Browsing by Subject "elderly"

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Aging During the Pandemic: Untangling the Complexities of COVID-19 and Geriatric Care
(JKL International, 2023-05-16) Su, Kaimeng; Jin, Kunlin
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to the global healthcare system, with the elderly population being particularly vulnerable. This comprehensive review synthesizes the findings from publications in "Aging and Disease", highlighting the unique challenges older adults encountered during the pandemic and providing solutions thereof. These studies provide invaluable insights into the elderly population's vulnerabilities and needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The susceptibility to the virus in older individuals remains debatable, and research on the clinical picture of COVID-19 in older populations has yielded insights into clinical features, molecular mechanisms, and potential therapeutic strategies. This review intends to shed light on the need of sustaining physical and mental well-being among older adults during the periods of lockdown by extensively exploring these concerns and emphasizing the need for targeted interventions and support systems for this population. Ultimately, the findings of these studies contribute to developing more effective and comprehensive approaches to managing and mitigating the risks posed by the pandemic to the elderly.
Are the Disaster Preparedness Plans in the Largest Cities in the States Adequate for Disabled & Elderly Populations?
(2007-05-01) Hall, Stephanie K.
Hall, Stephanie K, Are the Disaster Preparedness Plans in the Largest Cities in the Unites States Adequate for Disabled & Elderly Populations? Master of Public Health (Community Health), May 2007, 36 pp., 10 tables, 1 map, reference, 15 titles. This study seeks to compare urban disaster plans in the 25 largest U.S. cities. The focus of this study involves two populations that are often neglected or dealt with last: elderly and disabled. Therefore, the largest US cities should have a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan that includes evacuation & transportation; sheltering and health services; and legal considerations for both the disabled & elderly populations. The data reported in this study was gathered from each city Office of Emergency Management website. The data was analyzed to determine which cities have disaster preparedness plans that consider the disabled and again populations. Results indicate many cities are not prepared.
Auditory Impairment and Falls: Investigating the Link Between Hearing Loss and Falls among Elderly Individuals
(2013-08-01) Villarreal, Adrian R.; Bugnariu, Nicoleta
Recent studies show that hearing acuity correlates with postural balance, a prerequisite for mobility, and impaired hearing is associated with greater risk for falls. A possible connection between impaired hearing and falls in elderly adults could be that awareness resources may be taxed as cognitive load is increased when people with hearing impairment try to interpret what they hear. This practicum report investigated if an increased cognitive load due to auditory impairments in elderly individuals with hearing loss leads to imbalance while walking. Subjects are placed in a virtual reality world and subjects with and without hearing loss, wearing or not wearing their hearing aids will be monitored as they stand, walk, and listen under various conditions. The outcome measures analyzed were gait speed, medial-lateral and vertical displacement of an estimated center of mass, and average hearing scores. The overall goal was to gain a better understanding of the link between hearing and balance to offer new insight into prevention of falls among the elderly. Although no significant comparisons were observed between hearing impaired subjects on gait speed and center of mass displacement measures, it is important to note that not enough subjects have been observed with their hearing aids to make accurate comparisons. In addition to the experimental study, this practicum report briefly discussed the managerial tasks observed in ensuring the study follows the required guidelines involving human subjects.
Methods to Reduce Medication Errors and Improve Medication Adherence Among Elderly Patients Facing a Language Barrier
(2021-05) Hanan, Nicholas L.; Fulda, Kimberly; Mathew, Stephen O.; Mallet, Robert T.; Stankowska, Dorota L.
A significant and growing portion of the population of the United States is of limited English proficiency (LEP). In healthcare, LEP patients are a high-risk group for adverse medical events. Elderly patients are also a high-risk group and often take multiple medications, and when the two groups are combined it can create a potentially dangerous situation for the patient. This study searched for methods to reduce these adverse medical events and improve medication adherence. A total of 42 references were reviewed to find that most commonly, the only resources that physicians have to communicate LEP patients is a trained medical interpreter and on occasion, a few translated documents in the patient's native language. While the prevalence of medical interpreters has been rising, even with a trained interpreter LEP patients generally have worse clinical outcomes and lesser satisfaction than patients who see a language-concordant physician. Physicians can take additional steps such as learning how to most effectively utilize interpreters and employing visual aids and the teach back method to improve direct patient care. They can also take steps outside of the patient-provider interaction to improve care, such as ensuring that patients take notes and review them when it is time to take their medications and advocating the use of resources like internet portals for scheduling appointments and refilling medications. While the healthcare system in the United States has made good progress in making medical interpreters and medication instructions in other languages more accessible, there is still much work to be done in this field to ensure that LEP patients receive the care that they deserve.
Prevalence and Risk Indicators for Root Caries in Non-Institutionalized Older Adults U.S. Population, 1988-1994
(2000-05-01) Rivera Torres, Angel
Rivera Torres, Angel D.D.S., M.P.H., M.S.P.H., Prevalence and Risk Indicators for Root Caries in Non-Institutionalized Older Adults U.S. Population, 1988-1994. Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Sciences), May 2000, 139 pp., 17 tables, 1 illustration, bibliography, 132 titles. Background. Dental caries and periodontal disease are prevalent in the elderly population; the progressive consequences of these have physical, economic, social, and psychological implications for long term care. This study reports on associated risk indicators for root caries in a population-based sample of non-institutionalized older adults of diverse race/ethnic groups and age cohorts. Methods. Data were analyzed from 3.313 non-institutionalized U.S. adults 65 years of age and over, who had been surveyed in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, III 1988-94 (NHANES III) and who had completed the dental examination. Descriptive and multivariate statistics were used to compare older adults with and without root caries. Logistic regression analyses was utilized in this study to identify predictors for root caries. Results. The mean number of teeth in this population was 21, with an average prevalence of root decayed, filled surfaces (RDFs) of 2.17. The prevalence as measured by the root caries index (RCI) was 39.07 and the ratio RDs/RDFs was 70%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that African-American males (O.R.1.55;C.I.1.30-1.84) or Mexican-American males (O.R.3.18;C.I.2.56-3.94) with a level of education less than 8 years (O.R.1.50;C.I.1.25-1.81) living below poverty level (O.R.1.60;C.I.1.33-1.93) were most likely to have root caries. Smoking (O.R.1.70;C.I.1.41-2.04), previous root caries experience (O.R.1.61;C.I.1.15-1.68), wearing a partial denture (O.R.1.78;C.I.1.38-2.29), having 14 teeth of less (O.R.1.42;C.I.1.15-1.76) and consuming starchy (O.R.1.52;C.I.1.26-1.83) and liquid sugar snacks (O.R.1.75;C.I. 1.44-2.11) were also indicators of an increased risk for root caries. Conclusions. These findings suggest that Caucasians had less risk of root caries than African-American and Mexican-Americans and that poor periodontal status (O.R.3.29; C.I. 2.39-4.52) increased the risk of root caries. Additionally, older adults in the U.S. population have a great need for dental treatment. Additional epidemiologic studies are needed and should focus on those social and behavioral factors that put individuals at risk for developing root caries.
Tracking of Cholesterol Among Individuals With and Without Diagnosed Cardiovascular Disease
(2003-05-01) Fisher, Bettina L.; Rene, Antonio; Brant, Larry; Cipher, Daisha J.
Fisher, Bettina L., Tracking of Cholesterol Among Individuals With and Without Diagnosed Cardiovascular Disease. Master of Public Health (Epidemiology), May 2003, 46 pp., 6 tables, 5 figures, bibliography, 33 titles. Cardiovascular disease is a major public health problem among the elderly in the United States, and cholesterol is the number one risk factor for coronary heart disease. Tracking is a method of analysis used to identify at-risk subjects at an early age in order to institute preventive measures before physical implications of the disease arise. The purpose of this study is to determine the stability and predictability of total serum cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) values for people with and without diagnosed cardiovascular disease through tracking. Data was obtained from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging (BLSA) and comprised men, 45 years of age and older who had at least two measurements. The average length of time subjects were in the study was 21 years, and the average number of repeated measurements was seven. The dataset was divided into two subsets – one for subjects entering the study with diagnosed cardiovascular disease, and a second for subjects entering the study without diagnosed cardiovascular disease. Tracking coefficients were measured using the linear regression model and the linear mixed effects model. There was a high degree of tracking for HDL using the linear regression model and the linear mixed effects model (overall dataset: 0.9283, 0.8216 respectively). Comparing tracking coefficients for cholesterol among subjects with and without diagnosed cardiovascular disease (linear mixed effects: 0.6469 and 0.7668; linear regression model: 0.5408 and 0.6022) reveals that the former subset has less stable cholesterol values than that the latter subset. The linear mixed effects model was the best fit for this data, because it corrects for the variation in the BLSA in interperiod and repeated measurements between subjects.
Using a Database to Facilitate the Accrual of Geriatric Subjects with Dementia for Clinical Research Studies
(2007-04-23) Alexander, Jessica; Gwirtz, Patricia A.; Knebl, Janice; Harty, Barbara
The internship and practicum project activities took place in an established geriatric practice that provides care to more than 2,000 patients over the age of 65. Research studies and clinical trials conducted at this site are specifically aimed at either testing the efficacy of medications and treatments in the elderly or researching disease processes predominantly found within the older population. This geriatric practice is led by Dr. Janice Knebl with the assistance of Barbara Harty, who is a seasoned geriatric nurse practitioner, IRB board member, clinical coordinator, and my mentor during the internship. The overall objective of the internship was to build a functional knowledge of how to manage research with human subjects. The internship experience spanned several domains within the field of clinical research management: clinical coordination, contract management, institutional research management, and data/records management. Within the course of the internship and implementation of the practicum project there were more than 1040 hours logged working within these areas of concentration in order to achieve that goal. The following is a narrative account of those experiences that details the Internship/Activity Log submitted as Appendix A of this report.