Physical activity and memory functions: an interventional study

The general principles of Bayesian data analysis imply that models for survey responses should be constructed conditional on all variables that affect the probability of inclusion and nonresponse, which are also the variables used in survey weighting and clustering. However, such models can quickly become very complicated, with potentially thousands of poststratification cells. It is then a challenge to develop general families of multilevel probability models that yield reasonable Bayesian inferences. We discuss in the context of several ongoing public health and social surveys. This work is currently open-ended, and we conclude with thoughts on how research could proceed to solve these problems.

Struggles with survey weighting and regression modeling

Older individuals often find it difficult to communicate, especially in group situations, because they are unable to keep up with the flow of conversation or are too slow in comprehending what they are hearing. These communication difficulties are often exacerbated by negative stereotypes held by their communication partners who often perceive older adults as less competent than they actually are (Ryan et al. 1986). Sometimes, older adults’ communication problems motivate them, often at the prompting of their family and friends, to seek help from hearing specialists (O’Mahoney et al. 1996). Quite often, however, older adults and/or their family members wonder if these comprehension difficulties are a sign of cognitive decline. Such uncertainty on the part of both older adults and their family members with respect to the source of communication difficulties is understandable given that age-related changes in the comprehension of spoken language could be due to age-related changes in hearing, to age-related declines in cognitive functioning, or to interactions between these two levels of processing. To participate effectively in a multitalker conversation, listeners need to do more than simply recognize and repeat speech. They have to keep track of who said what, extract the meaning of each utterance, store it in memory for future use, integrate the incoming information with what each conversational participant has said in the past, and draw on the listener’s own knowledge of the topic under consideration to extract general themes and formulate responses. In other words, effective communication requires not only an intact auditory system but also an intact cognitive system.

Effects of Senescent Changes in Audition and Cognition on Spoken Language Comprehension

https://pure.tue.nl/ws/files/3265493/37470505227584.pdf

The indoor environment and the integrated design of homes for older people with dementia

Background:Under the Affordable Care Act, the number and capacity of community health centers (HCs) is growing. Although the majority of HC care is provided by primary care physicians (PCMDs), a growing proportion is delivered by nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs); yet, little

A Comparison of Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Primary Care Physicians' Patterns of Practice and Quality of Care in Health Centers

Objective
To examine the impact of state-granted nurse practitioner (NP) independence on patient-level quality, service utilization, and referrals.

Data Sources/Study Setting
The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey's community health center (HC) subsample (2006–2011). Primary analyses included approximately 6,500 patient visits to 350 NPs in 220 HCs.

Study Design
Propensity score matching and multivariate regression analysis were used to estimate the impact of state-granted NP independence on each outcome, separately. Estimates were adjusted for sampling weights and NAMCS’s complex design.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods
Every “NP-patient visit unit” was isolated using practitioner and patient visit codes and, using geographic identifiers, assigned to its state-year and that state-year's level of NP independence based on scope of practice policies. Nine outcomes were specified using ICD-9 codes, standardized drug classification codes, and NAMCS survey items.

Principal Findings
After matching, no statistically significant differences in quality were detected by states’ independence status, although NP visits in states with prescriptive independence received more educational services (aIRR 1.66; 95 percent CI 1.09–2.53; p = .02) and medications (aIRR 1.26; 95 percent CI 1.04–1.53; p = .02), and NP visits in states with practice independence had a higher odds of receiving physician referrals (AOR 1.88; 95 percent CI 1.10–3.22; p = .02) than those in restricted states.

Conclusions
Findings do not support a quality–scope of practice relationship.

/pdf/does-the-regulatory-environment-affect-nurse-practitioners-2cuq8ceeny.pdf

Does the Regulatory Environment Affect Nurse Practitioners' Patterns of Practice or Quality of Care in Health Centers?

With governments around the world needing to attract talented professionals, this exploratory, cross-cultural research analyzes career values of 384 MPA and MPP students at major universities in the capitals of China, Malaysia and the United States. Malaysians and Americans structured 23 goals along dimensions that contrasted sharply to those of the Chinese. Moreover, Malaysians and Americans cared more about self-actualization and less about co-worker comradeship than did the Chinese. All three groups prioritized elements of altruism and affluence. Segmentation analysis uncovered six distinct subgroups (Acheivers, Altruistic Analysts, Administrators, Altruistic Affluents, Acquiescents, and Apathetics) with their distributions varying by country.

Career Values of Public Administration and Public Policy Students in China, Malaysia and the United States

Hearing aids for nursing home residents: current policy and future needs.

Policy initiatives to promote healthy aging

Analyses of academic networks typically rely on bibliometric data to reveal intellectual structures and communication links. Using data compiled from Journal Citation Reports, this research reports the key networks of seven general public policy journals: Journal of European Public Policy, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Journal of Public Policy, Policy Sciences, Policy Studies, Policy Studies Journal, and Public Choice. Two journals had strong links to economics journals, three had moderately strong links to political science journals, and two were highly multidisciplinary. Articles in these seven journals seldom referenced each other but more often cited prominent political science and economics journals; self-citations were comparatively high. Often cited by journals across a wide range of fields, six of these seven policy journals have achieved high citation rates that put them in the top tiers of journals.

Donna Lind Infeld

Papers

Does the Regulatory Environment Affect Nurse Practitioners' Patterns of Practice or Quality of Care in Health Centers?

Career Values of Public Administration and Public Policy Students in China, Malaysia and the United States

Hearing aids for nursing home residents: current policy and future needs.

Policy initiatives to promote healthy aging

Network Bibliometrics of Public Policy Journals