The elderly population is growing in nursing homes (NHs), with an estimated 3 million seniors to be residing in NH facilities by year 2030. Many of these seniors are potentially at risk for falls or infections. NH residents with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia are also increasing, and they are vulnerable to the adverse effects of medications. Psychotropics are overused in NHs, with approximately half to two thirds of residents receiving one or more psychotropics. Many negative health outcomes, e.g. falls and infections, have been associated with their use. The usage of psychotropic medications among NH residents has been a concern and topic of scrutiny for nearly three decades. In 1986, the Institute of Medicine published a landmark report that identified the overuse of psychotropic medications in NHs. The following year, the federal government passed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act that included reform legislation to address psychotropic drug overuse. Since then, additional policies and initiatives have endeavored to rectify the problem, and scientists have conducted research regarding psychotropics and negative health outcomes. However, newer research within the last decade and at a national level is lacking. Therefore, this dissertation explores the association of psychotropic medications with falls and infections among NH residents using a national dataset, and this document is organized into five chapters. The first chapter discusses the background, significance, and current challenges surrounding psychotropic medication use in NHs. The second chapter delineates the search of the literature and relevant findings. The third chapter describes the methodology upon which this analytics of this dissertation was conducted. The fourth chapter outlines the results from the analyses. Lastly, the fifth chapter provides a synthesis and discussion of the findings and recommendations for health policy, practice, and future research.

The excessive use of chemical and physical restraints in intermediate care facilities has been a subject of study since the early eighties, and has produced several explanations for why restraint use continues to be practiced. One of the primary reasons often cited is that restraints are used to control "problematic behavior" commonly exhibited by a person suffering from dementia. The focus of the proposed project is to analyze whether restraint practices for residents with moderate to severe dementia differ between Special Care Units and integrated units within long term care facilities. The main objective of the study is to demonstrate whether seniors with dementia residing in Special Care Units will be less likely to encounter physical and chemical restraints than demented residents living within an integrated facility. This objective explores the assumption that Special Care Units were designed to meet the needs of residents with dementia, and therefore, care providers should be more accepting of deviant behaviours. The findings revealed that the more severe the level of memory impairment the more likely a resident would be placed in a Special Care Unit. Once located in these Special Care Units, residents were more likely to experience physical and chemical restraints than their counterparts in integrated care units.

The excessive use of chemical and physical restraints in intermediate care facilities has been a subject of study since the early eighties, and has produced several explanations for why restraint use continues to be practiced. One of the primary reasons often cited is that restraints are used to control "problematic behavior" commonly exhibited by a person suffering from dementia. The focus of the proposed project is to analyze whether restraint practices for residents with moderate to severe dementia differ between Special Care Units and integrated units within long term care facilities. The main objective of the study is to demonstrate whether seniors with dementia residing in Special Care Units will be less likely to encounter physical and chemical restraints than demented residents living within an integrated facility. This objective explores the assumption that Special Care Units were designed to meet the needs of residents with dementia, and therefore, care providers should be more accepting of deviant behaviours. The findings revealed that the more severe the level of memory impairment the more likely a resident would be placed in a Special Care Unit. Once located in these Special Care Units, residents were more likely to experience physical and chemical restraints than their counterparts in integrated care units. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

This research provides a feminist perspective on the lowest paid sector of the United States long-term care industry, Certified Nursing Assistants. This research adds to current feminist scholarship on the modern professional caregiving industry by focusing on the perspective of the workers. As the population of older adults requiring care is expected to increase over the coming decades, the demand for paid caregivers will increase as well. Historically, care work was an expected duty done freely by the women of the family, but today much of the vital intimate caring labor is relegated to paid caregivers. I examine how alternative social, political and economic frameworks can transform United States society’s attitude towards the increasingly relevant issue of caring labor. I argue that incorporating a feminist perspective will be helpful in developing a sustainable model for caring labor that acknowledges the dignity of both patients and their caregivers. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection