The Internet (electronic mail and the World Wide Web) may provide new opportunities for communication that can help older adults avoid social isolation. This randomized controlled trial assessed the psychosocial impact of providing Internet access to older adults over a five-month period. One hundred volunteers from four congregate housing sites and two nursing facilities were randomly assigned to receive Internet training or to a wait list control group. The pre & post measures included the UCLA Loneliness scale, modified CES Depression scale, a measure of locus of control, computer attitudes, number of confidants, and overall quality of life. Participants received nine hours of small group training in six sessions over two weeks. Computers were available for continued use over five months and the trainer was available two hours/week for questions. At the end of the trial, 60% of the intervention group continued to use the Internet on a weekly basis. Although there was a trend toward decreased loneliness and depression in intervention subjects compared to controls, there were no statistically significant changes from baseline to the end of trial between groups. Among Internet users (n = 29) in the intervention group there were trends toward less loneliness, less depression, more positive attitudes toward computers, and more confidants than among intervention recipients who were not regular users (n = 19) of this technology. Most elderly participants in this trial learned to use the Internet and the majority continued to use it on a weekly basis. The psychosocial impact of Internet use in this sample suggested trends in a positive direction. Further research is needed to determine more precisely, which older adults, residing in which environmental contexts are more likely than others to benefit from this rapidly expanding information and communication link.

The Internet offers new opportunities for communication that can help older adults avoid social isolation. Although elders may need more time and assistance in learning computer systems, many are embracing this new technology. There is growing potential not only for recreation and communication through the Internet but also the delivery of services. This study examines the feasibility of providing Internet and electronic mail access to older adults in a retirement community and the extent to which this improves psychosocial well-being. In contrast to members of a comparison group, a trend toward decreased loneliness was observed among participants. In addition, the number of computer-related problems decreased and use of the applications increased throughout the study. These preliminary results support the feasibility of implementing computer-based interventions with the potential of improving psychosocial well-being among older adults.

FIT improves endurance, strength, and urinary incontinence in older patients residing in VA nursing homes. Translating these positive benefits achieved under research conditions into practice will be challenging because of the implications of the intervention for staff workload and thereby the costs of care.

BACKGROUND Slow gait is predictive of adverse health outcomes and increased health service utilization. Physical activity counseling (PAC) may enhance mobility among elders. Primary care settings are appropriate for PAC because most older adults see their primary care physician annually. Innovative use of automated telephone messaging facilitates physician counseling. OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of multi-component PAC promoting physical activity (PA) guidelines on gait speed and related measures of PA and function in older veterans. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Randomized controlled trial of 398 male veterans, ages 70 and over receiving primary care at the Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center of Durham, N.C. INTERVENTION Twelve months of usual care (UC) or multi-component PAC consisting of baseline in-person and biweekly then monthly telephone counseling by a lifestyle counselor, one-time clinical endorsement of PA and monthly automated telephone messaging by primary care provider, and quarterly tailored mailings of progress in PA. MEASUREMENTS Gait speed (usual and rapid), self-reported PA, function and disability at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. RESULTS Although no between-group differences were noted for usual gait speed, rapid gait speed improved significantly more for the PAC group (1.56 (0.41) m/s to 1.68 (0.44) m/s) compared to UC (1.57 (0.40) m/sec to 1.59 (0.42) m/sec, p = 0.04). Minutes of moderate/vigorous PA increased significantly in the PAC group (from a mean (SD) 57.1 (99.3) min/wk to 126.6 (142.9) min/week) compared to the UC group (from 60.2 (116.1) to 69.6 (116.1) min/wk, p < 0.001). Changes in other functional/disability outcomes were small. CONCLUSIONS In this group of older male veterans, multi-component PA significantly improved rapid gait and PA. Translation from increased PA to overall functioning was not observed. Integration with primary care was successful.

Implementing culture change requires the recognition of adaptive challenges for which there are no technical solutions, but which require reframing of norms and expectations, and the development of novel and flexible solutions. Managers and administrators seeking to implement person-directed care will need to consider the role of adaptive leadership to address these adaptive challenges.

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We have developed a highly feasible tool for examining pain prevalence in nursing homes. This tool uncovered considerable miscommunication regarding pain between residents and staff. Improvement in pain communication between nursing home residents and staff is needed, so that more effective pain treatment programs can be developed for this vulnerable population.

Background We hypothesized that an intervention which improves nursing home (NH) staff connections, communication, and problem solving (CONNECT) would improve implementation of a falls reduction education program (FALLS). Design Cluster randomized trial. Setting Community (n=4) and VA NHs (n=4) Participants Staff in any role with resident contact (n=497). Intervention NHs received FALLS alone (control) or CONNECT followed by FALLS (intervention), each delivered over 3-months. CONNECT used story-telling, relationship mapping, mentoring, self-monitoring and feedback to help staff identify communication gaps and practice interaction strategies. FALLS included group training, modules, teleconferences, academic detailing, and audit/feedback. Measurements NH staff completed surveys about interactions at baseline, 3 months (immediately following CONNECT or control period), and 6 months (immediately following FALLS). A random sample of resident charts was abstracted for fall risk reduction documentation (n=651). Change in facility fall rates was an exploratory outcome. Focus groups were conducted to explore changes in organizational learning. Results Significant improvements in staff perceptions of communication quality, participation in decision making, safety climate, care giving quality, and use of local interaction strategies were observed in intervention community NHs (treatment by time effect p=.01), but not in VA NHs where a ceiling effect was observed. Fall risk reduction documentation did not change significantly, and the direction of change in individual facilities did not relate to observed direction of change in fall rates. Fall rates did not change in control facilities (2.61 and 2.64 falls/bed/yr), but decreased by 12% in intervention facilities (2.34 to 2.06 falls/bed/yr); the effect of treatment on rate of change was 0.81 (0.55, 1.20). Conclusion CONNECT has the potential to improve care delivery in NHs, but the trend toward improving fall rates requires confirmation in a larger ongoing study.