Community group singing appears to have a significant effect on mental health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression, and it may be a useful intervention to maintain and enhance the mental health of older people.
This paper describes the Perception-Action-Impact (PAI) model used for testing the usefulness of health care organization performance indicators, and reports preliminary data in support of this model. Two hundred and ninety six hospitals contributed 500,000 obstetrical cases, and responded to surveys to assess various aspects of indicator usefulness. Domains of interest that were assessed include relevance of the measures, whether the measures identified opportunities for improvement, whether the health care organization took any action in response to the data, health care organizational structure for data use, and methods for dissemination of the indicator data. Findings from this study provide support for the PAI model. Consequently, perceptions regarding the indicators apparently have a significant impact on the usefulness of the data. When action was taken in response to the indicator data, a positive impact on patient care processes and outcomes was the typical result. Additional research is needed in the areas of data dissemination effectiveness, and the impact of attitude change on the use of performance measures.
BackgroundThe growth in numbers of older people represents a considerable cost to health and social care services in the United Kingdom. There is an acknowledged need to address issues of social exclusion and both the physical and mental health of this age group. In recent years there has been much interest in the potential contribution of the arts to the health of communities and individuals. There is some evidence that participative singing may be of benefit to older people, however studies to date are limited in number and have lacked rigour. There is therefore a need to build on this knowledge base to provide more quantifiable evidence of both effectiveness and cost effectiveness of singing as a health intervention for this population group.MethodsThe proposed study is a pragmatic randomised controlled trial with two parallel arms. The primary hypothesis is that singing groups for older people improve both physical and mental aspects of quality of life when compared to usual activities. Potential participants will be volunteers over 60 years living in the community and recruited through publicity. Eligible and consenting participants will be randomized to either a singing group or a control group. Singing groups will take part in a twelve week planned programme of singing and control groups will continue with usual activities. The primary outcome measure will be the York SF-12, a health related quality of life measure which will be administered at baseline, three and six months after baseline. The study will evaluate both effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.DiscussionThis study proposes to add to the existing body of evidence on the value of singing for older people by using a rigorous methodological design, which includes a power calculation, a standardised intervention and assessment of cost-effectiveness. It should be regarded as a stage in a progressive programme of studies in this area. If group singing is found to be effective and cost-effective it may offer an alternative means to maintaining the health of people in later life.Trial RegistrationISRCTN62404401
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the fourth leading cause of death in Puerto Rico. Using multi-media resources and in-person education may be an effective approach to improve knowledge and awareness of AD. The Un Cafépor el Alzheimer program in Puerto Rico incorporates an education component at coffee shops and a social media campaign using Facebook. The current study evaluates this initiative through an analysis of pre/post education survey results and social media content and use. Surveys contained close-ended and open-ended questions to understand participants’ perceptions and knowledge about AD. Post-education surveys also included questions related to program satisfaction. Social media analysis of the Facebook community page examined posts from March 1 to September 30, 2015. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze survey and Facebook data. Four education sessions were conducted with a total of 212 participants. Fifty-one of the participants completed both pre- and post-surveys. Following the education program participants reported improved knowledge of risk and protective factors. All participants reported learning new information from the program. There were a total of 250 posts on the Un Cafépor el Alzheimer community Facebook page; 168 posts related to AD. The Facebook page reached 294,109 people, with 9963 page likes, 610 comments, 17,780 post clicks, and 3632 shares. There was an average increase of 64.8 % in number of people reached by the Facebook page following the education sessions. The approach of combining social media resources and in-person education is beneficial to increase public awareness of AD and disseminate health information.
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