Unexplained Absences and Risk of Death and Injury Among Nursing Home Residents: A Systematic Review

Woolford, Marta; Weller, Carolina; Ibrahim, Joseph E.

doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2017.01.007

Cited by 25 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…1,19,30 These groups are not comparable as they differ in their opportunity to leave their dwelling and overall health and cognitive status. Earlier studies have combined populations residing in the community and NH.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Earlier studies, mostly conducted in the United States, also cited environmental factors, in particular prolonged exposure, as the most common cause of death. 1,7,31,32,41 This information provides valuable insight for search and rescue teams. 17 The findings from our study suggest that NH services should consider their approach to staffing and practice during morning nursing shift hours.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Earlier studies have combined populations residing in the community and NH. 1,19,30 These groups are not comparable as they differ in their opportunity to leave their dwelling and overall health and cognitive status. 19,31 We found 0.04% (n = 7) natural and 0.52% (n = 17) external cause deaths of NH residents reported to the coroner over a 13-year study period were attributed to unexplained absences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a paucity of current empirical research, 1 and what exists is narrowly focussed on investigating interventions to reduce unexplained absence events 11,12 and identifying person's most atrisk. 4,13 These studies report unexplained absences as a high-risk activity associated with injury and death.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…15 Few studies have examined the individual, organisational, environmental, and unexplained absence event factors specifically in the NH population. 1,7,16,17 If the true burden and profile of the event are unknown, then management strategies may be inappropriate and ineffective.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Unexplained absence resulting in deaths of nursing home residents in Australia—A 13‐year retrospective study

Woolford

Bugeja

Weller

et al. 2018

Int J Geriat Psychiatry

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Unexplained absence resulting in deaths of nursing home residents in Australia—A 13‐year retrospective study

Woolford

Bugeja

Weller

et al. 2018

Int J Geriat Psychiatry

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Search and rescue incidents among persons 65 years and older in the USA: Examination of factors associated with death

Woolford

Bugeja

Weller

et al. 2022

Int J Geriat Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives Older people are vulnerable to becoming lost from home, especially if alone and in unfamiliar environments. Incidents of older persons becoming lost are frequently reported and often requiring a search and rescue (SAR) response. Becoming lost is distressing to the person concerned, their carer, and family and may result in physical injury and/or death. This study examined what factors are associated with death among older persons reported lost from home. Methods/Design A retrospective cross‐sectional study. Data were obtained from the International Search and Rescue Incident Database from 1985 to 2013. Participants comprised persons aged 65 years and older living in the United States. Individual, SAR incident, and environmental factors were analysed. The primary outcome of this study was lost person found alive or found dead on arrival. Relationships between categorical variables and outcome were summarised with contingency tables, chi‐squared test p‐values (or Fisher's‐exact‐test), and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Association between continuous variables and outcome were examined using multiple logistic regression. p‐value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results Among the 5242 SAR incidents, 1703 met the inclusion criteria, of which 87.8% (n = 1495) were found alive and 12.2% (n = 208) were found dead. Factors associated with death included: male gender (OR 1.46; CI 1.01–2.13; p = 0.048), cognitively intact (OR 0.32; CI 0.22–0.47; p < 0.001), prolonged SAR duration (OR: 1.028; CI: 1.021–1.035; p < 0.001), found in water/wetlands (OR 7.40; CI 3.37–16.24; p < 0.001), and extreme weather (OR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.10–3.86; p = 0.024). Conclusions Older people have a fundamental human right to protection from preventable deaths. Findings indicate these rights are not being protected with deaths occurring frequently among older people who have become lost from home. To minimise fatalities, knowledge of factors associated with death could inform the development suitable assessment and intervention strategies for SAR teams and caregivers.

show abstract

Navigation in individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease

Lowry¹,

Morrissey²,

Hornberger³

2025

Encyclopedia of the Human Brain

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Unexplained Absences and Risk of Death and Injury Among Nursing Home Residents: A Systematic Review

Cited by 25 publications

References 29 publications

Unexplained absence resulting in deaths of nursing home residents in Australia—A 13‐year retrospective study

Unexplained absence resulting in deaths of nursing home residents in Australia—A 13‐year retrospective study

Search and rescue incidents among persons 65 years and older in the USA: Examination of factors associated with death

Navigation in individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About