lower limb motor function was associated with increased risk of developing dementia, while tremor and hand grip strength were not. Our results support future research investigating the inclusion of quantitative motor assessment, specifically gait velocity tests, for clinical dementia risk evaluation.

Objectives The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly challenged the capacity of long-term care (LTC) homes in Canada resulting in new, pressing priorities for leaders and healthcare providers (HCPs) in the care and safety of LTC residents. This study aimed to determine whether Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Care of the Elderly Long-Term Care (COE-LTC): COVID-19, a virtual education program, was effective at delivering just-in-time learning and best practices to support LTC teams and residents during the pandemic. Design Mixed methods evaluation. Setting and Participants Interprofessional HCPs working in LTC homes or deployed to work in LTC homes primarily in Ontario, Canada, who participated in 12 weekly, 60-minute sessions. Methods Quantitative and qualitative surveys assessing reach, satisfaction, self-efficacy, practice change, impact on resident care and knowledge sharing. Results Of the 252 registrants for ECHO COE-LTC: COVID-19, 160 (63.4%) attended at least one weekly session. Nurses and nurse practitioners represented the largest proportion of HCPs (43.8%). Overall, both confidence and comfort level working with residents who were at risk, confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19 increased after participating in the ECHO sessions (effect sizes≥0.7, Wilcoxon signed rank p <.001). Participants also reported impact on intent to change behavior, resident care and knowledge sharing. Conclusions and Implications The results demonstrate that ECHO COE-LTC: COVID 19 effectively delivered time sensitive information and best practices to support LTC teams and residents. It may be a critical platform during this pandemic and in future crises to deliver just-in-time learning during periods of constantly changing information.

The efficacy of a technology-driven visual arts recreation activity, delivered virtually, was evaluated for its potential to achieve positive impacts, similar to traditional arts-interventions, on wellbeing in long-term care residents. Thirty-one residents (average age 86.8 years; SD = 9.4) engaged with the arts-intervention for 30-minutes, twice weekly, for 6 weeks with either a partner or as part of a group. Wellbeing indicators included self-reported psychological and health-related wellness, and attention capacity. Binomial tests of postintervention change revealed a significant above-chance probability of improvement in one or more wellbeing indicators ( p < .05). Postparticipation feedback survey scores were positive ( p < .05). Cognitive status did not influence outcome; however, other participant characteristics such as younger age, higher openness-to-experience (personality trait), and lower baseline mood were significantly associated with positive response to the intervention ( p < .05). Findings demonstrate technology may be an effective platform for promoting accessibility to beneficial arts-interventions for older adults.

Background Older adults are entering long-term care (LTC) homes with more complex care needs than in previous decades, resulting in demands on point-of-care staff to provide additional and specialty services. This study evaluated whether Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Care of the Elderly Long-Term Care (COE-LTC)—a case-based online education program—is an effective capacity-building program among interprofessional health-care teams caring for LTC residents. Methods A mixed-method, pre-and-post study comprised of satisfaction, knowledge, and self-efficacy surveys and exploration of experience via semi-structured interviews. Participants were interprofessional health-care providers from LTC homes across Ontario. Results From January–March 2019, 69 providers, nurses/nurse practitioners (42.0%), administrators (26.1%), physicians (24.6%), and allied health professionals (7.3%) participated in 10 weekly, 60-minute online sessions. Overall, weekly session and post-ECHO satisfaction were high across all domains. Both knowledge scores and self-efficacy ratings increased post-ECHO, 3.9% (p = .02) and 9.7 points (p < .001), respectively. Interview findings highlighted participants’ appreciation of access to specialists, recognition of educational needs specific to LTC, and reduction of professional isolation. Conclusion We demonstrated that ECHO COE-LTC can be a successful capacity-building educational model for interprofessional health-care providers in LTC, and may alleviate pressures on the health system in delivering care for residents.

In this study we evaluate the impact of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on cerebrovascular control and peripheral vascular health. Patients with IHD are at greater risk for stroke, a risk determined in part by cerebrovasoreactivity tests (i.e., dilation or constriction to a known stimulus). Exercise provides cerebrovascular health benefits in the aging population; yet, effects of IHD and CR (exercise) on cerebrovascular health indicators and cerebral blood flow control are not understood. We explored cerebrovascular control (i.e., vasoreactivity and autoregulation), peripheral vascular health, brain volume, and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in a group of healthy adults (CTL), and patients with IHD after cardiac event (pre‐CR) and following 6 months CR (post‐CR) comprised of 2–3 sessions/week of 30 minutes moderate intensity aerobic exercise and 30 minutes of resistance training. In 23 participants (CTL: 11, IHD: 12; age range: 40–75 years), we measured changes in cross‐sectional area (ΔCSA) divided by changes in end‐tidal CO2 (ΔPetCO2: CTL: 2.3±1.2, pre‐CR: 4.1±3.2, post‐CR: 5.2±2.2 mmHg)] during hypercapnic (5% CO2, 95% oxygen; ADInstruments) conditions using a 3 Tesla (Siemens) scanner and T1‐weighted pulse sequence (0.7 mm isotropic). Vasoreactivity was calculated for the basilar (BA), left (L) and right (R) internal carotid (ICA), anterior (ACA), middle (MCA), and posterior cerebral arteries (PCA) using OsiriX software. Autoregulation of the MCA was assessed by measuring relative changes in MCA flow velocity with respect to changes in mean arterial pressure during a sit‐to‐stand task, quantified by rate of regulation (ROR). Peripheral vascular health metrics included brachial artery flow‐mediated dilation (FMD; %) and common carotid artery (CCA) intima media thickness (mm) using duplex ultrasound. Compared to CTL, those with IHD had lower CSA reactivity (mm/mmHg; mean±SD; p<0.05) in the BA (CTL: 0.74±0.73, pre‐CR: 0.29±0.29, post‐CR: 0.14±0.24), LICA (CTL: 1.1±0.86, pre‐CR: 0.93±1.03, post‐CR: 0.42±0.51), RICA (CTL: 0.93±0.71, pre‐CR: 0.48±0.35, post‐CR: 0.27±0.34), LMCA (CTL: 0.67±0.53, pre‐CR: 0.37±0.48, post‐CR: 0.14±0.12), and RMCA (CTL: 0.93±0.95, pre‐CR: 0.33±0.37, post‐CR: 0.29±0.33), which were not improved with CR. Compared to CTL, those with IHD had greater CCA IMT (CTL: 0.43±0.05, pre‐CR: 0.58±0.09, post‐CR: 0.59±0.07) which was not improved with CR, as well as lower ROR (CTL: 0.18±0.02, pre‐CR: 0.14±0.03, post‐CR: 0.16±0.03) and lower FMD (CTL: 9.1±4.3, pre‐CR: 4.7±2.3, post‐CR: 6.1±1.3; p<0.05) which were improved with CR. Finally, brain volume and white matter lesions were similar across groups. Therefore, compared to healthy individuals, the IHD patients exhibited impaired cerebrovascular control and peripheral endothelial function. Peripheral vascular health, and cerebrovascular autoregulation, were improved with 6 months of CR in these IHD patients.Support or Funding InformationCanadian Institute of Health Research (201503MOP‐342412‐MOV‐CEEA).This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.