The rising number of geriatric patients with complex, chronic, and often multiple health conditions presents numerous policy challenges. RAND has conducted the most comprehensive examination of the quality of medical care provided to the vulnerable elderly and coordinates interdisciplinary research centers to develop and study innovative clinical and health services interventions to improve health care outcomes for geriatric patients.
PROJECT
An evaluation of 16 integrated care pilot programs in England revealed that greater integration of health and social care led to improved care processes and more satisfied staff, but some aspects of patient experience were less positive, and the intended reduction in emergency admissions was not seen.
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This study assessing trends in late-life disability in the emerging economy of Taiwan showed that limitations in seeing, hearing, and instrumental activities of daily living declined.
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Vulnerable older adults enrolled in plans that use nurse care managers receive, on average, 69% of recommended care for geriatric conditions, compared with 53% for elders in plans without nurse care managers.
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The Building Interdisciplinary Geriatric Health Care Research Centers initiative created centers that brought together individuals from a wide range of disciplines and helped them collaborate to develop new projects or build on existing efforts.
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Having a usual source of care was associated with lower depression prevalence and higher realized access among community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries.
NEWS RELEASE
Home health care technology may provide one important solution to global concerns about how to sustain health care systems threatened by rising costs and manpower shortages, but such a change faces multiple obstacles to adoption.
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This study evaluates the effects of a multicomponent intervention to reduce fecal incontinence and urinary incontinence.
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This descriptive study of nursing home characteristics found that facilities targeted by a CMS improvement initiative typically have fewer nurses and nurse aides and higher rates of quality of care citations.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Results of a pilot program in RAND Health's Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders-2 project indicate that quality indicators for dementia care are improved when primary care practices are coupled with links to local Alzheimer's Association chapters.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
The proportion of older middle-aged Americans who report disabilities related to mobility increased significantly from 1997 to 2007, in contrast to the disability decline that has been found among Americans ages 65 and over.
NEWS RELEASE
New results from a major initiative on the quality of cancer care in the U.S. have found that patients with a common type of colon cancer—especially older patients—often are not treated as aggressively with chemotherapy as research shows is necessary to improve survival.
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New results from a major initiative on the quality of cancer care in the U.S. have found that patients with a common type of colon cancer—especially older patients—often are not treated as aggressively with chemotherapy as research shows is necessary to improve survival.
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This pilot study suggests that a practice-based intervention can increase referral to Alzheimer's Association chapters and improve quality of dementia care.
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Redesign of primary care practices, based on quality indicators from the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders project, improved care for older patients with falls and urinary incontinence.
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An economic evaluation was undertaken in which NICE reference case standards were applied to data collected in the RESPECT trial.
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Lower rates of lobectomy (resection of early-stage non-small-cell lung carcinomas) among older patients do not seem to be explained by age-related biases among surgeons for otherwise healthy patients.
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Functional status has a dramatic impact on life expectancy. 75-year-olds without limitations can expect to live 5 years longer than those with limitations in performing daily activities and more than 1 year longer than those with limited mobility.
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Primary care practices in sociodemographically vulnerable neighborhoods were more likely than other practices to have medical home capabilities (e.g., interpreters, multilingual physicians), making them potentially eligible for enhanced payments
REPORT
The RAND Summer Institute consists of conferences addressing critical issues facing our aging population. Select sessions from the 15th Annual RAND Summer Institute, held July 7-10, 2008 in Santa Monica, California, are available for online viewing.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Evaluates a draft preference assessment tool designed to replace the current Customary Routine section of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) for nursing homes.
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