A Deterioration in Hearing Is Associated With Functional and Cognitive Impairments, Difficulty With Communication, and Greater Health Instability.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between hearing deterioration and several health-related outcomes among home care clients in Ontario. Design: Longitudinal analysis was completed for clients with at least two comprehensive assessments. Hearing status, based on a single item, ranged from zero (no impairment) to three (highly impaired). Hearing deterioration was defined as at least a 1-point decline between subsequent assessments. Results: Seven percent experienced a 1-point deterioration in hearing and roughly 1% had a 2/3-point decline. After adjusting for other covariates, increasing age (odds ratio = 1.94; 95% confidence intervals [CIs] = [1.45, 2.61]) and a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (1.37; CI = [1.04, 1.80]) and other dementias (1.32; CI = [1.07, 1.63]) increased the risk of a 2/3-point deterioration. Conclusion: These findings can assist home care professionals and policy makers in creating and refining interventions to meet the needs of older adults with hearing difficulties.

Older Adults With a Combination of Vision and Hearing Impairment Experience Higher Rates of Cognitive Impairment, Functional Dependence, and Worse Outcomes Across a Set of Quality Indicators.

OBJECTIVES: Hearing and vision impairment were examined across several health-related outcomes and across a set of quality indicators (QIs) in home care clients with both vision and hearing loss (or dual sensory impairment [DSI]). METHOD: Data collected using the Resident Assessment Instrument for Home Care (RAI-HC) were analyzed in a sample of older home care clients. The QIs represent the proportion of clients experiencing negative outcomes (e.g., falls, social isolation). RESULTS: The average age of clients was 82.8 years ( SD = 7.9), 20.5% had DSI and 8.5% had a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Clients with DSI were more likely to have a diagnosis of dementia (not AD), have functional impairments, report loneliness, and have higher rates across 20 of the 22 QIs, including communication difficulty and cognitive decline. Clients with highly impaired hearing, and any visual impairment, had the highest QI rates. DISCUSSION: Individuals with DSI experience higher rates of adverse events across many health-related outcomes and QIs. Understanding the unique contribution of hearing and vision in this group can promote optimal quality of care.

Combined impairments in vision, hearing and cognition are associated with greater levels of functional and communication difficulties than cognitive impairment alone: Analysis of interRAI data for home care and long-term care recipients in Ontario.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the current study was to understand the added effects of having a sensory impairment (vision and/or hearing impairment) in combination with cognitive impairment with respect to health-related outcomes among older adults (65+ years old) receiving home care or residing in a long-term care (LTC) facility in Ontario, Canada. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using existing data collected with one of two interRAI assessments, one for home care (n = 291,824) and one for LTC (n = 110,578). Items in the assessments were used to identify clients with single sensory impairments (e.g., vision only [VI], hearing only [HI]), dual sensory impairment (DSI; i.e., vision and hearing) and those with cognitive impairment (CI). We defined seven mutually exclusive groups based on the presence of single or combined impairments. RESULTS: The rate of people having all three impairments (i.e., CI+DSI) was 21.3% in home care and 29.2% in LTC. Across the seven groups, individuals with all three impairments were the most likely to report loneliness, to have a reduction in social engagement, and to experience reduced independence in their activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs (IADLs). Communication challenges were highly prevalent in this group, at 38.0% in home care and 49.2% in LTC. In both care settings, communication difficulties were more common in the CI+DSI group versus the CI-alone group. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of combined sensory and cognitive impairments is high among older adults in these two care settings and having all three impairments is associated with higher rates of negative outcomes than the rates for those having CI alone. There is a rising imperative for all health care professionals to recognize the potential presence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairments in those for whom they provide care, to ensure that basic screening occurs and to use those results to inform care plans.

Changes in social engagement and depression predict incident loneliness among seriously ill home care clients.

ABSTRACTObjective:This study identified the predictors of incident loneliness in a group of seriously ill older adults (aged 65+) receiving home care. METHOD: Existing data collected with the Resident Assessment Instrument for Home Care (RAI-HC) were utilized. A cohort of clients (N = 2,499) with two RAI-HC assessments and no self-reported loneliness at time 1 were included. Self-reported loneliness, upon reassessment, was the outcome of interest. Clients with a prognosis of less than six months or severe health instability were included. RESULTS: The average length of time between assessments was 5.9 months (standard deviation = 4.10). During that time, 7.8% (n = 181) of the sample developed loneliness. In a multivariate regression model, worsening symptoms of depression, a decline in social activities, and not living with a primary caregiver all increased the risk of loneliness. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: These results highlight how changes in psychosocial factors over time can contribute to loneliness, which can inform clinicians as they seek to identify those who may be at risk for loneliness.

The Influence of Physical and Psychosocial Factors on Disruptive Pain Among Seriously Ill Home Care Patients.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence and correlates of disruptive pain in a sample of seriously ill home care patients in the Canadian province of Ontario. METHODS: The design was a cross-sectional analysis of secondary data from 2757 patients aged 65+. RESULTS: Overall, 69.0% (n = 1902) had any level of pain and 41.6% (n = 1146) indicated that their pain disrupted their usual activities. In the univariate analysis of demographics, the risk of disruptive pain decreased significantly with increasing age ( P < .0001) and was significantly less common among men ( P = .0015). Multivariate analysis showed that unsteady gait (relative risk [RR] = 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18-1.59), arthritis (RR = 1.35; 95% CI, 1.23-1.49), symptoms of depression (RR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.13-1.37), and declines in social activity that the patient rated as distressing (RR = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.08-1.31) were independently associated with disruptive pain. CONCLUSION: Disruptive pain is highly prevalent in this group, and the key factors associated with this outcome represent physical as well as psychosocial domain areas.