OBJECTIVES Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) cause significant stress and distress to both aged-care residents and staff. This study evaluated a training program to assist staff to manage BPSD in residential care. METHOD A randomised controlled trial (RCT) was employed. The study was included in the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Register residential care fac...

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Client characterization is an important step in evaluating the services offered by campus counseling and mental health centers and in their further planning and development. The objectives here were to describe reported complaints and demographics among students who sought counseling/mental healthcare at a Brazilian campus mental health service over a 17-year period and to...

The appropriateness of and justification for physical restraint procedures in intellectual disabilities settings is an emotive issue. It creates a number of ethical dilemmas for nursing staff. This article examines the views of service users and nursing staff from secure residential facilities where restraint is used frequently. Both groups were asked to rate three videotaped restraint procedur...

OBJECTIVE This trial compared Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, adapted for therapeutic community treatment (MBTC), with treatment as usual (TAU) for reducing stress and increasing retention in a residential facility for substance use disorders. METHOD Four-hundred and fifty-nine participants, who met DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence were recruited (TAU = 164, MBTC = 295). RESULTS...

BACKGROUND although social engagement and depressive symptoms are important concerns for long-term care facility residents, the dynamic relationship between them has not been adequately studied. OBJECTIVE this study examines the relationship between social engagement and depressive symptoms and changes in social engagement and depressive symptoms among Chinese residents of long-term care faci...

BACKGROUND Most people with mental disorders are not violent. However, the lack of specific studies in this area and recent radical changes in Italy, including the closure of six Forensic Mental Hospitals, has prompted a more detailed investigation of patients with aggressive behaviour. AIMS To compare socio-demographic, clinical and treatment-related characteristics of long-term inpatients w...

We conducted a longitudinal study to assess the exposure of 23 elementary school-age children to pyrethroid pesticides, using urinary pyrethroid metabolites as exposure biomarkers. We substituted most of the children's conventional diets with organic food items for 5 consecutive days and collected two daily spot urine samples, first morning and before bedtime voids, throughout the 15-day study ...

BACKGROUND 'Quality of Care' is a difficult concept to measure, particularly within the context of residential aged care, which involves lifestyle issues as much as health issues. Recent years have seen an increased focus on quality within residential aged care. Yet, Australia does not have a structured and comprehensive quality monitoring system within this sector. PROBLEM While the Australi...

BACKGROUND As in most European countries, mental health care has shifted from large hospitals to smaller community based settings in Portugal. Our study objectives were to determine: a) the characteristics of users of mental health residential facilities in Portugal; b) the quality of care provided comparing community and hospital units; and c) to investigate associations between quality of car...

CLINICAL QUESTION Is there evidence that hip protectors and vitamin D with calcium supplementation reduce hip fractures in the elderly? RESULTS The results are that vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduce incidence of hip fractures. Hip protectors provide some benefit in reducing hip fractures in elderly patients in residential facilities. IMPLEMENTATION Primary care providers should a...