Knowledge of individuals’ everyday preferences is a cornerstone of person-centered care (PCC). Initial evidence demonstrates the positive impact of honoring preferences in care for older adults receiving long-term services and supports (LTSS). Yet, the mechanisms through which preference-based care affects individual well-being remain poorly understood. This article proposes a theoretical model of PCC entitled the Preference-Based Model of Care that integrates the Theory of Human Motivation, Self-determination Theory, the Competence-Press Model of person and environment fit, the Living Systems Framework, and the Broaden-and-Build theory of positive emotions to deepen our understanding of the processes through which preference-based care affects well-being among older adults receiving LTSS. The Preference-Based Model of Care illustrates how goal-directed behaviors facilitate need fulfillment through the expression of individual preferences and how these behaviors mediate the relationship between person–environment fit and affect balance within a particular social, cultural, and political context. The Preference-Based Model of Care can advance research on PCC in LTSS and can inform LTSS clinical practice guidelines for older adults, regardless of functional or cognitive capacity.

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) include aggression, agitation, resistiveness to care, depression, anxiety, apathy, and hallucinations. BPSD are common in nursing home residents and can be ameliorated using person-centered approaches. Despite regulatory requirements, less than 2% of nursing homes consistently implement person-centered behavioral approaches. In a National Institute of Nursing Research-funded research protocol, we are implementing a pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial designed to enable staff in nursing homes to reduce BPSD using behavioral approaches while optimizing function, preventing adverse events, and improving quality of life of residents. The implementation is based on use of the Evidence Integration Triangle (EIT), a parsimonious, community-engaged participatory framework that is well suited to the complexity and variability in the nursing home environment. A total of 50 nursing home communities will be randomized to EIT-4-BPSD or education only. Primary Aim 1 is to determine if communities exposed to EIT-4-BPSD demonstrate evidence of implementation evaluated by the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) criteria. Primary Aim 2 is to evaluate the feasibility, utility, and cost of the EIT approach in EIT-4-BPSD communities.

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Background: Clinical research nursing is an emerging specialty practice. Clinical research nurses (CRNs) work to make protocol-related care safe for the research subjects while simultaneously maintaining protocol fidelity. They must continuously balance the needs of the research subjects and the study requirements. Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe CRNs’ perceptions of the value of their role. Methods: Two focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of 18 CRNs. An interview guide consisting of eight open-ended items was used. Data analysis used critical elements from Krueger's systematic steps for analyzing focus group data. Results: Five major themes emerged from 168 coded statements contained within the focus group transcripts: comprehensive nursing care of research subjects, training and education of research subjects and staff, contributions to clinical science, unique combination of clinical and critical thinking skills, and CRN practice attributes. Subcategories were also identified. In general, participants felt strongly about the value they added. Clinical research nursing requires the use of a variety of abilities and skills, including critical thinking and problem solving, as well as clinical and research knowledge. The CRNs in this study described incorporating these and other elements into their practice, which they associated with their specialized role. The five themes that emerged help elucidate the importance and utility of including CRNs on research teams. Conclusions: The unique combination of applied research knowledge and expert clinical skills sets the specialty of clinical research nursing apart. The study findings, in particular the five themes, provide an evidence-based framework that will be useful in the development of competencies for CRN specialty practice. In helping to bring research findings to bear on clinical care, the impact of CRNs’ practice extends beyond the individual patient to larger patient populations.

Objective Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) are major sites of post-acute care for patients with dementia. A recent Office of the Inspector General report indicated that outcomes in SNFs are sub-optimal due to poor-quality treatment, including the failure to provide needed care. Pain is frequently un-recognized and un-treated in patients with dementia. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the effect daily pain has on delirium and physical function in patients with dementia in SNFs. The association of daily pain with discharge disposition was also examined. Design Secondary analysis of data from an on-going randomized clinical trial. Setting Eight SNFs located in central and northeast Pennsylvania. Participants One hundred and three SNF patients with adjudicated dementia and delirium diagnoses and a mean age of 86 (±6.8) years; most were female (66%) and Caucasian (98%). Measurements Measures of pain (Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia), delirium (Confusion Assessment Method), and physical function (Barthel Index) were taken daily for 30 days or until discharge. Results On days when participants experienced greater than their average level of pain they also experienced more delirium symptoms (p < .001) and lower physical function (p < .001). Participants with higher levels of average daily pain were more likely to die (OR = 6.306, 95% CI: 1.914–20.771, p = .003) or be placed in a nursing home (OR= 4.77, 95% CI:1.7–13.2, p=.003) compared to returning to the community at 3-month follow-up. Conclusion Greater attention to pain in patients with dementia may be a potential solution to some of the quality problems and high costs of care in SNFs