Implementation of the abilities-focused approach assists people with dementia to participate in morning care.

Background.  The efficacy of the abilities-focused approach to morning care has been demonstrated in two studies. However, the extent to which nurses are aware of and actually implement abilities-focused interventions in day-to-day practice is not known. Aim.  The study aimed to determine the type and number of abilities-focused interventions delivered by nursing staff to residents with dementia during morning care. Methods.  A one-group repeated measure design was used. Seventy-nine nursing staff attended an educational session to instruct them in the application of abilities-focused interventions. Data on the type and number of interventions used by nurses were obtained before, after and 3-months following attendance at the session. Data were collected through participants' self-report and observation. Results.  Most nursing staff used abilities-focused interventions when providing morning care. Introduction to resident, orientation to resident and conversation with resident were three types of interventions most often applied over time. The number of interventions implemented increased after attendance at the education session and returned to baseline level at 3-month follow-up. Conclusions.  Future research is recommended to examine the long-term effects of alternative designs of educational sessions.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the everyday issues, challenges, struggles, and needs of elderly, community-dwelling women in the first weeks posthospital discharge. Fourteen elderly women were interviewed in their homes 6 to 8 weeksfollowing hospitalization. In addition, using a process based on photo novella or photovoice, 4 of the women took photographs of their everyday lives. The photos were used as triggers during the interviews. The interviews were analyzed to identify the themes of the women's experiences. The overarching theme was that hospital discharge plans "fall short of the mark" because theyfailed to reflect the complexity of the posthospitalization experience by focusing primarily on very basic physical and medically related needs rather than on the reality of the women's recovery. These findings are alarming given the aging population. The implications for hospital discharge planners, home care service providers, and policy decision makers are discussed.

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