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Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cognitive rehabilitation for depression, cognitive function, ADL, and QOL in patients with post-stroke depression (PSD). In addition, we evaluated the effects of cognitive rehabilitation on customer satisfaction with long-term care facilities and rehabilitation.Methods: This study included 8 participants with PSD who were residents of a long-term care facility located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. In addition to their ordinary rehabilitation (2 sessions per week, 20 minutes per session), participants underwent 36 sessions of cognitive rehabilitation (3 sessions per week, 20 minutes per session, for 12 weeks). Primary outcome measures: Depression severity was measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Zung Self Depression Scale (SDS), and the Depression Scale of the Japan Stroke Scale (JSS-D). Frontal lobe function was assessed using the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Secondary outcome measures: QOL was assessed using SF-8. Customer Satisfaction with the rehabilitation was measured using the Customer Satisfaction Scale based on Need Satisfaction (CSSNS). Assessments were performed before and after the rehabilitation.Results: The severity scores of depression, frontal lobe function, and customer satisfaction with the rehabilitation all significantly improved after the cognitive rehabilitation sessions.Conclusions: The results obtained in this trial indicate that, for patients with PSD depressive symptoms, frontal lobe function, QOL, and rehabilitation customer satisfaction may be improved by the inclusion of cognitive rehabilitation sessions alongside regular rehabilitation.
ABSTRACT
<b>Objective</b> : Although current preventative care policies consider the issue of the homebound elderly to be important, effective means of intervention have not been established. Therefore, it is necessary to elucidate the relevant causes of the poorly understood “homebound” problem. As little expertise exists on the social and psychological factors of those who are homebound, this study focuses on the sense of coherence (SOC) —a new estimate of the psychosocial factors involved in being homebound—and examines the connection between being homebound and SOC.<br><b>Methods</b> : A mail survey was conducted among 1,895 elderly adults, none of whom had been issued a Certification of Long-Term Care Need. Survey items included basic attributes, physical characteristics, psychological and socioenvironmental characteristics, and the condition of being homebound. Furthermore, SOC was investigated as part of the psychosocial and environmental evaluation. The 853 respondents chosen for the analysis were divided into three groups depending on their level of homeboundedness, and an ordered logistic regression analysis was conducted using homeboundedness as the dependent variable.<br><b>Results</b> : The following items were found to have a significant association with homeboundedness : age, sex, low motor function, depressive tendencies, low SOC, and the low TMIG Index of Competence.<br><b>Discussion</b> : This study identified a relation between being homebound and SOC, suggesting that in addition to interventions for depression and motor function, new SOC focused aid must be considered in the prevention of homeboundedness.
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The medical insurance system was reformed in 2008. A new program was introduced to detect metabolic syndrome in the early stages with the aim of reducing lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, and the specific medical examination and specific health instruction became incumbent on the medical insurers. The primary purpose of the medical examination was not only to discover metabolic diseases but also to provide the people an opportunity to reconsider their lifestyle. The specific health instruction was to raise health consciousness. Our hospital started the specific medical examination in the first year. Based on the screening outcome data, the specific health instruction, the specific health instruction was implemented. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the introduction of the new medical insurance system. We investigated how the effect of the health instruction lasted based on the results of the medical examination that we carried out in 2012. The average weight decreased 1.0 kg (P<0.001) and the mean girth of the abdomen decreased 1.5 cm (P<0.001). Those who successfully lost weight and maintained that success accounted for 60%, as compared with women’s figure of 66% for women. There were people who lost weight temporarily, but regained all or more than they lost in four years. Compared to women, men showed a strong tendency to regain weight lost. The level of the specific health instruction has been improved. The effects of the health instruction would last longer. However, to ward off rebound weight gain, it is necessary for us to keep careful watch over area residents and work out more effective prophylactic measures.
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<b>Purpose</b> : The purpose of this study was to examine quantitative activity and determine characteristics using an activity meter in community-dwelling frail elderly people.<br><b>Methods</b> : We monitored 25 community-dwelling elderly of support-requiring condition level1 and 2 by attaching activity monitoring evaluation system (A-MES) and measured physical activity (PA) over 24 hours as well as body information, care information, everyday life function.<br>We examined according to sex / care category using obtained results.<br><b>Results</b> : Women's standing position time and walk time were significantly longer, and men's daytime lying position and sitting position time were significantly longer.<br>Also, in persons of support-required condition level 2 there was a significantly higher number of posture changes from sitting position to daytime lying position.<br>It was suggested that a quantitative evaluation of the PA could lead to discovery of activity decrease in home life in association with each PA item and low rank criteria of the functional independence measure (FIM).<br>Securing of enough walk time and shortening of the lying position time in the daytime tend to be important for self-care ability and maintenance of locomotiveness.<br><b>Conclusion</b> : It was suggested that the evaluation of shortening the lying position time in the daytime and increasing the amount of position changes will supplement a decrease of the PA, which is related to preventing decrease in activity.
ABSTRACT
Today, well over 160, 000 patients undergo dialysis throughout Japan. The number of patients who are newly required to receive it is increasing year by year. Given that situation, our hospital has annually held a seminar since October 1994 for patients with renal diseases. The purpose is to slow the deterioration of renal function and to delay the introduction of dialysis by encouraging the patients to acquire a habit of taking high calory, low protein food.<BR>This seminar must have help the patients get more knowledgeable about morbidity and learn the benefit of low protein rice-based diet. Now that three years have passed since the opening of the course, we reviewed the outcome, comparing the effects of old and new restrict diets.<BR>A difference began to appear 9-2 months after the lst seminar between the seminar participants and the non-participants (control group) who received guidance only at the outpatient ward. The average rate of decrease in the serum creatine level of those participants who eated lowprotein rice was 0.029 and that of those participants who did not eat the restricted food was 0.166 (p<0.05), compared with 0.262 in the control group. We concluded that the difference is ascribable to the effect of the seminar. We would like to contribute to the well-being of the patients by enriching the content of the seminar and continuing to hold it.