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Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) are a global high-stakes patient safety issue. Key stakeholder perspectives regarding their role and experiences with pressure injuries is critical as part of the solution to minimizing HAPI occurrence and attain sustainability.
A qualitative, descriptive approach provided multiple perspectives of key stakeholders to support the complexity of HAPI care. The qualitative data are a part of a mixed method convergent research study examining pressure injury prevention and management practices.
Nursing system theory, mixed method convergent design, and participatory action research methodologies were chosen to address both the gap analysis development and results, achieve collaborative comprehensiveness, and enable key stakeholder involvement throughout this HAPI prevention and management initiative. Participants were recruited and enrolled from a large Level I trauma hospital and the key stakeholders. Demographic information were collected prior to the individual interview. Focused interviews were conducted virtually using zoom technology. Qualitative data were analyzed using NVivo software and thematic analysis was confirmed across the co-investigators for congruence and applicability to the research questions.
Qualitative interviews with 26 key stakeholders provided data to support and integrate a link with gap analysis results on the complex health issue of HAPIs. Specific barrier and recommendation themes identified interventions that could be prioritized. The 52 barrier and 52 recommendation themes/sub-theme(s) respectively were organized by Donabedian (structure, process, and outcome) with structure elements the majority. The top three structure barrier themes involved equipment and standards for use, staff prevention education, and specialized health professionals. The top three structure recommendation themes involved specialized health professionals, equipment and standards for use, and an educational plan for those at risk or with HAPIs.
The article provides findings from the qualitative portion of a mixed method study related to HAPIs. The qualitative findings associated with the gap analysis quantitative results, achieved the goal of the participatory action research key stakeholders' input into HAPI care and can be replicated internationally.
The benefit of key stakeholder's involvement in solving a clinical problem is sustainability. A quantitative approach and integrating qualitative stakeholders' perspectives provide an in-depth solution that will advance nursing capacity toward health care delivery and HAPI nursing science and policy development on a global level.
To use co-design principles to design a nationwide maternity experiences survey and to distribute the survey through social media.
A co-designed, cross sectional, and national online survey.
Using co-design principles from study design and throughout the research process a cross-sectional, online, national survey of Australian women's experiences of maternity care was designed. Four validated survey instruments were included in the survey design.
An extensive social media strategy was utilized, which included paid advertising, resulting in 8804 surveys for analysis and 54,896 comments responding to open text questions.
The inclusion of co-design principles contributed to a well-designed survey and consumer involvement in distribution and support of the online survey. The social media distribution strategy contributed to high participation rates with overall low marketing costs.
Maternity services should be designed to provide woman-centered, individualized care. This survey was co-designed with maternity users and maternity organizations to explore women's recent experiences of maternity care in Australia. The outcomes of this study will highlight the factors that contribute to positive and negative experiences in maternity services.
As a co-designed study, there was consumer engagement from the design of the study, throughout the research process.
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the cornerstone of systematic reviews and other evidence synthesis. RCT identification remains challenging because of limitations in their indexation in major databases and potential language bias. Scientific production in Latin American nursing is steadily increasing, but little is known about its design or main features. We aimed to identify the extent of evidence from RCTs in nursing conducted by Latin American research teams and evaluate their main characteristics, including potential risk of bias.
Scoping review with risk of bias assessment.
We conducted a scoping review including a comprehensive electronic search in five relevant databases. We completed a descriptive data analysis and a risk of bias assessment of eligible studies using Cochrane's guidance.
We identified 1784 references of which 47 were RCTs published in 40 journals. Twenty (42.6%) RCTs were published in journals in English. Chronic diseases were the most common health conditions studied (29.7%). Fifteen (31.9%) RCTs had a high risk of bias. Thirty (75%) journals were included in the Journal Citation Report (JCR) catalog and 5 (16.7%) were journals classified under nursing category. Twenty-one (52.5%) journals explicitly required CONSORT checklist recommendations for RCTs reporting.
Publication of RCTs in nursing by Latin American authors has increased. Most journals where RCTs are published are in English and not specific to nursing. Searches in journals of other disciplines may be necessary to facilitate identification of RCTs in nursing. CONSORT statements need to be actively promoted to facilitate rigorous methodology and reporting of RCTs.
This study highlights the need for an increased research focus on RCTs in nursing in Latin America, and the importance of enhancing the reporting quality of these studies to support evidence-based nursing practice.
Nurses increasingly use mindfulness as an effective mental health intervention to reduce psychological distress. The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions remains inconclusive, which may lead to implementation of interventions in an inefficient or ineffective manner. This study aimed to examine the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on reducing stress, anxiety, and depression among nurses.
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched using six databases published through May 20, 2023, which evaluated the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on reducing psychological distress among nurses. To assess the quality of methodology included in the RCTs, version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias instrument for RCTs with five domains was used. Standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the random–effects model in the meta-analyses. Publication bias was assessed using Egger's regression test. Further, the robustness effect size of the pooled analysis was assessed using leave-one-out sensitivity analysis.
A total of 16 RCTs were included in the final analysis. Overall, the modalities appeared to alleviate stress (pooled SMD: −0.50 [95% CI: −0.82 to −0.18]; p < 0.001) and depression (pooled SMD: −0.42 [95% CI: −0.78 to −0.06]; p = 0.02) among nurses.
Mindfulness-based interventions appear to alleviate stress and depression in nurses. Future research evaluating mindfulness-based interventions among working nurses with more rigorous methodological and larger sample size.
Support for nurses' mental health must be included while implementing personal and professional development plans.
Ensuring patient safety is a critical component of healthcare delivery, and nurses play a vital role in adhering to patient safety protocols to prevent adverse events. However, studies linking nurses' adherence to these protocols with patient outcomes is scarce. This study has two-fold purposes: (1) to examine determinants of nurses' adherence to patient safety protocols, and (2) to investigate the relationship between nurses' adherence to patient safety protocols and adverse patient events.
A cross-sectional design.
A total of 343 clinical nurses from five hospitals in the Philippines were included in this study. Two standardized scales were used to collect data, including the Patient Safety Adherence Scale and the Adverse Patient Events Scale. Data collection took place from April 2022 to August 2022.
Adherence to patient safety protocols was generally moderate to high (M = 4.483), while nurse-reported adverse events occurred at a lower frequency (M = 1.150). Lower adherence rates were identified in areas such as reporting safety errors (M = 3.950), conducting fall risk assessments (M = 4.299), and adhering to pressure ulcer prevention guidelines (M = 3.979). Patients' and their families' complaints (M = 2.129) and abuses (M = 1.475) were the most frequently reported adverse events. Increased adherence to safety protocols was associated with higher reporting of adverse patient events (β = 0.115, p < 0.001).
Higher adherence to patient safety protocols resulted in an increased reporting of adverse patient events. The factors identified that contributed to nurses' adherence to patient safety protocols can be utilized in the development of strategies aimed at improving compliance, especially in areas where adherence is currently low.
Healthcare organizations should prioritize efforts to enhance adherence to patient safety protocols, particularly in areas with lower compliance rates, through relevant trainings, resource provision, and support systems. Promoting a culture of open communication and reporting can significantly contribute to reducing adverse events and improving patient safety.
Facemasks are an important piece of personal protective equipment (PPE) to mitigate the spread of respiratory illnesses, but they can impede communication between patients and healthcare providers. The purpose of this scoping review is to identify effective communication practices while wearing facemasks.
Scoping review using a systematic search of articles from the PubMed, CINAHL, and Embase databases.
The PEO (population, exposure, outcome) methodology was selected for this systematic scoping review. The population of interest (P) includes humans of all ages (children, adults, and older adults); the exposure of interest (E) is PPE that covers the mouth (i.e., facemasks); and the outcome of interest (O) is successful or unsuccessful communication practices. The Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals appraisal guidelines were used to determine the level and quality of the research.
Thirty-nine articles met the inclusion criteria. Seventeen of these were high- or good-quality research studies, and the remaining 22 were non-research articles included with separate analysis as part of the scoping review. The 17 articles encompassed 2656 participants. The highest quality evidence indicated that standard surgical masks have the least impact on speech perception compared to other non-transparent mask types, and that recognizing emotions is less accurate with facemasks, necessitating compensatory actions (i.e., reducing extraneous noise, using a microphone to amplify voice, and employing clear speech). Evidence was contradictory regarding the use of transparent masks. Evidence was of limited quality for other non-verbal and verbal communication strategies.
Awareness of communication challenges is crucial when wearing facemasks. More high-quality studies are needed to evaluate communication techniques when speakers are wearing facemasks. Basic strategies such as selecting an appropriate mask type, reducing extraneous noise, using microphones, verbalizing emotions, and employing clear speech appear to be beneficial.
The findings of this scoping review highlight the importance of considering communication challenges while wearing facemasks in the healthcare settings. The review suggests that selecting an appropriate mask type, reducing extraneous noise, verbalizing emotions, and employing clear speech are some strategies that may be effective in mitigating the impact of facemasks on communication between patients and healthcare providers.
The integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into academic research writing has revolutionized the field, offering powerful tools like ChatGPT and Bard to aid researchers in content generation and idea enhancement. We explore the current state of transparency regarding generative AI use in nursing academic research journals, emphasizing the need for explicitly declaring the use of generative AI by authors in the manuscript. Out of 125 nursing studies journals, 37.6% required explicit statements about generative AI use in their authors' guidelines. No significant differences in impact factors or journal categories were found between journals with and without such requirement. A similar evaluation of medicine, general and internal journals showed a lower percentage (14.5%) including the information about generative AI usage. Declaring generative AI tool usage is crucial for maintaining the transparency and credibility in academic writing. Additionally, extending the requirement for AI usage declarations to journal reviewers can enhance the quality of peer review and combat predatory journals in the academic publishing landscape. Our study highlights the need for active participation from nursing researchers in discussions surrounding standardization of generative AI declaration in academic research writing.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on healthcare systems worldwide. In particular, long-term care facilities have proved more susceptible to infection as they care for vulnerable populations at high risk of chronic illness. How this impacts the role and core competencies of health and care workers in these facilities remains less understood.
Describe how health and care workers contribute to the prevention of emerging infectious diseases in long-term care facilities.
A scoping review.
A systematic search of literature dating from 2002 to 2022 was conducted in the following databases: EMBASE, Medline (Ovid), Cochrane Library, CINAHL Plus with Full Text (EBSCOhost), Web of Science, and AgeLine. Studies were selected if they focused on health and care workers in long-term care facilities, offered a perspective on the prevention of emerging infectious diseases or infection prevention and control, and were original qualitative or quantitative studies in English. Data were extracted, cross-checked and analyzed by two researchers, and any difference in views regarding the appropriateness of literature would be resolved by consulting a third researcher. An inductive descriptive approach was applied for the analysis of results, and themes were established via consensus meetings.
A total of fourteen studies from Asia, Europe, and the Americas were included. Three themes emerged from the review: “The roles of health and care workers evolve with the times”, “The core competencies of health and care workers are essential for preventing emerging infectious diseases in long-term care facilities” and “The key to successful prevention of emerging infectious diseases in long-term care facilities is through a systematic, comprehensive effort that mobilize health and care workers at all levels”. Health and care workers had to take on increasingly complex roles and rely on their core competencies to cope with epidemic changes, and facility resources, employee quality and management models were found to have significantly improved infection prevention and control outcomes.
The roles of health and care workers are evolving, and effective infection prevention within long-term care facilities depends on their ability to perform core competencies with skill and confidence. Moreover, a systematic, comprehensive framework, for which this paper proposes three guidelines, is urgently needed to ensure consistent policy implementation within the facility as well as support and access to resources for health and care workers.
Infection prevention efforts within long-term care facilities must take into account the evolving roles of health and care workers, with a focus on guaranteeing access to resources, training and support that will help them gain the core competencies necessary for juggling those roles. In addition, there is an urgent need for research instruments that will help assess those competencies and identify areas of improvement.
Using software for self-management interventions can improve health outcomes for individuals with low back pain, but there is a dearth of research to confirm its effectiveness. Additionally, no known research has evaluated the effective elements of software-based interventions for low back pain self-management components. This study aimed to synthesize the effectiveness of software-based interventions to promote self-management health outcomes among individuals with low back pain.
A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted.
Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement, relevant studies up to July 2022 were searched via four electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Web of Science.
4908 adults with low back pain who participated in 23 studies were included. Software-based interventions were effective in reducing fear avoidance (mean difference [MD] = −0.95, 95% CI: −1.45 to −0.44), pain catastrophizing (MD = −1.31, 95% CI: −1.84 to −0.78), disability (MD = −8.21, 95% CI: −13.02 to −3.39), and pain intensity (MD = −0.86, 95% CI: −1.17 to −0.55). Specifically, interventions that included an exercise component were more effective in reducing pain and disability. Additionally, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention significantly reduced fear avoidance and pain catastrophizing but had no noticeable impact on disability and pain compared to standard treatment. The certainty of the evidence in this review varied from very low to high across outcomes. The heterogeneity of the study results was significant, suggesting that future studies in this area could optimize the design, time points, measures, and outcomes to strengthen the evidence.
Low back pain self-management interventions delivered through software-based programs effectively reduce pain intensity, disability, fear avoidance, and pain catastrophizing.
Low back pain is among the most common reasons for seeking healthcare visits. Combining exercise and counseling through soft-based programs may effectively address this issue and its associated suffering and disability.
Research findings and knowledge translation are typically disseminated via presentations at professional meetings and publication in peer-review journals. However, other opportunities to translate research evidence into practice exist, including the use of visual cues.
The aim of this paper is to describe the collaborative process of translating key research findings into a clear and compelling visual communication tool.
As part of a multimodal research dissemination strategy, the researchers partnered with the University Health Communication Design Program faculty to develop a visual communication strategy to promote the use of antibiotic time-outs by nurses in a health system. An environmental poster was identified as an appropriate mode of communication for its potential to convey a message quickly, impactfully, and economically.
Five-step systematic approach, including feedback from end-users.
To augment our research dissemination strategy, an action-oriented visual communication tool in the form of a 36x48 inch poster was created within four weeks and placed in the work environment. Unit nursing leaders and staff decided on poster locations for maximum nurse engagement with the message.
Creating visual communication to display scientific information is an important skill, but most nurse researchers never receive any formal training that encourages participation in collaborative development of visual communication tools. Our collaboration, was iterative, reflective, and provided a unique opportunity for shared learning. Partnering with health communication designers to expand research reach and impact is invaluable and should be considered as part of a dissemination strategy.
Clinical nurses' benefit from ‘seeing’ the science narrowed to a simple message in order to spark dialogue or remind them what they need to ‘do’.
Considering Japan's aging society, the number of older individuals who die at home is expected to increase. In Japan, there are challenges in utilizing and promoting home-visit nursing services at the end of life for community-dwelling older adults. We examined the use of home-visit nursing services at the end of patients' lives and the recommended use patterns of this service (utilization, timing of initiation, and continuity) that contribute to reducing the medical care and long-term care costs (total costs) in the last 3 months of life.
This was a retrospective cohort study.
We examined 33 municipalities in Japan, including depopulated areas. The analysis included 22,927 people aged 75 or older who died between September 2016 and September 2018. We used monthly medical care and long-term care insurance claims data. Participants were classified into five groups based on their history of home-visit nursing service use: (1) early initiation/continuous use, (2) early initiation/discontinued or fragment use, (3) not-early initiation/continuous use, (4) not-early initiation/fragment use, and (5) no use. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to examine the association between total costs in the last 3 months of life and patterns of home-visit nursing service use.
Overall, the median age was 85, and 12,217 participants were men (53.3%). In the last half year before death, 5424 (23.7%) older adults used home-visit nursing services. Multivariable linear regression analysis of the log10-transformed value of total costs revealed that compared with the no use group, the early initiation/continuous use group was estimated to have 0.88 times (95% confidence interval: 0.84, 0.93) the total costs in the last 3 months of life (p < 0.001).
Early initiation use of home-visit nursing services may contribute to reducing total costs in the last 3 months of life for Japanese people aged 75 years or older living at home as they approach the end of life.
When approaching the end of life, many older adults require daily life care and palliative care. Policymakers are strengthening end-of-life care for community-dwelling older adults in Japan. Although the current results do not demonstrate the effectiveness of home-visit nursing services, they provide a perspective from which to assess the use of home-visit nursing services and its impact on older adults. The findings can be helpful in considering how to provide nursing care in home-care settings for older adults who prefer to spend their final days at home.
Newspapers are a predominant channel through which the Chinese public learns about nurses and the nursing profession. However, little nursing research has been performed in China to investigate the newspaper portrayal of nurses, and how the public perceives the role of nurses in the Chinese context is still an ambiguous phenomenon. This study aimed to clarify the public portrayals of nurses in China, and to analyze whether there are changes over time in news content related to nurses in the national newspapers.
A content analysis of the newspaper articles citing nurses that have been published since each newspaper was established.
We selected two national daily newspapers as sources to systematically search for articles about nurses from 1949 to 2022. A coding instrument was developed to quantitatively extract the contents of the articles identified. Then, using a mixed methods approach, we analyzed newspaper content to show the roles of nurses presented to the public by the media.
A total of 317 articles were analyzed. Nurses have been depicted with heterogeneous images in both newspapers with positive wordings and up to 28 types of public images. More than half of the articles portrayed two, three, or more types of images. Among the images of nurses identified, “overworked” appeared the most frequently, followed by “dedicated,” “philanthropic and benevolent,” and “with a sense of responsibility,” and then “technically skilled.” By analyzing the image of nurses in both newspapers over time, we found that images related to virtue have largely increased with time, while images about professionalism have decreased.
Nursing continues to be depicted as a virtuous caregiving profession, often forgetting the wide need for knowledge, skill, and expertise required in the occupation. The public image of nurses portrayed in the national newspapers does not accurately match their actual roles.
The public image of nurses portrayed in the national newspapers does not accurately match their actual roles. To actualize a professional role and increase social status of nurses, intentional image management is needed. Nursing schools, nursing associations, and nursing professionals should be more proactive in overcoming the stereotypical image portrayed of them and use the news media as a tool to invite attention from and dialogue with the public about the value of nursing to reframe the public's understanding of the expert role of the professional nurse in health care and to create a new and more professional image for nursing.
The Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) care model is a different way of organizing frontline nursing care delivery in contrast to the traditional “staff nurse” model and is increasingly being adopted by health systems across the United States and abroad. However, variability in implementation and outcomes has been noted across health settings.
A recently validated CNL Practice Model provides an explanatory pathway for CNL model integration into practice. The purpose of this study was to identify and compare patterns of empirical correspondence to the CNL Practice Model and predict their influence on implementation success.
We conducted a secondary analysis of a 2015 national-level study with clinicians and administrators involved with CNL initiatives in their health system. A psychometrically validated CNL Practice Survey was used to collect data measuring the presence (0%–100%) of the five domains of the CNL Practice Model (organizational readiness, CNL structuring, CNL practices, outcomes, and value) and one measure of CNL implementation success. We modeled the complex hierarchical structure of the data using a Bayesian multilevel regression mixed modeling approach. A zero–one-inflated beta distribution, a mixture of Bernoulli distributions for the minimum and maximum responses and a beta distribution for the responses between the minimum and maximum, was used to fit success ratings in the model.
A total of 920 participants responded, 540 (59%) provided success scores. The model captured ratings skewed toward upper bound, while also adequately modeling data between the minimum and maximum values. The Bayesian model converged and gave estimates for all hierarchical parameters, which would likely have failed to converge in a pure maximum likelihood framework. The variability around success score across CNL Practice Model element ratings was greatest at the component level, 0.29 (0.18–0.48), compared to either the domain level, 0.16 (0.01–0.54), or the item level, 0.09 (0.01–0.17). The components most predictive of implementation success were (a) consensus CNL model can close gaps, (b) organization level implementation strategy, and (c) alignment of empirical CNL microsystem level structuring to the model's conceptualization.
Findings provide further empirical evidence to support the explanatory pathway proposed by the CNL Practice Model and identified specific organizational readiness and CNL workflow structures that are critical antecedents predictive of CNL practice manifestation and production of expected outcomes. Findings indicate actionable implementation evidence that can be successfully adopted across real-world healthcare settings to achieve safer and higher quality patient care.
CNL integrated care delivery is a frontline nursing care model that is being increasingly adopted by health systems across the United States and abroad. However, variability in CNL implementation and outcomes has been noted across health settings, limiting its evidence base. Findings of this study contribute a better understanding about the variability of CNL practice and outcomes found in the literature and contribute empirical and conceptual clarity about the relationships between modes of CNL implementation and successful adoption in healthcare settings.
Metaphors are one of the most effective linguistic tools that are used to reveal how society describes nursing and what their vision of nursing is and to understand how effective the roles and responsibilities assumed by nurses in a multidisciplinary healthcare team are in protecting and maintaining the health of individuals, families, and society.
The aim of this study was to reveal the perceptions of society about “nurses” through metaphors.
The study was planned with a mixed design involving qualitative and quantitative research methods. It was carried out with 810 people living in Turkey who were between the ages of 15 and 65 and voluntarily participated in the study. Each participant was asked to fill in the blanks in the sentence, “A nurse is like a/an………………because…………” The data were analyzed by using qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative (chi-squared) data analysis methods.
It was determined that the participants produced 194 metaphors related to the concept of a “nurse.” It was observed that they frequently used metaphors of “angel,” “parent,” “doctor's assistant/right hand,” “lifesaver,” and “confidant” regarding the concept of nurse and conceptualized a nurse as “Beneficial/Helpful/Healer/Facilitator.”
The results showed that the awareness and perception of society toward nurses should be improved on the basis of the opportunity created by the COVID-19 pandemic period, and the concepts should be introduced to younger generations in a wider framework under the leadership of nursing faculties.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with multiple adverse health consequences. Nurses (including midwives) are well positioned to identify patients subjected to IPV, and provide care, support, and referrals. However, studies about nursing response to IPV are limited especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The study aimed to examine nurses' perceived preparedness and opinions toward IPV and to identify barriers and facilitators in responding to IPV.
An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was conducted by collecting quantitative data first and explaining the quantitative findings with qualitative data.
The study was conducted in two tertiary general hospitals in northeastern (Shenyang city) and southwestern (Chengdu city) China with 1500 and 1800 beds, respectively. A total of 1071 survey respondents (1039 female [97.0%]) and 43 interview participants (34 female [79.1%]) were included in the study. An online survey was administered from September 3 to 23, 2020, using two validated scales from the Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey. In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted from September 15 to December 23, 2020, guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.
The survey respondents largely agreed with feeling prepared to manage IPV, e.g., respond to discourses (544 [50.8%] of 1071) and report to police (704 [65.7%] of 1071). The findings of surveyed opinions (i.e., Response competencies; Routine practice; Actual activities; Professionals; Victims; Alcohol/drugs) were mixed and intertwined with social desirability bias. The quantitative and qualitative data were consistent, contradicted, and supplemented. Key qualitative findings were revealed that may explain the quantitative results, including lack of actual preparedness, absence of IPV-related education, training, or practice, and socially desirable responses (especially those pertaining to China's Anti-domestic Violence Law). Commonly reported barriers (e.g., patients' reluctance to disclose; time constraints) and facilitators (e.g., patients' strong need for help; female nurses' gender advantage), as well as previously unreported barriers (e.g., IPV may become a workplace taboo if there are healthcare professionals known as victims/perpetrators of IPV) and facilitators (e.g., nurses' responses can largely meet the first-line support requirements even without formal education or training on IPV) were identified.
Nurses may play a unique and important role in responding to IPV in LMICs where recognition is limited, education and training are absent, policies are lacking, and resources are scarce. Our findings support World Health Organization recommendations for selective screening.
The study highlights the great potential of nurses for IPV prevention and intervention especially in LMICs. The identified barriers and facilitators are important evidence for developing multifaceted interventions to address IPV in the health sector.
This study aims to identify longitudinal patterns and predictors of cognitive function trajectories among Korean older adults with cardiovascular diseases.
This study is a longitudinal panel analysis based on secondary data. Data from the the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) were used for analysis.
The KLoSA is a representative panel survey of older Koreans. We analyzed responses from 301 participants aged ≥65 years who completed the same survey more than three times out of five waves between 2012 and 2020.
Latent class growth modeling identified two trajectories of cognitive function in older people with cardiovascular diseases: “low and declining” (n = 81, 26.9%) and “high and declining” (n = 220, 73.1%). Participants in “the low and declining trajectory group” were more likely to have a low educational level, weak handgrip strength, depression, and low social participation at baseline than those in “the high and declining trajectory group.”
Our results indicate a need to develop community-based tailored interventions for improving handgrip strength, mental health, and social participation in delaying cognitive decline in older people with cardiovascular diseases considering their educational level.
Healthcare providers should be more concerned about older people with a weaker handgrip, depression, and low social activities as a high-risk group for cognitive decline over time in cardiovascular care. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate them early with standardized tools and make subsequent strategies for the older population with cardiovascular diseases.
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