| ABSTRACT
Long-term care has become an essential part of medicine today. As the population continues to age, increased research is necessary in the long-term care setting. Communication gaps are of increased concern between patients and caregivers with further research necessary to research social gaps as a whole [1]. Research has been increasingly needed in the area of patient nutrition and mealtime interventions for proper patient nutritional intake [2]. Eska 2013 speaks of the significant increase in institutionalization of older patients and refers to long term care placement as one of the major milestones in care of patients with dementia [3]. The growing demand for long-term care and the increased complexity observed with current disease states warrants the need for further research in these care settings. The topics presented above include only a few of the areas which are unmet in current long-term care research. However, starting a research program within the long-term care setting may pose obstacles and hence deter researchers from further investigating.
Structuring a research study in the long-term care setting can be quite challenging due to the following reasons: 1.Shortage of research staff 2.Increased need for structured visits with patients 3.Complex study protocols 4.Data retrieval 5.Strict protocol guidelines 6.Training As a panel the authors will discuss: 1.Determining viable techniques for long-term care research studies e.g., Timeslipsr, Agitation/Anxiety Instruments Assessment 2.Statistical Analysis Plan 3.Protocol development 4.IRB submission/approval - risk vs benefit surrounding such research studies 5.Outcome of such research 6.Increased need for research in the long-term care setting 7.Overcoming study set up challenges 8.Study introduction, ways of improvement 9.Training References [1] Savundranayagam, M. Y. (2013). Missed opportunities for person-centered communication: implications for staff-resident interactions in long-term care. International psychogeriatrics / IPA, 1-11. [2] Abbott, R. A., Whear, R., Thompson-Coon, J., Ukoumunne, O. C., Rogers, M., Bethel, A., Stein, K. (2013). Effectiveness of mealtime interventions on nutritional outcomes for the elderly living in residential care: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing research reviews, 12(4), 967-981. [3] Eska, K., Graessel, E., Donath, C., Schwarzkopf, L., Lauterberg, J., & Holle, R. (2013). Predictors of institutionalization of dementia patients in mild and moderate stages: a 4-year prospective analysis. Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders extra, 3(1), 426-445. . |
Updated 03/19/2014