Health Screening Practices IN RURAL LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES

Abstract

This report summarizes the descriptive data collected and analyzed as part of a larger study examining an educational intervention related to health screening practices in long-term care (LTC) facilities in a rural Midwestern state. The health screening practices examined were prostate-specific antigen testing, manual prostate examination, breast self-examination, clinical breast examination, and mammography. A review of the literature reveals health-screening practices are not being adequately provided to older adults. This includes older adults living in the community and those residing in LTC facilities. The director of nurses (DONs) in 41 LTC facilities were sent a questionnaire to ascertain the DONs' knowledge of American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines for health screening practices, as well as written policies for, and implementation of, the screening practices in the LTC facility. The response rate was 73% (30 of 41). The major finding of this study was that health-screening practices according to ACS were not being implemented in LTC facilities in the rural state under study. This is congruent with current literature regarding health-screening practices in LTC facilities in more urban areas. These findings are not generalizable beyond the state studied, however, implications for nursing relate to increasing continuing education for nurses in LTC facilities about ACS guidelines.

Associations between cancer and Parkinson’s disease in U.S. elderly adults

“…This may especially apply to persons in nursing homes. 20 That other studies of PD and cancer did not include negative comparison controls limits interpreting the associations observed, both the inverse findings [1][2][3][4]8,9,11,12 and a recent study 10 which found adverse associations between PD and cancers in Taiwan, as health care systems may vary widely in the aggressiveness with which cancer screening and medical work-ups are pursued in those already confronting a medically debilitating condition. Thus, our findings of reduced risk of cancer after both automobile accidents and PD are consistent with under-ascertainment of cancer after at least some unrelated health outcomes.…”

Health- and Disease-Related Biomarkers in Aging Research

“…From the expanded electronic database search, we identified 26 articles for analysis. Four articles (Bassett & Smyer, 2003; MacDonald, Sarna, Uman, Grant, & Weitzel, 2006; Oliffe, 2007; Setter, Corbett, Campbell, Cook, & Gates, 2003) used the biological marker conceptually and explored its use from an educational or practice perspective (e.g., the meaning of hemoglobin A1c to patients or providers), rather than its specific use as a variable of interest in the research analysis, thus they were excluded from this review. This left 22 articles for full review and analysis.…”