International Journal of Older People Nursing 

About: International Journal of Older People Nursing is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Health care & Medicine. It has an ISSN identifier of 1748-3735. Over the lifetime, 776 publications have been published receiving 12581 citations.

Developing person-centred practice: nursing outcomes arising from changes to the care environment in residential settings for older people

Abstract: Aim. To present the nursing outcomes from the evaluation of developments in the care environment in residential settings for older people.Design. The evaluation data reported here is derived from a larger national programme of work that focused on the development of person-centred practice in residential services for older people using an emancipatory practice development framework. A multi-method evaluation framework was utilised. Outcome data were collected at three time points between December 2007 and September 2009. The data reported here were collected using an instrument called the 'Person-Centred Nursing Index'.Findings. Heavy workload was the main cause of stress among nurses. Personal and professional satisfaction with the job was scored highest by the total sample of nurses. Nineteen factors were examined using the Person-Centred Nursing Index. Statistically significant changes were observed in 12 of these. In addition, there were statistically significant changes in nurses' perceptions of caring, indicating a shift from a dominant focus on 'technical' aspects of care, to one where 'intimate' aspects of care were more highly valued.Relevance to clinical practice. The findings highlight the importance of the development of effective teamwork, workload management, time management and staff relationships in order to create a culture where there is a more democratic and inclusive approach to practice and space for the formation of person-centred relationships.

Nutritional supplementation for hip fracture aftercare in older people.

Abstract: Older people with hip fractures are often malnourished at the time of fracture and may have poor food intake while treated in hospital (Lumbers et al., 2001). Malnutrition can lead to mental apathy, reduce mobility and increase the tendency to develop postoperative complications such as wound, respiratory or urine infections, pressure sores and deep vein thrombosis. Prolonged stay in hospital is undesirable and costly to provide. Long-term rehabilitation and support in the community will add to the burdens of costs. It is possible that nutritional supplements may provide a convenient way to improve the intake of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals.

Personhood and dementia: revisiting Tom Kitwood’s ideas

Abstract: Person-centred care is often cited as an aim of gerontological nursing and promotion of personhood is said to be the basis for person-centred care. As such, it forms a cornerstone value for many gerontological nurses, particularly those working in dementia care. Tom Kitwood’s ideas and definition of personhood are widely referred to in the literature and used in the dementia care field. More recently, there is a move to critique and partially reject Kitwood’s ideas on personhood. This paper has three aims: (i) to explore some central ideas around key theories of personhood (ii) to critique Kitwood’s work on personhood. (iii) To summarize current critiques of Kitwood’s ideas and provide a response that outlines why Kitwoods’ ideas are still relevant. It is suggested many critiques ignore Kitwoods’ ultimate purpose; that of moral concern for ‘others’. However, the main criticism put forward in this paper is that, rather than completely rejecting personhood theories, Kitwood locates his work on what it means to be a person within a traditional Cartesian personhood framework, albeit from a revised or pragmatic viewpoint. Finally, it is suggested that definitions of persons and personhood need to take account of the body and time (corporeality and temporality) and gerontological nursing may want to reassess how much allegiance is given to basing nursing frameworks on the concept of personhood.

A comparative review of the Katz ADL and the Barthel Index in assessing the activities of daily living of older people.

Abstract: Assessment of a patient's functional ability to perform activities of daily living is an essential part of nursing. Measuring the functional ability of older adults is a potent predictor of a patient's morbidity and hospital outcome. The information generated from assessment scales is only constructive if the information generated is clinically useful and scientifically reliable. The Katz activities of daily living and the Barthel Index are two of the oldest competing indices for assessing activities of daily living. The Katz activities of daily living and the Barthel Index evaluate a patient's function in terms of level of independence or dependence when performing certain activities required for daily living. This paper will compare their significance and usefulness to nursing practice of the older adult. As information is gathered and interpreted to complete these assessment scales, the relative merits in specific situations of these two oldest competing indices need to be considered to ensure their appropriateness and sensitivity. Often, with the use of assessment scales for activities of daily living, the results often tend to be subjective and lack a systematic approach. Subjective assessment of patients makes it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments, leading to bias and the misinterpretation of data. This may be critical in the care of older adults, where presenting problems are often complex and multi-dimensional. As assessment of functional ability has become more important to nursing practice, this paper will investigate the Katz activities of daily living and the Barthel Index for reliability and explore the variations that exist between the two indices. Although research on assessment scales has been ongoing since the work of Katz et al. (1963) there remains conceptual issues as to what constitutes activities of daily living and defining terminology associated with the measurement.