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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Informal caregiver involvement and illness detection among cognitively impaired nursing home residents | | Author(s) | Cynthia Lindman Port |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, vol 61A, no 9, September 2006 |
| Pages | pp 970-974 |
| Source | http://www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Mental disorder ; Residents [care homes] ; Nursing homes ; Ill health ; Diagnosis ; Participation ; Informal care ; Correlation ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | Informal caregivers' participation in the care of nursing home (NH) residents has the potential for a positive effect on care, especially for cognitively impaired residents whose own ability to advocate their own care is often limited. This study examined relationships between the level of informal caregiver involvement (ICI) in the NH and the degree to which residents' common medical conditions were detected by staff. 100 pairs of cognitively impaired residents and their primary informal caregivers were enrolled from 3 NHs in the Baltimore, Maryland (MD) area. Data collection was by interviews with informal caregivers and staff, as well as a medical evaluation and chart review of residents. A measure of illness detection was created by comparing residents' medical examination and their chart review information. ICI was assessed on self rating and informal caregiver self-report. Correlations between illness detection and ICI were significant, with r = -.46 and r= -.39 for staff ratings and self-reports respectively. In regression models taking into account resident characteristics (age, gender, comorbidities, payment status, duration of stay, and cognitive impairment) and facility differences, higher ICI and being female predicted higher rates of illness detection. Though the cross-sectional nature of the study prevents analysis of causal relationships, the involvement level of informal caregivers in the NH care of cognitively impaired residents was statistically related to higher rates of illness detection. Ramifications for informal caregivers' role with long-term care is discussed. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-070504245 A |
| Classmark | E: KX: LHB: CH: LK7: TMB: P6: 49: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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