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Geriatrics research

Everything we have read on geriatrics. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

1,442 PAPERS · PAGE 1 OF 29 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTRNSystematic Review2016An integrative review of physical activity/exercise intervention effects on function and health-related quality of life in older adults with heart failure.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)Older adults with heart failure in 12 exercise trials had mixed physical-function and quality-of-life results. Five improved both, one improved function only, one improved quality of life only, five showed no difference, and no trial reported adverse events.
• PTOTSLPRNQualitative2017Preferences and concerns for care needs in advanced Parkinson's disease: a qualitative study of couples.Journal of clinical nursingCouples with advanced Parkinson's disease described frequent falls, speech and swallowing problems, financial strain and lack of prognostic information as major concerns. They wanted to stay home but often had no plans because they did not know what to expect.
• PTCohort2016Transition Between the Timed up and Go Turn to Sit Subtasks: Is Timing Everything?Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationA longer pause after turning before sitting, or a longer overlap where sitting starts before turning finishes, was linked to poorer motor and cognitive function and more disability in 1,055 older adults.
• PTOTRNSystematic Review2016Protein Supplementation Does Not Significantly Augment the Effects of Resistance Exercise Training in Older Adults: A Systematic Review.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationProtein supplements did not significantly boost the strength or muscle gains from resistance training in older adults. While training itself worked, adding protein made no difference compared to training alone for most people.
• PTRNOther2016Predictive Performance of a Fall Risk Assessment Tool for Community-Dwelling Older People (FRAT-up) in 4 European Cohorts.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationFRAT-up modestly predicted falls in community-dwelling older adults across four European cohorts, but accuracy varied widely. It overestimated risk in two cohorts, so it gives only a modest risk signal.
• PTOTRNCohort2017Ability of Self-Reported Frailty Components to Predict Incident Disability, Falls, and All-Cause Mortality: Results From a Population-Based Study of Older British Men.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationAsking older men about slow walking, low activity, exhaustion, and weight loss flagged later disability, falls, or death. These simple questions pointed to higher risk as well as or better than objective frailty tests.
• PTRNOther2016Osteoporosis Preventive Practice Between Veteran and Nonveteran Older Adults: Findings From Patient-Reported Data.Orthopedic nursingVeteran older adults reported less bone-health knowledge, less exercise, more falls, and less bone-density testing or supplements than nonveterans. Pain and disability were common barriers, while dietary intake was similar.
• PTOther2017Dynapenia and Metabolic Health in Obese and Nonobese Adults Aged 70 Years and Older: The LIFE Study.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationLow grip strength was not associated with worse metabolic risk in adults aged 70 and older. Metabolic syndrome, glucose, HDL, triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure did not differ.
• PTOTRNOther2017Falls, Cognitive Impairment, and Gait Performance: Results From the GOOD Initiative.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationIn older adults able to walk without help, non-Alzheimer dementia was linked to more falls than cognitively healthy adults, while Alzheimer dementia was not. Slower walking speed tracked falls broadly; variable stride time did so mainly in cognitively healthy adults.
• PTOTRNCohort2017ED Utilization and Self-Reported Symptoms in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.Journal of emergency nursingPain, tiredness and breathlessness were common whether older adults went to the emergency department or not. ED use was linked more to taking more medications, difficulty with daily activities and balance problems than to symptoms alone.
• PTRCT2017Translating Evidence-Based Protocols Into the Home Healthcare Setting.Home healthcare nowHome care physical therapists trained in a pain self-management program added to usual PT care did not document most examined elements more than PTs without training. Imagery documentation was higher. Therapists said the program added 15 to 20 additional minutes per visit.
• PTRNCohort2017Effects of Postacute Settings on Readmission Rates and Reasons for Readmission Following Total Knee Arthroplasty.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationMedicare patients discharged home after knee replacement had lower 30-day readmission rates than those discharged to skilled nursing or inpatient rehabilitation. Infection was commonest early readmission reason; later readmissions were often digestive or urinary.
• PTRNSurvey2017Assessment of risk of falls in elderly living at home.Revista latino-americana de enfermagemAmong 240 older adults living at home, high fall risk was linked to female sex, cognitive impairment, previous falls, visual impairment, living alone and rheumatic diseases. Screening should ask about these factors.
• PTOTRNSystematic Review2017Assessment of Activity of Daily Living Among Older Adult Patients in Home Healthcare and Skilled Nursing Facilities: An Integrative Review.Home healthcare nowOlder adult ADL assessments in home health and skilled nursing use different tools, definitions, scoring and reporters, so scores may not be comparable. Check the method before using it to guide care.
• PTRNOther2017Associations between frailty syndrome and sociodemographic characteristics in long-lived individuals of a community.Revista latino-americana de enfermagemAmong 243 community-dwelling adults 80+, 36 were frail, 155 were pre-frail and 52 were not frail. Age was linked to frailty, but the predictive models were not supported.
• PTSurvey2017Psychometric properties of the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale in Mexican elderly women.Revista latino-americana de enfermagemIn 329 older Mexican women, a Spanish exercise beliefs questionnaire measured perceived benefits reliably, but the barriers part was weaker and needs review before guiding exercise counseling.
• PTOTRNOther2017Assessment of Fall Characteristics From Depth Sensor Videos.Journal of gerontological nursingMost falls in senior housing videos came from incorrect transfers or shifts of body weight, not slips. Check mobility aid use, because aids were present but unused in 20% of falls and in use in 40%.
• PTOTRNCohort2017Changes in frailty conditions and phenotype components in elderly after hospitalization.Revista latino-americana de enfermagemOne year after discharge, the most common change was non-frail to pre-frail (56.7%), and deaths occurred among frail and pre-frail adults. Depression, medicines, illnesses and daily-living scores did not predict overall frailty change.
• PTOTRNSystematic Review2018Multicomponent Palliative Care Interventions in Advanced Chronic Diseases: A Systematic Review.The American journal of hospice & palliative careAcross 64 palliative care programs for cancer, heart, lung or kidney disease, nurses were involved in 88%, but few delivered all 7 components. More disciplines or components were not clearly linked to better outcomes.
• PTRNOther2018Identifying a Relationship Between Physical Frailty and Heart Failure Symptoms.The Journal of cardiovascular nursingHalf of 49 adults with heart failure were physically frail. After accounting for projected one-year survival, frailty was associated with more than two times as much breathlessness, 75% worse wake disturbance, and 76% more depression. Pain and anxiety did not differ.
• PTOTSLPRNQualitative2017Nursing home care trajectories for older adults following in-hospital palliative care consultation.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)Ten of twelve patients discharged to a nursing home after palliative care received aggressive rehabilitation despite poor prognoses, often contradicting their own goals. Only two followed a comfort-focused path. Most patients experienced high symptom burden and rehospitalization, with no documented spiritual support or goal renegotiation in the nursing home.
• PTOTCohort2017Objective Measures of Activity in the Elderly: Distribution and Associations With Demographic and Health Factors.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationOlder adults aged 70 to 94 spent 78.2% to 79.5% of waking time sedentary, and average moderate-to-vigorous activity was 71.5 to 75.0 minutes/day. Activity was lower with older age, higher BMI, disability and chronic disease.
• PTOTSLPRNCohort2018The Relationship Between the Dietary Inflammatory Index and Incident Frailty: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationOlder adults with the most pro-inflammatory diets had a higher risk of becoming frail over eight years. This link was strong in men, where the highest diet score group had four times the risk, but no association was found in women.
• PTOTRNSystematic Review2018Fear of falling among community-dwelling older adults: A scoping review to identify effective evidence-based interventions.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)Exercise, tai chi, cognitive behavior therapy and multi-component programs reduced fear of falling in community-dwelling older adults in 26 of 45 studies, but no intervention was clearly best.
• PTSystematic Review2017Factors associated with balance function in patients with knee osteoarthritis: An integrative review.International journal of nursing sciencesIn knee osteoarthritis, older age, higher BMI, greater pain, and weaker knees or ankles were linked to poorer balance. Knee sleeves and insoles gave mixed results. Weight loss and strengthening were suggested, but this review cannot prove they improve balance.
• PTOTRNQualitative2018Stakeholders' Perceptions Sought to Inform the Development of a Low-Cost Mobile Robot for Older Adults: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.Clinical nursing researchOlder adults in senior housing wanted to do daily self-care and household tasks themselves, keep active, and stay connected to family and friends. Staff visits did not replace that need. Safety checks and reminders mattered.
• PTOTRNOther2018Executive function: Responses to aerobic exercise in Alzheimer's disease.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)Six months of supervised cycling did not significantly improve executive function in 28 older adults with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Scores declined non-significantly. EXIT-25, BDS, and Stroop tracked change better than Trail Making Test and COWAT.
• PTRNMeta-Analysis2017Effect of nutritional supplement combined with exercise intervention on sarcopenia in the elderly: A meta-analysis.International journal of nursing sciencesIn older adults with sarcopenia, adding nutritional supplements to exercise increased muscle mass versus exercise alone, but BMI and fat mass showed no significant difference. Evidence came from six small trials with mixed results.
• PTOTRNSurvey2017Prevalence of household falls in long-lived adults and association with extrinsic factors.Revista latino-americana de enfermagemIn adults aged 80 or older, 46.9% reported a fall in the past year. Uneven floors, steps, pets at the entrance, missing anti-slip rugs and bathroom grab bars were associated with falls.
• PTOTRNCohort2018Octogenarians' post-acute care use after cardiac valve surgery and recovery: clinical implications.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)Most Medicare patients aged 80 and older used post-acute care after cardiac valve surgery: 68%. Skilled nursing and home health were common; inpatient rehabilitation was rare. Patients and families may need early planning for discharge.
• PTRNCohort2018Identifying Factors Associated With Mobility Decline Among Hospitalized Older Adults.Clinical nursing researchIn 959 hospitalized adults age 65 and older, 49% had mobility decline by discharge. Hearing impairment, non-emergency admission, and longer stays were associated with decline; adults 65-74 or 75-84 were more likely to decline than those 85 and older.
• PTOTCohort2018Muscle Strength and Functional Limitations: Preserving Function in Older Mexican Americans.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationStronger handgrip was linked to less functional loss over two years in older Mexican Americans. Each 10-kg higher grip was associated with 5% and 8% lower odds of losing instrumental tasks and developing new disability. It does not prove strength training prevents decline.
• PTRNCohort2018Persistence of pain quality in community-dwelling older adults with chronic non-cancer pain.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)Older adults with chronic pain kept the same pain-quality descriptors over 18 months, especially sensory pain. Those reporting all three persistent categories had more widespread pain, but pain severity and interference did not change consistently.
• PTOTSLPMeta-Analysis2018Cognitive-Based Interventions to Improve Mobility: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationCognitive training improved walking speed when participants performed a second task, such as talking or counting. The effect was small and did not reach significance for normal walking. Shorter training sessions may produce better results than longer ones.
• PTOTRNQualitative2018Care in Nursing Facilities after Palliative Consult.Journal of hospice and palliative nursing : JHPN : the official journal of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses AssociationHospital palliative care goals were often missing when 12 patients entered nursing homes. Families expected improvement, and therapy was ordered despite poor prognosis.
• PTRNSystematic Review2018Risk Factors for Falls in Adult Cancer Survivors: An Integrative Review.Rehabilitation nursing : the official journal of the Association of Rehabilitation NursesPoor physical function, cognitive function, and balance or gait problems were the most common factors associated with falls in adult cancer survivors. Medication type also appeared among them. The studies could not be combined into one overall estimate.
• PTOTRNOther2018Physical Activity and Function in Assisted Living Residents.Western journal of nursing researchAssisted living residents averaged 20.6 sedentary hours daily, with 42 minutes of moderate activity. A wrist monitor was feasible, and activity did not separate residents who had fallen from those who had not.
• PTRNOther2018The association of pain, race and slow gait speed in older adults.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)Pain was not more strongly tied to slow gait in African American older adults than in non-Hispanic White older adults, though bothersome pain was associated with slower walking.
• PTOTRNCohort2018Examining age-related differences in functional domain impairment following traumatic brain injury.International journal of older people nursingOlder adults after mild-moderate traumatic brain injury had worse mobility, travel, home maintenance and overall function for a year. Better pre-injury physical health was linked to better function; better pre-injury mental health was sometimes linked to worse function in older adults.
• PTOther2018Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Translated "A Matter of Balance" Fall Prevention Program Materials for Non-English-Speaking Participants.Journal of trauma nursing : the official journal of the Society of Trauma NursesTranslated MOB did not reduce fear of falling in Chinese participants; their fear increased from first to last class and at 6 months. Spanish fear decreased by last class, but 6-month data were missing.
• PTRNOther2019Restrictive Ventilatory Patterns in Residents of Continuing Care Retirement Communities.Western journal of nursing research52% of older residents in continuing care retirement communities had restrictive breathing patterns. Dementia, kyphosis, lower muscle strength, and breathing distress were linked to these patterns. The study cannot show whether these factors cause or result from restrictive breathing.
• PTRNPilot2018The impact of implementing a fall prevention educational session for community-dwelling physical therapy patients.Nursing openFall risk awareness scores rose in eight older adults in physical therapy who received nurse practitioner-led education, a booklet, and a physical therapist-led session. They reported home safety changes, but the pilot was too small to show falls were prevented.
• PTOTSLPRNRCT2019Three Nurse-administered Protocols Reduce Nutritional Decline and Frailty in Older Gastrointestinal Surgery Patients: A Cluster Randomized Trial.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationNurse-led protocols for early mobilization, oral care, and orientation reduced weight loss and prevented new frailty in older gastrointestinal surgery patients. The intervention required about 58 minutes of nursing time per day. Family members were coached to assist with daily activities.
• PTOTSLPRNSystematic Review2019The Effectiveness of Function-Focused Care Interventions in Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review.The journal of nursing research : JNRFunction-focused care in nursing homes improved physical, psychosocial, and cognitive outcomes for most residents. The review could not determine which specific intervention method worked best or whether integrated or dedicated care processes were superior.
• PTOTRNMeta-Analysis2019Frail Phenotype and Disability Prediction in Community-Dwelling Older People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.The journal of nursing research : JNRFrail community-dwelling older adults had a 5.37-fold higher risk of disability in basic daily tasks and a 3.87-fold higher risk in more complex daily tasks than robust peers. Those at risk also had a 1.84-fold higher risk than robust peers.
• PTOTCohort2019Predictive Capacity of Frailty Phenotype Toward Patterns of Disability Identified Using Latent Class Analysis.Journal of the American Medical Directors AssociationFrailty screening missed many older adults who later developed disability patterns. When it flagged someone, that person often did decline. It was not good at catching most people who declined.
• PTOTRNSystematic Review2019Effect of exergaming on health-related quality of life in older adults: A systematic review.International journal of nursing studiesExergaming did not consistently improve health-related quality of life in older adults. Most trials found no clear benefit, and the positive results were short-term and tied to supervised center-based sessions with high adherence.
• PTRNPilot2019Use of a Wearable Technology and Motivational Interviews to Improve Sleep in Older Adults With Osteoarthritis and Sleep Disturbance: A Pilot Study.Research in gerontological nursingOlder adults with osteoarthritis and insomnia symptoms reported less severe insomnia after 19 weeks of Fitbit tracking, tailored texts, and motivational calls. Insomnia scores improved by 1.2 points on a 28-point scale. No control group means this is feasibility, not proof.
• PTOTRNSystematic Review2019A systematic mixed methods review: Recovering from a hip fracture in a health promoting perspective.Nursing openOlder adults recovering at home after hip fracture described recovery as a battle for independence. Support that strengthens their sense of control and motivation may matter more than exercise alone.
• PTOTRNCohort2019Incidence and risk of falls in patients treated for hematologic malignancies in the Intensive Hematology Unit.Revista latino-americana de enfermagemOnly 2 falls occurred among 101 adults hospitalized for blood cancers over 1.5 years, yet 29.7% were high fall risk at admission and 40.6% mid-stay. Dizziness at admission was the only assessed factor associated with falls.