In response to difficulties meeting the demand for hospital services ("access block") at Royal Melbourne Hospital, a major metropolitan tertiary referral hospital, an audit of patient needs revealed a shortage of aged-care beds and a need for post-acute care. A multidisciplinary Care Coordination Team (CCT) was formed at the end of July 2000 to ensure that emergency department patients were pro...

OBJECTIVE Although exercise therapy intervention for frail elderly people was not of great interest in the past, it has recently drawn attention as a method to prevent and improve conditions requiring care since the enforcement of the Long-Term Care Insurance Law and the revision of the long-term care insurance system. This randomized controlled trial was performed to evaluate the effects of ex...

In this study, the authors examine the extent to which the characteristics of caregivers or recipients determine the probability that caregivers stop being caregivers. We find that caregivers' characteristics such as working outside their homes, raising children, or having their own health problems do not increase this probability. Nor does the emotional distress of caregiving increase the prob...

Over the last 20 years, hospitals have revised their organizational structures in response to new environmental pressures. Today, demographic and epidemiologic trends and recent technological advances call for new strategies to cope with ultra-elderly frail patients characterized by chronic conditions, high-severity health problems, and complex social situations. The main areas of change surrou...

PURPOSE Exploring the domains and degrees of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) that are affected by the frailty of elders will help clinicians understand the impact of frailty. This association has not been investigated in community-dwelling elders. Therefore, we examined the domains and degree of HRQOL of elders with frailty in the community in Taiwan. METHODS A total of 933 subjects ag...

The common occurrence and dire consequences of infectious disease outbreaks in nursing homes often go unrecognized and unappreciated. Nevertheless, these facilities provide an ideal environment for acquisition and spread of infection: susceptible residents who share sources of air, food, water, and health care in a crowded institutional setting. Moreover, visitors, staff, and residents constant...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the specific effects of balance and gait exercises among frail elderly individuals. DESIGN A randomized three-group parallel controlled study. SETTING Geriatric health services facility in Japan. SUBJECTS Thirty-four frail elderly subjects attending the care facility were randomized into a control group, an exercise group with emphasis on balance or an exercise group...

Recent years have seen a growth in research on retirement/lifestyle migration to Spain, however this has tended to focus on the reasons for moving, as well as the lifestyles adopted as part of a healthy and active retirement. However, ageing in Spain can bring challenges as a person's resources for independent living diminish. This paper draws on narrative interviews with vulnerable older Briti...

Some of the most serious consequences of aging are its effects on skeletal muscle. The term sarcopenia is widely used to describe the progressive loss of muscle mass and quality with increasing age.1 Sarcopenia is characterized by a gradual decline in strength and a slowing of movement that increases the risk of injury from sudden falls and the need for assistance for the frail elderly to accom...

Introduction: Frailty syndrome and advanced age may decrease the acceptance of illness and quality of life, and worsen patients' existing health conditions, as well as leading to an increase in health care expenses. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to reduce frailty risk via the use of a FRED game which has been expressly designed and put together for the study. Materials and methods: A to...