Background: Community acquired pneumonia causes 5,9% of deaths in elderly South Africans. Mortality rates are increased in those in whom initiation of therapy with an appropriate agent has been delayed. Whereas Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila are sensitive to the macrolides or tetracycline, they do not respond to the currently recommended first-line agents for community acquired pneumonia, penicillin or a cephalosporin. It was therefore necessary to assess the prevalence of exposure to these 2 organisms in the elderly in order to determine whether a modification in the recommendations may be justified. Methods: Study population and survey: Subjects were residents of 4 old age homes in Cape Town who were older than 60 years and willing to participate. Written consent was obtained, a demographic and medical history questionnaire was completed, and a sample of blood was drawn. Laboratory methods: The indirect fluorescent antibody tests (Zeus Scientific Inc, New Jersey, USA) were used to detect the presence of antibodies to Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila. Results: The participation rate in this study was high, with 88,4% (677/766) taking part. Seropositivity for both of these organisms was low. There were 17 participants (2, 51 %) with antibodies to mycoplasma (IgG only in 8, IgM only in 1, and both IgG and IgM in the remaining 8). Titres were low with only 1 IgM titre of 16, and only 3 IgG titres of 64. Antibodies to Legionella were demonstrated in only 9 participants (1,33%). All these titres were 128 or above. Conclusions: It is concluded that first-line therapy for community acquired pneumonia should adhere to the current guidelines published by the South African Pulmonology Society. There is no indication for the routine use of agents active against Legionella or mycoplasma. Clearly, these antibiotics should be introduced if specific pointers to infection with one of these organisms are found. Because of the low seropositivity rate, the indirect fluorescent antibody test for these 2 agents has a high specificity in this population. This may be of use in making a diagnosis in an acute infection Further studies are required to elucidate the immunological response to these organisms in elderly persons. A further survey should be done to determine the seropositivity rate to these agents in community dwelling elderly.

Les sujets résidant dans les établissements d'hébergement pour personnes âgées dépendantes (EHPAD) sont fréquemment exposés à une polypathologie et sont polymédiqués, ce qui augmente le risque de prescriptions potentiellement inappropriées (PPI) et ainsi le risque d'événements iatrogènes tels que le décès et l'hospitalisation. La plupart des études réalisées en France sur la PPI se sont focalisées sur des classes médicamenteuses précises, et peu ont évalué l'impact des caractéristiques structurelles et organisationnelles des EHPAD sur la PPI des résidents, indépendamment des caractéristiques individuelles. Cette thèse a eu pour objectif de développer un nouvel indicateur de PPI, reflétant au mieux la prise en charge médicamenteuse globale des résidents d'EHPAD. Les travaux de thèse ont été réalisés sur un échantillon issu de l'étude IQUARE (Impact d'une démarche QUAlité sur l'évolution des pratiques et le déclin fonctionnel des REsidents), étude quasi expérimentale (NCT01703689) évaluant l'impact d'une intervention basée sur l'éducation gériatrique du personnel de l'EHPAD sur des indicateurs de qualité des soins. Dans un premier temps, nous avons construit un outil original de détection de PPI, combinant des critères explicites et implicites, identifiant 71% des résidents avec une PPI à l'inclusion. Des caractéristiques organisationnelle (accès à un avis psychiatrique) et structurelle (présence d'une unité de soins spécialisée) de l'EHPAD expliquaient une part de cette PPI. Dans un second temps, afin de valider la pertinence de cet outil, nous avons évalué l'impact clinique de la PPI sur la survenue d'événements indésirables au cours du suivi. Nous n'avons pas retrouvé de risque augmenté de décès ou d'hospitalisation. Enfin, l'intervention gériatrique générale de l'étude IQUARE a significativement réduit la PPI des résidents à 18 mois. Ces travaux ont fourni des éléments importants à prendre en considération, lors de la construction de nouvelles études visant à modifier les pratiques de prescription et à réduire le nombre de médicaments prescrits chez les résidents d'EHPAD, mais aussi pour déterminer l'impact clinique de ces changements. / Older people living in nursing homes (NHs) suffer from numerous comorbidities and functional decline. Polymedication is frequent in this population. This increases the risk of potentially inappropriate drug prescribing (PIDP), which can lead to adverse drug events such as falls and hospitalization. Most French studies did not examine PPI with a global perspective, but focused on specific drug classes. Moreover, few studies have investigated, irrespective of the individual characteristics of residents, the structural and organizational characteristics of nursing homes on the quality of drug prescribing. Thesis work aimed to develop a new indicator of PIDP, which best reflects the global medication use of residents. Thesis works have been performed using the data of the IQUARE study (Impact d'une démarche Qualité sur l'évolution des pratiques et le déclin fonctionnel des REsidents), a quasi-experimental study (trial registration number: NCT01703689) investigating the impact of an intervention based on geriatric education with NH staff on quality indicators of care. First, we developed an indicator of PIDP, combining explicit and implicit criteria, identifying 71% of PIDP in NH residents at baseline. NH organizational (access to psychiatric advice and/or to hospitalization in a psychiatric unit) and structural (presence of a special care unit for dements) variables explained part of PIDP. In a second part, in order to validate the usefulness of this PIDP detection tool, we verified the long-term clinical impact of PIDP on adverse outcomes (death, number of hospitalizations...). We did not find any significant association between PIDP and death, nor between PIDP and number of hospitalizations. Finally, the general intervention implemented in the IQUARE study significantly reduced PIDP among NH residents at 18-month follow-up. Our research has provided important aspects that should be consider when constructing further new studies seeking to change prescribing patterns and to reduce the total number of drugs taken, but also to determine the final impact of these changes on clinical outcomes.

The number of old people is growing and will increase future demands on healthcare services for old people. Hip fracture is one of the diagnoses that increases with age and it has become a major problem, both for those suffering a fracture and for society due to the large numbers involved, the morbidity with complications such as falls, functional decline, and the high mortality rate among those affected. The main purposes of this thesis were, to study the impact of previous hip fractures on their life among the very old, to study in-patient falls, fall-related injuries and fall-risk factors, and to evaluate a multidisciplinary, multi-factorial intervention program designed to reduce in-patient falls and to enhance functional performance among old people who have sustained a femoral neck fracture. The impact of a hip fracture was examined in a cross-sectional population-based study, among the very old (Umeå 85+). After adjustment for potential covariates, participants with a history of hip fracture were found to be more dependent in the performance of Personal/Primary Activities of Daily Living (P-ADL) (p=0.024), walked less independently (p=0.040) and used a wheelchair more frequently (p=0.017). Most of the participants with earlier hip fractures who had moved to institutional care or begun using mobility aids, as compared to before the fracture, had started to do so permanently in connection with the fracture incident. In-patient falls, fall-related injuries and fall-risk factors were studied in 97 participants, aged 70 or more, treated for a femoral neck fracture. There were 60 postoperative falls occurring among 26/97 participants (27%). Thirty-two percent of the falls resulted in injuries, 25 % were minor, and 7 % were serious. Delirium after day seven, (Hazard Rate Ratio (HRR) with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI)), 4.62 (1.30-16.37), male sex 3.92 (1.58-9.73), and sleeping disturbances 3.49 (1.24-9.86), were associated with in-patient falls. Forty-five percent of the participants were delirious on the day they fell. The effects of a multidisciplinary, multi-factorial intervention program on in-hospital falls and injuries as well as the short- and long-term effects on living conditions, walking ability and performance of activities of daily living were evaluated in a randomised controlled trial among 199 participants with femoral neck fracture, aged ≥70 years. Participants were randomised to care in a geriatric ward (intervention, n=102) or to conventional postoperative routines (control, n=97). The intervention consisted of staff education, individualized care planning and rehabilitation, systematic assessment and treatment of fall-risk factors, active prevention, and detection and treatment of postoperative complications and an intervention follow up at four-months. The staff worked in teams to apply comprehensive geriatric assessment, management and rehabilitation. Twelve participants fell a total 18 times in the intervention group compared to 26 participants suffering a total 60 falls in the control group. Only one participant with dementia fell in the intervention group compared to 11 participants with dementia in the control group. The fall incidence rate was 6.29/1000 days vs. 16.28/1000 for the intervention and control groups respectively. The Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) was 0.38 (95% CI: 0.20-0.76, p=0.006) for the total sample and 0.07 (95% CI: 0.01-0.57, p=0.013) among participants with dementia. No new fractures were incurred in the intervention group but there were four in the control group. In addition, despite shorter hospitalization, significantly more people from the intervention group had regained independence in P-ADL performance at the four- and twelve-month follow ups, Odds Ratios (OR), with 95% CI, were 2.51 (1.00-6.30) and 3.49 (1.31-9.23) respectively. More participants in the intervention group had also regained the ability to walk independently without walking aids indoors, at the end of the study period, 3.01 (1.18-7.61). In conclusion, hip fracture among the very old seems to be associated with poorer P-ADL performance and poorer mobility. Falls and injuries are common during in-patient rehabilitation after a femoral neck fracture, delirium and sleep disturbances and male gender are factors associated with in-patient falls. Having a team apply comprehensive geriatric assessments and rehabilitation, including the prevention, detection and treatment of fall-risk factors, can successfully prevent in-patient falls and fall-related injuries, even among participants with dementia, and can also enhance the performance of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and mobility after a hip fracture, in both short- and long-term perspectives.

Objectives. Evaluate differences in depressive symptoms, compare sociodemographic and health-related variables associated with depressive symptoms and report level of impact of depressive symptoms on daily activities. Methods. Cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) diagnostic survey on 1115 patients aged 60–93 years who attended a primary care clinic in Korea, Russia or USA. Results. At least mild depression (PHQ-9 score of ≥5) occurred in 28% of Koreans, 65% of Russian and 27% of US participants. Russians scored more depressed on all PHQ-9 items (P < 0.01) and more suicidal thoughts (P < 0.001), while Koreans had less feelings of worthlessness (P < 0.001). Depression predictors included poorer self-rated health [odds ratio (OR) 2.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.84–3.33, P < 0.0001], chronic diseases (OR 1.34, CI 1.21–1.48, P < 0.0001), female gender (OR 1.56, CI 1.15–2.12, P = 0.0046) and religious attendance (OR 0.88, CI 0.79–0.97, P = 0.0099) for all subjects. Being employed was protective in Korea (OR 0.41, CI 0.21–0.77, P = 0.0061) and being married (OR 0.42, CI 0.27–0.66, P = 0.0002) and of older age (OR 0.95, CI 0.93–0.98, P = 0.0006) protective in US participants. Vascular disease was associated with depressive symptoms in Russia (OR 3.47, CI 1.23–9.80, P = 0.0187). In regression analyses stratified by country for a given level of depressive symptoms, the Russian sample had less impact on daily activities (Russia R2 = 0.107 versus Korea R2 = 0.211 and US R2 = 0.419) P = 0.029. Conclusions. Depressive symptoms were more common in Russia than in Korea and USA but had less impact on daily functioning. Cultural or environmental factors may account for this finding.

<p>All images in this document may not be produced without the expressed written consent of the author.</p> / <p>The innovative research method of “body mapping” was used in this study with geriatric inpatients receiving daily hæmodialysis therapy for end-stage renal disease at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.</p> <p>Five people took part in this study; three participants completed all study phases. They created three body maps each and took part in one follow up, semi-structured interview to share their experiences of body mapping. Two themes were drawn from the data: (1) body mapping gives patients a voice to communicate their experiences in the dialysis unit; and (2) body mapping makes visible participants’ illness adjustment patterns, and levels of connection, or disconnection in the dialysis unit.</p> <p>Based on the ways body mapping benefitted participants in this study, it is reasonable to suggest that this visual communication tool could be useful in other research settings, and as a clinical tool to support patients’ attention to their bodies and their interactions with healthcare providers.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)