Newsview
Article Outline
- Report on Pharmacological Treatment of Dementia
- Diabetes and dementia
- Link between inappropriate medications and elevated death rates in nursing home patients
- Forum develops initiatives to further patient safety
- Quality-of-Life measures in clinical research and medical care
- New Master's program in geriatric nursing
- Simulation technology and nursing education quality
- American Retirement Corporation joins NADONA/LTC
- Congratulations
- Resources
Report on Pharmacological Treatment of Dementia
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently released the summary of a new report, Pharmacological Treatment of Dementia. The report presents evidence that drug therapy for dementia can improve symptoms and outcomes, including global assessment, cognition, behavior, mood, and quality of life. Some deficiencies in the research were noted such as insufficient evidence of the effects of drug treatment on delaying the onset or progression of dementia and the lack of drug-to-drug comparison studies. A print copy of the summary and report are available by sending an e-mail to ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov.
Diabetes and dementia
Diabetes can accelerate dementia, which in itself hinders the ability to manage one's blood sugar. Early detection and treatment of diabetes could help stall the effects of cognitive decline, including Alzheimer's disease, according to a recent article posted at the SAGE Crossroads Web site. The full article is available at www.sagecrossroads.net/public/news/show_article.cfm?articleID=93
Link between inappropriate medications and elevated death rates in nursing home patients
According to a study recently reported in the January 10, 2005, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, elderly nursing home residents given potentially inappropriate drugs intermittently over a 3-month period had an almost 90% greater likelihood of dying during the last month of that period than similar residents not administered possibly inappropriate medications. The study, conducted by researchers at the federal government's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is the first known analysis in the United States of the effects of potentially inappropriate medication prescribing in nursing homes based on nationally representative survey data. The most common drugs involved were propoxyphene (narcotic painkiller), amitriptyline (antidepressant), diphenhydramine and cyproheptadine (antihistamines with strong anticholinergic effects); hyroxyzine (antianxiety drug), oxybutynin (bladder muscle relaxant), ranitidine (antacid), and iron supplements. For a pdf file of the article or for questions, contact Bob Isquith at bisquith@ahrq.gov or call (301 427-1539.
Forum develops initiatives to further patient safety
The nation's first Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Patient Safety Leadership Forum was recently held in San Diego, California. Nationally recognized experts gathered in Indianapolis to emphasize the leadership role nurses must play in making patient safety a priority within the health care system. The forum highlighted a series of Institute of Medicine reports on patient safety and best practices for how nurses can improve safety within their individual hospitals and through implementation of practices developed by organizations such as the Joint Commission on American Healthcare Organizations and the Food and Drug Administration. An executive summary of the CNO Patient Safety Leadership Forum is posted at www.alarismed.com or www.clarian.org.
Quality-of-Life measures in clinical research and medical care
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap Initiative recently awarded a 5-year grant to David Cella, PhD, director of the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Center on Outcomes Research and Education (CORE). The project for which the grant was received—“Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS)”—has the potential to improve patient care because it will develop standardized outcome measures across a wide range of chronic diseases for use in clinical research as well as in medical practice. The NIH Roadmap for Medical Research is a series of far-reaching initiatives designed to transform the nation's medical research capabilities and speed the movement of scientific discoveries from the bench to the bedside. Additional information about the program can be found at http://nihroadmap.nih.gov.
New Master's program in geriatric nursing
Dominican University of California has recently been awarded a large grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to provide startup funds for the new Master of Science in nursing (MSN) program that will train students to become nurse educators with a specialty in geriatric nursing. The Geriatric Clinical Nurse Specialist/Nurse Educator program, scheduled to start in the fall of 2005, will be the only one like it in the San Francisco Bay area. The program is aimed at working clinical nurses and offers a flexible meeting schedule of alternative weekends for 5 semesters. For more information on the program, contact the school at www.dominican.edu.
Simulation technology and nursing education quality
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has recently received new funding to investigate the use of simulation technology to assess the competency of graduating nurses and to enhance education quality. Funding provided by the Helene Fuld Health Trust will be used to study and validate a simulation-based training and assessment tool adapted specifically for nursing by Simulis, a leading developer of simulation-based learning systems. AACN and Simulis will initiate the pilot program with a variety of institutions offering baccalaureate nursing programs in the second quarter of 2005. The project will begin by testing an already-developed Pain Management module. Simulis has also recently partnered with Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing, to build evidence-based Clinical Reasoning Systems for nursing education and skills assessment.
American Retirement Corporation joins NADONA/LTC
NADONA/LTC (The National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration in Long Term Care) recently announced that American Retirement Corporation, comprising 66 properties offering independent living, assisted living facilities, and therapy services to residents, has made 25 of its directors of nursing NADONA members. “It's our people that make the difference,” says Elizabeth Barlow, RN, National Director for Quality Improvement for American Retirement Corporation. NADONA/LTC membership for our directors of nursing gives them the educational resources they need and the ongoing support they deserve to make that essential difference in the lives and care of our residents.” For more information on NADONA/LTC's Assisted Living Programs, contact Gary Warden (gary@nadona.org) or Jamey Schleue (jamey@nadona.org).
Congratulations
2005 Christiane Reimann Prize Awarded: The International Council of Nurses (ICN) recently announced that Dr. Margretta Madden Styles, a nurse scholar recognized globally as an international leader in nursing education, regulation, and credentialing, has been awarded the 2005 Christiane Reimann Prize for her international achievements and contributions to the nursing profession. The prize is awarded every 4 years and will be presented to Dr. Madden Styles during the opening ceremony of the ICN's 23rd Quadrennial Congress slated for Taiwan in May 2005.
Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award: Lynda Chever, an LPN specializing in geriatric medicine who has devoted her life to the care of elderly Catholic priests and nuns residing at the Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus, Ohio, was recently selected as one of the 15 national winners of the 2004 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award. Nearly 1,700 nominations were submitted from which the 15 winners were selected. This award, a national health care recognition program, raises awareness of the vital profession of nursing by highlight the best of the best in health care.
Resources
Dementia and Alzheimer's resources
Guide for the aging driver
A new guide and online video for families worried about an aging parent's ability to drive safely are available at www.thehartford.com/talkwitholderdrivers or by writing to The Hartford, We Need to Talk, 200 Executive Blvd., Southington, CT 06489. The guide offers practical information on helping elders know when it is time to limit or give up driving altogether.
Alzheimer's Speaker's Kit available
The Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center (ADEAR) has developed a Speaker's Kit to help volunteers, health educators, and other community speakers disseminate basic information about Alzheimer's disease, diagnosis, treatment, and current and future research directions. The kit contains a PowerPoint slideshow and booklet based on the ADEAR Center's booklet—“Unraveling the Mystery of Alzheimer's Disease.” For more information, go to the organization's Web site: www.alzheimers.org/unraveling/speak_kit.html.
Internet resource
Health Politics with Dr. Mike Magee is an expertly researched and informative online commentary from Dr. Magee, a senior fellow in the humanities to the World Medical Association and director of the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative. The program topics change weekly, but an archive of articles is available and offers many items of potential interest to geriatric nurses, such as commentaries on driving fatalities in the elderly, osteoporosis, hidden costs of caring for an Alzheimer's patient, and so on. Take a look at this free resource at www.HealthPolitics.com.
Patient Safety E-Newsletter available
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has launched the AHRQ Patient Safety E-Newsletter. This new online resource will ensure that subscribers receive important patient safety news and information as quickly as possible. To subscribe to this free service, send an e-mail to listserv@list.ahrq.gov; in the subject line, type: Subscribe. For questions, e-mail Salina Prasad in AHRQ's public affairs office at sprasad@ahrq.gov.
GeroNurseOnline program
Geriatric nursing resources are at your fingertips with the new GeroNurseOnline program made possible through the Nurse Competence in Aging initiative. You can access “Try This” tips from the Hartford Institute at the new Web site (www.GeroNurseOnline.org) by clicking on “Resources.” New issues of the “Try This” series on Dementia include “Therapeutic Activity Kits,” “Recognition of Dementia in Hospitalized Older Adults,” and “Wandering in the Hospitalized Older Adult.”
PII: S0197-4572(05)00033-9
doi:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2005.01.015
