[Improving support for HIV-positive elderly people in nursing homes]. / Mieux accompagner les personnes âgées séropositives en établissement d'hébergement.

The number of HIV-positive people requiring care in nursing homes is still low. However, there are obstacles to their admission or care in such institutions. Consequently, they often find themselves being cared for in a hospital setting. Anticipating the needs of these people will help to improve the care and support available and give rise to alternative residential facilities.

[Shared decision-making and end of life in a nursing home]. / Décision partagée et fin de vie en établissement d'hébergement.

The decision-making process in a nursing home is complex. In view of the prevalence of cognitive disorders and the importance of the role of carers, the personal choice becomes more of a shared decision. The legal framework, while favourable, remains under-used and could be improved.

["We need to modernise hospital pathways to favour prevention!"] / « Il faut moderniser les parcours hospitaliers en faveur de la prévention ! ¼.

In the hospital sector, care is often considered only from a curative perspective. However, improving screening for frailties and providing support with regard to risk factors would help care pathways evolve and place more emphasis on prevention. The hospital has a role as an institutional partner and whistleblower in the area of preventive health. Some initiatives have been put in place, notably in terms of healthy ageing. An interview with Professor Eric Boulanger, medical director of the Longevity Health Prevention Center at the Institut Pasteur in Lille.

[A place for intimacy and sexuality in nursing homes]. / Une place pour l'intimité et la sexualité en Ehpad.

In nursing homes, intimacy is threatened by the increased dependence and lack of support. It is nevertheless possible to preserve it, meaning it is possible to ensure a continuity of existence for the elderly person in an institution.

Mieux intégrer l'audit en établissement d'hébergement pour personnes âgées.

IMPROVED INTEGRATION OF AUDITS IN NURSING HOMES: The internal/external audit method in a nursing home is a lever for improving quality which varies greatly depending on the homes' management and contexts. It remains a useful quality management tool but does not necessarily respond to the specific nature of these facilities. The guidelines and populations are evolving towards the medicalisation of nursing homes and a risk prevention policy similar to that found in hospitals.

["The eco-nurse is an expert in environmental health"]. / « L'éco-infirmier est un expert de la santé environnementale ¼.

Eco-nurses are trained in environmental health in order to act as a resource person with the public and health professionals. Experts in the field, their scope of action is broad, both targeted and on a more global scale. Philippe Perrin is an eco-nurse and the director of the Environmental Health Training Institute in France.

[Prevention and understanding of addictive practices in emergency departments]. / Prévention et prise en compte des pratiques addictives aux urgences.

Nurses must adopt a supportive and caring approach to patients with an addiction during their virtually systematic visit to emergency departments. If they detect symptoms of addiction, nurses can then promote a strategy of prevention and long-term treatment.

Evaluation of a graphic interface to control a robotic grasping arm: a multicenter study.

UNLABELLED: Laffont I, Biard N, Chalubert G, Delahoche L, Marhic B, Boyer FC, Leroux C. Evaluation of a graphic interface to control a robotic grasping arm: a multicenter study. OBJECTIVE: Grasping robots are still difficult to use for persons with disabilities because of inadequate human-machine interfaces (HMIs). Our purpose was to evaluate the efficacy of a graphic interface enhanced by a panoramic camera to detect out-of-view objects and control a commercialized robotic grasping arm. DESIGN: Multicenter, open-label trial. SETTING: Four French departments of physical and rehabilitation medicine. PARTICIPANTS: Control subjects (N=24; mean age, 33y) and 20 severely impaired patients (mean age, 44y; 5 with muscular dystrophies, 13 with traumatic tetraplegia, and 2 others) completed the study. None of these patients was able to grasp a 50-cL bottle without the robot. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were asked to grasp 6 objects scattered around their wheelchair using the robotic arm. They were able to select the desired object through the graphic interface available on their computer screen. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Global success rate, time needed to select the object on the screen of the computer, number of clicks on the HMI, and satisfaction among users. RESULTS: We found a significantly lower success rate in patients (81.1% vs 88.7%; chi(2)P=.017). The duration of the task was significantly higher in patients (71.6s vs 39.1s; P<.001). We set a cut-off for the maximum duration at 79 seconds, representing twice the amount of time needed by the control subjects to complete the task. In these conditions, the success rate for the impaired participants was 65% versus 85.4% for control subjects. The mean number of clicks necessary to select the object with the HMI was very close in both groups: patients used (mean +/- SD) 7.99+/-6.07 clicks, whereas controls used 7.04+/-2.87 clicks. Considering the severity of patients' impairment, all these differences were considered tiny. Furthermore, a high satisfaction rate was reported for this population concerning the use of the graphic interface. CONCLUSIONS: The graphic interface is of interest in controlling robotic arms for disabled people, with numerous potential applications in daily life.