Research utilisation in older people care: Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of instruments into Brazilian Portuguese.

AIMS: To translate and culturally validate the Estabrooks' Kinds of Research Utilization (RU) and the Conceptual Research Utilization Scale (CRU) into Brazilian Portuguese; and to describe the research use by health professionals working on Long Term Care Institutions (LTCI) for older people. BACKGROUND: Research utilisation ensures greater quality and effectiveness in the care provided by health professionals. However, there are no instruments to evaluate research utilisation in Latin America countries, like Brazil. MATERIALS & METHODS: A methodological cross-sectional questionnaire validity and descriptive study. The translation and adaptation of the instruments was performed in seven steps following psychometric guidelines. The instruments evaluate research utilisation by health professionals in clinical practice. The RU is composed of single-items of instrumental, persuasive, conceptual and overall forms; and the CRU the conceptual form through a 5-item scale. Professionals of technical level and graduated working in nine LTCI were evaluated from August to December 2018. Descriptive and inferential (reliability, correlation, internal consistency and structure of CRU) analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Sample composed of 117 professionals, 67.5% of healthcare aides and 32.5% of graduated health professionals. All forms of research utilisation showed high implementation in practice (about 75% of the time, or frequently). CRU internal consistency (α = 0.885) and structure were adequate. There were significant correlations between RU and CRU (from very low r = 0.187 to high r = 0.712). Intra-rater, inter-rater and alternate forms reliability ranged from moderate to substantial. CONCLUSIONS: The Brazilian versions of the RU and the CRU are valid, reliable and acceptable for evaluating research utilisation by professionals working on LTCI. It is of great relevance to introduce these instruments in low- and middle-income countries to have future data on how much older people care is influenced by the best evidence available. These instruments can be adapted to different healthcare settings and populations.

Perceptions of older adults living in long-term care institutions regarding recreational physiotherapy: a qualitative study.

Background: Long-term care institutions (LTCIs) present a limiting environment. Physiotherapy through recreational exercises can stimulate older adults.Objective: To explore LTCIs residents' perceptions regarding recreational physiotherapy.Method: This is a descriptive qualitative study. Participants included older adults living in two LTCIs, who took part in recreational physiotherapy and did not display severe communication problems or cognitive deficits. The activity was regularly offered in both LTCIs. Semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded to analyze the participants' perceptions of physiotherapy. We also observed video footage of the participants' behaviors during one session of the recreational activity. The audio recordings were transcribed, and content analysis was conducted with MAXQDA 12®.Results: Nine older adults participated, the majority women (n = 6), with a mean age of 83.8 ± 7.4 years. The interviews' average duration was about 30 minutes. The reports revealed three themes. In the "activity for myself" theme, participants discussed issues related to their own old age. In the "activity with others" theme, participants reported physiotherapy's value for providing sense of collectivity. In the "activity itself" theme, the components of physiotherapy and their benefits were evaluated. Observation of the video recording revealed that each resident engaged in the activity at their own pace and within their capabilities.Conclusions: The experience of older adults living in LTCIs showed that the regularly practicing physical exercises in recreational group, strengthens social bonds and provides physical and emotional well-being. When formulating and executing physiotherapy in the context of LTCIs, professionals should consider the residents' perceptions of the practice.

Physical Exercise for Frailty and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and frailty syndrome are major problems for successful aging. These conditions share many biological aspects, symptoms and adverse effects. Aerobic capacity and muscle strength, that are important characteristics for independence in daily activity, are markedly reduced in older adults with CVD and frailty. There are evidence and recommendations of physical activity and exercises to prevent, treat and manage these conditions. However, the exact dose-response (type, intensity and duration) of exercises is still uncertain for these population. A good physical exercise program should consider the aging physiologic alterations, the vulnerability of the frail syndrome, and the functional-structural changes of CVD. Therefore, a multicomponent program with aerobic and strength training is desirable to improve these conditions. For long term results it is important to older adults with these conditions to change lifestyle and be more active during daily living to reduce sedentary behavior. Being frail with CVD it is not a contraindication for older adults to be engaged in physical activities.

Frailty as a predictor of adverse outcomes in hospitalized older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Frailty syndrome is prevalent among hospitalized older adults as are the occurrence of adverse outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated whether frailty in older adults at hospital admission predicts adverse outcomes. Manual (ProQuest, conferences annals and references) and electronic searches (PUBMED, EMBASE, Web of Science, Lilacs, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Google Scholar) were performed. We included prospective studies of hospitalized older adults. Primary outcomes were functional decline at hospital discharge and mortality after discharge. Other data were considered secondary outcomes. Methodological quality was evaluated by the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Twenty-eight papers were included, corresponding to 19 cohorts (5 cohorts for functional decline and 16 for mortality), with moderate to good methodological quality. Being frail [RR: 1.32 (95%CI: 1.04; 1.67)] and pre-frail [RR: 1.51 (95%CI: 1.05; 2.17)] are risk factors for functional decline compared with being nonfrail. Frail individuals had a relative risk for in-hospital mortality and mortality in medium- and long-term compared to nonfrail (in-hospital RR: 8.20, medium RR: 9.49 and long RR: 7.94) and pre-frail (in-hospital RR: 3.19, medium RR: 3.31 and long RR: 3.72). The overall mortality risk in frail individuals is 3.49 and 2.14 times compared to nonfrail and pre-frail, respectively. Length of hospital stay was higher for frail older adults (13.5 days) compared with pre-frail (10.5 days) and nonfrail (8.3 days). Therefore, being frail at hospital admission is a risk factor for in-hospital mortality, long hospital stay, functional decline at hospital discharge, and mortality in the medium- and long-term.