Background Physical activity (PA) is important for older people to maintain functional independence and healthy ageing. There is strong evidence to support the benefits of physical activity interventions on the health outcomes of older adults. Nonetheless, innovative approaches are needed to ensure that these interventions are practical and sustainable. Aim This systematic review explores the effectiveness of volunteer-led PA interventions in improving health outcomes for community-dwelling older people. Methods Five databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PEDro, Cochrane library) were systematically searched for studies using trained volunteers to deliver PA interventions for community-dwelling older people aged ≥ 65 years. Meta-analysis was not conducted due to included study heterogeneity. Results Twelve papers describing eight studies (five papers reported different outcomes from the same study) were included in the review. All eight studies included strength and balance exercises and frequency of PA ranged from weekly to three times a week. Volunteer-led exercises led to improvements in functional status measured using the short physical performance battery, timed up and go test, Barthel Index, single leg stand, step touch test, chair stand test, and functional reach. Frailty status identified by grip strength measurement or the use of long-term care insurance improved with volunteer-led exercises. Interventions led to improvement in fear of falls and maintained or improved the quality of life. The impact on PA levels were mixed. Conclusion Limited evidence suggests that volunteer-led PA interventions that include resistance exercise training, can improve outcomes of community-dwelling older adults including functional status, frailty status, and reduction in fear of falls. More high-quality RCTs are needed to investigate the effects of volunteer-led PA interventions among older people.

Background: Treatment burden is the workload of being a patient and its impact on wellbeing. Little is known about change in treatment burden over time for people with multimorbidity. Aim: To quantify change in treatment burden, determine factors associated with this change, and evaluate a revised single-item measure for high treatment burden in older adults with multimorbidity. Design and setting: A 2.5-year follow-up of a cross-sectional postal survey via six general practices in Dorset, England. Method: GP practices identified participants of the baseline survey. Data on treatment burden (measured using the Multimorbidity Treatment Burden Questionnaire; MTBQ), sociodemographics, clinical variables, health literacy and financial resource were collected. Change in treatment burden was described, and associations assessed using regression models. Diagnostic test performance metrics evaluated the single-item measure relative to the MTBQ. Results: 301 participants were recruited (77.6% response rate). Overall, there was a 2.6% increase in treatment burden. 98 (32.6%) and 53 (17.6%) participants experienced an increase and decrease, respectively, in treatment burden category. An increase in treatment burden was associated with having more than five long-term conditions (ß:8.26 (95% CI: 4.20 to 12.32) and living >10 minutes (vs.≤10 minutes) from the GP (aß:3.88 (95% CI: 1.32 to 6.43)), particularly for participants with limited health literacy (mean difference: aß:9.59 (95% CI: 2.17 to 17.00)). The single-item measure performed moderately- sensitivity: 56.5%; specificity: 92.5%. Conclusion: Treatment burden changes over time. Improving access to primary care, particularly for those living further away from services, and enhancing health literacy, may mitigate increases in burden.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the current status and trends of acupuncture for depression in the last decade and provide new insights for researchers in future studies.Methods: The articles regarding acupuncture treatment for depression published between 2011 and 2020 were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection. We used CiteSpace to analyze data on publications, countries, institutions, cited journals, cited authors, cited references, keywords, and citation bursts about acupuncture and depression.Results: A total of 1,032 publications were obtained from 2011 to 2020. We identified the most prolific journals, countries, institutions, and authors in the field of acupuncture for depression in the last decade. The most prolific country and institutions were the People's Republic of China and KyungHee University, respectively. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine was the most prolific and cited journal. The author with the highest centrality was Zhangjin Zhang, and the author with the most publications was Park Hi-Joon. The keyword “cognitive behavioral therapy” was first for research developments with the highest citation burst. The five hot topics in acupuncture on depression were “acupuncture,” “depression,” “electro-acupuncture,” “quality of life,” and “anxiety.”Conclusions: The results from this bibliometric study provide insight into the research trends in acupuncture therapy for depression, and the current status and trends of the past decade, which may help researchers determine the current status, hotspots, and frontier trends in this field.

Purpose Research evaluating the effect of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics (PPS) on laboratory markers of health (such as immunomodulatory and microbiota changes) is growing but it is unclear whether these markers translate to improved functional outcomes in the older population. This systematic review evaluates the effect of PPS on functional outcomes in older people. Methods We conducted a systematic review of the effect of PPS in older adults on functional outcomes (physical strength, frailty, mood and cognition, mortality and receipt of care). Four electronic databases were searched for studies published since year 2000. Results Eighteen studies (including 15 RCTs) were identified. One of five studies evaluating physical function reported benefit (improved grip strength). Two analyses of one prebiotic RCT assessed frailty by different methods with mixed results. Four studies evaluated mood with no benefit reported. Six studies evaluated cognition: four reported cognitive improvement in participants with pre-existing cognitive impairment receiving probiotics. Seven studies reported mortality as a secondary outcome with a trend to reduction in only one. Five studies reported length of hospital stay but only two peri-operative studies reported shorter stays. Conclusion There is limited evidence that probiotics may improve cognition in older people with pre-existing cognitive impairment but no clear evidence of benefit of PPS on physical function, frailty, mood, length of hospitalisation and mortality. Larger studies with more homogenous interventions, accounting for confounding factors, such as diet, co-morbidities and medications, are required. There is currently inadequate evidence to recommend PPS use to older people in general. PROSPERO registration number PROSPERO registration number is CRD42020173417. Date of PROSPERO registration: 01/05/20.

Background High treatment burden is associated with poor adherence, wasted resources, poor quality of life and poor health outcomes. Identifying factors that impact treatment burden in Parkinson’s disease can offer insights into strategies to mitigate them. Objective To explore the experiences of treatment burden among people with Parkinson’s disease (PwP) and their caregivers. Methods A systematic review of studies published from year 2006 was conducted. Qualitative and mixed-method studies with a qualitative component that relate to usual care in Parkinson’s disease were included. Quantitative studies and grey literature were excluded. Data synthesis was conducted using framework synthesis. Results 1757 articles were screened, and 39 articles included. Understanding treatment burden in PwP and caregivers was not the primary aim in any of the included studies. The main issues of treatment burden in Parkinson’s disease are: 1) work and challenges of taking medication; 2) healthcare provider obstacles including lack of patient-centered care, poor patient-provider relationships, lack of care coordination, inflexible organizational structures, lack of access to services and issues in care home or hospital settings; and 3) learning about health and challenges with information provision. The treatment burden led to physical and mental exhaustion of self-care and limitations on the role and social activities of PwP and caregivers. Conclusion: There are potential strategies to improve the treatment burden in Parkinson’s disease at an individual level such as patient-centered approach to care, and at system level by improving access and care coordination between services. Future research is needed to determine the modifiable factors of treatment burden in Parkinson’s disease.

Background People with long-term conditions must complete many healthcare tasks such as take medications, attend appointments, and change their lifestyle. This treatment burden and ability to manage it (capacity) is not well-researched in Parkinson’s disease. Objective To explore and identify potentially modifiable factors contributing to treatment burden and capacity in people with Parkinson’s disease and caregivers. Methods Semi-structured interviews with nine people with Parkinson’s disease and eight caregivers recruited from Parkinson’s disease clinics in England (ages 59–84 years, duration of Parkinson’s disease diagnosis 1–17 years, Hoehn and Yahr (severity of Parkinson’s disease) stages 1–4) were conducted. Interviews were recorded and analyzed thematically. Results Four themes of treatment burden with modifiable factors were identified: 1) Challenges with appointments and healthcare access: organizing appointments, seeking help and advice, interactions with healthcare professionals, and caregiver role during appointments; 2) Issues obtaining satisfactory information: sourcing and understanding information, and satisfaction with information provision; 3) Managing medications: getting prescriptions right, organizing polypharmacy, and autonomy to adjust treatments; and 4) Lifestyle changes: exercise, dietary changes, and financial expenses. Aspects of capacity included access to car and technology, health literacy, financial capacity, physical and mental ability, personal attributes and life circumstances, and support from social networks. Conclusions There are potentially modifiable factors of treatment burden including addressing the frequency of appointments, improving healthcare interactions and continuity of care, improving health literacy and information provision, and reducing polypharmacy. Some changes could be implemented at individual and system levels to reduce treatment burden for people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers. Recognition of these by healthcare professionals and adopting a patient-centered approach may improve health outcomes in Parkinson’s disease.

Introduction Treatment burden is the “workload of healthcare and its impact on patient functioning and well-being”. High treatment burden may lead to non-adherence to treatment regimens, poor health outcomes, poor quality of life and wasted healthcare resources. Treatment burden among people with Parkinson’s (PwP) and their caregivers has not been previously explored. Methods Using five electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus and PsychInfo), we conducted a systematic review of studies published since 2006 when the first National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Clinical Guideline for Parkinson’s Disease was published. This allows an understanding of the impact of current healthcare systems on treatment burden. We included qualitative and mixed-method studies with a qualitative component that reported data from PwP and/or caregivers. Quantitative studies, qualitative data from clinical trials not related to usual care and grey literature were excluded. Two reviewers independently screened articles and extracted data. Data analysis was conducted using framework analysis. Results 1757 articles were screened, and 39 included in this review. Understanding treatment burden among PwP and their caregivers was not the primary aim in any of the included studies. They described the experiences of those living at home and during hospital or care home admissions. Issues with medications (adherence to advice, effectiveness, side-effects and timing), obtaining appropriate levels of information and healthcare provision (lack of integrated care, care coordination and person-centred approach) were among factors that exacerbate treatment burden experienced by PwP and caregivers. Both reported the impact of Parkinson’s on their daily lives, physical and mental exhaustion of self-care and limitations on their role and social activities. Conclusion This review describes considerable treatment burden experienced by PwP and their caregivers and its major influences including aspects of current healthcare provision. Future research should focus on patient-centred care with service redesign to improve this treatment burden.

Introduction Treatment burden is the workload of healthcare and its impact on patient well-being and functioning. High treatment burden in other long-term conditions is associated with poor health outcomes. This study aimed to determine the extent and levels of treatment burden among people with Parkinson’s (PwP) and their caregivers, and explore modifiable factors. Methods A cross-sectional survey using the Multimorbidity Treatment Burden Questionnaire (MTBQ) to measure treatment burden was conducted among adults (age >18 years) diagnosed with Parkinson’s or self-identified caregivers of someone with Parkinson’s. Factors associated with medium/high treatment burden levels on the MTBQ were analysed using logistic regression. Results 190 valid responses were received: 160 PwP (mean age = 68years, 52% female), 30 caregivers (mean age = 69years, 73% female) with or caring for PwP with all stages of Parkinson’s severity (Hoehn and Yahr staging). Nearly half of PwP had frailty or multimorbidity. High treatment burden was reported by 21% of PwP and 50% of caregivers. Lifestyle changes was the most difficult aspect of treatment burden for both PwP and caregivers. Arranging appointments, seeing many healthcare professionals and taking multiple medications frequently contributed to the treatment burden reported by PwP and caregivers. Medium/high treatment burden was associated with PwP who were frail, had a higher number of non-motor symptoms, and took medications more than three times a day. Worsening Parkinson’s severity and limited health literacy had increased odds of medium/high treatment burden levels in PwP. Female caregivers, those caring for someone with Parkinson’s who experienced memory issues, and caregivers with poorer mental health well-being scores were associated with medium/high treatment burden. Conclusions PwP and caregivers experienced substantial treatment burden. Providing them support with enacting recommended lifestyle changes, streamlining healthcare appointments, addressing polypharmacy and frequency of medications, and improving health literacy may help reduce the treatment burden in Parkinson’s.