BACKGROUND To determine if the more interventionist approach of screening with the tuberculin test and chemoprophylaxis for high-risk positive reactors to control tuberculosis in long-term care facilities is cost-effective when compared to the case-finding and treatment approach. METHOD A decision-analysis model was designed wherein systematic screening with the tuberculin skin test of all el...

Aged care has been in the news frequently this year, often not in the most positive light. Reports of facilities failing to provide basic care have hit the media regularly. In September, the Dominion Post reported incidents of neglect, preventing the elderly receiving appropriate care.1 Conflicting opinions on whether the number of complaints is increasing or not, only add to the confusion abou...

LEADERSHIP ROLE Catholic Memorial Home, a 300-bed, skilled long-term care facility, assumed a leadership role in treating pain for the elderly by developing a dynamic interdisciplinary pain management program in 1997. The home is part of the Diocesan Health Facilities (www.dhfo.org), a system of five, long-term care facilities sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River, Mass. The pai...

Prolonged outbreaks of multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in health care facilities are uncommon. We found persistent transmission of a fluroquinolone-resistant S. pneumoniae clone during 2006-2011 in a post-acute care facility in Israel, despite mandatory vaccination and fluoroquinolone restriction. Capsular switch and multiple antimicrobial nonsusceptibility mutations occurred withi...

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other multiply resistant bacteria are frequently isolated in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). This study evaluated the contamination of staff clothing in three LTCFs. Over 500 samples were taken from uniforms and their pockets and these samples showed a high level of MRSA contamination. Wearing plastic aprons and managing pocket contents i...

The findings of a study of long-term care policies in 18 countries are reported in this article. Initial data were collected by a questionnaire survey under the auspices of the International Social Security Association. These data were supplemented by published documents and government statistics obtained while researching long-term care for the International Social Security Association and, su...

OBJECTIVES To explore healthcare professionals' views of antibiotic prescribing in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). To use the findings to recommend intervention strategies for antimicrobial stewardship in LTCFs. DESIGN Qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted. The data were analysed by thematic content analysis. After the interviews, the emerging findings were mapped to the the...

Recent years have seen an increased interest and use of advanced practice nurses (APN) in long-term care. Models of best practices of supervision and collaboration have been promulgated by many organizations, but none have specifically addressed how these interactions should occur in the nursing home setting. In order to better define the role of the attending physician and APN to provide optim...

Prophylaxis with neuraminidase inhibitors is important for controlling seasonal influenza outbreaks in long-term care settings. We used a stochastic individual-based model that simulates influenza virus transmission in a long-term care nursing home department to study the protection offered to patients by different strategies of prophylaxis with oseltamivir and determined the effect of emerging...

BACKGROUND Hope is a psychosocial resource that is essential for the psychological, spiritual, and physical well-being of family members caring for persons with dementia. A significant positive relationship has been found between hope and well-being in family caregivers of persons with dementia living in the community. However, the hope experience of family caregivers of persons living with dem...