Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
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Multicenter Study
Geriatric Pain Measure short form: development and initial evaluation.
To develop and evaluate a short form of the 24-item Geriatric Pain Measure (GPM) for use in community-dwelling older adults. ⋯ The GPM-12 demonstrated good validity and reliability in these European and U.S. populations of older adults. Despite its brevity, the GPM-12 captures the multidimensional nature of pain in three subscales. The self-administered GPM-12 may be useful in the clinical assessment process and management of pain and in pain-related research in older persons.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Empirical assessment of a research advance directive for persons with dementia and their proxies.
To evaluate a research advance directive for persons with established dementia diagnoses and their family caregivers or proxies. ⋯ Patient and proxy experience making hypothetical decisions in the interview may have affected enrollment decisions by the PAT and control groups. Although the low number of recruitment attempts and the natural attrition of the geriatric population limit conclusions about effectiveness that may be drawn from this unique data set, the feasibility of a research advance directive is clearly demonstrated.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Safety and immunogenicity profile of the concomitant administration of ZOSTAVAX and inactivated influenza vaccine in adults aged 50 and older.
To evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of ZOSTAVAX administered concomitantly with inactivated influenza vaccine or sequentially in adults aged 50 and older. ⋯ ZOSTAVAX and influenza vaccine given concomitantly are generally well tolerated in adults aged 50 and older. Ab responses were similar whether ZOSTAVAX and influenza vaccine were given concomitantly or sequentially.
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To describe two versions of a new measure, The Quality of Dying in Long-Term Care, for postdeath administration to surrogate respondents (staff and family caregivers) of all decedents (QOD-LTC) and of cognitively intact decedents (QOD-LTC-C) who die in nursing homes (NHs) and residential care or assisted living (RC/AL) facilities. ⋯ The QOD-LTC and QOD-LTC-C are psychometrically acceptable measures of the quality of the dying experience, developed for and tested in LTC settings. Use of these measures can increase understanding of the dying experience in LTC.
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Multicenter Study
A brief risk stratification tool to predict functional decline in older adults discharged from emergency departments.
To determine the effectiveness of the six-item Triage Risk Screening Tool (TRST) to assess baseline functional status and predict subsequent functional decline in older community-dwelling adults discharged home from the emergency department (ED). ⋯ The TRST identifies baseline functional impairment in older ED patients and is moderately predictive of subsequent functional decline after an initial ED visit. The TRST provides a valid proxy measure for assessing functional status in the ED and may be useful in identifying high-risk patients who would benefit from referrals for further evaluation or surveillance upon ED discharge.