Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Scale of the Nursing Work Index With Nurses From Seven Countries.

Background and Purpose: The aims of this study are as follows: to adapt and validate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) adapted to the nursing home environment across seven Spanish-speaking countries and to cross-culturally adapt the Scale of the Nursing Work Index with nurses from seven countries. Methods: Adaptation process and psychometric validation of the instrument included translation and back-translation, content validity, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity. Results: A total of 134 nursing homes belonging to the same religious order were randomly selected from seven Spanish-speaking countries with a sample of 378 nurses. The exploratory factor analysis explained a five-factor structure (56% of the explained variance) with adequate goodness-of-fit indices in the final factor solution. Conclusions: The validation process indicates that the Spanish language version of the PES-NWI with five factors and 31 items, for long-term care facilities for the elderly, is valid and reliable in its current version and can be used to measure the environment of nurses working in clinical practice in Spanish-speaking nursing homes.

Retirement or no Retirement? The Decision's Effects on Cognitive Functioning, Well-Being, and Quality of Life.

This study addressed the psychological effects on personal well-being and reported quality of life of staying professionally active in late adulthood, and to what extent years of professional inactivity modulates cognitive abilities. DESIGN AND METHODS: We collected data on 262 elderly adults, 129 of whom were professionally active elderly adults (who voluntarily maintained their professional activity after the age of retirement) and 133 of whom were retired adults, in a set of experimental tasks to measure basic cognitive resources. The study took place during the first quarter of 2020. RESULTS: Active elderly people performed better on cognitive tasks that assessed attention, memory, and solving abilities and also reported more satisfaction with life and their current work. Multiple linear regressions analyses revealed that years of inactivity were associated with lower cognitive performance. Mentally demanding jobs were significantly associated with memory performance, but not with attention and planning. CONCLUSIONS: An involuntary separation from professional activity in the beginning of late adulthood may cause a deeper decline of cognitive functions, poorer adaptive adjustment to the aging process, and higher dissatisfaction with the period of life the individual is going through.

The incidence and prognostic implications of dysphagia in elderly patients institutionalized: A multicenter study in Spain.

AIM: Determine the incidence of dysphagia, identify its consequences and objectify related complications and mortality associated with pneumonia, in the institutionalized elderly. METHODS: A prospective observational and multicenter study with a 3-year follow-up period was designed in a cohort of 12 nursing homes within 6 cities in Spain. A total of 2384 patient records were studied. Demographic and clinical data (dementia, cerebrovascular disease), as well as an evaluation of the Barthel Index, dysphagia and aspiration, and mortality at 30 days and 1 year after pneumonia in patients with dysphagia were collected. RESULTS: Of the 2384 patients, 69.6% presented clinical signs of oropharyngeal dysphagia. Patients with dysphagia were older and showed lower functional status and higher prevalence of comorbidities. They had higher mortality as well. CONCLUSIONS: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a highly prevalent clinical finding in elderly institutionalized patients. Among this population, there is also a higher prevalence of pneumonia, dementia, and cerebrovascular disease and pneumonia is an indicator of mortality.

Apathy and Leukoaraiosis in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: Multicenter Diagnostic Criteria according to the Latest Studies.

AIMS: The aim is to study the prevalence and possible relationship of apathy and leukoaraiosis in cases of cognitive impairment of varying severity in Spain. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive, multicenter study involving 109 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 59 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). RESULTS: The older group with AD had a higher prevalence of leukoaraiosis and apathy, with significant differences compared to the MCI group. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first multicenter study in our country that jointly analyzes the presence of apathy and leukoaraiosis in the institutionalized elderly with varying degrees of cognitive impairment according to the most recent criteria for detecting apathy in dementia.