLs and supervision in terms of time (number of hours and days) provided by the informal caregiver, compared with the group with moderate dementia. Utilisation of formal care and services was highest in the group with the most severe cognitive impairments (Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination score of <9). The group with severe dementia were more dependent in ADLs and had more neuropsychiatric symptoms (hallucinations and motor disturbances). They were younger and more often cohabitated with the informal caregiver, compared with the group with moderate dementia. This study shows that in the phase preceding institutionalisation the ADL and supervision needs due to progression of dementia appear to tend to be met first and foremost by the informal caregivers. © 2017 Nordic College of Caring Science.

The Personal Anthology: A Stimulus for Exploratory Reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Anne McCrary

1988-01-01

Explains the use of the personal anthology to stimulate wide reading and hold students accountable for what they read. Identifies strategies for and results of using the personal anthology in English instruction. (MS)

Developing Home-Based Virtual Reality Therapy Interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Janice; Kelleher, Caitlin L; Engsberg, Jack R

2013-02-01

Stroke is one of the leading causes of serious long-term disability. However, home exercise programs given at rehabilitation often lack in motivational aspects. The purposes of this pilot study were (1) create individualized virtual reality (VR) games and (2) determine the effectiveness of VR games for improving movement in upper extremities in a 6-week home therapy intervention for persons with stroke. Participants were two individuals with upper extremity hemiparesis following a stroke. VR games were created using the Looking Glass programming language and modified based on personal interests, goals, and abilities. Participants were asked to play 1 hour each day for 6 weeks. Assessments measured upper extremity movement (range of motion and Action Research Arm Test [ARAT]) and performance in functional skills (Canadian Occupational Performance Measure [COPM] and Motor Activity Log [MAL]). Three VR games were created by a supervised occupational therapist student. The participants played approximately four to six times a week and performed over 100 repetitions of movements each day. Participants showed improvement in upper extremity movement and participation in functional tasks based on results from the COPM, ARAT, and MAL. Further development in the programming environment is needed to be plausible in a rehabilitation setting. Suggestions include graded-level support and continuation of creating a natural programming language, which will increase the ability to use the program in a rehabilitation setting. However, the VR games were shown to be effective as a home therapy intervention for persons with stroke. VR has the potential to advance therapy services by creating a more motivating home-based therapy service.

[The history of home hemodialysis and its likely revival].

Science.gov (United States)

Ralli, Chiara; Imperiali, Patrizio; Duranti, Ennio

2016-01-01

The home extracorporeal hemodialysis, which aroused a great interest in the past, has not kept its promises due to the complexity and expectations for family involvement in treatment management. In the United States NxStage One portable system was proposed and designed for home use. In this work we describe, starting from the history of home hemodialysis, the method with NxStage system by comparing it with the conventional HD in 5 patients. The dialysis efficiency was similar between the two treatments, even if home hemodialysis showed a reduction in serum urea, creatinine and phosphorus. At the same time phosphate binders use decreased with an increase in serum calcium while hemoglobin increased reducing doses of erythropoietin. The method was successful in the training of the patients and their partners during hospital training and at home. Patients have shown great enthusiasm at the beginning and during the therapy, which is developed around the users personal needs, being able to decide at its own times during 24 hours according to personal needs, in addition to faster recovery after the dialysis. This method certainly improved the patients' wellness and increased their autonomy.

Finding of pesticides in fashionable fruit juices by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Kevin; Eide, David; Nickols, Susan M; Cromer, Michele R; Sabaa-Srur, Armando; Smith, Robert E

2012-10-15

Products labelled as containing extracts from two mushrooms (cordyceps plus reishi) and the juices from açaí, goji, mangosteen, noni, pomegranate, and sea buckthorn have been analysed for 174 different pesticides, using the validated QuEChERS method for sample preparation and electrospray LC-MS/MS in the positive ion mode for analysis. Pesticides were found in 10 of the 21 samples analysed. Most pesticides found were below the tolerance levels (1-6 μg/g, depending on the pesticide), but some were not. This included boscalid, dimethomorph, iprovalicarb, pyridaben, pyrimethanil, and imazalil, for which there is no tolerance reported or zero tolerance in any fruit. However, genuine açaí that was harvested in the state of Pará and lyophilised in Rio de Janeiro had no detectable pesticides, when analysed by both LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS, which can detect 213 more pesticides and industrial chemicals. Likewise no pesticides were found in one sample each of cordyceps plus reishi, sea buckthorn and noni. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Pilot Test of a New Personal Health System Integrating Environmental and Wearable Sensors for Telemonitoring and Care of Elderly People at Home (SMARTA Project).

Science.gov (United States)

Pigini, Lucia; Bovi, Gabriele; Panzarino, Claudia; Gower, Valerio; Ferratini, Maurizio; Andreoni, Giuseppe; Sassi, Roberto; Rivolta, Massimo W; Ferrarin, Maurizio

2017-01-01

The increase in life expectancy is accompanied by a growing number of elderly subjects affected by chronic comorbidities, a health issue which also implies important socioeconomic consequences. Shifting from hospital or community dwelling care towards a home personalized healthcare paradigm would promote active aging with a better quality of life, along with a reduction in healthcare-related costs. The aim of the SMARTA project was to develop and test an innovative personal health system integrating standard sensors as well as innovative wearable and environmental sensors to allow home telemonitoring of vital parameters and detection of anomalies in daily activities, thus supporting active aging through remote healthcare. A first phase of the project consisted in the definition of the health and environmental parameters to be monitored (electrocardiography and actigraphy, blood pressure and oxygen saturation, weight, ear temperature, glycemia, home interaction monitoring - water tap, refrigerator, and dishwasher), the feedbacks for the clinicians, and the reminders for the patients. It was followed by a technical feasibility analysis leading to an iterative process of prototype development, sensor integration, and testing. Once the prototype had reached an advanced stage of development, a group of 32 volunteers - including 15 healthy adult subjects, 13 elderly people with cardiac diseases, and 4 clinical operators - was recruited to test the system in a real home setting, in order to evaluate both technical reliability and user perception of the system in terms of effectiveness, usability, acceptance, and attractiveness. The testing in a real home setting showed a good perception of the SMARTA system and its functionalities both by the patients and by the clinicians, who appreciated the user interface and the clinical governance system. The moderate system reliability of 65-70% evidenced some technical issues, mainly related to sensor integration, while the patient

Effects of Walking Direction and Cognitive Challenges on Gait in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis

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Douglas A. Wajda

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Declines in walking performance are commonly seen when undergoing a concurrent cognitive task in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of walking direction and simultaneous cognitive task on the spatiotemporal gait parameters in persons with MS compared to healthy controls. Ten persons with MS (Median EDSS, 3.0 and ten healthy controls took part in this pilot study. Participants performed 4 walking trials at their self-selected comfortable pace. These trials included forward walking, forward walking with a cognitive task, backward walking, and backward walking with a cognitive task. Walking performance was indexed with measures of velocity, cadence, and stride length for each testing condition. The MS group walked slower with significantly reduced stride length compared to the control group. The novel observation of this investigation was that walking differences between persons with MS and healthy controls were greater during backward walking, and this effect was further highlighted during backward walking with added cognitive test. This raises the possibility that backward walking tests could be an effective way to examine walking difficulties in individuals with MS with relatively minimal walking impairment.

Effects of a Home-Based and Volunteer-Administered Physical Training, Nutritional, and Social Support Program on Malnutrition and Frailty in Older Persons: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

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Luger, Eva; Dorner, Thomas Ernst; Haider, Sandra; Kapan, Ali; Lackinger, Christian; Schindler, Karin

2016-07-01

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a home-based and volunteer-administered physical training and nutritional intervention program compared with social support intervention on nutritional and frailty status in prefrail and frail community-dwelling older persons. This was a randomized controlled trial in which community-dwelling persons (mean age = 83 years) were recruited and randomly assigned to the physical training and nutritional intervention group (PTN, n = 39) and the social support group (SoSu, n = 41). The study was conducted by trained lay nonprofessionals. The community-dwelling older persons in both groups were visited twice a week by trained nonprofessional volunteers (buddies) in Vienna, Austria. Eighty prefrail and frail adults aged 65 years or older. In the PTN group, both the buddies and older persons performed 6 strength exercises within a circuit training session and discussed nutrition-related aspects. The active control group (SoSu) had the opportunity to perform cognitive training in addition to the social contact. Outcome measures as nutritional (Mini Nutritional Assessment long form [MNA-LF]) and frailty status (Frailty Instrument for Primary Care of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe [SHARE-FI]) were obtained at baseline and after 12 weeks. Significant improvements in the MNA-LF score (1.54 points, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.51-2.56; P = .004) and the SHARE-FI score (-0.71 discrete factor score values, 95% CI -1.07, -0.35; P group after 12 weeks. In both groups, the prevalence of impaired nutritional status and frailty decreased significantly over time. The prevalence of impaired nutritional status decreased by 25% in the PTN group and by 23% in the SoSu group. Moreover, the prevalence of frailty decreased by 17% in the PTN group and by 16% in the SoSu group. The presence of impaired nutritional status at baseline was independently associated with greater changes in the nutritional

Identifying preferred format and source of exercise information in persons with multiple sclerosis that can be delivered by health-care providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Learmonth, Yvonne C; Adamson, Brynn C; Balto, Julia M; Chiu, Chung-Yi; Molina-Guzman, Isabel M; Finlayson, Marcia; Riskin, Barry J; Motl, Robert W

2017-10-01

There is increasing recognition of the benefits of exercise in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), yet the MS population does not engage in sufficient amounts of exercise to accrue health benefits. There has been little qualitative inquiry to establish the preferred format and source for receiving exercise information from health-care providers among persons with MS. We sought to identify the desired and preferred format and source of exercise information for persons with MS that can be delivered through health-care providers. Participants were adults with MS who had mild or moderate disability and participated in a range of exercise levels. All participants lived in the Midwest of the United States. Fifty semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes emerged, (i) approach for receiving exercise promotion and (ii) ideal person for promoting exercise. Persons with MS want to receive exercise information through in-person consultations with health-care providers, print media and electronic media. Persons with MS want to receive exercise promotion from health-care providers with expertise in MS (ie neurologists) and with expertise in exercise (eg physical therapists). These data support the importance of understanding how to provide exercise information to persons with MS and identifying that health-care providers including neurologists and physical therapists should be involved in exercise promotion. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Constraint Patch Matching for Faster Person Re-identification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lejbølle, Aske Rasch; Nasrollahi, Kamal; Moeslund, Thomas B.

2017-01-01

In person re-identification, it is of great importance toextract very discriminative features in order to distinguishbetween images of different persons captured in differentcamera views. Features can be extracted globally from theentire or parts of the image, or locally from patches. Inaddition......36ms to compute per person....

Pediatric MS

Science.gov (United States)

... Pediatric MS Share this page Facebook Twitter Email Pediatric MS Pediatric MS Pediatric MS Support Pediatric Providers ... system through the Pediatric MS Support Group . Treating pediatric MS In 2018 the U.S. Food and Drug ...

A Resource Perspective on the Work-Home Interface: The Work-Home Resources Model

Science.gov (United States)

ten Brummelhuis, Lieke L.; Bakker, Arnold B.

2012-01-01

The objective of this article is to provide a theoretical framework explaining positive and negative work-home processes integrally. Using insights from conservation of resources theory, we explain how personal resources (e.g., time, energy, and mood) link demanding and resourceful aspects of one domain to outcomes in the other domain. The…

24 CFR 982.620 - Manufactured home: Applicability of requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECTION 8 TENANT BASED ASSISTANCE: HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM Special Housing... resident of manufactured home. (1) A family may reside in a manufactured home with assistance under the...-in aide. (1) If approved by the PHA, a live-in aide may reside with the family to care for a person...

HDX Workbench: Software for the Analysis of H/D Exchange MS Data

Science.gov (United States)

Pascal, Bruce D.; Willis, Scooter; Lauer, Janelle L.; Landgraf, Rachelle R.; West, Graham M.; Marciano, David; Novick, Scott; Goswami, Devrishi; Chalmers, Michael J.; Griffin, Patrick R.

2012-09-01

Hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) is an established method for the interrogation of protein conformation and dynamics. While the data analysis challenge of HDX-MS has been addressed by a number of software packages, new computational tools are needed to keep pace with the improved methods and throughput of this technique. To address these needs, we report an integrated desktop program titled HDX Workbench, which facilitates automation, management, visualization, and statistical cross-comparison of large HDX data sets. Using the software, validated data analysis can be achieved at the rate of generation. The application is available at the project home page http://hdx.florida.scripps.edu.

[Norovirus outbreaks in hospitals and nursing homes in Catalonia, Spain].

Science.gov (United States)

Godoy, Pere; Domínguez, Angela; Alvarez, Josep; Camps, Neus; Barrabeig, Irene; Bartolomé, Rosa; Sala, María Rosa; Ferre, Dolors; Pañella, Helena; Torres, Joan; Minguell, Sofía; Alsedà, Miquel; Pumares, Analía

2009-01-01

The low infectious dose and multiple transmission routes favour the appearance of norovirus outbreaks. The objective of this study was to compare the incidence of norovirus outbreaks in hospitals and nursing homes in Catalonia. A descriptive study of norovirus outbreaks between 15/10/2004 and 30/10/2005 was carried out. An epidemiological survey was completed for each outbreak. Norovirus in clinical samples was determined by PCR techniques. The incidence in each centre and the annual incidence of outbreaks by centre were calculated. Differences were calculated using the chi-square test and the Student's t test, taking a p value of > 0.05 as significant. Seventeen outbreaks (6 in hospitals and 11 in nursing homes) were detected. The global attack rate was 33.4% (652/1951) and was slightly higher in nursing homes (35.2%) than in hospitals (31.4%). A total of 94.1% (16/17) of outbreaks were caused by person-to-person transmission and only 5.9% (1/17) by foods. The mean number of days between the first and last case was 11.4 (SD = 6.9). The mean duration of symptoms was 2.39 days (SD=1.6), and was higher hospitals, 2.63 (SD=1.7), than in nursing homes, 1.97 (SD=1.7) (p < 0.0001). Norovirus is responsible for a large number of outbreaks due to person-to-person transmission. Control should be standardized to reduce the number and duration of outbreaks.

Electrophysiology of blunted emotional bias in psychopathic personality.

Science.gov (United States)

Carolan, Patrick L; Jaspers-Fayer, Fern; Asmaro, Deyar T; Douglas, Kevin S; Liotti, Mario

2014-01-01

Diminished emotional capacity is a core characteristic of psychopathic personality. We examined behavioral and electrophysiological differences in attentional bias to emotional material in 34 healthy individuals rated high or low in psychopathic traits using the short form of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (18 high-trait, 16 low-trait). While performing an emotional Stroop task, high-trait participants displayed reduced emotional modulation of the late positive potential (LPP, 400-600 ms), and early anterior positivity (EAP, 200-300 ms) amplitudes. Results suggest blunted bias to affective content in psychopathic personality, characterized by diminished early capture to emotional salience (EAP) and dampened cognitive emotional processing (LPP). Copyright © 2013 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

The Smart Home for the Elderly: Perceptions, Technologies and Psychological Accessibilities : The Requirements Analysis for the Elderly in Thailand

OpenAIRE

Visutsak , Porawat; DAOUDI , Mohamed

2017-01-01

International audience; Various studies of assistive technology, embedded into the house for helping elderly persons have been introduced. There are many terms used to call this assistive technology, such as smart home, intelligent home, and home networking. The current technologies for smart home system can be divided into two basic categories: passive-intervention devices and active-intervention devices. Passive-intervention devices monitor an elderly person's condition and safety without i...

Protective personality traits: High openness and low neuroticism linked to better memory in multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Leavitt, Victoria M; Buyukturkoglu, Korhan; Inglese, Matilde; Sumowski, James F

2017-11-01

Memory impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) is common, although few risk/protective factors are known. To examine relationships of personality to memory/non-memory cognition in MS. 80 patients completed a cognitive battery and a personality scale measuring the "Big 5" traits: openness, neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, and conscientiousness. Memory was most related to openness, with higher openness linked to better memory and lower risk for memory impairment, controlling for age, atrophy, education, and intelligence quotient (IQ). Lower neuroticism was also related to better memory, and lower conscientiousness to memory impairment. Non-memory cognition was unrelated to personality. Personality may inform predictive models of memory impairment in MS.

The Factors Influencing the Sense of Home in Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review from the Perspective of Residents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. D. Rijnaard

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To provide an overview of factors influencing the sense of home of older adults residing in the nursing home. Methods. A systematic review was conducted. Inclusion criteria were (1 original and peer-reviewed research, (2 qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research, (3 research about nursing home residents (or similar type of housing, and (4 research on the sense of home, meaning of home, at-homeness, or homelikeness. Results. Seventeen mainly qualitative articles were included. The sense of home of nursing home residents is influenced by 15 factors, divided into three themes: (1 psychological factors (sense of acknowledgement, preservation of one’s habits and values, autonomy and control, and coping; (2 social factors (interaction and relationship with staff, residents, family and friends, and pets and activities; and (3 the built environment (private space and (quasi-public space, personal belongings, technology, look and feel, and the outdoors and location. Conclusions. The sense of home is influenced by numerous factors related to the psychology of the residents and the social and built environmental contexts. Further research is needed to determine if and how the identified factors are interrelated, if perspectives of various stakeholders involved differ, and how the factors can be improved in practice.

Xerostomia among older home care clients.

Science.gov (United States)

Viljakainen, Sari; Nykänen, Irma; Ahonen, Riitta; Komulainen, Kaija; Suominen, Anna Liisa; Hartikainen, Sirpa; Tiihonen, Miia

2016-06-01

The purpose of this study was to examine drug use and other factors associated with xerostomia in home care clients aged 75 years or older. The study sample included 270 home care clients aged ≥75 years living in Eastern and Central Finland. The home care clients underwent in-home interviews carried out by trained home care nurses, nutritionists, dental hygienists and pharmacists. The collected data contained information on sociodemographic factors, health and oral health status, drug use, depressive symptoms (GDS-15), cognitive functioning (MMSE), functional ability (Barthel Index, IADL) and nutrition (MNA). The primary outcome was xerostomia status (never, occasionally or continuously). Among the home care clients, 56% (n = 150) suffered from xerostomia. Persons with continuous xerostomia used more drugs and had more depressive symptoms and a higher number of comorbidities than other home care clients. In multivariate analyses, excessive polypharmacy (OR = 1.83, 95% Cl 1.08-3.10) and depressive symptoms (OR = 1.12, 95% Cl 1.03-1.22) were associated with xerostomia. Xerostomia is a common problem among old home care clients. Excessive polypharmacy, use of particular drug groups and depressive symptoms were associated with xerostomia. The findings support the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in the care of older home care clients. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Translation of the Care of Persons with Dementia in their Environments (COPE) intervention in a publicly-funded home care context: Rationale and research design.

Science.gov (United States)

Fortinsky, Richard H; Gitlin, Laura N; Pizzi, Laura T; Piersol, Catherine Verrier; Grady, James; Robison, Julie T; Molony, Sheila

2016-07-01

Dementia is the leading cause of loss of independence in older adults worldwide. In the U.S., approximately 15 million family members provide care to relatives with dementia. This paper presents the rationale and design for a translational study in which an evidence-based, non-pharmacologic intervention for older adults with dementia and family caregivers (CGs) is incorporated into a publicly-funded home care program for older adults at risk for nursing home admission. The 4-month Care of Persons with Dementia in their Environments (COPE) intervention is designed to optimize older adults' functional independence, and to improve CG dementia management skills and health-related outcomes. COPE features 10 in-home occupational therapy visits, and 1 in-home visit and 1 telephone contact by an advanced practice nurse. COPE was deemed efficacious in a published randomized clinical trial. In the present study, older adults with dementia enrolled in the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE) and their CGs are randomly assigned to receive COPE plus their ongoing CHCPE services, or to continue receiving CHCPE services only. The primary outcome for older adults with dementia is functional independence; secondary outcomes are activity engagement, quality of life, and prevention or alleviation of neuropsychiatric symptoms. CG outcomes include perceived well-being and confidence in using activities to manage dementia symptoms. Translational outcomes include net financial benefit of COPE, and feasibility and acceptability of COPE implementation into the CHCPE. COPE has the potential to improve health-related outcomes while saving Medicaid waiver and state revenue-funded home care program costs nationwide. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dignity and the factors that influence it according to nursing home residents: a qualitative interview study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G.; Pasman, H. Roeline W.; van Gennip, Isis E.; Muller, Martien T.; Willems, Dick L.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D.

2014-01-01

To gain insight in the way nursing home residents experience personal dignity and the factors that preserve or undermine it. Nursing home residents are exposed to diverse factors which may be associated with the loss of personal dignity. To help them maintain their dignity, it is important to

[The planned home care transfer by a local medical support hospital and the introduction to home intravenous hyper alimentation--the making of a home care patient's instruction plan document].

Science.gov (United States)

Shinobu, Akiko; Ohtsu, Yoko

2004-12-01

It is important to offer continuous medical service without interrupting everyone's various job functions at the Tama Numbu-Chiiki Hospitals in order to secure the quality and safety of home medical care to patients and their families. From 1998 up to the present, home intravenous hyper alimentation (home IVH) has been introduced by individually exchanging information that was based on items such as clinical case, doctor and caregiver in charge of the day, and introductory information. Five years have passed since we started an introduction of home IVH, and it appears that the medical cooperation of home IVH between the Minami-tama medical region and its neighboring area has been established. Then, we arranged an examination of the past 2 years based on the 57 patients who elected to choose home IVH instruction. Consequently, we created "home IVH introduction plan document" in standardizing a flow from home IVH introduction to post-hospital intervention. Since November of 2003, the plan document has been utilized and carried out to 5 patients by the end of February in 2004. This home IVH introduction plan document was able to clarify the role of medical person in connection with the patient. Therefore, we could not only share the information, but also could transfer medical care smoothly from the hospital to the patient's home.

Personal Empowerment in the Study of Home Internet Use by Low-Income Families.

Science.gov (United States)

Bier, Melinda; Gallo, Michael; Nucklos, Eddy; Sherblom, Stephen; Pennick, Michael

1997-01-01

Describes a United States Department of Commerce (National Telecommunications and Information Administrations, NTIA, 1995) study of home Internet use by Low-income families. The study investigated the barriers, benefits (empowerment), and perceived worth of the Internet and concluded that home Internet access enabled powerful emotional and…

CHEST: Home of the Clinician-Educator.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, William F; Niven, Alexander S

2018-03-01

Many hands can build a house; it takes trust to make that house a home. Trust has two main components: credibility (worthiness based on preparation and past performance) and empathy (the ability to understand and share another person's values). CHEST has maintained its credibility and empathy as the global leader in clinical pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medical education. It follows that the leader in chest clinical education would also be the home of the clinician-educator. You are that educator. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Identifying participation needs of people with acquired brain injury in the development of a collective community smart home.

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Levasseur, Mélanie; Pigot, Hélène; Couture, Mélanie; Bier, Nathalie; Swaine, Bonnie; Therriault, Pierre-Yves; Giroux, Sylvain

2016-11-01

This study explored the personalized and collective participation needs of people with acquired brain injury (ABI) living in a future shared community smart home. An action research study was conducted with 16 persons, seven with ABI, four caregivers and five rehabilitation or smart home healthcare providers. Twelve interviews and two focus groups were conducted, audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed for content. Seventy personalized and 18 collective participation needs were reported related to daily and social activities. Personalized needs concerned interpersonal relationships, general organization of activities, leisure, housing, fitness and nutrition. Collective needs related mainly to housing, general organization of activities and nutrition. Personalized and collective participation needs of people with ABI planning to live in a community smart home are diverse and concern daily as well as social activities. Implications for Rehabilitation To meet participation needs of people with ABI, the design of smart homes must consider all categories of daily and social activities. Considering personalized and collective needs allowed identifying exclusive examples of each. As some persons with ABI had difficulty identifying their needs as well as accepting their limitations and the assistance required, rehabilitation professionals must be involved in needs identification.

Mildly disabled persons with multiple sclerosis use similar net joint power strategies as healthy controls when walking speed increases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brincks, John; Sørensen, Henrik; Dalgas, Ulrik

2018-01-01

flexors in mildly disabled persons with MS and healthy controls at different walking speeds. METHODS:Thirteen persons with MS and thirteen healthy controls participated and peak net joint power was calculated using 3D motion analysis. RESULTS:In general, no differences were found between speed......-matched healthy controls and persons with MS, but the fastest walking speed was significantly higher in healthy controls (2.42 m/s vs. 1.70 m/s). The net joint power increased in hip flexors, hip extensors, hip abductors, knee extensors and plantar flexors in both groups, when walking speed increased. Significant...... correlations between changes in walking speed and changes in net joint power of plantar flexors, hip extensors and hip flexors existed in healthy controls and persons with MS, and in net knee extensor absorption power of persons with MS only. CONCLUSION:In contrast to previous studies, these findings suggest...

Hiring Help at Home: The Basic Facts

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... of Columbus, Elks, Volunteers of America, and ethnic clubs such as the Hibernian Society. Anewspaper advertisement widens ... personal physician. nationalMSsociety.org For Information: 1 800 FIGHT MS (1 800 344 4867) © 2014 National Multiple ...

Comparing Sleep Quality and General Health Among the Elderly Living at Home and at Nursing Home

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Mansour Beyrami

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Survey about the issues and problems related to elderly in order to improve their quality of life of this increasing population has become a universal concern.This study was performed by the purpose of comparing the sleep quality and general health among the Elderly Residing at Home and Old People's Homes. Methods & Materials: This study is descriptive-analytic type. Population of this investigation consisted of elderly men and women (upper than 60 years old living at personal home and at nursing home in Tabriz. Sample group composed of 100 elderly (50 men and 50 women 50 living at home and 50 living at nursing home who were selected through available sampling method. For collecting data, Goldberg General Health Questionnaire and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used. Data were analyzed by Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA. Results: Findings showed that In terms of general health and its components (Physical symptoms, anxiety, social dysfunction and depression and Sleep quality and its components (Subjective quality of sleep, time for sleep, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, routine, sleep disorders, sleep medications and daily dysfunction there were significant differences between nursing home residents and elderly residents in nursing homes (P=0.001. Conclusion: Findings indicated that elderly residents in nursing home are experiencing more symptoms of anxiety, depression, physical symptoms and social dysfunction Compared with the elderly whom resident at home. Also the results showed that the elderly residents of nursing homes have poor sleep quality than ones whom residents at home. On the other hand Future development of elderly care institution is inevitable. Therefore, more attention to the living conditions of elderly residents of institutions seems necessary.

Observing Privacy, Modesty and Hospitality in the Home Domain: Three Case Studies of Muslim Homes in Brisbane, Australia

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Zulkeplee Othman

2014-12-01

Full Text Available A home embodies a sensorial space that is layered with personal memories and traces of history. The success of a home in providing a strong sense of place depends on various factors such as geographical location, climatic conditions, and occupants’ world-views and perceptions. This paper explores Muslims’ perceptions of privacy, modesty and hospitality within their homes through their lived experiences. This case study focuses on three Muslim families living in Australian designed homes within the same suburb of Brisbane, Australia. The study provides prefatory insight into the ways in which these families perform their daily activities and entertain their guests without jeopardizing their privacy needs. The study examines the significance of modesty in the design of Muslim homes as a means by which family members are able to achieve optimum privacy while simultaneously extending hospitality to guests inside and outside their homes. The findings of this study provide opportunities too, for expanding research into culturally adaptable housing systems to help meet the changing needs of Australian multicultural society.

Psychosocial behaviour management programme for home-dwelling people with dementia: A cluster-randomized controlled trial.

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Nakanishi, Miharu; Endo, Kaori; Hirooka, Kayo; Granvik, Eva; Minthon, Lennart; Nägga, Katarina; Nishida, Atsushi

2018-03-01

Little is known about the effectiveness of a psychosocial behaviour management programme on home-dwelling people with dementia. We developed a Behaviour Analytics & Support Enhancement (BASE) programme for care managers and professional caregivers of home care services in Japan. We investigated the effects of BASE on challenging behaviour of home-dwelling people with dementia. A cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted with home care providers from 3 different districts in Tokyo. Each provider recruited persons with dementia aged 65 years or older to receive home care in the BASE programme in August 2016. An online monitoring and assessment system was introduced to the intervention group for repeated measures of challenging behaviour with a total score of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Care professionals in both the intervention and control groups evaluated challenging behaviour of persons with dementia at baseline (September 2016) and follow-up (February 2017). A majority of persons with dementia had Alzheimer disease (59.3%). One-hundred and forty-one persons with dementia were included in the intervention group and 142 in the control group. Multilevel modelling revealed a significant reduction in challenging behaviour in the intervention group after 6 months (mean score, 18.3 to 11.2) compared with that of the control group (11.6 to 10.8; P dwelling people with dementia. Future research should examine the long-term effects of behaviour management programmes on behaviour, nursing home placement, and hospital admission of home-dwelling people with dementia. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Friendly Home and Inhabitants' Morality: Mutual Relationships

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Nartova-Bochaver, Sofya K.; Kuznetsova, Valeriya B.

2018-01-01

The study is aimed at investigating the connection between the friendliness of the home environment and the moral motives' level. The friendliness of the home environment includes two aspects: the number of functions provided by home (functionality) and the congruence of these functions with inhabitants' needs (relevance). The theoretical framework of the study was formed by research and ideas emphasizing the interplay between people and their environments. We hypothesized that the friendliness of the home environment and inhabitants' moral motives would have a reciprocal relationship: the friendlier the home the higher the inhabitants' moral motives' level, and, vice versa, the higher the person's moral motives' level the more positive home image. The respondents were 550 students (25% male). The Home Environment Functionality Questionnaire, the Home Environment Relevance Questionnaire, and the Moral Motivation Model Scale were used. As expected, it was found that the friendliness of the home environment and the inhabitants' moral motives are in reciprocal synergetic relationships. Relevance formed more nuanced correlation patterns with moral motives than functionality did. Functionality predicted moral motives poorly whereas moral motives predicted functionality strongly. Finally, relevance and moral motives were found to be in mutual relationships whereas the perceived functionality was predicted by moral motives only. PMID:29375450

Relationships among personality traits, metabolic syndrome, and metabolic syndrome scores: The Kakegawa cohort study.

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Ohseto, Hisashi; Ishikuro, Mami; Kikuya, Masahiro; Obara, Taku; Igarashi, Yuko; Takahashi, Satomi; Kikuchi, Daisuke; Shigihara, Michiko; Yamanaka, Chizuru; Miyashita, Masako; Mizuno, Satoshi; Nagai, Masato; Matsubara, Hiroko; Sato, Yuki; Metoki, Hirohito; Tachibana, Hirofumi; Maeda-Yamamoto, Mari; Kuriyama, Shinichi

2018-04-01

Metabolic syndrome and the presence of metabolic syndrome components are risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the association between personality traits and metabolic syndrome remains controversial, and few studies have been conducted in East Asian populations. We measured personality traits using the Japanese version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Revised Short Form) and five metabolic syndrome components-elevated waist circumference, elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and elevated fasting glucose-in 1322 participants aged 51.1±12.7years old from Kakegawa city, Japan. Metabolic syndrome score (MS score) was defined as the number of metabolic syndrome components present, and metabolic syndrome as having the MS score of 3 or higher. We performed multiple logistic regression analyses to examine the relationship between personality traits and metabolic syndrome components and multiple regression analyses to examine the relationship between personality traits and MS scores adjusted for age, sex, education, income, smoking status, alcohol use, and family history of CVD and diabetes mellitus. We also examine the relationship between personality traits and metabolic syndrome presence by multiple logistic regression analyses. "Extraversion" scores were higher in those with metabolic syndrome components (elevated waist circumference: P=0.001; elevated triglycerides: P=0.01; elevated blood pressure: P=0.004; elevated fasting glucose: P=0.002). "Extraversion" was associated with the MS score (coefficient=0.12, P=0.0003). No personality trait was significantly associated with the presence of metabolic syndrome. Higher "extraversion" scores were related to higher MS scores, but no personality trait was significantly associated with the presence of metabolic syndrome. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Experimental protocol of a randomized controlled clinical trial investigating exercise, subclinical atherosclerosis, and walking mobility in persons with multiple sclerosis.

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Griffith, Garett; Klaren, Rachel E; Motl, Robert W; Baynard, Tracy; Fernhall, Bo

2015-03-01

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) will investigate the effects of a home-based aerobic exercise training regimen (i.e., cycle ergometry) on subclinical atherosclerosis and walking mobility in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) and minimal disability. This RCT will recruit 54 men and women who have an Expanded Disability Status Scale characteristic of the 1st stage of MS (i.e., 0-4.0) to participate in a 3 month exercise or stretching intervention, with assessments of subclinical atherosclerosis and walking mobility conducted at baseline, week 6 (midpoint), and week 12 (conclusion) of the program. The exercise intervention will consist of 3 days/week of cycling, with a gradual increase of duration followed by an increase in intensity across the 3 month period. The attention-control condition will incorporate stretching activities and will require the same contact time commitment as the exercise condition. Both study groups will participate in weekly video chat sessions with study personnel in order to monitor and track program adherence. Primary outcomes will consist of assessments of vascular structure and function, as well as several walking tasks. Additional outcomes will include questionnaires, cardiorespiratory fitness assessment, and a 1-week free-living physical activity assessment. This investigation will increase understanding of the role of aerobic exercise as part of a treatment plan for managing subclinical atherosclerosis and improving walking mobility persons in the 1st stage of MS. Overall, this study design has the potential to lead to effective aerobic exercise intervention strategies for this population and improve program adherence. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dopamine, T cells and multiple sclerosis (MS).

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Levite, Mia; Marino, Franca; Cosentino, Marco

2017-05-01

Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter that induces critical effects in the nervous system and in many peripheral organs, via 5 dopamine receptors (DRs): D1R-D5R. Dopamine also induces many direct and very potent effects on many DR-expressing immune cells, primarily T cells and dendritic cells. In this review, we focus only on dopamine receptors, effects and production in T cells. Dopamine by itself (at an optimal concentration of~0.1 nM) induces multiple function of resting normal human T cells, among them: T cell adhesion, chemotactic migration, homing, cytokine secretion and others. Interestingly, dopamine activates resting effector T cells (Teffs), but suppresses regulatory T cells (Tregs), and both effects lead eventually to Teff activation. Dopamine-induced effects on T cells are dynamic, context-sensitive and determined by the: T cell activation state, T cell type, DR type, and dopamine concentration. Dopamine itself, and also few dopaminergic molecules/ drugs that are in clinical use for cardiac, neurological and other non-immune indications, have direct effects on human T cells (summarized in this review). These dopaminergic drugs include: dopamine = intropin, L-DOPA, bromocriptine, pramipexole, pergolide, haloperidol, pimozide, and amantadine. Other dopaminergic drugs were not yet tested for their direct effects on T cells. Extensive evidence in multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) show dopaminergic dysregulations in T cells in these diseases: D1-like DRs are decreased in Teffs of MS patients, and dopamine does not affect these cells. In contrast, D1-like DRs are increased in Tregs of MS patients, possibly causing functional Treg impairment in MS. Treatment of MS patients with interferon β (IFN-β) increases D1-like DRs and decreases D2-like DRs in Teffs, decreases D1-like DRs in Tregs, and most important: restores responsiveness of patient's Teffs to dopamine. DR agonists and antagonists confer some benefits in

Perceptions of informal care givers: health and support services provided to people with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Buchanan, Robert; Radin, Dagmar; Chakravorty, Bonnie J; Tyry, Tuula

2010-01-01

About 30% of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) need some form of home care assistance, with 80% of that assistance provided by informal or unpaid care givers. This study focuses on the care givers to 530 more disabled people with MS, with the objective to learn more about informal care giving to people with greater dependency and need for assistance. The data presented in this study were collected in a national survey of 530 informal care givers to people with MS who have greater levels of physical dependency. About 70% of informal care givers responded that assisting the person with MS perform daily activities or personal care took up the largest amount of their care giving time. Care givers also reported a range of home and community-based services that would make care giving easier or improve the care provided. However, informal care givers generally reported low satisfaction with health insurance coverage of these services, especially coverage by health maintenance organizations and other managed care plans. Lack of health insurance coverage of needed home and community-based services can reduce the quality of informal care provided, as well as increase the burden of informal care giving.

Hearing damage by personal stereo

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hammershøi, Dorte; Ordoñez, Rodrigo Pizarro; Reuter, Karen

2006-01-01

The technological development within personal stereo systems, such as MP3 players, iPods etc., has changed music listening habits from home entertainment to everyday and everywhere use. The technology has developed considerably, since the introduction of CD walkmen, and high-level low-distortion ......The technological development within personal stereo systems, such as MP3 players, iPods etc., has changed music listening habits from home entertainment to everyday and everywhere use. The technology has developed considerably, since the introduction of CD walkmen, and high-level low......-distortion music is produced by minimal devices. In this paper, the existing literature on effects of personal stereo systems is reviewed, incl. studies of exposure levels, and effects on hearing. Generally, it is found that the levels being used is of concern, which in one study [Acustica?Acta Acustica, 82 (1996......) 885?894] is demonstrated to relate to the specific use in situations with high levels of background noise. Another study [Med. J. Austr., 1998; 169: 588-592], demonstrates that the effect of personal stereo is comparable to that of being exposed to noise in industry. The results are discussed in view...

Self-activating intelligent home using bluetooth

Science.gov (United States)

Karthikeyan, P.; Sumanth, N.; Jude, S.

2017-11-01

Homes today need to exploit the various technologies available to make them intelligent. In this paper, a wireless system is proposed to automate home appliances using Bluetooth. This system can be used from a Bluetooth module that is closer than 10 meters to the system. Once in range, various appliances can be self-activated by the software that is built into a microcontroller. It is envisioned to offer automation of doors, lights and various electrical appliances. It also offers a complete user based automation for an improved personal experience.

Smart homes design, implementation and issues

CERN Document Server

Suryadevara, Nagender Kumar

2015-01-01

The book addresses issues towards the design and development of Wireless Sensor Network based Smart Home and fusion of Real-Time Data for Wellness Determination of an elderly person living alone in a Smart Home. The fundamentals of selection of sensor, fusion of sensor data, system design, modelling, characterizations, experimental investigations and analyses have been covered. This book will be extremely useful for the engineers and researchers especially higher undergraduate, postgraduate students as well as practitioners working on the development of Wireless Sensor Networks, Internet of Things and Data Mining.

Evaluation of treatment in the Smart Home IRIS in terms of functional independence and occupational performance and satisfaction.

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Ocepek, Julija; Roberts, Anne E K; Vidmar, Gaj

2013-01-01

The development of assistive technologies, home modifications, and smart homes has rapidly advanced in the last two decades. Health professionals have recognised the benefits of these technologies in improving individual's quality of life. The Smart Home IRIS was established in 2008 within the University Rehabilitation Institute in Ljubljana with the aim to enable persons with disabilities and elderly people to test various assistive technologies and technical solutions for their independent living. We investigated the effect of treatments in the Smart Home IRIS. A convenience sample of 59 persons with disabilities and elderly people (aged 24-81 years) who were treated in the Smart Home IRIS from April to December 2011 participated. Standardised instruments--the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM)--were administered at the first assessment in the Smart Home IRIS and at a second assessment at the participant's home after 6-12 months. All the outcomes statistically significantly improved from the first to the second assessment. The treatments in the Smart Home IRIS appeared to contribute to higher occupational performance and satisfaction with performance and higher functional independence of persons with disabilities and elderly people.

Evaluation of Treatment in the Smart Home IRIS in terms of Functional Independence and Occupational Performance and Satisfaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julija Ocepek

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The development of assistive technologies, home modifications, and smart homes has rapidly advanced in the last two decades. Health professionals have recognised the benefits of these technologies in improving individual’s quality of life. The Smart Home IRIS was established in 2008 within the University Rehabilitation Institute in Ljubljana with the aim to enable persons with disabilities and elderly people to test various assistive technologies and technical solutions for their independent living. We investigated the effect of treatments in the Smart Home IRIS. A convenience sample of 59 persons with disabilities and elderly people (aged 24–81 years who were treated in the Smart Home IRIS from April to December 2011 participated. Standardised instruments—the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM—were administered at the first assessment in the Smart Home IRIS and at a second assessment at the participant’s home after 6–12 months. All the outcomes statistically significantly improved from the first to the second assessment. The treatments in the Smart Home IRIS appeared to contribute to higher occupational performance and satisfaction with performance and higher functional independence of persons with disabilities and elderly people.

"Make Me Feel at Ease and at Home": Differential Care Preferences of Nursing Home Residents.

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Bangerter, Lauren R; Van Haitsma, Kimberly; Heid, Allison R; Abbott, Katherine

2016-08-01

Assessing and honoring older adults' preferences is a fundamental step in providing person-centered care in long-term care facilities. Researchers and practitioners have begun to develop measures to assess nursing home (NH) residents' everyday preferences. However, little is known about how residents interpret and conceptualize their preferences and what specific clinical response may be needed to balance health and safety concerns with preferences. We used content analysis to examine interview responses on a subset of eight open-ended items from the Preferences of Every-day Living Inventory for Nursing Home (PELI-NH) residents with 337 NH residents (mean age 81). We considered how residents self-define various preferences of care and the associated importance of these preferences. Residents identified preferences for interpersonal interactions (greetings, staff showing care, and staff showing respect), coping strategies, personal care (bathroom needs, setting up bedding), and healthcare discussions. Respondents highlighted specific qualities and characteristics about care interactions that are necessary to fully meeting their everyday preferences. Results contribute to an emergent body of research that utilizes patient preferences to achieve the goals of person-centered care. The complexity of these responses substantiates the use of qualitative inquiry to thoroughly assess and integrate NH resident preferences into the delivery of person-centered care. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Personal Emergency Response Systems--Communication Technology Aids Elderly and Their Families.

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Dibner, Andrew S.

Personal response systems (PRS) bring immediate help to aged and disabled persons at home at the touch of a button. The PRS user wears a tiny radio transmitter as a pendant or a bracelet and can send a telephone signal from any part of the home to a 24-hour emergency center when help is needed. This study examined research on the Lifeline system,…

Mii-vitaliSe: a pilot randomised controlled trial of a home gaming system (Nintendo Wii) to increase activity levels, vitality and well-being in people with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Sarah; Fazakarley, Louise; Thomas, Peter W; Collyer, Sarah; Brenton, Sarah; Perring, Steve; Scott, Rebecca; Thomas, Fern; Thomas, Charlotte; Jones, Kelly; Hickson, Jo; Hillier, Charles

2017-09-27

While the health and well-being benefits of physical activity are recognised, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) often face greater barriers than the general population. The Nintendo Wii potentially offers a fun, convenient way of overcoming some of these. The aim was to test the feasibility of conducting a definitive trial of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Mii-vitaliSe; a home-based, physiotherapist-supported Nintendo Wii intervention. A single-centre wait-list randomised controlled study. MS service in secondary care. Ambulatory, relatively inactive people with clinically confirmed MS. Thirty participants were randomised to receive Mii-vitaliSe either immediately (for 12 months) or after a 6-month wait (for 6 months). Mii-vitaliSe consisted of two supervised Nintendo Wii familiarisation sessions in the hospital followed by home use (Wii Sports, Sports Resort and Fit Plus software) with physiotherapist support and personalised resources. Included self-reported physical activity levels, quality of life, mood, self-efficacy, fatigue and assessments of balance, gait, mobility and hand dexterity at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Interviews (n=25) explored participants' experiences and, at study end, the two Mii-vitaliSe facilitators' experiences of intervention delivery (main qualitative findings reported separately). Mean (SD) age was 49.3 (8.7) years, 90% female, with 47% diagnosed with MS Wii use across both groups over the initial 6-month intervention period was twice a week for 27 min/day. Mean cost of delivering Mii-vitaliSe was £684 per person. Mii-vitaliSe appears acceptable and a future trial feasible and warranted. These findings will inform its design. ISRCTN49286846. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The relationship between older Americans act in-home services and low-care residents in nursing homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Kali S

2014-03-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between supportive services provided under Title III-B of the Older Americans Act (OAA) and the prevalence of low-care residents in nursing homes (NHs). State Program Reports (state-level expenditure and utilization data for each OAA service) and NH facility-level data were analyzed using a two-way fixed effects model. Results suggest that every additional 1% of the population age 65+ that receives personal care services is associated with a 0.8% decrease in the proportion of low-care residents in NHs. Despite efforts to rebalance long-term care, there are still many NH residents who have the functional capacity to live in a less restrictive environment. This is among the first studies to suggest that states that have invested in their in-home supportive services, particularly personal care services provided through the OAA, have proportionally fewer of these people.

Comparison of Personality Characteristics and Coping Strategies in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis and Control Group

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Mohammadi

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Background The present study aimed to investigate personality traits and coping strategies in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS who were admitted to Sina hospital compared with healthy individuals. Objectives The aim of the present study was to compare personality characteristics and coping strategies between patients with MS and healthy controls. Materials and Methods The study sample included 55 patients with MS and 57 matched healthy control individuals. The data were gathered via a demographic form, the ways of coping questionnaire, and the NEO five-factor inventory. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and logistic regression. Results No significant differences in personality characteristics were observed between patients and healthy controls (all P > 0.05. Only the coping strategy subscale of Distancing was significant between patients and healthy controls (P 0.05. Only the Neuroticism personality trait and the Distancing coping strategy were predictive of group membership (i.e., healthy or patient. Conclusions Our study suggests that the personality traits of patients with MS and healthy individuals are not significantly different. Patients with MS are likely to use the same coping strategies as healthy individuals, except in the subscale of Distancing.

Dansyl-peptides matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric (MALDI-MS) and tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) features improve the liquid chromatography/MALDI-MS/MS analysis of the proteome.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiappetta, Giovanni; Ndiaye, Sega; Demey, Emmanuelle; Haddad, Iman; Marino, Gennaro; Amoresano, Angela; Vinh, Joëlle

2010-10-30

Peptide tagging is a useful tool to improve matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem mass spectrometric (MALDI-MS/MS) analysis. We present a new application of the use of the dansyl chloride (DNS-Cl). DNS-Cl is a specific primary amine reagent widely used in protein biochemistry. It adds a fluorescent dimethylaminonaphthalene moiety to the molecule. The evaluation of MALDI-MS and MS/MS analyses of dansylated peptides shows that dansylation raises the ionization efficiency of the most hydrophilic species compared with the most hydrophobic ones. Consequently, higher Mascot scores and protein sequence coverage are obtained by combining MS and MS/MS data of native and tagged samples. The N-terminal DNS-Cl sulfonation improves the peptide fragmentation and promotes the generation of b-fragments allowing better peptide sequencing. In addition, we set up a labeling protocol based on the microwave chemistry. Peptide dansylation proved to be a rapid and cheap method to improve the performance of liquid chromatography (LC)/MALDI-MS/MS analysis at the proteomic scale in terms of peptide detection and sequence coverage. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Have they done what they should? Moral reasoning in the context of translating older persons' everyday problems into eligible needs for home modification services.

Science.gov (United States)

Johansson, Karin

2013-09-01

This study explores how moral reasoning is expressed in matching health care with the problems older persons experience in their everyday life. Narrative data were collected from older persons who had applied for home modification services and from professionals involved in these services in Sweden. A theoretical framework, based on theories on the anthropology of morals, was applied to explore how the participants made conclusions about "what should be done." Moral reasoning was found to be guided by ideologies related to the historical and cultural context of the Swedish welfare state. Different interpretations of how these values should be expressed in specific situations led to different conclusions about what should be done. The study highlights the importance of understanding how values are enacted rather than what values different social agents have in order to understand how health care services can be designed and provided to support older persons' everyday life. © 2013 by the American Anthropological Association.

Holiday homes - electric power savings; Sommerhuse - elbesparelser her og nu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kofoed Esbensen, N -U; Roed Rasmussen, E [Esbensen Raadgivende Ingenioerer A/S, Copenhagen (Denmark); Weldingh, P [Lokalenergi, Viby J. (Denmark); Worm, J; Adams Rasmussen, L [Energitjenesten, Aarhus (Denmark); Reuss, M [Elsparefonden, Copenhagen (Denmark); Ellehauge, K; Kjaergaard, C -J [Ellehauge og Kildemoes, Aarhus (Denmark); Jensen, Ole Michael [Aalborg Univ. SBi, Aalborg (Denmark)

2010-09-15

A questionnaire survey among 700 holiday home owners was conducted and followed up by interviews with representatives of typical groups of holiday home owners and a number of key persons representing rental, building, electricity supply, regulatory processing and supply of renewable energy facilities to holiday homes. The results of the questionnaire survey and of former surveys on technical savings potential are included in an easy-to-read catalogue of ideas with directions and recommendations for various groups of holiday home users and players. The recommendations are grouped into eight topics of more or less relevance for the various target groups. (LN)

The outcomes of patients newly admitted to nursing homes after hip fracture.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiel, D P; Eichorn, A; Intrator, O; Silliman, R A; Mor, V

1994-08-01

The outcomes of elderly, hospitalized patients discharged to nursing homes after hip fracture were examined. For 2624 hip fracture patients admitted to any of 43 proprietary nursing homes between 1984 and 1988, admission assessments were examined in relation to 1-month outcomes. Mean patient age was 82 +/- 7 y; 85% of the sample were female. Within 1 month after discharge, 24% had returned home, 12% had been rehospitalized, 3% had died, and 61% remained in the nursing home. Characteristics significantly associated with morality included disorientation, functional dependency, neurologic diagnoses, and use of cardiac medications, antidepressants, or narcotics. Rehospitalization was significantly associated with age, gender, living with someone, being ambulatory, and functional dependency. Returning home was associated with younger age, living with someone, being ambulatory, and having no disorientation, functional dependency, or psychiatric or neurologic diagnoses, nor any pressure sores. Better-functioning persons and those with social support returned home; physically and cognitively impaired persons and those taking narcotics, cardiac medications, or antidepressants were likely to die; and younger men, those with social support, those with functional dependency, and those who were free of disorientation were more likely to be rehospitalized.

Helping Older Adults Improve Their Medication Experience (HOME) by Addressing Medication Regimen Complexity in Home Healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheehan, Orla C; Kharrazi, Hadi; Carl, Kimberly J; Leff, Bruce; Wolff, Jennifer L; Roth, David L; Gabbard, Jennifer; Boyd, Cynthia M

In skilled home healthcare (SHHC), communication between nurses and physicians is often inadequate for medication reconciliation and needed changes to the medication regimens are rarely made. Fragmentation of electronic health record (EHR) systems, transitions of care, lack of physician-nurse in-person contact, and poor understanding of medications by patients and their families put patients at risk for serious adverse outcomes. The aim of this study was to develop and test the HOME tool, an informatics tool to improve communication about medication regimens, share the insights of home care nurses with physicians, and highlight to physicians and nurses the complexity of medication schedules. We used human computer interaction design and evaluation principles, automated extraction from standardized forms, and modification of existing EHR fields to highlight key medication-related insights that had arisen during the SHHC visit. Separate versions of the tool were developed for physicians/nurses and patients/caregivers. A pilot of the tool was conducted using 20 SHHC encounters. Home care nurses and physicians found the tool useful for communication. Home care nurses were able to implement the HOME tool into their clinical workflow and reported improved communication with physicians about medications. This simple and largely automated tool improves understanding and communication around medications in SHHC.

The Role of Coping Styles in the Relationship between Personality Traits and Quality of Life of Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Amir Hejazi Taghanaki

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS show different reactions to the disease according to their personality traits, which can affect their quality of life. In this research, the mediator role of coping styles was investigated in the relationship between personality traits and quality of life in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS. Methods: Of all individuals with MS, who were member of MS Society of Qom province, 170 persons were selected using probability convenient sampling. All the patients were investigated using a general questionnaire in addition to 3 international approved standard tools (including Stress Coping Styles, Quality of life, and Personality Traits questionnaires. Data analysis was performed by descriptive-analytical statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The significance level was considered as p<0.05. Results: The mean age of the patients was in the range of 18-59 years, 32.34±8.71, of whom 138 subjects (83.2% were female. In this research, there was a significant correlation between coping styles and quality of life and its dimensions in MS patients. The correlation between coping styles and personality traits, was significant. There was a significant correlation between personality traits and quality of life and its dimensions in MS patients. In this study, path analysis results proved the mediator role of coping styles in the relationship between variables of quality of life and personality traits. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, there is a significant correlation between personality traits of the individuals with MS and type of the used coping styles, which can affect the quality of life in these patients.

Clinical Trial of a Home Safety Toolkit for Alzheimer’s Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathy J. Horvath

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This randomized clinical trial tested a new self-directed educational intervention to improve caregiver competence to create a safer home environment for persons with dementia living in the community. The sample included 108 patient/caregiver dyads: the intervention group (n=60 received the Home Safety Toolkit (HST, including a new booklet based on health literacy principles, and sample safety items to enhance self-efficacy to make home safety modifications. The control group (n=48 received customary care. Participants completed measures at baseline and at twelve-week follow-up. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA was used to test for significant group differences. All caregiver outcome variables improved in the intervention group more than in the control. Home safety was significant at P≤0.001, caregiver strain at P≤0.001, and caregiver self-efficacy at P=0.002. Similarly, the care receiver outcome of risky behaviors and accidents was lower in the intervention group (P≤0.001. The self-directed use of this Home Safety Toolkit activated the primary family caregiver to make the home safer for the person with dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT or related disorder. Improving the competence of informal caregivers is especially important for patients with DAT in light of all stakeholders reliance on their unpaid care.

Individualized robot-assisted training for MS- and stroke patients in I-TRAVLE

OpenAIRE

Notelaers, Sofie; De Weyer, Tom; Octavia, Johanna; Coninx, Karin; Bastiaens, Hanne; Feys, Peter

2011-01-01

Persons with central nervous deficits, such as MS and stroke patients, can benefit a lot from suitable training approaches that enhance their ability to perform activities in daily life. Personalized training, in accordance with the individual capabilities of the patient is a key issue in this context. We propose several techniques for individualization, including adaptive training games. Evaluations with patients and therapists reveal appreciation for the resulting ...

Know Your Personal Computer

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 1; Issue 11. Know Your Personal Computer 5. The CPU Base Instruction Set and Assembly Language Programming. Siddhartha Kumar Ghoshal ... Supercomputer Education and Research Centre, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India ...

Know Your Personal Computer

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 2; Issue 11. Know Your Personal Computer - You and Your PC. Siddhartha Kumar Ghoshal. Series Article Volume 2 Issue 11 November 1997 pp 14-22. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

Know Your Personal Computer

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 2; Issue 9. Know Your Personal Computer High-Level Operating Systems. Siddhartha Kumar Ghoshal. Series Article Volume 2 Issue 9 September 1997 pp 11-17. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

Simple and rapid quantification of vancomycin in serum, urine and peritoneal/pleural effusion via UHPLC-MS/MS applicable to personalized antibiotic dosing research.

Science.gov (United States)

Javorska, Lenka; Krcmova, Lenka Kujovska; Solich, Petr; Kaska, Milan

2017-08-05

Management of the therapy of life-threatening bacterial infection is extremely based on an optimal antibiotic treatment. Achieving the correct vancomycin dosage in blood and target tissues can be complicated in special situations, e.g., where large fluid sequestration and/or acute renal failure occur. A UHPLC-MS/MS method operating in electrospray (ESI) positive ion mode was applied for the determination of vancomycin in serum, urine and peritoneal/pleural effusion. Sample pretreatment was composed of dilution and simple protein precipitation where only a small volume (50μL) of serum, urine or peritoneal/pleural effusion was required. The separation of vancomycin was performed on a Meteoric Core C18 BIO column (100×4.6mm, 2.7μm) by gradient elution with 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile. The total time of analysis was 4.5min. The method was found to be linear in the range of 2-60μM (or 0.5-10μM) for serum, 0.27-10μM (or 2-60μM) for peritoneal/pleural effusion and 25-300μM for urine, which was adequate for the determination of vancomycin in patient samples. The intra- and inter-day precision was below 8% RSD, and accuracy was from 89 to 104%. The UHPLC/MS-MS method offers a fast and reliable approach to determine vancomycin concentrations in three different human body fluid samples (serum, urine and peritoneal/pleural effusion) with a simple sample pretreatment that was the same for all selected specimens. This method should be applicable to large sample series in clinical (pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic) studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting death at home in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Sauvaget, C; Tsuji, I; Li, J H; Hosokawa, T; Fukao, A; Hisamichi, S

1996-10-01

Despite the wish of the Japanese people to spend their final moments at home, the percentage of deaths at home among elderly is decreasing. Moreover, large variations in this rate were observed over the country. The present ecological study analyzed the relationship between the percentage of deaths at home for decedents aged 70 and over, and demographic, medical and socioeconomic characteristics. The data published in 1990 by the Japanese National Government were analyzed by correlation, principal-component, and multiple linear regression analyses. The results showed that the percentage of deaths at home for decedents aged 70 and over was positively associated with the number of persons per household, and the area of floor space per house. The divorce rate, the national tax per capita, and the mean length of hospitalization for stroke showed a negative association with the percentage of deaths at home. In the prefectures where the crude death rates of stroke and senility were high, elderly were more likely to die at home. These results suggested the importance of the number of family caregivers, and the housing conditions for terminal care at home. This research may lead to improve home medical assistance which is still underdeveloped in Japan.

Protecting care home residents from mistreatment and abuse: on the need for policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phelan A

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Amanda Phelan School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, University College Dublin, Ireland Abstract: With a rising older person population with increasing life expectancies, the demand for care homes will increase in the future. Older people in care homes are particularly vulnerable due to their dependencies related to cognitive and/or functional self-care challenges. Although many care homes provide good care, maltreatment and abuse of older people can and does occur. One major step in preventing and addressing maltreatment in care homes is having comprehensive and responsive policy, which delineates national expectations that are locally implemented. This paper examines the literature related to maltreatment in care homes and argues for policy based on a multisystems approach. Policy needs to firstly acknowledge and address general societal issues which tacitly impact on older person care delivery, underpin how care homes and related systems should be operationalized, and finally delineate expected standards and outcomes for individual experience of care. Such a policy demands attention at every level of the health care and societal system. Furthermore, contemporary issues central to policy evolution in care homes are discussed, such as safeguarding education and training and fostering organization whistle-blowing protection. Keywords: care homes, maltreatment, policy, older people

Music Therapy Clinical Practice in Hospice: Differences Between Home and Nursing Home Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiaodi; Burns, Debra S; Hilliard, Russell E; Stump, Timothy E; Unroe, Kathleen T

2015-01-01

Hospice music therapy is delivered in both homes and nursing homes (NH). No studies to date have explored differences in music therapy delivery between home and NH hospice patients. To compare music therapy referral reasons and delivery for hospice patients living in NH versus home. A retrospective, electronic medical record review was conducted from a large U.S. hospice of patients receiving music therapy between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2010. Among the 4,804 patients, 2,930 lived in an NH and 1,847 patients lived at home. Compared to home, NH hospice patients were more likely to be female, older, unmarried, and Caucasian. For home hospice patients, the top referral reasons were patient/family emotional and spiritual support, quality of life, and isolation. The most frequent referral reasons for NH hospice patients were isolation, quality of life, and patient/family emotional and spiritual support. Differences in music therapy delivery depended mainly on patients' primary diagnosis and location of care. Results suggest differences in referral reasons and delivery based on an interaction between location of care and patient characteristics. Delivery differences are likely a result of individualized assessment and care plans developed by the music therapist and other interdisciplinary team members to address the unique needs of the patient. Thus, it is important to have professionally trained music therapists assess and provide tailored music-based interventions for patients with different referral reasons and personal characteristics. This study also supports staffing decisions based on patient need rather than average daily census. © the American Music Therapy Association 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

MALDI-TOF MS/MS measurements of PMMA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Becer, C.R.; Baumgaertel, A.; Gottschaldt, M.; Schubert, U.S.

2008-01-01

The polymer poly(Me methacrylate) (PMMA) was analyzed using the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) technique. The MALDI-TOF MS app. was coupled with a collision-induced dissocn. (CID) unit. The performance of the MALDI-TOF/TOF MS method in

Comparing the environmental footprints of home-care and personal-hygiene products: the relevance of different life-cycle phases.

Science.gov (United States)

Koehler, Annette; Wildbolz, Caroline

2009-11-15

An in-depth life-cycle assessment of nine home-care and personal-hygiene products was conducted to determine the ecological relevance of different life-cycle phases and compare the environmental profiles of products serving equal applications. Using detailed data from industry and consumer-behavior studies a broad range of environmental impacts were analyzed to identify the main drivers in each life-cycle stage and potentials for improving the environmental footprints. Although chemical production significantly adds to environmental burdens, substantial impacts are caused in the consumer-use phase. As such, this research provides recommendations for product development, supply chain management, product policies, and consumer use. To reduce environmental burdens products should, for instance, be produced in concentrated form, while consumers should apply correct product dosages and low water temperatures during product application.

Made in Montana: Entrepreneurial Home Economics.

Science.gov (United States)

Goetting, Marsha A.; Muggli, Gayle Y.

1988-01-01

Reports results from a survey of 13 Montana home economists who each started a small business. Information is included on types of businesses the women had started, income, personal characteristics, reasons for starting a business, its impact on family concerns, marketing, obstacles to success, and resources. (CH)

The @Home project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coxon, Ian Robert

2014-01-01

of being overshadowed by what is increasingly seen as new (and substantial) pharmacological and health equipment business market opportunities in what is now viewed as a health 'industry'. The Centre for Innovation at Mayo Clinic (CFI) in Rochester USA, has conducted many projects which border on and have...... investigated various aspects of care provision and patient experience within a patient's home environment. Considerable work by other researchers inside and outside the health field has also contributed insights and platforms for moving healthcare in this direction. In most areas of the western world......, the healthcare sector is struggling to cope with the scale of strain that shifting demographics, rising costs and increasing chronic/complex care is placing on the health system. The shift towards home based care and personal health self-management is seen as offering some possibilities to alleviate...

RUDO: A Home Ambient Intelligence System for Blind People.

Science.gov (United States)

Hudec, Milan; Smutny, Zdenek

2017-08-22

The article introduces an ambient intelligence system for blind people which besides providing assistance in home environment also helps with various situations and roles in which blind people may find themselves involved. RUDO, the designed system, comprises several modules that mainly support or ensure recognition of approaching people, alerting to other household members' movement in the flat, work on a computer, supervision of (sighted) children, cooperation of a sighted and a blind person (e.g., when studying), control of heating and zonal regulation by a blind person. It has a unified user interface that gives the blind person access to individual functions. The interface for blind people offers assistance with work on a computer, including writing in Braille on a regular keyboard and specialized work in informatics and electronics (e.g., programming). RUDO can complement the standard aids used by blind people at home, it increases their independence and creates conditions that allow them to become fully involved. RUDO also supports blind people sharing a home with sighted people, which contributes to their feeling of security and greater inclusion in society. RUDO has been implemented in a household for two years, which allows an evaluation of its use in practice.

Driving performance in persons with mild to moderate symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Devos, Hannes; Brijs, Tom; Alders, Geert; Wets, Geert; Feys, Peter

2013-08-01

To investigate whether driving performance is impaired in persons with mild to moderate multiple sclerosis (MS). This study included 15 persons with MS (pwMS) and 17 healthy controls. The MS group exhibited mild to moderate impairments on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (median, Q1-Q3; 3.5, 2.5-4). The driving simulation required participants to drive in daily traffic while attending to a divided attention (DA) task. Computerized measures on the driving task included number of accidents, tickets, speed maintenance, standard deviation of lateral position, and time to collision. Response times and accuracy on the DA task were also computer generated. Additionally, pwMS completed a clinical evaluation encompassing motor, functional, visual, psychosocial and cognitive tests. No differences between healthy controls and pwMS were observed on all measures of the primary driving task. PwMS performed worse than healthy controls on DA response time (3.10 s, 2.87-3.68 versus 2.15 s, 2.04-2.43; p = 0.001) and accuracy (15 correct answers, 11-18 versus 24 correct answers, 22-25; p driving task above the DA task. The relationship between depression and driving performance in MS merits further investigation.

Web-based home rehabilitation gaming system for balance training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleh Kachmar

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Currently, most systems for virtual rehabilitation and motor training require quite complex and expensive hardware and can be used only in clinical settings. Now, a low-cost rehabilitation game training system has been developed for patients with movement disorders; it is suitable for home use under the distant supervision of a therapist. It consists of a patient-side application installed on a home computer and the virtual rehabilitation Game Server in the Internet. System can work with different input gaming devices connected through USB or Bluetooth, such as a Nintendo Wii balance board, a Nintendo Wii remote, a MS Kinect sensor, and custom made rehabilitation gaming devices based on a joystick. The same games can be used with all training devices. Assessment of the Home Rehabilitation Gaming System for balance training was performed on six patients with Cerebral Palsy, who went through daily training sessions for two weeks. Preliminary results showed balance improvement in patients with Cerebral Palsy after they had completed home training courses. Further studies are needed to establish medical requirements and evidence length.

Impact of person-centred care training and person-centred activities on quality of life, agitation, and antipsychotic use in people with dementia living in nursing homes: A cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clive Ballard

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Agitation is a common, challenging symptom affecting large numbers of people with dementia and impacting on quality of life (QoL. There is an urgent need for evidence-based, cost-effective psychosocial interventions to improve these outcomes, particularly in the absence of safe, effective pharmacological therapies. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a person-centred care and psychosocial intervention incorporating an antipsychotic review, WHELD, on QoL, agitation, and antipsychotic use in people with dementia living in nursing homes, and to determine its cost.This was a randomised controlled cluster trial conducted between 1 January 2013 and 30 September 2015 that compared the WHELD intervention with treatment as usual (TAU in people with dementia living in 69 UK nursing homes, using an intention to treat analysis. All nursing homes allocated to the intervention received staff training in person-centred care and social interaction and education regarding antipsychotic medications (antipsychotic review, followed by ongoing delivery through a care staff champion model. The primary outcome measure was QoL (DEMQOL-Proxy. Secondary outcomes were agitation (Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory [CMAI], neuropsychiatric symptoms (Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Nursing Home Version [NPI-NH], antipsychotic use, global deterioration (Clinical Dementia Rating, mood (Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, unmet needs (Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly, mortality, quality of interactions (Quality of Interactions Scale [QUIS], pain (Abbey Pain Scale, and cost. Costs were calculated using cost function figures compared with usual costs. In all, 847 people were randomised to WHELD or TAU, of whom 553 completed the 9-month randomised controlled trial. The intervention conferred a statistically significant improvement in QoL (DEMQOL-Proxy Z score 2.82, p = 0.0042; mean difference 2.54, SEM 0.88; 95% CI 0.81, 4.28; Cohen's D effect size 0

75 FR 12730 - Foreign-Trade Zone 158-Vicksburg/Jackson, MS; Amendment to Application for Subzone; Max Home, LLC...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-17

...-purpose subzone status for the upholstered furniture manufacturing facilities of Max Home, LLC (Max Home... additional manufacturing plant and warehouse (100 employees/ 26 acres/160,000 sq. ft.) are located at 1313... finished upholstered furniture (chairs, seats, sofas, sleep sofas, and sectionals). The additional...

The perceived benefits and barriers to exercise participation in persons with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Stroud, Nicole; Minahan, Clare; Sabapathy, Surendran

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived benefits and barriers to exercise participation in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). A cross-sectional postal survey comprised of 93 adults with MS was conducted. Participants completed the Exercise Benefits and Barriers Scale (EBBS), Spinal Cord Injury Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (EXSE), Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale, Disease Steps Scale and International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Forty-three percent of the participants were classified as exercising individuals (EX group) as compared with non-exercising individuals (non-EX group). Participants in the EX group reported significantly higher scores on the EBBS and EXSE. Items related to physical performance and personal accomplishment were cited as the greatest perceived benefits to exercise participation and those items related to physical exertion as the greatest perceived barriers to both the EX and non-EX groups. When compared with previous studies conducted in the general population, the participants in the present study reported different perceived barriers to exercise participation. Furthermore, awareness of the benefits of physical activity is not sufficient to promote exercise participation in persons with MS. Perceived exercise self-efficacy is shown to play an important role in promoting exercise participation in persons with MS.

Can persons with dementia be engaged with stimuli?

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Marx, Marcia S; Dakheel-Ali, Maha; Regier, Natalie G; Thein, Khin

2010-04-01

To determine which stimuli are 1) most engaging 2) most often refused by nursing home residents with dementia, and 3) most appropriate for persons who are more difficult to engage with stimuli. Participants were 193 residents of seven Maryland nursing homes. All participants had a diagnosis of dementia. Stimulus engagement was assessed by the Observational Measure of Engagement. The most engaging stimuli were one-on-one socializing with a research assistant, a real baby, personalized stimuli based on the person's self-identity, a lifelike doll, a respite video, and envelopes to stamp. Refusal of stimuli was higher among those with higher levels of cognitive function and related to the stimulus' social appropriateness. Women showed more attention and had more positive attitudes for live social stimuli, simulated social stimuli, and artistic tasks than did men. Persons with comparatively higher levels of cognitive functioning were more likely to be engaged in manipulative and work tasks, whereas those with low levels of cognitive functioning spent relatively more time responding to social stimuli. The most effective stimuli did not differ for those most likely to be engaged and those least likely to be engaged. Nursing homes should consider both having engagement stimuli readily available to residents with dementia, and implementing a socialization schedule so that residents receive one-on-one interaction. Understanding the relationship among type of stimulus, cognitive function, and acceptance, attention, and attitude toward the stimuli can enable caregivers to maximize the desired benefit for persons with dementia.

The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM): A Home Care Case-Mix Model for Children Facing Special Health Care Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Charles D.

2015-01-01

Case-mix classification and payment systems help assure that persons with similar needs receive similar amounts of care resources, which is a major equity concern for consumers, providers, and programs. Although health service programs for adults regularly use case-mix payment systems, programs providing health services to children and youth rarely use such models. This research utilized Medicaid home care expenditures and assessment data on 2,578 children receiving home care in one large state in the USA. Using classification and regression tree analyses, a case-mix model for long-term pediatric home care was developed. The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM) grouped children and youth in the study sample into 24 groups, explaining 41% of the variance in annual home care expenditures. The P/ECM creates the possibility of a more equitable, and potentially more effective, allocation of home care resources among children and youth facing serious health care challenges. PMID:26740744

The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM): A Home Care Case-Mix Model for Children Facing Special Health Care Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Charles D

2015-01-01

Case-mix classification and payment systems help assure that persons with similar needs receive similar amounts of care resources, which is a major equity concern for consumers, providers, and programs. Although health service programs for adults regularly use case-mix payment systems, programs providing health services to children and youth rarely use such models. This research utilized Medicaid home care expenditures and assessment data on 2,578 children receiving home care in one large state in the USA. Using classification and regression tree analyses, a case-mix model for long-term pediatric home care was developed. The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM) grouped children and youth in the study sample into 24 groups, explaining 41% of the variance in annual home care expenditures. The P/ECM creates the possibility of a more equitable, and potentially more effective, allocation of home care resources among children and youth facing serious health care challenges.

The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM: A Home Care Case-Mix Model for Children Facing Special Health Care Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles D. Phillips

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Case-mix classification and payment systems help assure that persons with similar needs receive similar amounts of care resources, which is a major equity concern for consumers, providers, and programs. Although health service programs for adults regularly use case-mix payment systems, programs providing health services to children and youth rarely use such models. This research utilized Medicaid home care expenditures and assessment data on 2,578 children receiving home care in one large state in the USA. Using classification and regression tree analyses, a case-mix model for long-term pediatric home care was developed. The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM grouped children and youth in the study sample into 24 groups, explaining 41% of the variance in annual home care expenditures. The P/ECM creates the possibility of a more equitable, and potentially more effective, allocation of home care resources among children and youth facing serious health care challenges.

Changes in the Personal Dignity of Nursing Home Residents: A Longitudinal Qualitative Interview Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oosterveld-Vlug, M.G.; Pasman, H.R.W.; van Gennip, I.E.; Willems, D.L.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B.D.

2013-01-01

Background:Most nursing home residents spend the remainder of their life, until death, within a nursing home. As preserving dignity is an important aim of the care given here, insight into the way residents experience their dignity throughout their entire admission period is valuable.Aim:To

Arecibo PALFA survey and Einstein@Home: binary pulsar discovery by volunteer computing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knispel, B.; Lazarus, P.; Allen, B.; Anderson, D.; Aulbert, C.; Bhat, N.D.R.; Bock, O.; Bogdanov, S.; Brazier, A.; Camilo, F.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J.M.; Crawford, F.; Deneva, J.S.; Desvignes, G.; Fehrmann, H.; Freire, P.C.C.; Hammer, D.; Hessels, J.W.T.; Jenet, F.A.; Kaspi, V.M.; Kramer, M.; van Leeuwen, J.; Lorimer, D.R.; Lyne, A.G.; Machenschalk, B.; McLaughlin, M.A.; Messenger, C.; Nice, D.J.; Papa, M.A.; Pletsch, H.J.; Prix, R.; Ransom, S.M.; Siemens, X.; Stairs, I.H.; Stappers, B.W.; Stovall, K.; Venkataraman, A.

2011-01-01

We report the discovery of the 20.7 ms binary pulsar J1952+2630, made using the distributed computing project Einstein@Home in Pulsar ALFA survey observations with the Arecibo telescope. Follow-up observations with the Arecibo telescope confirm the binary nature of the system. We obtain a circular

Relationships of Indoor, Outdoor, and Personal Air (RIOPA). Part I. Collection methods and descriptive analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Weisel, Clifford P; Zhang, Junfeng; Turpin, Barbara J; Morandi, Maria T; Colome, Steven; Stock, Thomas H; Spektor, Dalia M; Korn, Leo; Winer, Arthur M; Kwon, Jaymin; Meng, Qing Yu; Zhang, Lin; Harrington, Robert; Liu, Weili; Reff, Adam; Lee, Jong Hoon; Alimokhtari, Shahnaz; Mohan, Kishan; Shendell, Derek; Jones, Jennifer; Farrar, L; Maberti, Slivia; Fan, Tina

2005-11-01

This study on the relationships of indoor, outdoor, and personal air (RIOPA) was undertaken to collect data for use in evaluating the contribution of outdoor sources of air toxics and particulate matter (PM) to personal exposure. The study was not designed to obtain a population-based sample, but rather to provide matched indoor, outdoor, and personal concentrations in homes that varied in their proximity to outdoor pollution sources and had a wide range of air exchange rates (AERs). This design allowed examination of relations among indoor, outdoor, and personal concentrations of air toxics and PM across a wide range of environmental conditions; the resulting data set obtained for a wide range of environmental pollutants and AERs can be used to evaluate exposure models. Approximately 100 households with residents who do not smoke participated in each of three cities in distinct locations expected to have different climates and housing characteristics: Elizabeth, New Jersey; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles County, California. Questionnaires were administered to characterize homes, neighborhoods, and personal activities that might affect exposures. The concentrations of a suite of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbonyl compounds, as well as the fraction of airborne particulate matter with a mass median aerodynamic diameter personal air samples were collected simultaneously. During the same 48-hour period, the AER (exchanges/hr; x hr(-1)) was determined in each home, and carbonyl compounds were measured inside vehicle cabins driven by a subset of the participants. In most of the homes, measurements were made twice, during two different seasons, to obtain a wide distribution of AERs. This report presents in detail the data collection methods, quality control measures, and initial analyses of data distributions and relations among indoor, outdoor, and personal concentrations. The results show that indoor sources dominated personal and indoor air concentrations

Music@Home: A novel instrument to assess the home musical environment in the early years.

Science.gov (United States)

Politimou, Nina; Stewart, Lauren; Müllensiefen, Daniel; Franco, Fabia

2018-01-01

The majority of children under the age of 5 appear to show spontaneous enjoyment of singing, being exposed to music and interacting with musical instruments, but whether variations in engaging in such activities in the home could contribute to developmental outcomes is still largely unknown. Critically, researchers lack a comprehensive instrument with good psychometric properties to assess the home musical environment from infancy to the preschool years. To address this gap, this paper presents two studies that describe the development and validation of the Music@Home questionnaire, which comprises two versions: Infant and Preschool. In Study 1, an initial pool of items was generated and administered to a wide audience of parents (n = 287 for the Infant, n = 347 for the Preschool version). Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify different dimensions comprising the home musical environment of both infants and pre-schoolers, and to reduce the initial pool of items to a smaller number of meaningful items. In Study 2, convergent and divergent validity and internal and test-retest reliability of the new instrument were established, using data from a different sample of participants (n = 213 for the Infant, n = 213 for the Preschool version). The second study also investigated associations between the Music@Home and musical characteristics of the parents, such as their musical education and personal engagement with music. Overall, the Music@Home constitutes a novel, valid and reliable instrument that allows for the systematic assessment of distinct aspects of the home musical environment in families with children under the age of 5. Furthermore, the Infant and Preschool versions of the Music@Home present differential associations with musical characteristics of the parents opening a new area of inquiry into how musical exposure and interaction in the home may vary across different developmental stages.

Music@Home: A novel instrument to assess the home musical environment in the early years

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Lauren; Müllensiefen, Daniel; Franco, Fabia

2018-01-01

The majority of children under the age of 5 appear to show spontaneous enjoyment of singing, being exposed to music and interacting with musical instruments, but whether variations in engaging in such activities in the home could contribute to developmental outcomes is still largely unknown. Critically, researchers lack a comprehensive instrument with good psychometric properties to assess the home musical environment from infancy to the preschool years. To address this gap, this paper presents two studies that describe the development and validation of the Music@Home questionnaire, which comprises two versions: Infant and Preschool. In Study 1, an initial pool of items was generated and administered to a wide audience of parents (n = 287 for the Infant, n = 347 for the Preschool version). Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify different dimensions comprising the home musical environment of both infants and pre-schoolers, and to reduce the initial pool of items to a smaller number of meaningful items. In Study 2, convergent and divergent validity and internal and test-retest reliability of the new instrument were established, using data from a different sample of participants (n = 213 for the Infant, n = 213 for the Preschool version). The second study also investigated associations between the Music@Home and musical characteristics of the parents, such as their musical education and personal engagement with music. Overall, the Music@Home constitutes a novel, valid and reliable instrument that allows for the systematic assessment of distinct aspects of the home musical environment in families with children under the age of 5. Furthermore, the Infant and Preschool versions of the Music@Home present differential associations with musical characteristics of the parents opening a new area of inquiry into how musical exposure and interaction in the home may vary across different developmental stages. PMID:29641607

Personal barriers to antiretroviral therapy adherence: Case studies ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Personal barriers to antiretroviral therapy adherence: Case studies from a rural Uganda prospective clinical cohort. ... Journal Home > Vol 13, No 2 (2013) > ... should target specific personal barriers to ART adherence like: lack of family support, health and sexual life concerns, desire to have children and family instability.

Changes in the personal dignity of nursing home residents: a longitudinal qualitative interview study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G.; Pasman, H. Roeline W.; van Gennip, Isis E.; Willems, Dick L.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D.

2013-01-01

Most nursing home residents spend the remainder of their life, until death, within a nursing home. As preserving dignity is an important aim of the care given here, insight into the way residents experience their dignity throughout their entire admission period is valuable. To investigate if and how

The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM): A Home Care Case-Mix Model for Children Facing Special Health Care Challenges

OpenAIRE

Phillips, Charles D.

2015-01-01

Case-mix classification and payment systems help assure that persons with similar needs receive similar amounts of care resources, which is a major equity concern for consumers, providers, and programs. Although health service programs for adults regularly use case-mix payment systems, programs providing health services to children and youth rarely use such models. This research utilized Medicaid home care expenditures and assessment data on 2,578 children receiving home care in one large sta...

Regularity and predictability of human mobility in personal space.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Austin

Full Text Available Fundamental laws governing human mobility have many important applications such as forecasting and controlling epidemics or optimizing transportation systems. These mobility patterns, studied in the context of out of home activity during travel or social interactions with observations recorded from cell phone use or diffusion of money, suggest that in extra-personal space humans follow a high degree of temporal and spatial regularity - most often in the form of time-independent universal scaling laws. Here we show that mobility patterns of older individuals in their home also show a high degree of predictability and regularity, although in a different way than has been reported for out-of-home mobility. Studying a data set of almost 15 million observations from 19 adults spanning up to 5 years of unobtrusive longitudinal home activity monitoring, we find that in-home mobility is not well represented by a universal scaling law, but that significant structure (predictability and regularity is uncovered when explicitly accounting for contextual data in a model of in-home mobility. These results suggest that human mobility in personal space is highly stereotyped, and that monitoring discontinuities in routine room-level mobility patterns may provide an opportunity to predict individual human health and functional status or detect adverse events and trends.

Unsupervised visit detection in smart homes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nait Aicha, A.; Englebienne, G.; Kröse, B.

Assistive technologies for elderly often use ambient sensor systems to infer activities of daily living (ADL). In general such systems assume that only a single person (the resident) is present in the home. However, in real world environments, it is common to have visits and it is crucial to know

Unsupervised visit detection in smart homes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nait Aicha, Ahmed; Englebienne, Gwenn; Kröse, B.J.A.

2017-01-01

Assistive technologies for elderly often use ambient sensor systems to infer activities of daily living (ADL). In general such systems assume that only a single person (the resident) is present in the home. However, in real world environments, it is common to have visits and it is crucial to know

Home Healthcare Workers: How to Prevent Latex Allergies

Science.gov (United States)

... can help prevent allergic reactions for both home healthcare workers and their clients. LATEX EXPOSURE REACTIONS Three ... being used). • Inform your employer and your personal healthcare professionals that you have latex allergy. • Wear a ...

The influence of work personality on job satisfaction: incremental validity and mediation effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Heller, Daniel; Ferris, D Lance; Brown, Douglas; Watson, David

2009-08-01

Drawing from recent developments regarding the contextual nature of personality (e.g., D. Wood & B. W. Roberts, 2006), we conducted 2 studies (1 cross-sectional and 1 longitudinal over 1 year) to examine the validity of work personality in predicting job satisfaction and its mediation of the effect of global personality on job satisfaction. Study 1 showed that (a) individuals vary systematically in their personality between roles- they were significantly more conscientious and open to experience and less extraverted at work compared to at home; (b) work personality was a better predictor of job satisfaction than both global personality and home personality; and (c) work personality demonstrated incremental validity above and beyond the other two personality measures. Study 2 further showed that each of the work personality dimensions fully mediated the association between its corresponding global personality trait and job satisfaction. Evidence for the discriminant validity of the findings is also presented.

Children of home dialysis patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsaltas, M O

1976-12-13

Fifteen children of six families in which one parent was undergoing home dialysis were examined by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, human figure drawings, and family interviews. All the children were found to be clinically depressed, and two thirds had a history of being referred by teachers to school counselors and psychiatrists for behavioral problems in school. Of these referred children, all showed disorders of psychomotor activity and reduced academic achievement. There was no clear-cut evidence that these children were depressed because of exposure to home dialysis per se. The most disturbed children seemed to be responding to depressed parents or to partial object loss. A controlled, prospective study is planned to clarify this question.

St Kieran's Care Home, Rathcabban, Roscrea, Tipperary.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

O’Neill, MB

2017-08-01

In the training process, there is a tension between the work life and home life of trainees. This study explored both the personal impact and the opportunity costs of training from the Specialist Paediatric Registrar (SPR) perspective. The survey explored 1) career progression2) perceived functional effectiveness at work 3) psychological impact of hospital based training and 4) the personal and social cost of training. Fifty-three (71%) SPRs responded of whom 47 (89%)were married or in long term relationships. Seventy-five percent of trainees had a definite career plan with 86% intending to undertake fellowship training. Seventy percent believed they were efficient time managers but 53% had difficulty in making time for academic pursuits and fifty percent experienced negative feelings, which lingered after work and interfered with their relationships at home. Seventy-four percent stated training was undertaken at significant personal cost with only 21% achieving a very satisfactory work\\/life balance. To address these difficulties trainee wellbeing should be addressed at the Basic Specialist Training (BST) level and the career path clearly explained outlining the challenges that are likely to be encountered.

LC-MS (/MS) in clinical toxicology screening methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Viette, Véronique; Hochstrasser, Denis; Fathi, Marc

2012-01-01

Toxicological screening is the analysis of biological samples to detect and identify unknown compounds. The high selectivity and sensitivity of liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) or tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) technology provide an attractive alternative to the current methods (LC-UV, GC/MS, etc.). For these reasons, an increasing number of applications are being published. This paper is a brief overview of LC-MS(/MS) screening methods developed for clinical toxicology in recent years. Various sample treatments, chromatographic separations and detection by mass spectrometry can be combined to obtain screening methods adapted to the constraints and needs of clinical toxicology laboratories. Currently the techniques are in the hands of specialists, mainly in academic institutions. However, the evolution in technology should allow application of these techniques as a tool in toxicology laboratories, thus allowing a more widespread exploitation of their potential.

Person-Centered Care Practices in Long-Term Care in the Deep South: Consideration of Structural, Market, and Administrator Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, M Lindsey; Snow, A Lynn; Parmelee, Patricia A; Davis, Jullet A

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to identify structural, market, and administrator factors of nursing homes that are related to the implementation of person-centered care. Administrators of Medicare/Medicaid-certified nursing homes in the Deep South were invited to complete a standardized survey about their facility and their perceptions and attitudes regarding person-centered care practices (PCCPs). Nursing home structural and market factors were obtained from public websites, and these data were matched with administrator data. Consistent with the resource-based theory of competitive advantage, nursing homes with greater resources and more competition were more likely to implement PCCPs. Implementation of person-centered care was also higher in nursing homes with administrators who perceived culture change implementation to be feasible in their facilities. Given that there is a link between resource availability and adoption of person-centered care, future research should investigate the cost of such innovations.

First Steps towards Evidence-Based Preventive Home Visits: Experiences Gathered in a Swedish Municipality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charlotte Löfqvist

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of preventive home visits is to promote overall health and wellbeing in old age. The aim of this paper was to describe the process of the development of evidence-based preventive home visits, targeting independent community-living older persons. The evidence base was generated from published studies and practical experiences. The results demonstrate that preventive home visits should be directed to persons 80 years old and older and involve various professional competences. The visits should be personalized, lead to concrete interventions, and be followed up. The health areas assessed should derive from a broad perspective and include social, psychological, and medical aspects. Core components in the protocol developed in this study captured physical, medical, psychosocial, and environmental aspects. Results of a pilot study showed that the protocol validly identified health risks among older people with different levels of ADL dependence.

Virtual Visits in Home Health Care for Older Adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Marie Lunde Husebø

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. This review identifies the content of virtual visits in community nursing services to older adults and explores the manner in which service users and the nurses use virtual visits. Design. An integrative literature review. Method. Data collection comprised a literature search in three databases: Cinahl, Medline, and PubMed. In addition, a manual search of reference lists and expert consultation were performed. A total of 12 articles met the inclusion criteria. The articles were reviewed in terms of study characteristics, service content and utilization, and patient and health care provider experience. Results. Our review shows that in most studies the service is delivered on a daily basis and in combination with in-person visits. The findings suggest that older home-dwelling patients can benefit from virtual visits in terms of enhanced social inclusion and medication compliance. Service users and their nurses found virtual visits satisfactory and suitable for care delivery in home care to the elderly. Evidence for cost-saving benefits of virtual visits was not found. Conclusions. The findings can inform the planning of virtual visits in home health care as a complementary service to in-person visits, in order to meet the increasingly complex needs of older adults living at home.

Personality traits and energy conservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Meng; Cui, Qingbin; Fu, Liping

2015-01-01

As a cost-effective solution to energy conservation, behavior based method focuses on changing people's behavior through normative feedback for energy efficiency. While the application of behavior-based method is promising, the challenge exists to achieve efficiently sustainable behavioral change. Based on multi-period observation of energy behavior at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, this paper presents a model-based approach aimed to improve the nationally popular and deep-seated benchmark setting strategy for normative feedback used in home energy reports. The improved approach has its merits of countering the undesirable boomerang effect and enhancing the effectiveness of normative feedback targeting different personalities. By introducing a modified opinion dynamics model, this paper simulates the process of energy behavior change and therefore identifies the driver and elementary rules of behavioral change. In particular, the paper defines various behavioral zones in accordance with people's personality and proposes a new customized energy reporting mechanism that maps normative benchmark to personality trait. The new energy reporting policy has strong industrial implication for promoting behavior-based method towards a sustained energy conservation movement. -- Highlights: •We explore the personality driving resident behavior change under peer pressure. •We map the distribution of behavior clusters driven by personality and benchmarks. •The model is tested using data from an experiment conducted in Maryland, U.S. •The population exposed to normative feedback can be divided into six categories. •A personality trait-based home energy reporting mechanism is proposed

Drive theory and home run milestones in baseball: an historical analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldschmied, Nadav; Harris, Michael; Vira, Damien; Kowalczyk, Jason

2014-02-01

The purpose of this investigation was to test whether the performance of the home run hitters in Major League Baseball adhered to predictions of Drive Theory. 24 baseball players who have hit at least 505 home runs were included in the sample. Their performance was assessed around the time in which they reached a significant home run career milestone, operationalized as either 500 or 600 home runs, or surpassing the league's home run record. As predicted, the players were found to require significantly more at-bats to complete the 5 home runs before the milestone, when stress was assumed to be mounting, than the 5 home runs after the milestone. In contrast, those players who reached the personal landmark from 1988 (the suspected commencement of the so-called "Steroid Era") onwards required the same number of at-bats before and after the milestone.

Meanings of being received and met by others as experienced by women with MS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malin Olsson

2011-03-01

Full Text Available In order to elucidate meanings of being received and met by others as experienced by women with multiple sclerosis (MS we conducted a qualitative inquiry. We interviewed 15 women with MS and analysed the interviews with a phenomenological hermeneutic interpretation. The findings were presented in two themes: experiencing oneself as a valuable person and experiencing oneself as diminished. Meanings of being received and met by others, as experienced by women with MS, can be understood as containing two dimensions where treatment from others can mean recognising oneself through confirmation, as well as being ignored due to missing togetherness with others.

Meanings of being received and met by others as experienced by women with MS

Science.gov (United States)

Olsson, Malin; Skär, Lisa; Söderberg, Siv

2011-01-01

In order to elucidate meanings of being received and met by others as experienced by women with multiple sclerosis (MS) we conducted a qualitative inquiry. We interviewed 15 women with MS and analysed the interviews with a phenomenological hermeneutic interpretation. The findings were presented in two themes: experiencing oneself as a valuable person and experiencing oneself as diminished. Meanings of being received and met by others, as experienced by women with MS, can be understood as containing two dimensions where treatment from others can mean recognising oneself through confirmation, as well as being ignored due to missing togetherness with others. PMID:21394245

Health-related profile and quality of life among nursing home residents: does pain matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Tse, Mimi M Y; Wan, Vanessa T C; Vong, Sinfia K S

2013-12-01

The purpose of this exploratory cross-sectional study was to explore the health-related profile and quality of life among older persons living with and without pain in nursing homes. Ten nursing homes were approached, and 535 older persons were invited to join the study from 2009 to 2011. The nursing home residents' demographic information and information regarding their pain situation and the use of oral analgesic drug and nondrug therapy among the older residents with chronic pain were also collected. Residents' physical health (using the Barthel Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Elderly Mobility Scores); psychologic health, including happiness, life satisfaction, depression, and loneliness (using the Happiness Scale, the Life Satisfaction Scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale); and quality of life were investigated. Among the 535 nursing home residents, 396 (74%) of them suffered from pain, with mean pain scores of 4.09 ± 2.19, indicating medium pain intensity a remaining 139 (26%) reported no pain. The location of pain was mainly in the knees, back and shoulders. Our results demonstrated that, with the exception of the no-pain group (p nursing home residents' pain affected both their psychologic health, including happiness, life satisfaction, and depression, and their physical quality of life. Nevertheless, only one-half of the older persons with pain used oral analgesic drug or nondrug therapy to relieve their pain. Pain had a significant impact on their mobility and ADL, was positively correlated with happiness and life satisfaction, and was negatively correlated with loneliness and depression. Pain management is a high priority in elderly care; as such, innovative and interdisciplinary strategies are necessary to enhance quality of life particularly for older persons living in nursing homes. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching Gender: Australian First-Year University Student Views of "Ms."

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Edgar; Tulloch, Ian; Shamsullah, Ardel

2016-01-01

Negative "push-back" from a group of first-year undergraduate sociology students during a class discussion of gender and feminism included rejecting personal use of the title Ms. Teaching team members asked themselves: how general is this response among other student groups in the same one-semester subject? A short in-class survey…

Present whilst absent: Home and the business tourist gaze

OpenAIRE

Willis, Cheryl; Ladkin, Adele; Jain, J.; Clayton, W.

2017-01-01

This paper examines the role of information communication technology in enabling connections to home for work-related travellers. Although digital connectivity for work-related tasks are well researched, the use of digital technology for home communication is under-researched. The study draws on a qualitative study of UK-based organisations and business travellers to explore how these travellers use ICTs for personal use while ‘on-the- move’. The findings reveal that organisations are support...

Pervasive healthcare in the home Supporting patient motivation and engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2010-01-01

Currently, care and rehabilitation practices move, to a greater extent, out of hospitals and into private homes. This accelerating trend challenges healthcare systems and their patients. Heterogeneous settings such as private homes together with the diverse nature of the inhabitants and their con......Currently, care and rehabilitation practices move, to a greater extent, out of hospitals and into private homes. This accelerating trend challenges healthcare systems and their patients. Heterogeneous settings such as private homes together with the diverse nature of the inhabitants...... and their conditions create both technical and usability constraints and possibilities that can inform development of home-based care and rehabilitation applications. This workshop likes to investigate and discuss challenges, requirements and possibilities related to home-based healthcare applications, seen from...... environments such as private homes? Or, how can User Driven Innovation (UDI) and Participatory Design (PD) be used to create systems that are aesthetically and functionally accepted by persons subject to homebased healthcare and rehabilitation?...

Caregivers' experience of the decision-making process for placing a person with dementia into a nursing home: comparing caregivers from Chinese ethnic minority with those from English-speaking backgrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, Lauren; Low, Lee-Fay; Brodaty, Henry

2014-03-01

The experience of care transitions for people with dementia from ethnic minority groups has been poorly researched. Few studies have examined the decision to put someone on a waiting list for a nursing home and then actually accept a place. Many nursing homes have long waiting lists, but sometimes offers of a place are declined. Our aims were to investigate the decision-making process for placing a person with dementia on a waiting list for a nursing home, why offers of a place are accepted or declined, and the influence of cultural factors, comparing caregivers from Chinese and English-speaking backgrounds. Semi-structured interviews with 27 caregivers of people with dementia on waiting lists or living in nursing homes (20 Chinese background and seven English-speaking background) were conducted, with thematic analysis of factors affecting caregivers' decision-making. Caregivers were at different stages of decision-making when they applied for a waiting list - some were ready for placement, others applied "just in case," and for some there was no waiting time because of an urgent need for placement. Caregivers' decisions were influenced by their emotions and expectations of nursing homes. The decision-making process was similar for both cultural groups, but Chinese caregivers spoke more about their sense of duty, the need for a Chinese specific facility, and declining a place because of family disagreement. Understanding cultural issues, including stereotypes and concerns about nursing homes, and providing better information about admission processes may help caregivers by allaying their anxiety about nursing home placement.

[Predictors of institutionalization of elderly persons in dependency situation in Andalusia].

Science.gov (United States)

Pinzón-Pulido, Sandra; Garrido Peña, Francisco; Reyes Alcázar, Víctor; Lima-Rodríguez, Joaquín Salvador; Raposo Triano, María Fernanda; Martínez Domene, Manuel; Alonso Trujillo, Federico

2016-01-01

Identifying preferences regarding type of care and risk factors for institutionalization of elderly persons in dependency situations in Andalusia. The data on 200,039 persons registered in the System for Autonomy and Dependency Care over the period 2007-2012 were analysed. The study population was described in terms of: age, dependency situation, preferences, support network and clinical factors at the time of inclusion in the study. Separate analysis was made for men and women. A logistic regression model was designed to determine the risk factors for institutionalization for each sex. 87,4% of women and 85,9% of men expressed their wish to receive care in their own home. The risk of institutionalization is three times higher among men than among women. Among women, the risks of institutionalization are: level of dependency, wishing to move into a residential care home, medium consistency and fragility of support network and being diagnosed with dementia. Among men, the risks are: wishing to move into a residential care home and low or medium consistency of support network. Care in the home is the preferred alternative for elderly persons in dependency situations. The risk of institutionalization is conditioned more by the preferences of the person and their family and the characteristics of the support network than by individual's clinical condition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Lynx: Automatic Elderly Behavior Prediction in Home Telecare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Manuel Lopez-Guede

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces Lynx, an intelligent system for personal safety at home environments, oriented to elderly people living independently, which encompasses a decision support machine for automatic home risk prevention, tested in real-life environments to respond to real time situations. The automatic system described in this paper prevents such risks by an advanced analytic methods supported by an expert knowledge system. It is minimally intrusive, using plug-and-play sensors and machine learning algorithms to learn the elder’s daily activity taking into account even his health records. If the system detects that something unusual happens (in a wide sense or if something is wrong relative to the user’s health habits or medical recommendations, it sends at real-time alarm to the family, care center, or medical agents, without human intervention. The system feeds on information from sensors deployed in the home and knowledge of subject physical activities, which can be collected by mobile applications and enriched by personalized health information from clinical reports encoded in the system. The system usability and reliability have been tested in real-life conditions, with an accuracy larger than 81%.

Short-time home coming project in evacuation zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tatsuzaki, Hideo

2011-01-01

Accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) forced neighboring residents to evacuate, and evacuation zone (20 km radius from NPPs) was defined as highly contaminated and designated as no-entry zones. Residents had been obliged to live a refugee life for a longer period than expected. Short-time home coming project was initiated according to their requests. They came to the meeting place called transfer place (20 - 30 km radius from NPPs), wore protective clothing and personal dosimeter with having drinking water and came home in evacuation zone with staffs by bus. Their healthcare management professionals were fully prepared for emergency. After collecting necessary articles at home within two hours, they returned to the meeting place by bus for screening and dressing, and went back to refuge house. If screening data were greater than 13 kcpm using GM counters, partial body decontamination had been conducted by wiping and if greater than 100 kcpm, whole body decontamination was requested but not conducted. Dose rate of residents and staffs was controlled less than 1 mSv, which was alarm level of personal dosimeter. Stable iodine was prepared but actually not used. (T. Tanaka)

Lynx: Automatic Elderly Behavior Prediction in Home Telecare

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Guede, Jose Manuel; Moreno-Fernandez-de-Leceta, Aitor; Martinez-Garcia, Alexeiw; Graña, Manuel

2015-01-01

This paper introduces Lynx, an intelligent system for personal safety at home environments, oriented to elderly people living independently, which encompasses a decision support machine for automatic home risk prevention, tested in real-life environments to respond to real time situations. The automatic system described in this paper prevents such risks by an advanced analytic methods supported by an expert knowledge system. It is minimally intrusive, using plug-and-play sensors and machine learning algorithms to learn the elder's daily activity taking into account even his health records. If the system detects that something unusual happens (in a wide sense) or if something is wrong relative to the user's health habits or medical recommendations, it sends at real-time alarm to the family, care center, or medical agents, without human intervention. The system feeds on information from sensors deployed in the home and knowledge of subject physical activities, which can be collected by mobile applications and enriched by personalized health information from clinical reports encoded in the system. The system usability and reliability have been tested in real-life conditions, with an accuracy larger than 81%. PMID:26783514

Analysis of acrylamide by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS in processed Japanese foods.

Science.gov (United States)

Ono, H; Chuda, Y; Ohnishi-Kameyama, M; Yada, H; Ishizaka, M; Kobayashi, H; Yoshida, M

2003-03-01

Acrylamide concentrations in processed foods (63 samples covering 31 product types) from Japan were analysed by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS methods. The limit of detection and limit of quantification of acrylamide were 0.2 ng x ml(-1) (6 fmol) and 0.8 ng x ml(-1) (22 fmol), respectively, by LC-MS/MS, and those of 2,3-dibromopropionamide derived from acrylamide were 12 ng x ml(-1) (52 fmol) and 40 ng x ml(-1) (170 fmol), respectively, by GC-MS. Repeatability given as RSD was 1000 microg x kg(-1). The concentrations in non-whole potato-based snacks, rice crackers processed by grilling or frying, and candied sweet potatoes were lower compared with those in the potato crisps and the whole potato-based fried snacks. One of the whole potato-based fried snacks, however, showed low acrylamide concentration (instant precooked noodles and won-tons were <100 microg x kg(-1) with only one exception. Roasted barley grains for 'Mugi-cha' tea contained 200-600 microg x kg(-1) acrylamide.

Design of a website for home modifications for older persons with dementia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dr. H.S.M. Kort; Joost van Hoof

2014-01-01

At present, persons with dementia and their family caregivers in the Netherlands are not adequately supported to modify their dwellings to match their personal needs.To facilitate aging-in-place for persons with dementia, a website was designed. The website was designed with persons with dementia

Design of a website for home modifications for older persons with dementia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. van Hoof; Dr. H.S.M. Kort

2014-01-01

At present, persons with dementia and their family caregivers in the Netherlands are not adequately supported to modify their dwellings to match their personal needs. To facilitate aging-in-place for persons with dementia, a website was designed. The website was designed with persons with dementia

Malnutrition and mealtime ambiance in nursing homes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijs, K.A.N.D.; Graaf, de C.; Staveren, van W.A.; Groot, de C.P.G.M.

2009-01-01

Inadequate nutritional intake is the predominant cause of malnutrition in older persons. It is one of the most common and devastating conditions in nursing home residents. It is multifactorial and treatment or nutrition care plans should try to address the main causes. Such plans often include means

A Smart Home Development Tool combining Simulation, Emulation and Real-World IoT

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lynggaard, Per

Intelligent smart homes will offer context-aware, personalized and adaptive services to users. These services range from simple remote control to fully automated / autonomous actions based on user context and adaptive behaviour. However, in science it is difficult to study smart homes...... and their embedded smart objects, because laboratory environments are costly and time consuming to create. This paper proposes a simulator with built-in emulator capabilities. It integrates smart home simulation and emulation capabilities into one device. In this way, smart home implementation models exist either...

Socioeconomic Status, Parenting, and Externalizing Problems in African American Single-Mother Homes: A Person-Oriented Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Anton, Margaret T.; Jones, Deborah J.; Youngstrom, Eric A.

2016-01-01

African American youth, particularly those from single-mother homes, are overrepresented in statistics on externalizing problems. The family is a central context in which to understand externalizing problems; however, reliance on variable-oriented approaches to the study of parenting, which originate from work with intact, middle-income, European American families, may obscure important information regarding variability in parenting styles among African American single mothers, and in turn, variability in youth outcomes as well. The current study demonstrated that within African American single-mother families: (a) a person-, rather than variable-, oriented approach to measuring parenting style may further elucidate variability; (b) socioeconomic status may provide 1 context within which to understanding variability in parenting style; and (c) 1 marker of socioeconomic status, income, and parenting style may each explain variability in youth externalizing problems; however, the interaction between income and parenting style was not significant. Findings have potential implications for better understanding the specific contexts in which externalizing problems may be most likely to occur within this at-risk and underserved group. PMID:26053349

Socioeconomic status, parenting, and externalizing problems in African American single-mother homes: A person-oriented approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Anton, Margaret T; Jones, Deborah J; Youngstrom, Eric A

2015-06-01

African American youth, particularly those from single-mother homes, are overrepresented in statistics on externalizing problems. The family is a central context in which to understand externalizing problems; however, reliance on variable-oriented approaches to the study of parenting, which originate from work with intact, middle-income, European American families, may obscure important information regarding variability in parenting styles among African American single mothers, and in turn, variability in youth outcomes as well. The current study demonstrated that within African American single-mother families: (a) a person-, rather than variable-, oriented approach to measuring parenting style may further elucidate variability; (b) socioeconomic status may provide 1 context within which to understanding variability in parenting style; and (c) 1 marker of socioeconomic status, income, and parenting style may each explain variability in youth externalizing problems; however, the interaction between income and parenting style was not significant. Findings have potential implications for better understanding the specific contexts in which externalizing problems may be most likely to occur within this at-risk and underserved group. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

A home-based comprehensive care model in patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A study pre-protocol [version 1; referees: 2 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lufei Young

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Background Disability is prevalent in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS, leading to difficulty in care access, significant caregiver burden, immense challenges in self-care and great societal burden.  Without highly coordinated, competent and accessible care, individuals living with progressive MS experience psychological distress, poor quality of life, suffer from life-threatening complications, and have frequent but avoidable healthcare utilizations. Unfortunately, current healthcare delivery models present severe limitations in providing easily accessible, patient-centered, coordinated comprehensive care to those with progressive MS. We propose a home-based comprehensive care model (MAHA to address the unmet needs, challenges, and avoidable complications in individuals with progressive MS with disabling disease. Objective The article aims to describe the study design and methods used to implement and evaluate the proposed intervention.   Method The study will use a randomized controlled design to evaluate the feasibility of providing a 24-month, home-based, patient-centered comprehensive care program to improve quality of life, reduce complications and healthcare utilizations overtime (quarterly for 24 months. A transdisciplinary team led by a MS-Comprehensivist will carry out this project. Fifty MS patients will be randomly assigned to the intervention and usual care program using block randomization procedures. We hypothesize that patients in the intervention group will have fewer complications, higher quality of life, greater satisfaction with care, and reduced healthcare utilization. The proposed project is also expected to be financially sustainable in fee-for-service models but best suited for and gain financial success in valued-based care systems.   Discussion This is the first study to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a home-based comprehensive care management program in MS patients living with progressive

Urinary amino acid analysis: a comparison of iTRAQ-LC-MS/MS, GC-MS, and amino acid analyzer.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaspar, Hannelore; Dettmer, Katja; Chan, Queenie; Daniels, Scott; Nimkar, Subodh; Daviglus, Martha L; Stamler, Jeremiah; Elliott, Paul; Oefner, Peter J

2009-07-01

Urinary amino acid analysis is typically done by cation-exchange chromatography followed by post-column derivatization with ninhydrin and UV detection. This method lacks throughput and specificity. Two recently introduced stable isotope ratio mass spectrometric methods promise to overcome those shortcomings. Using two blinded sets of urine replicates and a certified amino acid standard, we compared the precision and accuracy of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) of propyl chloroformate and iTRAQ derivatized amino acids, respectively, to conventional amino acid analysis. The GC-MS method builds on the direct derivatization of amino acids in diluted urine with propyl chloroformate, GC separation and mass spectrometric quantification of derivatives using stable isotope labeled standards. The LC-MS/MS method requires prior urinary protein precipitation followed by labeling of urinary and standard amino acids with iTRAQ tags containing different cleavable reporter ions distinguishable by MS/MS fragmentation. Means and standard deviations of percent technical error (%TE) computed for 20 amino acids determined by amino acid analyzer, GC-MS, and iTRAQ-LC-MS/MS analyses of 33 duplicate and triplicate urine specimens were 7.27+/-5.22, 21.18+/-10.94, and 18.34+/-14.67, respectively. Corresponding values for 13 amino acids determined in a second batch of 144 urine specimens measured in duplicate or triplicate were 8.39+/-5.35, 6.23+/-3.84, and 35.37+/-29.42. Both GC-MS and iTRAQ-LC-MS/MS are suited for high-throughput amino acid analysis, with the former offering at present higher reproducibility and completely automated sample pretreatment, while the latter covers more amino acids and related amines.

Embassies and Personal Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blume, Peter Erik

2011-01-01

The article considers how data protection rules in Directive 95/46 EC and in national law apply to data processing carried out by an embassy. Three situations are discussed: processing inside and from the embassy, processing in the recieving country on behalf of an embassy, and transference...... of personal data from the embassy to the home country. Although an embassy may represent an unsafe area for the personal integrity of citizens, this topic has not been considered in data protection law and for this reason there are no references ind the article....

Distribution behaviour of acaricide cyflumetofen in tomato during home canning.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Na; Dong, Fengshou; Chen, Zenglong; Xu, Jun; Liu, Xingang; Duan, Lifang; Li, Minmin; Zheng, Yongquan

2016-05-01

The distribution behaviour of cyflumetofen in tomatoes during home canning was studied. The targeted compound cyflumetofen was determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) after each process step, which included washing, peeling, homogenisation, simmering and sterilisation. Results indicated that more cyflumetofen was removed by washing with detergent solution compared with tap water, 2% NaCl solution and 2% CH3COOH solution. Peeling resulted in 90.2% loss of cyflumetofen and was the most effective step at removing pesticide residues from tomatoes. The processing factors (PFs) of tomato samples after each step were generally less than 1; in particular, the PF of the peeling process for cyflumetofen was 0.28.

More Stamina, a Gamified mHealth Solution for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis: Research Through Design

Science.gov (United States)

Mylonopoulou, Vasiliki; Rivera Romero, Octavio

2018-01-01

Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the world’s most common neurologic disorders. Fatigue is one of most common symptoms that persons with MS experience, having significant impact on their quality of life and limiting their activity levels. Self-management strategies are used to support them in the care of their health. Mobile health (mHealth) solutions are a way to offer persons with chronic conditions tools to successfully manage their symptoms and problems. Gamification is a current trend among mHealth apps used to create engaging user experiences and is suggested to be effective for behavioral change. To be effective, mHealth solutions need to be designed to specifically meet the intended audience needs. User-centered design (UCD) is a design philosophy that proposes placing end users’ needs and characteristics in the center of design and development, involving users early in the different phases of the software life cycle. There is a current gap in mHealth apps for persons with MS, which presents an interesting area to explore. Objective The purpose of this study was to describe the design and evaluation process of a gamified mHealth solution for behavioral change in persons with MS using UCD. Methods Building on previous work of our team where we identified needs, barriers, and facilitators for mHealth apps for persons with MS, we followed UCD to design and evaluate a mobile app prototype aimed to help persons with MS self-manage their fatigue. Design decisions were evidence-driven and guided by behavioral change models (BCM). Usability was assessed through inspection methods using Nielsen’s heuristic evaluation. Results The mHealth solution More Stamina was designed. It is a task organization tool designed to help persons with MS manage their energy to minimize the impact of fatigue in their day-to-day life. The tool acts as a to-do list where users can input tasks in a simple manner and assign Stamina Credits, a representation of perceived

Ethics and quality care in nursing homes: Relatives' experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Jakobsen, Rita; Sellevold, Gerd Sylvi; Egede-Nissen, Veslemøy; Sørlie, Venke

2017-01-01

A total of 71,000 people in Norway suffer from some form of dementia in 2013, of whom approximately 30,000 are in nursing homes. Several studies focus on the experiences of those who have close relatives and who are staying in a nursing home. Results show that a greater focus on cooperation between nursing staff and relatives is a central prerequisite for an increased level of care. Benefits of developing systematic collaboration practices include relief for nursing staff, less stress, and greater mutual understanding. Going through studies focusing on the experiences of nursing home patients' relatives, negative experiences are in the majority. In this study, relatives are invited to share positive experiences regarding the care of their loved ones; a slightly different perspective, in other words. The aim of the study is to investigate relatives of persons with dementia's experiences with quality care in nursing homes. The study is a part of a larger project called Hospice values in the care for persons with dementia and is based on a qualitative design where data are generated through narrative interviews. The chosen method of analysis is the phenomenological-hermeneutical method for the study of lived experiences. Participants and research context: Participants in the project were eight relatives of persons with dementia who were living in nursing homes, long-term residences. The sampling was targeted, enrolment happened through collective invitation. All relatives interested were included. Ethical considerations: The Norwegian Regional Ethics Committee and the Norwegian Social Science Data Services approve the study. Findings show that relatives have certain expectations as to how their loved ones ought to be met and looked after at the nursing home. The results show that in those cases where the expectations were met, the relatives' experiences were associated with engagement, inclusion and a good atmosphere. When the expectations were not met, the relatives

Socioeconomic disparities in home health care service access and utilization: a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodridge, Donna; Hawranik, Pamela; Duncan, Vicky; Turner, Hollie

2012-10-01

Home health care services are expanding at a rapid pace in order to meet the needs of the growing population of older adults and those with chronic illnesses. Because of current restrictions on home health care as an insured service in some countries, individuals may be required to pay for some or all of their home care services out of pocket. These payments may potentially limit access to needed home care services for persons in the lowest socioeconomic strata. Previous research demonstrates a clear socioeconomic gradient in access to acute and primary care services, where those most in need of services are the most disadvantaged and under-serviced. There has been little attention paid thus far, however, to the way in which socioeconomic status may affect the receipt of home health care services. To determine what is known from existing literature about socioeconomic disparities in home health care access and utilization. A scoping review was used to map the extent and nature of the literature in this area. A search of the databases CINAHL, Medline, SocIndex and Sociological Abstracts as well as Dissertations International. A total of 206 potentially relevant articles were published between 2000 and April 2011. Two reviewers independently reviewed the articles, leaving 15 research articles to be included in the scoping review. The majority of articles reported secondary analyses of administrative datasets related to utilization of home health care. Several studies examined access and utilization using qualitative approaches. The distinction between professional and supportive home care services was not always clear in the articles. Individual and composite measures of socioeconomic status were reported, with the most frequently used indicator being income. Several studies used more complex composite ecological indicators of socieconomic status. There was general agreement that utilization of home health services favored persons with greater economic disadvantage

Personal, Electronic, Secure National Library of Medicine Hosts Health Records Conference

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... Bar Home Current Issue Past Issues EHR Personal, Electronic, Secure: National Library of Medicine Hosts Health Records ... One suggestion for saving money is to implement electronic personal health records. With this in mind, the ...

Urinary Amino Acid Analysis: A Comparison of iTRAQ®-LC-MS/MS, GC-MS, and Amino Acid Analyzer

Science.gov (United States)

Kaspar, Hannelore; Dettmer, Katja; Chan, Queenie; Daniels, Scott; Nimkar, Subodh; Daviglus, Martha L.; Stamler, Jeremiah; Elliott, Paul; Oefner, Peter J.

2009-01-01

Urinary amino acid analysis is typically done by cation-exchange chromatography followed by post-column derivatization with ninhydrin and UV detection. This method lacks throughput and specificity. Two recently introduced stable isotope ratio mass spectrometric methods promise to overcome those shortcomings. Using two blinded sets of urine replicates and a certified amino acid standard, we compared the precision and accuracy of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) of propyl chloroformate and iTRAQ® derivatized amino acids, respectively, to conventional amino acid analysis. The GC-MS method builds on the direct derivatization of amino acids in diluted urine with propyl chloroformate, GC separation and mass spectrometric quantification of derivatives using stable isotope labeled standards. The LC-MS/MS method requires prior urinary protein precipitation followed by labeling of urinary and standard amino acids with iTRAQ® tags containing different cleavable reporter ions distinguishable by MS/MS fragmentation. Means and standard deviations of percent technical error (%TE) computed for 20 amino acids determined by amino acid analyzer, GC-MS, and iTRAQ®-LC-MS/MS analyses of 33 duplicate and triplicate urine specimens were 7.27±5.22, 21.18±10.94, and 18.34±14.67, respectively. Corresponding values for 13 amino acids determined in a second batch of 144 urine specimens measured in duplicate or triplicate were 8.39±5.35, 6.23±3.84, and 35.37±29.42. Both GC-MS and iTRAQ®-LC-MS/MS are suited for high-throughput amino acid analysis, with the former offering at present higher reproducibility and completely automated sample pretreatment, while the latter covers more amino acids and related amines. PMID:19481989

Is Telephone Screening Feasible? Accuracy and Cost-Effectiveness of Identifying People Medically Eligible for Home- And Community-Based Services.

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Fries, Brant E.; James, Mary; Hammer, Susan S.; Shugarman, Lisa R.; Morris, John N.

2004-01-01

Purpose: To determine the accuracy of a telephone-screening system to identify persons eligible for home- and community-based long-term care. Design and Methods: Data from Michigan telephone screens were compared to data from in-person assessments using the Minimum Data Set for Home Care (MDS-HC). Weighted kappa statistics measured the level of…

Home-based balance training using the Wii balance board: a randomized, crossover pilot study in multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Prosperini, Luca; Fortuna, Deborah; Giannì, Costanza; Leonardi, Laura; Marchetti, Maria Rita; Pozzilli, Carlo

2013-01-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based rehabilitation of balance using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board System (WBBS) in patients affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). In this 24-week, randomized, 2-period crossover pilot study, 36 patients having an objective balance disorder were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to 2 counterbalanced arms. Group A started a 12-week period of home-based WBBS training followed by a 12-week period without any intervention; group B received the treatment in reverse order. As endpoints, we considered the mean difference (compared with baseline) in force platform measures (i.e., the displacement of body center of pressure in 30 seconds), 4-step square test (FSST), 25-foot timed walking test (25-FWT), and 29-item MS Impact Scale (MSIS-29), as evaluated after 12 weeks and at the end of the 24-week study period. The 2 groups did not differ in baseline characteristics. Repeated-measures analyses of variance showed significant time × treatment effects, indicating that WBBS was effective in ameliorating force platform measures (F = 4.608, P = .016), FSST (F = 3.745, P = .034), 25-FWT (F = 3.339, P = .048), and MSIS-29 (F = 4.282, P = .023). Five adverse events attributable to the WBSS training (knee or low back pain) were recorded, but only 1 patient had to retire from the study. A home-based WBBS training might potentially provide an effective, engaging, balance rehabilitation solution for people with MS. However, the risk of WBBS training-related injuries should be carefully balanced with benefits. Further studies, including cost-effectiveness analyses, are warranted to establish whether WBBS may be useful in the home setting.

78 FR 6851 - Proposed Information Collection (Patient Satisfaction Survey Michael E. DeBakey Home Care Program...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-31

... (Patient Satisfaction Survey Michael E. DeBakey Home Care Program) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY... Satisfaction Survey Michael E. DeBakey Home Care Program, VA Form 10-0476. OMB Control Number: 2900-0775. Type... home care program staff. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond...

Putting the child at the center of inter-professional cooperation in out-of-home care

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schwartz, Ida

2016-01-01

A large part of most children's childhood is about taking part in educational and leisure-time activities together with other children across various contexts. However, children in out-of-home care do not always have easy access to these possibilities for participation. In general, parents...... explored how professionals work together across contexts in order to support children to take part in school and leisure-time activities. The overall reasoning leads to the point that for children in out-of-home care, the possibility of exercising personal agency in their everyday life constitutes...... and engagements in activities in communities with other children. leisure-time activities. The overall reasoning leads to the point that for children in out-of-home care, the possibility of exercising personal agency in their everyday life constitutes a difficult but vital issue. How children in out-of-home care...

Selenium speciation analysis of Misgurnus anguillicaudatus selenoprotein by HPLC-ICP-MS and HPLC-ESI-MS/MS

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Analytical methods for selenium (Se) speciation were developed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to either inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) or electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Separations of selenomethionine (Se-Met) and sel...

Faith and End of Life in Nursing Homes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert L. Rubinstein

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the role of religious belief in the experiences of dying and death in a Catholic nursing home. The home appeals to residents and their families due to the active religious presence. Thus, religion is a salient element of the “local culture” which exists in this long-term care setting. The preeminence of faith within the organization and the personal religious convictions of staff, residents, and families may drive how death and dying are discussed and experienced in this setting, as well as the meanings that are attached to them. This paper examines the relationship between faith and the experience and meaning of death in this nursing home. We present themes that emerged from open-ended interviews with residents, family members, and staff, gathered between 1996 and 2004. The data indicate that people select the home due to their Catholic faith and the home's religious tone. Themes also show that belief in God and an afterlife helps shape the experience of dying and death for our informants. Our paper does not compare ease of dying with other nursing homes or within other belief systems.

Vascular and lung function related to ultrafine and fine particles exposure assessed by personal and indoor monitoring: a cross-sectional study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Yulia; Karottki, Dorina Gabriela; Jensen, Ditte Marie

2014-01-01

-related effects. Methods: Associations between vascular and lung function, inflammation markers and exposure in terms of particle number concentration (PNC; d = 10-300 nm) were studied in a cross-sectional design with personal and home indoor monitoring in the Western Copenhagen Area, Denmark. During 48-h, PNC...... and PM2.5 were monitored in living rooms of 60 homes with 81 non-smoking subjects (30-75 years old), 59 of whom carried personal monitors both when at home and away from home. We measured lung function in terms of the FEV1/FVC ratio, microvascular function (MVF) and pulse amplitude by digital artery...... tonometry, blood pressure and biomarkers of inflammation including C-reactive protein, and leukocyte counts with subdivision in neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes in blood. Results: PNC from personal and stationary home monitoring showed weak correlation (r = 0.15, p = 0.24). Personal UFP...

Dynamic balance in persons with multiple sclerosis who have a falls history is altered compared to non-fallers and to healthy controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Peebles, Alexander T; Bruetsch, Adam P; Lynch, Sharon G; Huisinga, Jessie M

2017-10-03

Around 60% of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience falls, however the dynamic balance differences between those who fall and those who don't are not well understood. The purpose of this study is to identify distinct biomechanical features of dynamic balance during gait that are different between fallers with MS, non-fallers with MS, and healthy controls. 27 recurrent fallers with MS, 28 persons with MS with no falls history, and 27 healthy controls walked on a treadmill at their preferred speed for 3min. The variability of trunk accelerations and the average and variability of minimum toe clearance, spatiotemporal parameters, and margin of stability were compared between groups. Fallers with MS exhibited a slower cautious gait compared to non-fallers and healthy controls, but had decreased anterior-posterior margin of stability and minimum toe clearance. Fallers walked with less locally stable and predictable trunk accelerations, and increased variability of step length, stride time, and both anterior-posterior and mediolateral margin of stability compared to non-fallers and healthy controls. The present work provides evidence that within a group of persons with MS, there are gait differences that are influenced by falls history. These differences indicate that in persons with MS who fall, the center of mass is poorly controlled through base of support placement and the foot is closer to the ground during swing phase relative to the non-fallers. These identified biomechanical differences could be used to evaluate dynamic balance in persons with MS and to help improve fall prevention strategies. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

MassSieve: Panning MS/MS peptide data for proteins

OpenAIRE

Slotta, Douglas J.; McFarland, Melinda A.; Markey, Sanford P.

2010-01-01

We present MassSieve, a Java-based platform for visualization and parsimony analysis of single and comparative LC-MS/MS database search engine results. The success of mass spectrometric peptide sequence assignment algorithms has led to the need for a tool to merge and evaluate the increasing data set sizes that result from LC-MS/MS-based shotgun proteomic experiments. MassSieve supports reports from multiple search engines with differing search characteristics, which can increase peptide sequ...

Motivation to take part in integrated care - an assessment of follow-up home visits to elderly persons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulf Hjelmar

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of follow-up visits by the general practitioner and district nurse (within a week after discharge from hospital is to reduce hospital readmissions and improve the overall wellbeing of the patient. There is strong evidence that these programmes are effective, but are difficult to implement because of a number of organizational obstacles, including co-ordination between the organizations involved in the process. In this paper we look at the factors that affect motivation to participate in a cross-sectoral programme in Copenhagen, Denmark, implementing follow-up home visits to elderly persons. Theory and methods: The analysis is based on inter-organisational network theory in an attempt to explain the role of motivation in network formation between organizational systems. The empirical findings are based on focus groups and in-depth interviews with hospital staff, general practitioners, and district nurses. Results: Care providers are motivated to collaborate by a number of factors. The focus of collaboration needs to be clearly defined and agreed upon, there needs to be a high degree of equality between the professionals involved, and there has to be a will to co-operate based on a shared understanding of values and learning potentials. Conclusions: The study concludes that we need to focus on specific care fields and actors to reduce complexity in the area and more fully understand what motivates care providers to participate in cross-sectoral activities such as a follow-up home visit programme. One lesson for current policy is that motivational factors need to be addressed in future collaborative programs in order to fully exploit the potential health benefits.

Motivation to take part in integrated care - an assessment of follow-up home visits to elderly persons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulf Hjelmar

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of follow-up visits by the general practitioner and district nurse (within a week after discharge from hospital is to reduce hospital readmissions and improve the overall wellbeing of the patient. There is strong evidence that these programmes are effective, but are difficult to implement because of a number of organizational obstacles, including co-ordination between the organizations involved in the process. In this paper we look at the factors that affect motivation to participate in a cross-sectoral programme in Copenhagen, Denmark, implementing follow-up home visits to elderly persons.Theory and methods: The analysis is based on inter-organisational network theory in an attempt to explain the role of motivation in network formation between organizational systems. The empirical findings are based on focus groups and in-depth interviews with hospital staff, general practitioners, and district nurses.Results: Care providers are motivated to collaborate by a number of factors. The focus of collaboration needs to be clearly defined and agreed upon, there needs to be a high degree of equality between the professionals involved, and there has to be a will to co-operate based on a shared understanding of values and learning potentials.Conclusions: The study concludes that we need to focus on specific care fields and actors to reduce complexity in the area and more fully understand what motivates care providers to participate in cross-sectoral activities such as a follow-up home visit programme. One lesson for current policy is that motivational factors need to be addressed in future collaborative programs in order to fully exploit the potential health benefits.

Sexual Abuse of Older Nursing Home Residents: A Literature Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenche Malmedal

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Despite an increasing literature related to elder abuse, sexual abuse of older persons in general and of vulnerable adults living in nursing homes in particular is still sparsely described. The purpose of this study was to assess the state of knowledge on the subject of sexual abuse against older nursing home residents through a literature review. Systematic searches in reference databases including Cinahl, Medline, OVID Nursing Database, ISI Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, and SveMed + were conducted. Through several phases of selection of the articles, using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, six articles were chosen for a deeper examination. Findings from the review show that sexual abuse occurs in nursing homes and that both older women and men are victims of sexual abuse. Perpetrators appear mainly to be staff and other residents and mainly to be men, but also women abuse both older men and older women. Findings from the literature review show that there is a need for knowledge and further research on the topic of sexual abuse against older residents in nursing homes. Furthermore, there is a need for good policies and reporting systems, as an important step in seriously addressing sexual abuse against older persons.

Exploring the Specific Needs of Persons with Multiple Sclerosis for mHealth Solutions for Physical Activity: Mixed-Methods Study

Science.gov (United States)

Kool, Jan; Rivera Romero, Octavio; Dorronzoro Zubiete, Enrique

2018-01-01

Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the world’s most common neurologic disorders, with symptoms such as fatigue, cognitive problems, and issues with mobility. Evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) helps people with MS reduce fatigue and improve quality of life. The use of mobile technologies for health has grown in recent years with little involvement from relevant stakeholders. User-centered design (UCD) is a design philosophy with the goal of creating solutions specific to the needs and tasks of the intended users. UCD involves stakeholders early and often in the design process. In a preliminary study, we assessed the landscape of commercially available MS mobile health (mHealth) apps; to our knowledge, no study has explored what persons with MS and their formal care providers think of mHealth solutions for PA. Objective The aim of this study was to (1) explore MS-specific needs for MS mHealth solutions for PA, (2) detect perceived obstacles and facilitators for mHealth solutions from persons with MS and health care professionals, and (3) understand the motivational aspects behind adoption of mHealth solutions for MS. Methods A mixed-methods design study was conducted in Kliniken Valens, Switzerland, a clinic specializing in neurological rehabilitation. We explored persons with MS and health care professionals who work with them separately. The study had a qualitative part comprising focus groups and interviews, and a quantitative part with standardized tools such as satisfaction with life scale and electronic health (eHealth) literacy. Results A total of 12 persons with relapsing-remitting MS and 12 health care professionals from different backgrounds participated in the study. Participants were well-educated with an even distribution between genders. Themes identified during analysis were MS-related barriers and facilitators, mHealth design considerations, and general motivational aspects. The insights generated were used to create MS

Designing Intuitive Web Solutions for Monitoring Patients’ Rehabilitation at Home

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raihana Ferdous

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the design of web-based remote monitoring interfaces aimed at supporting therapists and caregivers in supervising motor-cognitive rehabilitation plans of care to be performed by patients at home. This work was part of a three years’ research project where game-based environments for upper body motor rehabilitation of post-stroke patients were developed in collaboration with two main rehabilitation centers in Italy and Austria, for a subsequent deployment at patients’ homes. The paper will specifically focus on describing the iterative design of the home rehabilitation features for clinicians over the first two years of the project to enable the delivery and monitoring of more personalized, engaging plans of care for home therapy by rehabilitation centers and services.

Relationship of Indoor, Outdoor and Personal Air (RIOPA) study: study design, methods and quality assurance/control results.

Science.gov (United States)

Weisel, Clifford P; Zhang, Junfeng; Turpin, Barbara J; Morandi, Maria T; Colome, Steven; Stock, Thomas H; Spektor, Dalia M; Korn, Leo; Winer, Arthur; Alimokhtari, Shahnaz; Kwon, Jaymin; Mohan, Krishnan; Harrington, Robert; Giovanetti, Robert; Cui, William; Afshar, Masoud; Maberti, Silvia; Shendell, Derek

2005-03-01

The Relationship of Indoor, Outdoor and Personal Air (RIOPA) Study was undertaken to evaluate the contribution of outdoor sources of air toxics, as defined in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, to indoor concentrations and personal exposures. The concentrations of 18 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 17 carbonyl compounds, and fine particulate matter mass (PM(2.5)) were measured using 48-h outdoor, indoor and personal air samples collected simultaneously. PM2.5 mass, as well as several component species (elemental carbon, organic carbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and elemental analysis) were also measured; only PM(2.5) mass is reported here. Questionnaires were administered to characterize homes, neighborhoods and personal activities that might affect exposures. The air exchange rate was also measured in each home. Homes in close proximity (<0.5 km) to sources of air toxics were preferentially (2:1) selected for sampling. Approximately 100 non-smoking households in each of Elizabeth, NJ, Houston, TX, and Los Angeles, CA were sampled (100, 105, and 105 respectively) with second visits performed at 84, 93, and 81 homes in each city, respectively. VOC samples were collected at all homes, carbonyls at 90% and PM(2.5) at 60% of the homes. Personal samples were collected from nonsmoking adults and a portion of children living in the target homes. This manuscript provides the RIOPA study design and quality control and assurance data. The results from the RIOPA study can potentially provide information on the influence of ambient sources on indoor air concentrations and exposure for many air toxics and will furnish an opportunity to evaluate exposure models for these compounds.

Individualized robot-assisted training for MS- and stroke patients in I-TRAVLE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bastiaens Hanne

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Persons with central nervous deficits, such as MS and stroke patients, can benefit a lot from suitable training approaches that enhance their ability to perform activities in daily life. Personalized training, in accordance with the individual capabilities of the patient is a key issue in this context. We propose several techniques for individualization, including adaptive training games. Evaluations with patients and therapists reveal appreciation for the resulting Individualized, Technology-supported and RobotAssisted Virtual Learning Environments (I-TRAVLE system.

Personal exposure to ultrafine particles.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Lance; Ott, Wayne

2011-01-01

Personal exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) can occur while people are cooking, driving, smoking, operating small appliances such as hair dryers, or eating out in restaurants. These exposures can often be higher than outdoor concentrations. For 3 years, portable monitors were employed in homes, cars, and restaurants. More than 300 measurement periods in several homes were documented, along with 25 h of driving two cars, and 22 visits to restaurants. Cooking on gas or electric stoves and electric toaster ovens was a major source of UFP, with peak personal exposures often exceeding 100,000 particles/cm³ and estimated emission rates in the neighborhood of 10¹² particles/min. Other common sources of high UFP exposures were cigarettes, a vented gas clothes dryer, an air popcorn popper, candles, an electric mixer, a toaster, a hair dryer, a curling iron, and a steam iron. Relatively low indoor UFP emissions were noted for a fireplace, several space heaters, and a laser printer. Driving resulted in moderate exposures averaging about 30,000 particles/cm³ in each of two cars driven on 17 trips on major highways on the East and West Coasts. Most of the restaurants visited maintained consistently high levels of 50,000-200,000 particles/cm³ for the entire length of the meal. The indoor/outdoor ratios of size-resolved UFP were much lower than for PM₂.₅ or PM₁₀, suggesting that outdoor UFP have difficulty in penetrating a home. This in turn implies that outdoor concentrations of UFP have only a moderate effect on personal exposures if indoor sources are present. A time-weighted scenario suggests that for typical suburban nonsmoker lifestyles, indoor sources provide about 47% and outdoor sources about 36% of total daily UFP exposure and in-vehicle exposures add the remainder (17%). However, the effect of one smoker in the home results in an overwhelming increase in the importance of indoor sources (77% of the total).

Patients' perceptions and experiences of using a mobile phone-based advanced symptom management system (ASyMS) to monitor and manage chemotherapy related toxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

McCann, L; Maguire, R; Miller, M; Kearney, N

2009-03-01

Chemotherapy forms a core component of treatment for the majority patients with cancer. Recent changes in cancer services mean patients frequently receive such treatment as outpatients and are often required to manage side effects at home without direct support from oncology health professionals. Information technology continues to develop to support patients in the community; this study evaluated the impact of a mobile phone-based advanced symptom management system (ASyMS) on chemotherapy related toxicity in patients with lung, breast or colorectal cancer. One hundred and twelve patients were randomized from seven clinical sites across the UK; 56 patients used the mobile phone to record their symptoms, sending their reports directly to the nurses at their clinical site; 56 control group patients received standard care. Health professionals were alerted about any severe or life-threatening symptoms through the development of a chemotherapy symptom risk model. Patients' perceptions of ASyMS were evaluated pre and post participation. Patients reported many benefits of using ASyMS including improved communication with health professionals, improvements in the management of their symptoms, and feeling reassured their symptoms were being monitored while at home. ASyMS has the potential to positively impact on the management of symptoms in patients receiving chemotherapy treatment.

Promoting Health of People with Intellectual Disabilities: Views of Professionals Working in Group Homes

Science.gov (United States)

Wahlström, Lina; Bergström, Helena; Marttila, Anneli

2014-01-01

Deinstitutionalisation has influenced the life situation for people with intellectual disabilities, whilst the experiences of health promotion in group homes now are limited. This study aimed to explore aspects important to consider when promoting health amongst persons with intellectual disabilities in group homes, from the perspective of…

Business Travellers' Connections to Home: ICTs Supporting Work-life Balance

OpenAIRE

Ladkin, Adele; Willis, Cheryl; Jain, J.; Clayton, W.; Marouda, M.

2016-01-01

This paper examines the role of information communication technology in enabling connections to home for work related travellers. Although digital connectivity for work related tasks are well researched, the use of digital technology for home communication is under-researched. The study draws on a qualitative study of UK-based organisations and business travellers to explore how these travellers use ICTs for personal use whilst ‘on-the-move’. The findings reveal that organisations are support...

"Broken covenant": healthcare aides' "experience of the ethical" in caring for dying seniors in a personal care home.

Science.gov (United States)

McClement, Susan; Lobchuk, Michelle; Chochinov, Harvey Max; Dean, Ruth

2010-01-01

Canada's population is aging, and seniors constitute the fastest growing demographic in the nation. The chronic health conditions, limited social support, functional decline, and cognitive impairment experienced by seniors may necessitate admission to a personal care home (PCH) setting up until the time of their death. The ethical problems that arise in the care of dying patients are numerous and complicated. The care of dying seniors in PCHs, however, is largely provided by frontline workers such as healthcare aides (HCAs), who usually have little training in palliative care or ethics. Research examining the identification and resolution of ethical problems in care of the dying has been conducted from the perspectives of nurses and physicians in various clinical settings, but the voice of HCAs in PCHs is virtually absent from clinical ethics. Given that the inability to satisfactorily resolve ethical issues in clinical practice is associated with feelings of guilt, powerlessness, avoiding contact with patients, failing to provide good physical care, and increased staff turnover, an empirical examination of HCAs' experiences of ethically challenging situations is warranted. We conducted a phenomenological study to access the lived experience of HCAs (N = 12) working in proprietary and nonproprietary care homes as they encountered situations they deemed ethically challenging in providing end-of-life care to dying seniors. The findings reported here explicate: (1) the types of situations that are ethically problematic for HCAs; (2) the meanings they assign to these situations, and (3) the impact such situations have on the provision of end-of-life care.

Preliminary investigation of an electromyography-controlled video game as a home program for persons in the chronic phase of stroke recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Donoso Brown, Elena V; McCoy, Sarah Westcott; Fechko, Amber S; Price, Robert; Gilbertson, Torey; Moritz, Chet T

2014-08-01

To investigate the preliminary effectiveness of surface electromyography (sEMG) biofeedback delivered via interaction with a commercial computer game to improve motor control in chronic stroke survivors. Single-blinded, 1-group, repeated-measures design: A1, A2, B, A3 (A, assessment; B, intervention). Laboratory and participants' homes. A convenience sample of persons (N=9) between 40 and 75 years of age with moderate to severe upper extremity motor impairment and at least 6 months poststroke completed the study. The electromyography-controlled video game system targeted the wrist muscle activation with the goal of increasing selective muscle activation. Participants received several laboratory training sessions with the system and then were instructed to use the system at home for 45 minutes, 5 times per week for the following 4 weeks. Primary outcome measures included duration of system use, sEMG during home play, and pre/post sEMG measures during active wrist motion. Secondary outcomes included kinematic analysis of movement and functional outcomes, including the Wolf Motor Function Test and the Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory-9. One third of participants completed or exceeded the recommended amount of system use. Statistically significant changes were observed on both game play and pre/post sEMG outcomes. Limited carryover, however, was observed on kinematic or functional outcomes. This preliminary investigation indicates that use of the electromyography-controlled video game impacts muscle activation. Limited changes in kinematic and activity level outcomes, however, suggest that the intervention may benefit from the inclusion of a functional activity component. Copyright © 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Troubling gifts of care: vulnerable persons and threatening exchanges in Chicago's home care industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Buch, Elana D

2014-12-01

By tracing the transformations of troubling exchanges in paid home care, this article examines how differently positioned individuals strive to build caring relations within potentially restrictive regimes of care. In paid home care in Chicago, older adults and their workers regularly participate in exchanges of money, time, and material goods. These gifts play a crucial role in building good care relationships that sustain participants' moral personhood. Amid widespread concern about vulnerable elders, home care agencies compete in a crowded marketplace by prohibiting these exchanges, even as they depend on them to strengthen relationships. Supervisors thus exercise discretion, sometimes reclassifying gift exchanges as punishable thefts. In this context, the commodification of care did not lead to the actual elimination of gift relations, but rather transformed gift relations into a suspicious and troublesome source of value. © 2014 by the American Anthropological Association.

Metabolic profiling of roots of liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) from different geographical areas by ESI/MS/MS and determination of major metabolites by LC-ESI/MS and LC-ESI/MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Montoro, Paola; Maldini, Mariateresa; Russo, Mariateresa; Postorino, Santo; Piacente, Sonia; Pizza, Cosimo

2011-02-20

Liquid chromatography electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS) has been applied to the full characterization of saponins and phenolics in hydroalcoholic extracts of roots of liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra). Relative quantitative analyses of the samples with respect to the phenolic constituents and to a group of saponins related to glycyrrhizic acid were performed using LC-ESI/MS. For the saponin constituents, full scan LC-MS/MS fragmentation of the protonated (positive ion mode) or deprotonated (negative ion mode) molecular species generated diagnostic fragment ions that provided information concerning the triterpene skeleton and the number and nature of the substituents. On the basis of the specific fragmentation of glycyrrhizic acid, an LC-MS/MS method was developed in order to quantify the analyte in the liquorice root samples. Chinese G. glabra roots contained the highest levels of glycyrrhizic acid, followed by those from Italy (Calabria). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design of a website for home modifications for older persons with dementia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kort, H.S.M.; Hoof, van J.

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: At present, persons with dementia and their family caregivers in the Netherlands are not adequately supported to modify their dwellings to match their personal needs. OBJECTIVE: To facilitate aging-in-place for persons with dementia, a website was designed. METHODS: The website was

Private duty home care: what it means to real people across the nation.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-01

Private duty home care is growing rapidly to accommodate the needs of more and more seniors, disabled persons, and those with chronic conditions as these populations themselves are fast expanding and projected to continue to do so in the coming years and decades. The services that private duty/privately paid home care providers deliver each day to individuals across the United States can be absolutely essential to allowing them to remain in their own homes and communities leading as active and healthy lives as possible and continuing to contribute in the work force and to society as they are able. Requirements vary from state to state, and while most private duty agencies provide nonmedical companionship, homemaker, and personal care services--often described as assistance with activities of daily living--some incorporate licensed medical care as well.

More Stamina, a Gamified mHealth Solution for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis: Research Through Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Giunti, Guido; Mylonopoulou, Vasiliki; Rivera Romero, Octavio

2018-03-02

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the world's most common neurologic disorders. Fatigue is one of most common symptoms that persons with MS experience, having significant impact on their quality of life and limiting their activity levels. Self-management strategies are used to support them in the care of their health. Mobile health (mHealth) solutions are a way to offer persons with chronic conditions tools to successfully manage their symptoms and problems. Gamification is a current trend among mHealth apps used to create engaging user experiences and is suggested to be effective for behavioral change. To be effective, mHealth solutions need to be designed to specifically meet the intended audience needs. User-centered design (UCD) is a design philosophy that proposes placing end users' needs and characteristics in the center of design and development, involving users early in the different phases of the software life cycle. There is a current gap in mHealth apps for persons with MS, which presents an interesting area to explore. The purpose of this study was to describe the design and evaluation process of a gamified mHealth solution for behavioral change in persons with MS using UCD. Building on previous work of our team where we identified needs, barriers, and facilitators for mHealth apps for persons with MS, we followed UCD to design and evaluate a mobile app prototype aimed to help persons with MS self-manage their fatigue. Design decisions were evidence-driven and guided by behavioral change models (BCM). Usability was assessed through inspection methods using Nielsen's heuristic evaluation. The mHealth solution More Stamina was designed. It is a task organization tool designed to help persons with MS manage their energy to minimize the impact of fatigue in their day-to-day life. The tool acts as a to-do list where users can input tasks in a simple manner and assign Stamina Credits, a representation of perceived effort, to the task to help energy management

Personality factors in recently diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients: a preliminary investigation with the NEO-FFI scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aline Braz de Lima

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This article describes some prevalent personality dimensions of recently diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients. A sample of 33 female recently diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS was assessed with the NEO-FFI personality scale. Beck depression (BDI and anxiety (BAI scales were also used. No significant levels of anxiety or depression were identified in this group. As for personality factors, conscientiousness was the most common factor found, whereas openness to experience was the least observed. Literature on the relationship between personality and MS is scarce and there are no Brazilian studies on this subject. Some personality traits might complicate or facilitate the experience of living with a chronic, disabling and uncertain neurological condition such as MS.

Localizing the HL7 Personal Health Monitoring Record for Danish Telemedicine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Henrik Bærbak

2014-01-01

Telemedicine holds a promise of lowering cost in health care and improving the life quality of chronic ill patients by allowing monitoring in the home. The Personal Health Monitoring Record (PHMR) is an international HL7 standard data format for encoding measurements made by devices in the home...

Alzheimer's disease susceptibility variants in the MS4A6A gene are associated with altered levels of MS4A6A expression in blood.

Science.gov (United States)

Proitsi, Petroula; Lee, Sang Hyuck; Lunnon, Katie; Keohane, Aoife; Powell, John; Troakes, Claire; Al-Sarraj, Safa; Furney, Simon; Soininen, Hilkka; Kłoszewska, Iwona; Mecocci, Patrizia; Tsolaki, Magda; Vellas, Bruno; Lovestone, Simon; Hodges, Angela

2014-02-01

An increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) has previously been found to be associated with variants at the MS4A6A locus. We sought to identify which genes and transcripts in this region have altered expression in AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and are influenced by the AD risk variant(s), as a first step to understanding the molecular basis of AD susceptibility at this locus. Common variants located within highly expressed MS4A6A transcripts were significantly associated with AD and MS4A6A expression levels in blood from MCI and AD subjects (p < 0.05, rs610932, rs7232, rs583791). More copies of the protective (minor) allele were associated with lower MS4A6A expression of each transcript (e.g., p = 0.019; rs610932-total MS4A6A). Furthermore, in heterozygous AD subjects, relative expression of the protective allele of V4-MS4A6A transcripts was lower (p < 0.008). Irrespective of genotype, MS4A6A transcripts were increased in blood from people with AD (p < 0.003), whereas lower expression of full length V1-MS4A6A (p = 0.002) and higher expression of V4-MS4A6A (p = 1.8 × 10(-4)) were observed in MCI, relative to elderly controls. The association between genotype and expression was less consistent in brain, although BA9 did have a similar genotype association with V4-MS4A6A transcripts as in blood. MS4A6A transcripts were widely expressed in tissues and cells, with the exception of V4-MS4A6A, which was not expressed in neuronal cells. Together these results suggest that high levels of MS4A6A in emerging AD pathology are detrimental. Persons with MCI may lower MS4A6A expression to minimize detrimental disease associated MS4A6A activity. However, those with the susceptibility allele appear unable to decrease expression sufficiently, which may explain their increased risk for developing AD. Inhibiting MS4A6A may therefore promote a more neuroprotective phenotype, although further work is needed to establish whether this is the case. Copyright © 2014

Employees' negative and positive work-home interaction and their association with depressive symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Nitzsche, Anika; Jung, Julia; Pfaff, Holger; Driller, Elke

2013-05-01

Depression is the leading cause of disability and high costs worldwide. One possibility for preventing depression in the workplace, which has received little consideration so far, is the promotion of a successful balance between work and personal life. The aim of this study was to investigate employees' negative and positive work-home interaction and their association with depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the micro- and nanotechnology sector in Germany. A stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed using data from N = 213 employees. The results suggest that while negative work-home interaction is associated with an increased risk for depressive symptoms, positive work-home interaction is correlated with a lower risk. Neither positive nor negative interaction in the home-to-work direction demonstrated a significant association with depressive symptoms. When attempting to prevent mental illnesses, such as depression, it is important to develop strategies aimed at reducing conflict between work and personal life and promoting a positive exchange between these two domains. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Determination of Load Profiles and Power Consumptions of Home Appliances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatih Issi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the increment of distributed electricity generation based on renewable energy sources and improvement of communication technologies have caused the development of next-generation power grids known as smart grids. The structures of smart grids have bidirectional communication capability and enable the connection of energy generated from distributed sources to any point on the grid. They also support consumers in energy efficiency by creating opportunities for management of power consumption. The information on power consumption and load profiles of home appliances is essential to perform load management in the dwelling accurately. In this study, the power consumption data for all the basic home appliances, utilized in a two-person family in Çankırı, Turkey, was obtained with high resolution in one-second intervals. The detailed power consumption analysis and load profile were executed for each home appliance. The obtained data is not only the average power consumption of each appliance but also characterizes different operating modes or their cycles. In addition, the impact of these devices on home energy management studies and their standby power consumptions were also discussed. The acquired data is an important source to determine the load profile of individual home appliances precisely in home energy management studies. Although the results of this study do not completely reflect the energy consumption behavior of the people who live in this region, they can reveal the trends in load demands based on a real sample and customer consumption behavior of a typical two-person family.

Wintertime pollution level, size distribution and personal daily exposure to particulate matters in the northern and southern rural Chinese homes and variation in different household fuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Wei; Shen, Guofeng; Chen, Yuanchen; Zhuo, Shaojie; Xu, Yang; Li, Xinyue; Pan, Xuelian; Cheng, Hefa; Wang, Xilong; Tao, Shu

2017-12-01

This study investigated and compared wintertime air pollution and personal exposure in the rural northern and southern Chinese homes. Daily indoor and outdoor particle samples were simultaneously collected by using stationary samplers, and personal exposure was directly measured using portable carried samplers. The daily average concentrations of indoor and outdoor PM 2.5 were 521 ± 234 and 365 ± 185 μg/m 3 in the northern village, that were about 2.3-2.7 times of 188 ± 104 and 150 ± 29 μg/m 3 in indoor and outdoor air in the southern villages. Particle size distribution was similar between indoor and outdoor air, and had relatively smaller difference between the two sites, relative to the particle mass concentration difference. PM 2.5 contributed to ∼80% of the TSP mass, and in PM 2.5 , near 90% were PM 1.0 . In homes using electricity in the southern villages, outdoor air pollution could explain 70-80% of the variation in indoor air pollution. The daily exposure to PM 2.5 measured using personal carried samplers were 451 ± 301 μg/m 3 in the northern villages with traditional solid fuels used for daily cooking and heating, and in the southern villages without heating, the exposure to PM 2.5 were 184 ± 83 and 166 ± 45 μg/m 3 , respectively, for the population using wood and electricity for daily cooking. Time-weighted daily average exposure estimated from area concentration and time spent indoor and outdoor was generally correlated the directly measured exposure. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An integrated healthcare system for personalized chronic disease care in home-hospital environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Sangjin; Youn, Chan-Hyun; Shim, Eun Bo; Kim, Moonjung; Cho, Young Min; Peng, Limei

2012-07-01

Facing the increasing demands and challenges in the area of chronic disease care, various studies on the healthcare system which can, whenever and wherever, extract and process patient data have been conducted. Chronic diseases are the long-term diseases and require the processes of the real-time monitoring, multidimensional quantitative analysis, and the classification of patients' diagnostic information. A healthcare system for chronic diseases is characterized as an at-hospital and at-home service according to a targeted environment. Both services basically aim to provide patients with accurate diagnoses of disease by monitoring a variety of physical states with a number of monitoring methods, but there are differences between home and hospital environments, and the different characteristics should be considered in order to provide more accurate diagnoses for patients, especially, patients having chronic diseases. In this paper, we propose a patient status classification method for effectively identifying and classifying chronic diseases and show the validity of the proposed method. Furthermore, we present a new healthcare system architecture that integrates the at-home and at-hospital environment and discuss the applicability of the architecture using practical target services.

Variability in and agreement between modeled and personal continuously measured black carbon levels using novel smartphone and sensor technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Donaire-Gonzalez, David; Rivas, Ioar; de Castro, Montserrat; Cirach, Marta; Hoek, Gerard; Seto, Edmund; Jerrett, Michael; Sunyer, Jordi

2015-03-03

Novel technologies, such as smartphones and small personal continuous air pollution sensors, can now facilitate better personal estimates of air pollution in relation to location. Such information can provide us with a better understanding about whether and how personal exposures relate to residential air pollution estimates, which are normally used in epidemiological studies. The aims of this study were to examine (1) the variability in personal air pollution levels during the day and (2) the relationship between modeled home and school estimates and continuously measured personal air pollution exposure levels in different microenvironments (e.g., home, school, and commute). We focused on black carbon as an indicator of traffic-related air pollution. We recruited 54 school children (aged 7-11) from 29 different schools around Barcelona as part of the BREATHE study, an epidemiological study of the relation between air pollution and brain development. For 2 typical week days during 2012-2013, the children were given a smartphone with CalFit software to obtain information on their location and physical activity level and a small sensor, the micro-aethalometer model AE51, to measure their black carbon levels simultaneously and continuously. We estimated their home and school exposure to PM2.5 filter absorbance, which is well-correlated with black carbon, using a temporally adjusted PM2.5 absorbance land use regression (LUR) model. We found considerable variation in the black carbon levels during the day, with the highest levels measured during commuting periods (geometric mean = 2.8 μg/m(3)) and the lowest levels at home (geometric mean = 1.3 μg/m(3)). Hourly temporally adjusted LUR model estimates for the home and school showed moderate to good correlation with measured personal black carbon levels at home and school (r = 0.59 and 0.68, respectively) and lower correlation with commuting trips (r = 0.32 and 0.21, respectively). The correlation between modeled home

Job strain: a cross-sectional survey of dementia care specialists and other staff in Swedish home care services.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandberg, Linda; Borell, Lena; Edvardsson, David; Rosenberg, Lena; Boström, Anne-Marie

2018-01-01

An increasing number of older persons worldwide live at home with various functional limitations such as dementia. So, home care staff meet older persons with extensive, complex needs. The staff's well-being is crucial because it can affect the quality of their work, although literature on job strain among home care staff is limited. To describe perceived job strain among home care staff and to examine correlations between job strain, personal factors, and organizational factors. The study applied a cross-sectional survey design. Participants were dementia care specialists who work in home care (n=34) and other home care staff who are not specialized in dementia care (n=35). The Strain in Dementia Care Scale (SDCS) and Creative Climate Questionnaire instruments and demographic variables were used. Descriptive and inferential statistics (including regression modeling) were applied. The regional ethical review board approved the study. Home care staff perceived job strain - particularly because they could not provide what they perceived to be necessary care. Dementia care specialists ranked job strain higher (m=5.71) than other staff members (m=4.71; p =0.04). Job strain (for total score and for all five SDCS factors) correlated with being a dementia care specialist. Correlations also occurred between job strain for SDCS factor 2 (difficulties understanding and interpreting) and not having Swedish as first language and SDCS factor 5 (lack of recognition) and stagnated organizational climate. The study indicates that home care staff and particularly dementia care specialists perceived high job strain. Future studies are needed to confirm or reject findings from this study.

Evaluating fidelity in home-visiting programs a qualitative analysis of 1058 home visit case notes from 105 families.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Saïas

Full Text Available Implementation fidelity is a key issue in home-visiting programs as it determines a program's effectiveness in accomplishing its original goals. This paper seeks to evaluate fidelity in a 27-month program addressing maternal and child health which took place in France between 2006 and 2011.To evaluate implementation fidelity, home visit case notes were analyzed using thematic qualitative and computer-assisted linguistic analyses.During the prenatal period, home visitors focused on the social components of the program. Visitors discussed the physical changes in pregnancy, and psychological and social environment issues. Discussing immigration, unstable employment and financial related issues, family relationships and dynamics and maternity services, while not expected, were found in case notes. Conversely, health during pregnancy, early child development and postpartum mood changes were not identified as topics within the prenatal case notes. During the postnatal period, most components of the intervention were addressed: home visitors observed the mother's adaptation to the baby; routine themes such as psychological needs and medical-social networks were evaluated; information on the importance of social support and on adapting the home environment was given; home visitors counseled on parental authority, and addressed mothers' self-esteem issues; finally, they helped to find child care, when necessary. Some themes were not addressed or partially addressed: health education, child development, home environment, mother's education plans and personal routine, partner support and play with the child. Other themes were not expected, but found in the case notes: social issues, mother-family relationship, relation with services, couple issues, quality of maternal behavior and child's language development.In this program, home visitors experienced difficulties addressing some of the objectives because they gave precedence to the families' urgent needs

Nurse's perceptions and experiences of using of a mobile-phone-based Advanced Symptom Management System (ASyMS) to monitor and manage chemotherapy-related toxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Maguire, R; McCann, L; Miller, M; Kearney, N

2008-09-01

Many people diagnosed with cancer will receive chemotherapy as a core component of their care. Recent changes in the delivery of cancer services mean that patients frequently receive care on an out-patient basis and are therefore often required to manage related side effects at home without direct support from oncology health professionals. The use of information and communications technology may be seen as a means of supporting patients receiving chemotherapy in the home care setting. This mixed methods study, reports on the perceptions of nurses (n=35) who participated in a randomised controlled trial of a mobile phone based, Advanced Symptom Management System (ASyMS), in the management of chemotherapy-related toxicity in patients with breast, lung and colorectal cancer. Nurses' perceptions of ASyMS were evaluated at the start and the end of the study. Overall, they could see the benefits of ASyMS in the remote monitoring of chemotherapy toxicity and its role in facilitating early intervention and subsequent management, demonstrating the potential utility of the system within clinical practice.

Analysis of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate in environmental samples by GC-MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Elhottová, D; Tríska, J; Petersen, S O; Santrůcková, H

2000-05-01

Application of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) can significantly improve trace analyses of compounds in complex matrices from natural environments compared to gas chromatography only. A GC-MS/MS technique for determination of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), a bacterial storage compound, has been developed and used for analysis of two soils stored for up to 319 d, fresh samples of sewage sludge, as well as a pure culture of Bacillus megaterium. Specific derivatization of beta-hydroxybutyrate (3-OH C4:0) PHB monomer units by N-tert-butyl-dimethylsilyl-N-methyltrifluoracetamide (MTBSTFA) improved chromatographic and mass spectrometric properties of the analyte. The diagnostic fragmentation scheme of the derivates tert-butyldimethylsilyl ester and ether of beta-hydroxybutyric acid (MTBSTFA-HB) essential for the PHB identification was shown. The ion trap MS was used, therefore the scan gave the best sensitivity and with MS/MS the noise decreased, so the S/N was better and also with second fragmentation the amount of ions increased compared to SIM. The detection limit for MTBSTFA-HB by GC-MS/MS was about 10(-13) g microL(-1) of injected volume, while by GC (FID) and GC-MS (scan) it was around 10(-10) g microL(-1) of injected volume. Sensitivity of GC-MS/MS measurements of PHB in arable soil and activated sludge samples was down to 10 pg of PHB g(-1) dry matter. Comparison of MTBSTFA-HB detection in natural soil sample by GC (FID), GC-MS (scan) and by GC-MS/MS demonstrated potentials and limitations of the individual measurement techniques.

Key issues in human resource planning for home support workers in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Keefe, Janice M; Knight, Lucy; Martin-Matthews, Anne; Légaré, Jacques

2011-01-01

This paper is a synthesis of research on recruitment and retention challenges for home support workers (HSWs) in Canada. Home support workers (HSWs) provide needed support with personal care and daily activities to older persons living in the community. Literature (peer reviewed, government, and non-government documents) published in the past decade was collected from systematic data base searches between January and September 2009, and yielded over 100 references relevant to home care human resources for older Canadians. Four key human resource issues affecting HSWs were identified: compensation, education and training, quality assurance, and working conditions. To increase the workforce and retain skilled employees, employers can tailor their marketing strategies to specific groups, make improvements in work environment, and learn about what workers value and what attracts them to home support work. Understanding these HR issues for HSWs will improve recruitment and retention strategies for this workforce by helping agencies to target their limited resources. Given the projected increase in demand for these workers, preparations need to begin now and consider long-term strategies involving multiple policy areas, such as health and social care, employment, education, and immigration.

Cyber Security : Home User's Perspective

OpenAIRE

Ikonen, Mikko

2014-01-01

Cyber security is important to understand for home users. New technology allows for new cyber threats to emerge and new solutions must be considered to counter them. Nearly every device is connected to the Internet and this opens new possibilities and threats to cyber security. This Bachelor's thesis explores the different aspects of cyber security and suggests solutions to different cyber security issues found. The different aspects of cyber security under research here include personal ...

Improving fatigue in multiple sclerosis by smartphone-supported energy management: The MS TeleCoach feasibility study.

Science.gov (United States)

D'hooghe, Marie; Van Gassen, Geert; Kos, Daphne; Bouquiaux, Olivier; Cambron, Melissa; Decoo, Danny; Lysandropoulos, Andreas; Van Wijmeersch, Bart; Willekens, Barbara; Penner, Iris-Katharina; Nagels, Guy

2018-03-27

Fatigue is a frequently occurring, often disabling symptom in MS with no single effective treatment. In current fatigue management interventions, personalized, real-time follow-up is often lacking. The objective of the study is to assess the feasibility of the MS TeleCoach, a novel intervention offering telemonitoring of fatigue and telecoaching of physical activity and energy management in persons with MS (pwMS) over a 12-week period. The goal of the MS TeleCoach, conceived as a combination of monitoring, self-management and motivational messages, is to enhance levels of physical activity thereby improving fatigue in pwMS in an accessible and interactive way, reinforcing self-management of patients. We conducted a prospective, open-label feasibility study of the MS TeleCoach in pwMS with Expanded Disability Status Scale ≤ 4 and moderate to severe fatigue as measured by the Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions (FSMC). Following a 2-week run-in period to assess the baseline activity level per patient, the target number of activity counts was gradually increased over the 12-week period through telecoaching. The primary efficacy outcome was change in FSMC total score from baseline to study end. A subset of patients was asked to fill in D-QUEST 2.0, a usability questionnaire, to evaluate the satisfaction with the MS TeleCoach device and the experienced service. Seventy-five patients were recruited from 16 centres in Belgium, of which 57 patients (76%) completed the study. FSMC total score (p = 0.009) and motor and cognitive subscores (p = 0.007 and p = 0.02 respectively) decreased from baseline to week 12, indicating an improvement in fatigue. One third of participants with severe fatigue changed to a lower FSMC category for both FSMC total score and subscores. The post-study evaluation of patient satisfaction showed that the intervention was well accepted and that patients were very satisfied with the quality of the professional services

Home Here, Home There: The lives and Landscape within High-tech Trans-Pacific Commuter Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shenglin Chang

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Within the last two decades the issue of 'home identity' (how a home reflects a person's identity has been an emerging topic within contemporary intellectual discourse in fields as diverse as Asian-American studies, anthropology, cultural geography, cultural studies, literary criticism and landscape architecture. In this article, I focus on the transnational experiences of members of a newly emerging trans-Pacific commuter culture, and give special attention to describing how individual members of this group construct the relationship between self and landscape. This article reveals the complex process in which members of a newly emerging trans-Pacific commuter culture have developed new non-traditional ways of constructing the landscape/home relationship - ways that call for challenging essentialist versions of home within a rapidly changing information age. I examine how Taiwanese-born, high-tech computer engineers who relocated to Silicon Valley engage in a struggle between their old identities and their newly forming American identities. These engineers and their families - members of the 'trans-Pacific home phenomenon' that emerged in the late 1990s - have a lifestyle in which they regularly commute between their American and Taiwanese homes. The ease of global travel and instant worldwide communication that became available in the 1990s afforded the trans-Pacific commuter group ease of travel, simultaneous ownership of two homes, and led to the reinvention of the relationship between global and local within the construction of self and home. This article explores how members of the trans-Pacific commuter culture struggle to make sense between the here-and-there homes across the Pacific Rim. With evidence from 80 interviews conducted in Silicon Valley (USA, Hsinchu (Taiwan, and Shanghai and Beijing (China, I focus on the ways in which members of the global-commuter group invented new, non-essentialist ways of constructing their home

The smart house for older persons and persons with physical disabilities: structure, technology arrangements, and perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Stefanov, Dimitar H; Bien, Zeungnam; Bang, Won-Chul

2004-06-01

Smart houses are considered a good alternative for the independent life of older persons and persons with disabilities. Numerous intelligent devices, embedded into the home environment, can provide the resident with both movement assistance and 24-h health monitoring. Modern home-installed systems tend to be not only physically versatile in functionality but also emotionally human-friendly, i.e., they may be able to perform their functions without disturbing the user and without causing him/her any pain, inconvenience, or movement restriction, instead possibly providing him/her with comfort and pleasure. Through an extensive survey, this paper analyzes the building blocks of smart houses, with particular attention paid to the health monitoring subsystem as an important component, by addressing the basic requirements of various sensors implemented from both research and clinical perspectives. The paper will then discuss some important issues of the future development of an intelligent residential space with a human-friendly health monitoring functional system.

Real-time embedded face recognition for smart home

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zuo, F.; With, de P.H.N.

2005-01-01

We propose a near real-time face recognition system for embedding in consumer applications. The system is embedded in a networked home environment and enables personalized services by automatic identification of users. The aim of our research is to design and build a face recognition system that is

Preliminary validation study of the Spanish version of the satisfaction with life scale in persons with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas-Carrasco, Ramona; Sastre-Garriga, Jaume; Galán, Ingrid; Den Oudsten, Brenda L; Power, Michael J

2014-01-01

To assess Life Satisfaction, using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and to analyze its psychometric properties in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Persons with MS (n = 84) recruited at the MS Centre of Catalonia (Spain) completed a battery of subjective assessments including the SWLS, the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument and disability module (WHOQOL-BREF, WHOQOL-DIS) and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Depression (HADS-D); sociodemographic and disability status data were also gathered. Psychometric properties of the SWLS were investigated using standard psychometric methods. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient) was 0.84. A factor analysis using a principal components method showed a one factor structure accounting for 62.6% of the variance. Statistically significant correlations were confirmed between SWLS with WHOQOL-BREF, WHOQOL-DIS and HADS-D. SWLS scores were significantly different between a priori defined groups: probable depressed versus nondepressed and participants perceiving a mild versus severe impact of disability on their lives. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report on the psychometrics properties of the SWLS in persons with MS. It might be a valuable tool to use in appraising persons with MS through the continuum of care. The Spanish version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a reliable and valid instrument in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The SWLS is able to discriminate between participants with low or high scores on depressive symptoms or disability impact on life. SWLS might be useful through the continuum of care in persons with MS, including Rehabilitation Services.

KERNELHR: A program for estimating animal home ranges

Science.gov (United States)

Seaman, D.E.; Griffith, B.; Powell, R.A.

1998-01-01

Kernel methods are state of the art for estimating animal home-range area and utilization distribution (UD). The KERNELHR program was developed to provide researchers and managers a tool to implement this extremely flexible set of methods with many variants. KERNELHR runs interactively or from the command line on any personal computer (PC) running DOS. KERNELHR provides output of fixed and adaptive kernel home-range estimates, as well as density values in a format suitable for in-depth statistical and spatial analyses. An additional package of programs creates contour files for plotting in geographic information systems (GIS) and estimates core areas of ranges.

Introduction of assistive devices: home nurses' practices and beliefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Roelands, Marc; Van Oost, Paulette; Depoorter, Anne Marie; Buysse, Ann; Stevens, Veerle

2006-04-01

This paper reports a study describing home nurses' intention and current practices regarding introducing assistive devices, and investigating whether their practice is related to social cognitive factors (attitudes, subjective norms and self-efficacy). Home nurses not only care for patients in particular medical domains, but also educate and guide them towards more independence. Patients with age-related disabilities in mobility and self-care might benefit from the use of assistive devices. A home nurse might be the first and only person to discuss the disability and use of an assistive device. Therefore, home nurses' beliefs about the introduction of assistive devices could affect their daily practices. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 64 home nurses chosen from a random sample of home nursing departments. The home nurses completed a self-administered questionnaire. The Theory of Planned Behaviour framework was used to develop the social cognitive measures regarding each of the six steps distinguished in the introduction of assistive devices. Home nurses had positive attitudes and high levels of intention, subjective norm and self-efficacy towards most steps of the decision process to introduce assistive devices. In a multiple linear regression analysis, attitude and self-efficacy predicted intention to introduce assistive devices to older clients with disabilities. Intention was correlated to home nurses' current practices. The findings suggest that conditions are present to involve home nurses more explicitly in the introduction of assistive devices to their patients. Social cognitive factors should be taken into account when developing interventions that aim to support home nurses to do this.

Use of Home- and Community-Based Services in Taiwan's National 10-Year Long-Term Care Plan.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Hsiao-Wei; Tu, Yu-Kang; Kuo, Po-Hsiu; Chen, Ya-Mei

2018-05-01

We aimed to understand the relationships between care recipients' profiles and home- and community-based services (HCBS use patterns. Data were from the 2010 to 2013 Long-Term Care Service Management System in Taiwan ( N = 78,205). We used latent class analysis and multinomial logistic regression analyses. Three HCBS use patterns were found. Care recipients who lived alone, lived in less urbanized areas, and had instrumental activities of daily living disabilities were more likely to be in the home-based personal care group. Those in the home-based personal and medical care group were more likely than others to have a primary caregiver. Care recipients who had poorer abilities at basic activities of daily living and cognitive function, better household income, and lived in a more urbanized area were more likely to be in the non-personal care multiple services group. The findings suggest that policymakers alleviate barriers to accessing various patterns of HCBS should be encouraged.

Care staff training based on person-centered care and dementia care mapping, and its effects on the quality of life of nursing home residents with dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasuda, Mami; Sakakibara, Hisataka

2017-09-01

To assess the effects of care staff training based on person-centered care (PCC) and dementia care mapping (DCM) on the quality of life (QOL) of residents with dementia in a nursing home. An intervention of staff training based on PCC and DCM was conducted with 40 care staff members at a geriatric nursing home. The effects of the staff training on the QOL of residents with dementia were evaluated by the DCM measurements of 40 residents with dementia three times at about one-month intervals (first, baseline; second, pre-intervention; third, post-intervention). The well-being and ill-being values (WIB values) of the residents with dementia measured by DCM were not different between the first and second rounds before the staff training (p = 0.211). Meanwhile, the WIB values increased from the first and second rounds to the third post-intervention round (p = 0.035 and p Staff training based on PCC and DCM could effectively improve the QOL of residents with dementia.

Preventive home visits to older people in Denmark--why, how, by whom, and when?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vass, M; Avlund, K; Hendriksen, C

2007-01-01

older persons not normally seen in the health care system. In-home assessment is not just a health check, but also an opportunity to meet individual needs that may be of importance for older people to stay independent. Preventive home visits may be part of an overall culture and strategy to avoid...

Individual Differences in Coping with Mortality Salience in Germany vs. Poland: Cultural World View or Personal View Defense?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wojdylo Kamila

2014-06-01

Full Text Available We investigated the influence of personality and culture on effects of mortality salience (MS over cultural worldview defense (CWVD. We hypothesized that CWVD reactions to MS differ between Germany and Poland because of the higher conservatism of the latter country, and that they are moderated by action vs. state orientation. In this study German (N=112 and Polish (N=72, participants were exposed either to MS or to a control condition (dental pain. Punishment ratings to trivial offences and serious social transgressions were measures of CWVD. Results showed that social transgressions in both conditions were more strongly punished in Poland than in Germany. Additionally, compared to the control condition, under MS action oriented punished serious transgressions more strongly in Germany whereas state oriented punished serious transgressions more strongly in Poland. That is, the effects of MS on CWVD are moderated by personality and culture. We interpret the opposite pattern of punishment to serious social transgressions given by action and state orientedin in Germany and Poland, respectively, according to the higher emotional autonomy of action-oriented persons in either culture.

Adaptation of a nursing home culture change research instrument for frontline staff quality improvement use.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartmann, Christine W; Palmer, Jennifer A; Mills, Whitney L; Pimentel, Camilla B; Allen, Rebecca S; Wewiorski, Nancy J; Dillon, Kristen R; Snow, A Lynn

2017-08-01

Enhanced interpersonal relationships and meaningful resident engagement in daily life are central to nursing home cultural transformation, yet these critical components of person-centered care may be difficult for frontline staff to measure using traditional research instruments. To address the need for easy-to-use instruments to help nursing home staff members evaluate and improve person-centered care, the psychometric method of cognitive-based interviewing was used to adapt a structured observation instrument originally developed for researchers and nursing home surveyors. Twenty-eight staff members from 2 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) nursing homes participated in 1 of 3 rounds of cognitive-based interviews, using the instrument in real-life situations. Modifications to the original instrument were guided by a cognitive processing model of instrument refinement. Following 2 rounds of cognitive interviews, pretesting of the revised instrument, and another round of cognitive interviews, the resulting set of 3 short instruments mirrored the concepts of the original longer instrument but were significantly easier for frontline staff to understand and use. Final results indicated frontline staff found the revised instruments feasible to use and clinically relevant in measuring and improving the lived experience of a changing culture. This article provides a framework for developing or adapting other measurement tools for frontline culture change efforts in nursing homes, in addition to reporting on a practical set of instruments to measure aspects of person-centered care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Cannabinoids determination in oral fluid by SPME-GC/MS and UHPLC-MS/MS and its application on suspected drivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Anzillotti, Luca; Castrignanò, Erika; Strano Rossi, Sabina; Chiarotti, Marcello

2014-12-01

The confirmation of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in oral fluid (OF) is an important issue for assessing Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID). The aim of this research was to develop a highly sensitive method with minimal sample pre-treatment suitable for the analysis of small OF volumes (100 μL) for the confirmation of cannabinoids in DUID cases. Two methods were compared for the confirmation of THC in residual OF samples, obtained from a preliminary on-site screening with commercial devices. An ultra high performance LC-MS (UHPLC-MS/MS) method and an SPME-GC/MS method were hence developed. 100 μL of the residual mixture OF/preservative buffer or neat OF was simply added to 10 μL of THC-D3 (1 μg/mL) and submitted to the two different analyses: A - direct injection of 10 μL in UHPLC-MS/MS in positive electrospray ionisation (ESI) mode and B - sampling for 30 min with SPME (100 μm polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS fibre) and direct injection by desorption of the fibre in the GC injection port. The lowest limit of detection (LLOD) of THC was 2 ng/mL in UHPLC-MS/MS and 0.5 ng/mL in SPME-GC/MS. In addition, cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) could be detected in GC/MS equipment at 2 ng/mL, whilst in UHPLC-MS/MS the LLOD was 20 ng/mL. Both methods were applied to 70 samples coming from roadside tests. By SPME-GC/MS analysis, THC was confirmed in 42 samples, whilst CBD was detected in 21 of them, along with CBN in 14 samples. THC concentrations ranged from traces below the lowest limit of quantification or LLOQ (2 ng/mL) up to 690 ng/mL. Copyright © 2014 Forensic Science Society. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Software ion scan functions in analysis of glycomic and lipidomic MS/MS datasets.

Science.gov (United States)

Haramija, Marko

2018-03-01

Hardware ion scan functions unique to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) mode of data acquisition, such as precursor ion scan (PIS) and neutral loss scan (NLS), are important for selective extraction of key structural data from complex MS/MS spectra. However, their software counterparts, software ion scan (SIS) functions, are still not regularly available. Software ion scan functions can be easily coded for additional functionalities, such as software multiple precursor ion scan, software no ion scan, and software variable ion scan functions. These are often necessary, since they allow more efficient analysis of complex MS/MS datasets, often encountered in glycomics and lipidomics. Software ion scan functions can be easily coded by using modern script languages and can be independent of instrument manufacturer. Here we demonstrate the utility of SIS functions on a medium-size glycomic MS/MS dataset. Knowledge of sample properties, as well as of diagnostic and conditional diagnostic ions crucial for data analysis, was needed. Based on the tables constructed with the output data from the SIS functions performed, a detailed analysis of a complex MS/MS glycomic dataset could be carried out in a quick, accurate, and efficient manner. Glycomic research is progressing slowly, and with respect to the MS experiments, one of the key obstacles for moving forward is the lack of appropriate bioinformatic tools necessary for fast analysis of glycomic MS/MS datasets. Adding novel SIS functionalities to the glycomic MS/MS toolbox has a potential to significantly speed up the glycomic data analysis process. Similar tools are useful for analysis of lipidomic MS/MS datasets as well, as will be discussed briefly. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Perception of quality of care among residents of public nursing-homes in Spain: a grounded theory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Martín, Beatriz; Martínez-Andrés, María; Cervera-Monteagudo, Beatriz; Notario-Pacheco, Blanca; Martínez-Vizcaíno, Vicente

2013-06-28

The quality of care in nursing homes is weakly defined, and has traditionally focused on quantify nursing homes outputs and on comparison of nursing homes' resources. Rarely the point of view of clients has been taken into account. The aim of this study was to ascertain what means "quality of care" for residents of nursing homes. Grounded theory was used to design and analyze a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with a theoretical sampling including 20 persons aged over 65 years with no cognitive impairment and eight proxy informants of residents with cognitive impairment, institutionalized at a public nursing home in Spain. Our analysis revealed that participants perceived the quality of care in two ways, as aspects related to the persons providing care and as institutional aspects of the care's process. All participants agreed that aspects related to the persons providing care was a pillar of quality, something that, in turn, embodied a series of emotional and technical professional competences. Regarding the institutional aspects of the care's process, participants laid emphasis on round-the-clock access to health care services and on professional's job stability. This paper includes perspectives of the nursing homes residents, which are largely absent. Incorporating residents' standpoints as a complement to traditional institutional criteria would furnish health providers and funding agencies with key information when it came to designing action plans and interventions aimed at achieving excellence in health care.

Risk Analysis of Typhoid Fever Based on Personal Hygiene and Street Food Consumption Habit at Home

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hilda Nuruzzaman

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Typhoid fever is disease caused by Salmonella typhi bacteria transmission trought contaminated food and drink. Data from RSUD dr. Abdoer Rahem showing that from 2011–2013 typhoid fever case always increase and often happened to children age 5–14 years old. The objective research to analysis risk factor of typhoid fever according to snacking habit at school and at house of children age 7–12 years old. This research was observasional case control study. Data for case in this research are taken from medical record of ‘Unit Teratai’ for the past 1 year in RSUD dr. Abdoer Rahem Situbondo, whereas for control are case group. There are eighty person taken for this research as sample. This result was the risk of typhoid fever children which has habit of hand washing had after defecation at home OR 3.67 (1.29 < OR < 10.64, children which has habit of hand washing before eating had OR 4.33 (1.54 < OR < 12.44, children with short dirty fingernails had OR 7.79 (1.46 < OR < 46.18 frequent street food consumption OR 3.89 (1.39 < OR < 11.06, buy snack at food street OR 3.95 (1.40 < OR < 11.30, buy some snack with packing had OR 3.5 (1.26 < OR < 9.38. The conclusion is that habit hand washing after defecation, habit hand washing before eating, short dirty fingernail, frequent food street consumption, buy food street and buy some food with sealed packing can secrease the risk of typhoid fever for children age 7–12 years Keywords: typhoid fever, risk factor of typhoid fever, personal hygiene, street food consumption habit

Impact of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer intervention on the spread of viruses in homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamimi, Akrum H; Carlino, Sheri; Edmonds, Sarah; Gerba, Charles P

2014-06-01

The objectives of this study were to determine the movement of a virus throughout a household and the impact of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) on reducing the movement and exposure of the virus to household members. Bacterial virus MS-2 was used as the surrogate for human enteric and respiratory viruses. Seven households with families having at least two children in the age range of 2-18 living in the home were used in this study. The hands of one adult family member were contaminated with 1 × 10(8). MS-2 bacteriophage in each home. After 8 h, the hands of each family member (10 fingers) and 20 frequently touched fomites were sampled to determine baseline contamination without intervention. Within 8 h, MS-2 was detected on all of the family member's hands and most of the fomites. The intervention consisted of providing the families in all selected homes with bottles of an ABHS, which were placed in the kitchen, bathrooms, and nurseries. Smaller individual bottles were provided for each family member greater than 12 years old to place in purses, pockets, backpacks, etc. The families were instructed to use the ABHS one time or three times during the day. For one and three uses, a statistically significant reduction of virus on un-inoculated and inoculated hands of ~99% occurred within 8 h. Similar reductions occurred on fomites throughout the households (97-99%). These results demonstrate that the use of an ABHS can significantly reduce transfer of a virus to the hands, and to the commonly touched surfaces within the household.

Identification of mycotoxins by UHPLC–QTOF MS in airborne fungi and fungi isolated from industrial paper and antique documents from the Archive of Bogotá

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castillo, Nancy I.; Ibáñez, María; Beltrán, Eduardo; Rivera-Monroy, Jhon; Ochoa, Juan Camilo; Páez-Castillo, Mónica; Posada-Buitrago, Martha L.; Sulyok, Michael; Hernández, Félix

2016-01-01

Mold deterioration of historical documents in archives and libraries is a frequent and complex phenomenon that may have important economic and cultural consequences. In addition, exposure to toxic fungal metabolites might produce health problems. In this work, samples of broths of fungal species isolated from the documentary material and from indoor environmental samples of the Archive of Bogotá have been analyzed to investigate the presence of mycotoxins. High resolution mass spectrometry made possible to search for a large number of mycotoxins, even without reference standards available at the laboratory. For this purpose, a screening strategy based on ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC–QTOF MS) under MS E mode was applied. A customized home-made database containing elemental composition for around 600 mycotoxins was compiled. The presence of the (de)protonated molecule measured at its accurate mass was evaluated in the samples. When a peak was detected, collision induced dissociation fragments and characteristic isotopic ions were also evaluated and used for tentative identification, based on structure compatibility and comparison with literature data (if existing). Up to 44 mycotoxins were tentatively identified by UHPLC–QTOF MS. 34 of these tentative compounds were confirmed by subsequent analysis using a targeted LC–MS/MS method, supporting the strong potential of QTOF MS for identification/elucidation purposes. The presence of mycotoxins in these samples might help to reinforce safety measures for researchers and staff who work on reception, restoration and conservation of archival material, not only at the Archive of Bogotá but worldwide. - Highlights: • Mold deterioration of historical documents is a frequent and complex phenomenon. • Samples of broths of fungal species isolated from Archive of Bogotá analyzed. • UHPLC–QTOF MS (MS E ) applied for mycotoxins screening

Identification of mycotoxins by UHPLC–QTOF MS in airborne fungi and fungi isolated from industrial paper and antique documents from the Archive of Bogotá

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castillo, Nancy I. [Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá D.C. 111821 (Colombia); Ibáñez, María; Beltrán, Eduardo [Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, University Jaume I, Castellón 12071 (Spain); Rivera-Monroy, Jhon; Ochoa, Juan Camilo; Páez-Castillo, Mónica [Laboratorio de Química, Física y Biología, Archivo de Bogotá, Bogotá D.C. 111711 (Colombia); Posada-Buitrago, Martha L. [Laboratorio de Biofísica, Centro Internacional de Física – CIF, Bogotá D.C. 111321 (Colombia); Sulyok, Michael [Department for Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Tulln 3430 (Austria); Hernández, Félix, E-mail: felix.hernandez@uji.es [Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, University Jaume I, Castellón 12071 (Spain)

2016-01-15

Mold deterioration of historical documents in archives and libraries is a frequent and complex phenomenon that may have important economic and cultural consequences. In addition, exposure to toxic fungal metabolites might produce health problems. In this work, samples of broths of fungal species isolated from the documentary material and from indoor environmental samples of the Archive of Bogotá have been analyzed to investigate the presence of mycotoxins. High resolution mass spectrometry made possible to search for a large number of mycotoxins, even without reference standards available at the laboratory. For this purpose, a screening strategy based on ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC–QTOF MS) under MS{sup E} mode was applied. A customized home-made database containing elemental composition for around 600 mycotoxins was compiled. The presence of the (de)protonated molecule measured at its accurate mass was evaluated in the samples. When a peak was detected, collision induced dissociation fragments and characteristic isotopic ions were also evaluated and used for tentative identification, based on structure compatibility and comparison with literature data (if existing). Up to 44 mycotoxins were tentatively identified by UHPLC–QTOF MS. 34 of these tentative compounds were confirmed by subsequent analysis using a targeted LC–MS/MS method, supporting the strong potential of QTOF MS for identification/elucidation purposes. The presence of mycotoxins in these samples might help to reinforce safety measures for researchers and staff who work on reception, restoration and conservation of archival material, not only at the Archive of Bogotá but worldwide. - Highlights: • Mold deterioration of historical documents is a frequent and complex phenomenon. • Samples of broths of fungal species isolated from Archive of Bogotá analyzed. • UHPLC–QTOF MS (MS{sup E}) applied for mycotoxins

FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Internally Displaced Persons Lack Effective Protection

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2001-01-01

Internally displaced persons--those forced to flee their homes because of armed conflict and persecution but who remain within their own country are among the most at-risk, vulnerable populations in the world...

System Control Device Electronics Smart Home Using Neural Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Safarul Ilham

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The use of information technology is very useful for today’s life and the next, where the human facilitated in doing a variety of activities in the life day to day. By the development of the existing allows people no longer do a job with difficulty. For that, it takes a system safety home using system technology Web-based and complete video streaming CCTV (video streaming a person can see the condition of his home whenever and wherever by using handphone, laptops and other tools are connected to the Internet network. This tool can facilitate someone in the monitor at home and control equipment the House as open and close and the lock the gate, turning on and off the lights so homeowners are no longer have to visit their home and fear the state of the House because fully security and control in the House was handled by the system. based on the above problems Writer try to design work system a tool that can control the simulation tools home using two Microcontroller is Attiny 2313 and Atmega16.

Personalized use of ICT--from telemonitoring to ambient assisted living.

Science.gov (United States)

Norgall, Thomas; Wichert, Reiner

2013-01-01

Individual availability of information and communications technology (ICT) has enabled "Personal Health" applications like the continuous ubiquitous telemonitoring of vital signs. The concept of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) goes beyond health and care applications utilizing home automation technology for supporting individuals with specific needs, particularly enabling elderly to live in their accustomed home as long as possible. These users usually suffer from more than one disease and need compensation of several impairments. Most current AAL projects and products however provide insulated solutions addressing only a small selection of these user needs. For comprehensive dynamic system adaptation to changing user needs an open platform supporting interoperable components is required. While the industry-driven Continua Health Alliance developed a corresponding Personal Health ecosystem, the ongoing European project universAAL aims at a universal platform for both AAL and Personal Health applications.

Inclusive design for a care home

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raudaskoski, Pirkko Liisa

2011-01-01

Nordic Conference on Activity Theory and the Forth Finnish Conference on Cultural and Activity Research (FISCAR10) Proceedings ISBN 987-952-60-0021-3 p. 160 INCLUSIVE DESIGN FOR A CARE HOME Pirkko Raudaskoski The paper discusses the methodological challenges of both theorizing and implementing...... communication skills with language or by other means. Instead, others will have to mediate their experiences. These accounts are necessarily (value-laden) transformations that can be problematic also due to the sudden identity change for the occupant from a ‘normal’ person to a ‘disabled’ person and the wish...... for the people around to restore the ‘old version’ of the person. Is there space for disability advocacy in this environment? Büscher, M., O’Neille, J., Rooksby, J. 2009. Designing for diagnosing. CSCW 18. Keinonen, T. 2007. Immediate, product and remote design. IASDR07....

Adaptive leadership and person-centered care: a new approach to solving problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Corazzini, Kirsten N; Anderson, Ruth A

2014-01-01

Successfully transitioning to person-centered care in nursing homes requires a new approach to solving care issues. The adaptive leadership framework suggests that expert providers must support frontline caregivers in their efforts to develop high-quality, person-centered solutions.

Analytical Method Details (MS): SE52_MS01 [Metabolonote[Archive

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available stem and Waters Q-Tof Premier UPLC-QTOF-MS ESI Negative The eluates (3 μl) were subsequently subjected to metabolome...DS column (LC-ESI-Q-Tof/MS, HPLC: Waters Acquity UPLC system; MS: Waters Q-Tof Premier). The metabolome...d (Matsuda et al., 2009c, 2010a). Briefly, the metabolome data were obtained in the negative ion mode (m/z 1... the complex nature of the metabolome data. To construct MS2T libraries, the extracts of five ecotypes were

Flexible home care automation adapting to the personal and evolving needs and situations of the patient

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zarifi Eslami, Mohammed; van Sinderen, Marten J.

Health monitoring and healthcare provisioning at home (i.e., outside the hospital) have received increasingly attention as a possible and partial solution for addressing the problems of an aging population. There are still many technological issues that need to be solved before home healthcare

Information-dependent acquisition-mediated LC-MS/MS screening procedure with semiquantitative potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Decaestecker, Tineke N; Vande Casteele, Sofie R; Wallemacq, Pierre E; Van Peteghem, Carlos H; Defore, Dieter L; Van Bocxlaer, Jan F

2004-11-01

The development of a LC-MS/MS general unknown screening procedure for toxicologically relevant substances in blood samples by means of information-dependent acquisition on a Q-TOF is reported. IDA is an artificial intelligence-based product ion scan mode providing automatic "on-the-fly" MS to MS/MS switching. By performing information-dependent scanning at two different fragmentation energies, two collision-induced dissociation product ion spectra for each of the detected compounds are generated. As such, information-rich MS/MS spectra are obtained from precursor ions not known beforehand. In addition, limitation of the MS/MS acquisition time to an acceptable minimum resulted in an almost instantaneous switch back to the MS mode. As such, this approach provided MS chromatograms that still could be of use for semiquantitative purposes. Since the switching intensity threshold, unequivocally related to the background noise, proved a critical parameter, the solid-phase extraction procedure, the liquid chromatographic conditions, and the mass spectrometric parameters all were optimized to the advantage of information-dependent acquisition. Finally, the screening procedure we developed was benchmarked, on one hand, qualitatively against the results obtained from traditional GUS approaches in a number of routine toxicological laboratories (20 samples) and, on the other hand, quantitatively with respect to its potential against established LC-MS/MS methods (7 samples). The procedure performed very well from a qualitative point of view; almost all of the drugs detected by the conventional techniques were identified, as well as additional drugs that were not previously reported. The procedure proved well-suited for an initial semiquantitative assessment, as is customary in, for example, forensic toxicology before accurate intoxication levels are determined using targeted analytical analyses.

Perceived susceptibility and self-protective behavior: a field experiment to encourage home radon testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weinstein, N.D.; Sandman, P.M.; Roberts, N.E.

1991-01-01

Tested in a field experiment (N = 647) the hypothesis that perceptions of personal susceptibility are important in decisions to test one's home for radioactive radon gas. Experimental group subjects received a personal telephone call to tell them they lived in a high-risk area and a personal letter to reinforce the telephone message. After the intervention, experimental subjects were significantly more likely than minimal-treatment subjects to acknowledge the possibility of high radon levels in their homes. Perceptions of susceptibility and illness severity were significantly correlated with orders of radon test kits and with testing intentions. Nevertheless, there were no differences between groups in test orders or intentions. Results are discussed in terms of the difficulty of getting people to acknowledge susceptibility and the factors other than risk perceptions that influence self-protective behavior