The use of opioids in long-term care is prevalent. According to a recent report, 65 percent of residents in nursing home care facilities in the US used opioids for pain. A recent study investigated the opioid doses given to these residents due to their association with a variety of dose-dependent…
A recent study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association that explored whether the effects of depressive symptoms and antidepressant use at baseline predicted the subsequent decline in physical capability and number of hospitalizations in nursing home residents in Hong Kong. A supplement purpose was to…
Depression is a debilitating psychological illness that is prevalent in the older adult population living in long-term care settings. According to a report from the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA), older adult residents in long-term care are 3 to 4 times more likely to have depression compared…
Older adults living in assisted living facilities often require assistance with medication management. A recent study analyzed the roles in assisted living medication management and satisfaction with unlicensed assisted personnel (UAP) as medication aides, a commonly used approach to decrease staffing expenses. The results of the study detail medication management…
The older population is steadily growing worldwide. The aging process often involves a continuous decline in cognitive function, normally leading to minor changes to cognitive processes such as memory retrieval and the speed at which information is encoded. For normal progression of aging, this functional decrease is not critical enough…
Many older adults who suffer from cognitive disability also display challenging or problem behaviors. These types of behaviors threaten the physical safety of the individuals or others or cause community facilities to become inaccessible. There has been much concern for many years regarding the use of psychotropic drugs—specifically, antipsychotics—that are…
The prescription of potentially inappropriate medications to older adults is known to be highly prevalent in the United States, estimating from 12% for community-living seniors to 40% for those dwelling in nursing homes (NHs). When prescribed drugs are clearly indicated, founded on scientific evidence, and are well tolerated, medication use…
Research shows that nearly 80% of nursing home residents have osteoporosis and 10.8% have a hip fracture. Dementia significantly increases residents’ risk of a hip fracture. Although treating osteoporosis in nursing homes was proven to be feasible by the Vitamin D and Osteoporosis Study (ViDOS), only one-third of residents prone to…
It has taken far too long, but the Obama administration is finally cracking down on nursing homes to curtail inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications such as Abilify, Risperdal, Zyprexa, and clozapine on residents with Alzhiemer’s disease and dementia. Federal investigators report that many older Americans are overusing psychiatric drugs and…
This November, there will be an important proposition on the ballot that all advocates of older adults should be aware of. The Troy and Alana Pack Patient Safety Act, also known as Proposition 46, is a ballot initiative that will protect patients from corporate greed in healthcare services. It is…