by Arlene A. Schmid  , Marieke Van Puymbroeck  , Christine A. Fruhauf  , Laura A. Swink  and Jennifer D. Portz

Received: 29 September 2019;  Published: 25 November 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904087

Background: Falls are relatively common in older adults and are associated with chronic pain. Chronic pain may even be a predictor of falls in older adults. However, this relationship has not been studied in adults

by David Smithard  , Signe Westmark  and Dorte Melgaard

Received: 15 September 2019;  Published: 15 November 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904086

Background: As the world’s population ages, so the number of old and frail people increases. Respiratory disease is a common reason for hospital admission for older people. Aspiration of saliva, which is probably infected, is the likely etiological agent. The presence of an abnormal swallow has been found to be high in frail older people. Despite the high incidence of swallow problems amongst older people, many hospital services do not routinely screen older people for dysphagia. Methods: A survey, using Research E [...]

by Tarik Wasfie  , Avery Jackson  , Cara Marie Brock  , Stefanija Galovska  and Jennifer Hille

Received: 07 November 2019;  Published: 13 November 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904085

None.

by Christopher S. Walter  , Maryalice Kelly  , Susan Kane Patton  , Jennifer Vincenzo  , Holly B. Bennett  , Michelle Gray  , Leah Jean Henry  , Alishia Ferguson  and Ro Dibrezzo

Received: 15 August 2019;  Published: 29 October 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904084

Aim: This case study reports on the planning and implementation of a fall risk assessment and prevention activity for older adults offered in multiple community settings by health professional faculty and students. Background: In the US, the percentage of adults 65 and older who fell was more than 29% in 2018. Among states, Arkansas ranks 48th with 35.2% of older adults reporting a fall (CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2018). The desired outcomes of the interprofessional service learning (SL) proj [...]

by Sheri R. Levy  and MaryBeth Apriceno

Received: 20 June 2019;  Published: 28 October 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904083

Worldwide, people are living longer but not necessarily experiencing optimal health since healthy ageing stems from a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. The growing interdisciplinary literature on ageism from education, medicine, psychology, and social work increasingly highlights the pivotal role that ageism plays in ageing. Ageism is generally an overlooked factor in understanding and fostering healthy ageing. Ageism creates a negative view of the ageing process as marked by inevitabl [...]

by Elena Crooks  and Kimberly Cleary

Received: 14 September 2019;  Published: 25 October 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904082

Background: Falls are the leading cause of hospitalization and death among older adults; therefore, the ability to predict fall risk among older adults is critical. Several performance-based outcome measures exist to assess fall risk. Psychological factors are also associated with fall risk yet can be difficult to assess and are often overlooked. In this study, we investigated whether the Short Form 36 Item Health Survey (SF-36v2®), a measure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL), predicted future falls in a sa [...]

by Zena Aldridge  and Karen Harrison Dening

Received: 19 September 2019;  Published: 18 October 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904081

The UK population is ageing. In 2017 approximately 18% of the UK population were aged 65 years or over and projected to grow to almost 21% by 2027 according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) (2018a). Increased age is the greatest risk factor for developing dementia (Van de Flier & Scheltens 2005). It is estimated that there are 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK and, if current figures relating to incidence and prevalence are realised, this will increase to 1 million people by 2025 and 2 millio [...]

by Emma Wolverson  , Heather Birtles  , Esme Moniz-Cook  , Ian James  , Dawn Brooker  and Frances Duffy

Received: 08 September 2019;  Published: 11 October 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904080

Background Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia and Challenging Behaviour in dementia care are just two of a variety of terms for a complex paradigm that covers the most distressing and costly aspects of the condition. The terminology used to describe these aspects can influence what is measured as outcomes and what is considered as evidence of improvement. Unhelpful or outmoded narratives could be a barrier to developing innovative interventions or in determining what works for whom. This UK study [...]

by Robert J. Brent

Received: 31 July 2019;  Published: 10 October 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904079

Background: The 2018 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures special report includes two new guidelines for measuring dementia symptoms. The first requires that a biomarker (biological factor) be added to a doctor’s clinical judgment of the cause of symptoms when determining whether dementia is present. The second involves identifying four stages of dementia: normal cognition, preclinical, MCI and dementia. Now only those with defining brain pathologies will be judged to be persons with stage 4 dementia. This articl [...]

by Elizabeth M. Goldberg  , Cameron J. Gettel  , Kelsey Hayes  , Renee R. Shield  and Kate M. Guthrie

Received: 21 August 2019;  Published: 10 October 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904078

Three million US emergency department (ED) visits occur for falls each year. The mortality of falls is increasing and only one fourth of older adults report their fall to their primary care provider, suggesting that valuable preventative opportunities are missed. A fall prevention intervention initiated in the ED immediately after a fall has the potential to reduce subsequent falls, but ED providers lack the time and resources to complete fall risk assessments on their patients. GAPcare, the Geriatric Acute and Pos [...]