Developing and testing of patient decision aids for the use of healthcare providers in facilitating advance care planning for patients with dementia.

Promoting advance care planning (ACP) in long-term care facilities presents significant challenges, particularly for people with dementia (PWD) and their families in making informed decisions. To address this, patient decision aids (PDAs) specifically tailored to end-of-life medical decisions for this population is needed. This study aimed to develop PDAs to aid healthcare providers in discussing ACP for end-of-life care decisions with PWD and their families.

Nurses' competence and needs to assist advance directives for institutionalized people with dementia and their family.

There is growing recognition of advance directives (AD) in dementia, however a gap remains between their perceived importance and actual implementation. This emphasizes the need to enhance healthcare professionals' support for people with dementia (PWD) with regards to making AD. This study aimed to investigate the competence, difficulties, and support needs of nurses in assisting institutionalized PWD to make AD.

Walking Interventions and Sleep Quality of Persons Living With Dementia and Their Family Caregivers: Effects of Different Walking Companions.

Purpose: To examine the effect of walking interventions on sleep quality of persons with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers (dyads), and how different companions affect results.

Method: Forty-five dyads were divided into three groups: a control group and two experimental groups (one with a care attendant, one with a family caregiver). The two experimental groups engaged in 120 minutes of walking per week for 24 weeks.

A Pilot Study to Explore the Improvements in Pulmonary and Cognitive Functions With a Kazoo Intervention Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in a Rural Community.

Dementia is a leading cause of disability and dependence in older adults worldwide. The aim of this pilot study was to explore the effect of using a kazoo instrument to improve pulmonary function and cognitive reserve in middle-aged and older adults in rural areas. This quasi-experimental study was conducted at two community care stations selected using cluster sampling from a rural district in southern Taiwan.

A program to improve the quality of dental unit water in a medical center.

The water quality of dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) is associated with patient safety. No program for DUWL water quality improvement has been formulated since the time they were established 20 years ago. This study provides an improvement program for the quality of dental unit water.

Comparing the Effects of Cognitive Stimulation, Reminiscence, and Aroma-Massage on Agitation and Depressive Mood in People With Dementia.

Purpose: Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST), reminiscence therapy (RT), and aroma-massage therapy (AT) are believed to be beneficial for people with dementia (PwD). However, the comparing effects of these interventions have not been reported in previous studies. The purpose of this research was thus to compare the effects of these 3 interventions on alleviating agitation and depressive mood in PwD.

Development and Psychometric Testing of the Caregiver Communication Competence Scale in Patients With Dementia.

Appropriate communication skills are essential for understanding patient needs, particularly those of patients with dementia. Assessing health care providers' competence in communicating with patients with dementia is critical for planning a communication education program. However, no formally established scale can be used.

Effects of the Advanced Innovative Internet-Based Communication Education Program on Promoting Communication Between Nurses and Patients With Dementia.

Background: Effective communication between nurses and patients with dementia promotes the quality of patient care by improving the identification of patient needs and by reducing the miscommunication-related frustration of patients and nurses.

Purpose: This study evaluates the effects of an advanced innovative Internet-based communication education (AIICE) program on nurses' communication knowledge, attitudes, frequency of assessing patient communication capacity, and communication performance in the context of care for patients with dementia. In addition, this study attempts to evaluate the indirect effects of this program on outcomes for patients with dementia, including memory and behavior-related problems and depressive symptoms.

Features of problematic eating behaviors among community-dwelling older adults with dementia: family caregivers' experience.

This study aimed to explore family caregivers' experience of the problematic eating behaviors among community-dwelling older adults with dementia, and how these caregivers cope with these problems. An exploratory qualitative study using purposive sampling recruited family caregivers of community-dwelling older adults with dementia in southern Taiwan. In-depth interviews were carried out with a semi-structured interview guide.

Sleep quality, depression state, and health status of older adults after silver yoga exercises: cluster randomized trial.

Background: Sleep disturbances, depression, and low perception of health status are commonly seen in elderly population; however, clinicians tend to underestimate or overlook the presence of these symptoms and assume them to be a part of normal aging. Non-pharmacological methods that promote a mind-body interaction should be tested to enhance the mental health of older adults.

Objective: To test the effects of 6 months of silver yoga exercises in promoting the mental health of older adults in senior activity centers, especially their sleep quality, depression, and self-perception of health status.

Physical fitness of older adults in senior activity centres after 24-week silver yoga exercises.

Aims And Objectives: Promoting physical fitness of young-older adults is essential in reducing healthcare expenditures which would occur in the future for those with chronic health problems. The silver yoga exercise programme was developed to accommodate the reduced body flexibility experienced by many older adults and was critically reviewed by experts and pilot-tested with community-dwelling older adults. This study aimed to test older adults' physical fitness after a 24-week silver yoga exercise programme and to examine whether the programme could be further shortened to fit senior activity centres' programme designs.