PurposeThis study aimed to increase our understanding of self-management abilities and identify better self-managers among older individuals.MethodsOur cross-sectional research was based on a pilot study of older people who had recently been admitted to a hospital. In the pilot study, all patients (>65 years of age) who were admitted to the Vlietland hospital between June and October 2010 were asked to participate, which led to the inclusion of 456 older patients at baseline. A total of 296 patients (65% response rate) were interviewed in their homes 3 months after admission. Measures included social, cognitive, and physical functioning, self-management abilities, and well-being. We used descriptive, correlations, and multiple regression analyses. In addition, we evaluated the mediation effect of self-management abilities on well-being.ResultsSocial, cognitive, and physical functioning significantly correlated with self-management abilities and well-being (all p ≤ 0.001). After controlling for background characteristics, multiple regression analysis indicated that social, cognitive, and physical functioning still related to self-management abilities (β = 0.17–0.25; all p ≤ 0.001). Older people with low levels of social, cognitive, and physical functioning were worse self-managers than were those with higher levels of functioning.ConclusionsSelf-management abilities mediate the relationship between social, cognitive, and physical functioning and well-being. Interventions to improve self-management abilities may help older people better deal with function losses as they age further.

AimTo identify predictors of relational coordination among professionals delivering care to older patients.BackgroundRelational coordination is known to enhance quality of care in hospitals. The underlying mechanisms, however, remain poorly understood.DesignThis cross-sectional study was part of a larger evaluation study examining the opportunity to prevent loss of function in older patients due to hospitalization in the Netherlands.MethodsThis study was performed in spring 2010 among team members delivering care to older hospitalized patients (192 respondents; 44% response rate) in one hospital. Relational coordination was measured by the Relational Coordination survey; team climate by the Team Climate Inventory and questions were asked about participation in multidisciplinary team meetings and disciplines represented in these meetings. To account for the hierarchical structure, a multilevel analysis was performed.ResultsCorrelation analysis revealed a positive relationship among being female, being a nurse and relational coordination; medical specialists showed a negative relationship. The number of disciplines represented during multidisciplinary team meetings and team climate were positively related with relational coordination. The multilevel analysis showed a positive relationship between the number of disciplines represented during multidisciplinary team meetings and team climate with relational coordination.ConclusionsThe enhancement of team climate and attendance of diverse professionals during multidisciplinary team meetings are expected to improve relational coordination. Furthermore, this study underscores the importance of enhancing relational coordination between medical specialists and other professionals.

This study aimed to identify the relationship between self-management abilities, well-being and depression. Our study was conducted among older adults (>65 years of age) who were vulnerable to loss of function after hospital discharge. Three months after hospital admission, 296/456 patients (65 % response rate) were interviewed in their homes. The 30-item Self-Management Ability Scale was used to measure six self-management abilities: taking initiative, investing in resources for long-term benefits, taking care of a variety of resources, taking care of resource multifunctionality, being self-efficacious and having a positive frame of mind. Well-being was measured with the Social Production Function (SPF) Instrument for the Level of Well-being (SPF-IL) and Cantril’s ladder. The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depression. Correlation analyses showed that all self-management abilities were strong indicators for well-being ( p < 0.001 for all). Regression analyses revealed that investing in resources for long-term benefits, taking care of a variety of resources, taking care of resource multifunctionality and being self-efficacious were associated with well-being. While no significant relationship was found between well-being and having a positive frame of mind or taking initiative, regression analyses revealed that these self-management abilities were related to depression. Investing in resources for long-term benefits and taking care of a variety of resources were significantly related to depression. This research showed that self-management abilities are related to well-being and depression among older adults. In addition, this study identified key self-management abilities for older adults who had recently been discharged from a hospital.

BackgroundOlder patients’ experiences with care delivery may be important for their quality of life over time. Evidence is however lacking. Therefore, this study aims to identify the longitudinal relationship between older patients’ experiences with hospital care, perceived quality of integrated care and quality of life after hospitalization.MethodsOur longitudinal research was based on a pilot study of older people who had recently been admitted to a hospital. In the pilot study, all patients (≥65 years of age) who were admitted to the Vlietland hospital between June and October 2010 were asked to participate, which led to the inclusion of 500 older patients at baseline. A total of 291 patients (58 % response rate) were interviewed 3 months after admission. Measures included quality of life, patients’ perceptions of quality of integrated care delivery and patients’ experiences with hospital care. We used descriptive statistics, correlations, and multilevel analyses.ResultsBeing married (p ≤ 0.05), patients’ experiences with hospital care, perceived quality of integrated care delivery (both p ≤ 0.01), and quality of life within 48 h of hospital admission (p ≤ 0.001) significantly correlated with quality of life 3 months after hospital admission. After controlling for background characteristics, multilevel analysis indicated a longitudinal relationship between patients’ experiences with hospital care (p ≤ 0.05), perceived quality of integrated care delivery (p ≤ 0.01) and patients’ quality of life 3 months after hospitalization.ConclusionsThis study found a longitudinal relationship between patients’ perceived quality of integrated care delivery, experiences with hospital care and quality of life of older patients after hospitalization. These results underscore the importance of enhancing older patients’ experiences with care delivery.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0982-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The importance of relational coordination for integrated care delivery to older patients in the hospital Aim This study investigated relational coordination among professionals providing healthcare to hospitalized older patients and assessed its impact on integrated care delivery. Background Previous studies have shown that relational coordination is positively associated with the delivery of acute, emergency and trauma care. The effect of relational coordination in integrated care delivery to hospitalized older patients remains unknown. Methods This cross-sectional study was part of an examination of integrated care delivery to hospitalized older patients. Data were collected using questionnaires distributed to hospital professionals (192 respondents; 44% response rate). Results After controlling for demographic variables, regression analyses showed that relational coordination was positively related to integrated care delivery (b = 0.20; P 0.05). Relational coordination was lower among professionals in the same discipline, and higher between nurses and others than between medical specialists and others. Relational coordination and integrated care delivery were significantly higher in geriatrics than in other units (both P 0.001). Conclusions The enhancement of relational coordination among healthcare professionals is positively associated with integrated care delivery to older patients. Implications for nursing management Relational coordination should be improved between medical specialists and others and higher levels of relational coordination and integrated care delivery should be achieved in all hospital units.