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Biomedical subjects

V Conn

Publications and source records attributed to V Conn.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Improving quality of care in nursing facilities. Gerontological clinical nurse specialist as research nurse consultant.

It is becoming increasingly common for nursing facilities to use Quality Indicators (QI) derived from Minimum Data Set (MDS) data for quality improvement initiatives within their facilities. It is not known how much support facilities need to effectively review QI reports, investigate problems areas, and implement practice changes to improve care. In Missouri, the University of Missouri-Columbia MDS and Nursing Home Quality Research Team has undertaken a Quality Improvement Intervention Study using a gerontological clinical nurse specialist (GCNS) to support quality improvement activities in nursing homes. Nursing facilities have responded positively to the availability of a GCNS to assist them in improving nursing facility care quality.

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Cognitive impairment and medication adherence.

1. The findings of this study are congruent with previous work that found that subjects' knowledge about medication is not necessarily correlated with adherence to medication regimens. 2. The nature and experience of forgetting medications merits further investigation. Asking patients about forgetting medication is easy to do, and many methods of compensating for forgetfulness are available. 3. Cognitive impairment was not associated with medication adherence. Cognitively impaired elders were likely to have caregivers assisting in the administration of their medication in the period immediately after discharge from acute care facilities.

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Medication management by recently hospitalized older adults.

Community-dwelling older adults often manage numerous prescriptive medications. The purpose of this study was to describe prescriptive medication management by older adults recently discharged from hospitals. The sample (N = 179) included adults, 65 to 101 years old, who managed a total of 950 prescriptive medications. Overall, subjects reported high confidence in their ability to manage medications. The lowest confidence levels were reported for recognizing unwanted side effects of medications. Although "forgetting" was the most commonly given reason for missed doses, one fourth of the reasons for missed doses indicated deliberate omission. Almost half of the subjects received assistance from others with their medications; most of the assistance served to counteract the tendency to forget medication doses. The results of this study provide a research-based foundation for community health nursing efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of older adults' medication self-care behaviors.

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Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and the 5' hypervariable region of the insulin gene in two South African Indian families.

The hypervariable region 5' to the human insulin gene has been characterised in two South African Indian families, each having two generations of individuals affected with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Southern blot analysis, with the restriction endonuclease Pvu II and plasmid phins 310 as a probe, was used. In family 1, class 1 alleles (0.87, 0.79, 0.72 and 0.68 kilobase (kb)) were found at this locus but no linkage with NIDDM was shown. In family 2 a class 3 (2.51 kb) and two class 1 alleles (0.89, 0.76) were found. The 0.89 kb allele appears to be segregating with NIDDM in this family.

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Self-care actions taken by older adults for influenza and colds.

The purpose of this study was to examine self-care behaviors that older adults use to manage cold and influenza episodes. Interviews were conducted with 160 adults aged 65 to 94. A large number and a variety of cold- and influenza-related self-care actions were reported. Medication administration was found to be common for colds (79% of subjects) and influenza (95%). Subjects reported more illness-specific preventive behaviors for influenza than for colds. Influenza vaccination behavior was related to experiences with vaccination-associated illness, health state, and talking with physicians about vaccination. Few subjects identified potential hazards associated with influenza or colds.

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