Smart speakers have the potential to support independent living and wellness among low-income senior housing (LISH) residents. The aim of this study was to examine and compare LISH residents’ attitudes and perceptions toward smart speakers at two time points: before and after technology use ( N = 47). A descriptive survey was administered to ask questions about hedonic motivation, perceived ease of use, self-efficacy, perceived usefulness of some potential or existing smart speaker features, cost, and privacy. Participants were initially favorable toward using a smart speaker and its digital agent (e.g., Alexa) as a daily assistant and wellness tool. They especially liked the smart speaker’s potential functionality of detecting harmful events and notifying someone to receive immediate help. The comparison of pre- and post-use responses revealed non-significant declines in most items, with the exception of willingness to use Alexa as a reminder system ( p < .01), asking Alexa for help ( p < .01), and asking for help in using Alexa ( p < .01). This finding may reflect confusion or frustration with the device among participants. We conclude with recommendations for the design of smart speakers specifically tailored to the needs of LISH residents.

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Background Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) is a common cause of death in preterm infants and is closely linked to the gut microbiota. Spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP) also occurs in preterm neonates, but results in lower mortality and less adverse neonatal outcomes than NEC. Existing studies are largely limited to non-invasive stool samples, which may not be reflective of the anatomical site of disease. Therefore, we analysed historical formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue from NEC and SIP preterm infants. A total of 13 NEC and 16 SIP infants were included. Extracted DNA from FFPE tissue blocks underwent 16S rRNA gene sequencing. For a subset of infants, diseased tissue and marginal healthy tissue from the same infant were compared. Results Xylene provided a cost and time effective means of deparaffinization. Tissue from the site of disease was highly comparable to adjacent healthier tissue. Comparing only diseased tissue from all infants showed significantly lower Shannon diversity in NEC ( P = 0.026). The overall bacterial communities were also significantly different in NEC samples compared to SIP ( P = 0.038), and large variability within NEC infants was observed. While no single OTU or genus was significantly associated with NEC or SIP, at the phylum level Proteobacteria ( P = 0.045) and Bacteroidetes ( P = 0.024) were significantly higher in NEC and SIP infants, respectively. Conclusions Existing banks of intestinal FFPE blocks provide a robust and specific sample for profiling the microbiota at the site of disease. We showed preterm infants with NEC have lower diversity and different bacterial communities when compared to SIP controls. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12866-019-1426-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Problem statement: Multiple chronic conditions combined with the complex social needs of individuals and families often create unattainable goals of efficient and effective holistic care within primary care settings. There is a recognized need for new approaches to address the intersection of the role of social determinants of health and the resulting impact on health care utilization and outcomes as an approach to enhancing value‐based care. Model description: This paper describes an innovative health and wellness model that complements the essential work of primary care providers (PCPs), as an adjunct to care delivery. The wellness program helps meet unrealistic expectations placed on providers to cover a full range of holistic services while reducing the burden on under‐ or uninsured patients to seek timely care. The model describes an academic‐community based partnership that integrates student learning into the delivery of a wellness program provided on‐site to adults residing in apartment buildings designated for low‐income and disabled adults. The innovation described is a health and wellness model that complements the demands placed on primary care clinics.

The Richmond Health and Wellness Program (RHWP) is an innovative interprofessional care coordination program that seeks to support the health and wellness of independent-living older adults and educate future practitioners. Since 2012, RHWP has provided community-based interprofessional training to students at Virginia Commonwealth University. The sudden suspension of clinical and communitybased training due to the COVID-19 pandemic created the need to transform the traditional ways students received clinical education and support the vulnerable communities served by RHWP. This paper describes RHWP's rapid transition to a hybrid telephone-based program with a virtual learning component for students which allowed RHWP to continue serving its participants and provide interprofessional training experiences. Since the transition, RHWP has served 111 participants through over 400 telephonic visits, and 12 nurse practitioner and pharmacy students completed clinical hours to fulfill graduation requirements. To meet the needs of learners, interprofessional education models can be adapted to changing circumstances posed by COVID-19.

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Older adults may be at risk of adverse outcomes after emergency department (ED) visits due to ineffective transitions of care. Semi-structured interviews were employed to identify and categorize reasons for ED use and problems that occur during transition from the ED back to home among 14 residents of low-income senior housing. Qualitative thematic and descriptive analyses were used. Ambulance use, timely ED use or a wait-and-see approach, and lack of health-care provider contact before ED visit were emergent themes. Delayed medication receipt, no current medication list, and medication knowledge gaps were identified. Lack of a personal health record, follow-up care instruction, and worsening symptoms education emerged as transition problems from ED to home. After an ED visit, education opportunities exist around seeing primary care providers for nonurgent conditions, follow-up care, medications, and worsening condition symptoms. Timely receipt of discharge medications and medication education may improve medication-related transition problems.

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