Objective: Currently, standards for evaluating long-term care facilities do not exist in Japan. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of healthcare services in Japan’s long-term care facilities and identify the st...Objective: Currently, standards for evaluating long-term care facilities do not exist in Japan. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of healthcare services in Japan’s long-term care facilities and identify the structural and process indicators associated with the facilities’ outcome indicators. Methods: This retrospective study assessed changes in residents’ abilities to participate in physical activities, their cognitive function, and their vulnerability to injuries. From 2012 to 2013, we collected information on the healthcare services at 1067 long-term care facilities registered with Japan’s Welfare, Health and Medical Care Information Network in the Welfare and Medical Service Agency. We examined 12 structural indicators, 26 process indicators, and 7 outcome indicators. We used multivariate linear regression models adjusted to analyze relationships between outcome indicators and structural or process indicators. Results: Residents’ activity and cognitive function indicators either improved by 80% - 90% or were maintained for one year. The Geriatric Functional Independence Measures, the Barthel Index, and holding conferences related to care were all considered activities of daily living. Three adverse events—tumbles and falls, behavioral problems, and aimless wandering or leaving the facility without permission—were factors that restricted residents’ behavior and number of residents per care staff member. Conclusions: Maintaining or improving levels of independence and cognition in daily living requires a care process system that enables ongoing monitoring of residents’ activities of daily living and cognitive functioning. Ensuring the safety of residents and improving the quality of care in long-term care facilities without securing adequate care staff are not possible.展开更多
Falls represent a significant contribution to the morbidity and mortality of the elderly population. Because vitamin D is important in bone physiology, the use of vitamin D to restore deficient bone and ameliorate the...Falls represent a significant contribution to the morbidity and mortality of the elderly population. Because vitamin D is important in bone physiology, the use of vitamin D to restore deficient bone and ameliorate the effects of bone fractures due to falls has become a common practice in recent years. Following introduction of widespread use, reports began to emerge that vitamin D not only aided in repair of fall-induced bone fractures, but that it also reduced the occurrence of falls. Vitamin D now has become a routine intervention as a fall-prevention measure. Early analyses found evidence of prevention efficacy (reduced falls), but recent analyses are more equivocal. We retrospectively examined the records of 350 patients in a long-term care facility in which vitamin D administration and the number of falls were recorded as part of a comprehensive database of care. We found a dramatic rise in vitamin D use over the period covered (2006 – 2011) and a corresponding dramatic decrease in the number of falls. However, the number of falls continued to decline after 2008, despite a plateau in number of patients on vitamin D, particularly females. It appears that other factors contribute to the overall decline.展开更多
This study aimed to evaluate the quality of healthcare services pertaining to the dietary intake and swallowing functions of residents, nutrition management practices, and performance of residents at long-term care fa...This study aimed to evaluate the quality of healthcare services pertaining to the dietary intake and swallowing functions of residents, nutrition management practices, and performance of residents at long-term care facilities. We investigated outcome indicators, such as changes in dietary intake and swallowing function levels of residents, and clarified which structural and process indicators were associated with the outcome indicators. This was a retrospective study, analyzing information on healthcare services from 1067 long-term care facilities during the fiscal year 2012, sampled from among those registered with the Welfare, Health and Medical Care Information Network of the Welfare and Medical Service Agency in Japan. Five outcome indicators were identified. Next, we examined the relationships between the outcome indicators and structural or process indicators using a multivariate linear regression model, adjusting for facility type. The findings showed how the five outcome indicators were used in long-term care facilities over a period of one year and determined the independent predictors of these outcome indicators. The amplification of dietary function 1 was associated with “assessment of oral functions using a feeding and swallowing assessment checklist every three months”, “holding care conferences related to ingestion and swallowing every three months”, and “maintaining a 1:2 ratio for meal-time assistants to residents”. To improve the quality of care, it is necessary to increase the number of staff (e.g., to provide meal assistance to residents) and to understand changes in the residents’ status through accurate assessment and monitoring.展开更多
文摘Objective: Currently, standards for evaluating long-term care facilities do not exist in Japan. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of healthcare services in Japan’s long-term care facilities and identify the structural and process indicators associated with the facilities’ outcome indicators. Methods: This retrospective study assessed changes in residents’ abilities to participate in physical activities, their cognitive function, and their vulnerability to injuries. From 2012 to 2013, we collected information on the healthcare services at 1067 long-term care facilities registered with Japan’s Welfare, Health and Medical Care Information Network in the Welfare and Medical Service Agency. We examined 12 structural indicators, 26 process indicators, and 7 outcome indicators. We used multivariate linear regression models adjusted to analyze relationships between outcome indicators and structural or process indicators. Results: Residents’ activity and cognitive function indicators either improved by 80% - 90% or were maintained for one year. The Geriatric Functional Independence Measures, the Barthel Index, and holding conferences related to care were all considered activities of daily living. Three adverse events—tumbles and falls, behavioral problems, and aimless wandering or leaving the facility without permission—were factors that restricted residents’ behavior and number of residents per care staff member. Conclusions: Maintaining or improving levels of independence and cognition in daily living requires a care process system that enables ongoing monitoring of residents’ activities of daily living and cognitive functioning. Ensuring the safety of residents and improving the quality of care in long-term care facilities without securing adequate care staff are not possible.
文摘Falls represent a significant contribution to the morbidity and mortality of the elderly population. Because vitamin D is important in bone physiology, the use of vitamin D to restore deficient bone and ameliorate the effects of bone fractures due to falls has become a common practice in recent years. Following introduction of widespread use, reports began to emerge that vitamin D not only aided in repair of fall-induced bone fractures, but that it also reduced the occurrence of falls. Vitamin D now has become a routine intervention as a fall-prevention measure. Early analyses found evidence of prevention efficacy (reduced falls), but recent analyses are more equivocal. We retrospectively examined the records of 350 patients in a long-term care facility in which vitamin D administration and the number of falls were recorded as part of a comprehensive database of care. We found a dramatic rise in vitamin D use over the period covered (2006 – 2011) and a corresponding dramatic decrease in the number of falls. However, the number of falls continued to decline after 2008, despite a plateau in number of patients on vitamin D, particularly females. It appears that other factors contribute to the overall decline.
文摘This study aimed to evaluate the quality of healthcare services pertaining to the dietary intake and swallowing functions of residents, nutrition management practices, and performance of residents at long-term care facilities. We investigated outcome indicators, such as changes in dietary intake and swallowing function levels of residents, and clarified which structural and process indicators were associated with the outcome indicators. This was a retrospective study, analyzing information on healthcare services from 1067 long-term care facilities during the fiscal year 2012, sampled from among those registered with the Welfare, Health and Medical Care Information Network of the Welfare and Medical Service Agency in Japan. Five outcome indicators were identified. Next, we examined the relationships between the outcome indicators and structural or process indicators using a multivariate linear regression model, adjusting for facility type. The findings showed how the five outcome indicators were used in long-term care facilities over a period of one year and determined the independent predictors of these outcome indicators. The amplification of dietary function 1 was associated with “assessment of oral functions using a feeding and swallowing assessment checklist every three months”, “holding care conferences related to ingestion and swallowing every three months”, and “maintaining a 1:2 ratio for meal-time assistants to residents”. To improve the quality of care, it is necessary to increase the number of staff (e.g., to provide meal assistance to residents) and to understand changes in the residents’ status through accurate assessment and monitoring.
