The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a family caregiver-focused intervention program (CARE) on the outcomes of hospitalized elders and their family caregivers. A randomized clinical trial was conducted with 49 family caregivers of hospitalized elders in a university medical center in upstate New York. Driven by self-regulation and role theories, the two-phase CARE program consisted of: (a). a mutual agreement consisting of family caregiving activities during hospitalization; and (b). audiotaped information regarding emotional responses and possible complications associated with an elderly patient's hospitalization as well as instructions for effectively participating in the elder's hospital care. The comparison program consisted of information about hospital services and policies. CARE elders had fewer incidents of acute confusion reported by family caregivers during hospitalization and fewer depressive symptoms at 2 weeks and 2 months posthospitalization than did the comparison group. CARE family caregivers participated more in the care of their hospitalized elders and had higher scores on role rewards prior to hospital discharge. Findings from this study support the need for further testing of the CARE intervention with family caregivers to determine its effectiveness on outcomes of hospitalized elders and their family caregivers.

The speech-language pathologist (SLP) is the primary person responsible for the assessment and intervention of individuals with swallowing disorders. In skilled nursing facilities, both nurses and SLPs work closely with patients diagnosed with strokes. Aspiration pneumonia is the most common cause of death in patients diagnosed with dysphagia resulting from a stroke. Due to the large number of patients with dysphagia in healthcare facilities, it is pertinent that SLP and nurses collaborate during clinical practice to improve patient outcomes. This is a discussion paper emphasizing the importance of interprofessional collaboration. Due to increasing complexity of patient care, it is important to establish collaborations early in interdisciplinary healthcare training in order to improve quality of patient care. The interdisciplinary collaboration should become a standard for training healthcare professionals including nurses and speech-language pathologists in today's complex healthcare system.

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