Age and ageing
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delirium after hip-surgery is associated with poor outcome. Few studies examined the mortality risk associated with delirium in elderly hip-surgery patients after 1 year or more. Aim of this study was to examine the hazard risk associated with delirium in elderly hip-surgery patients at 2-year follow-up, controlling for baseline risk factors and interaction effects. ⋯ delirium does not independently predict mortality at 2-year follow-up in elderly hip-surgery patients. However, outcome from delirium is particularly poor when other risk factors are present.
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prevention of disability is an important aim of healthcare for older persons. Selection of persons at risk is a first crucial step in this process. ⋯ the predictive value of multimorbidity for the increase in ADL disability varies with cognitive function in very old people. In very old people with good cognitive function, multimorbidity predicts accelerated increase in ADL disability. This relation is absent in very old people with cognitive impairment.
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to explore views on advance care planning in care homes for older people. ⋯ overall, staff and families support the concept of ACP. Methods to overcome the identified barriers are required to embed ACP within end of life care in care homes.
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the need for access to high-quality palliative care at the end of life is becoming of increasing public health concern. The majority of deaths in the UK occur in acute hospitals, and older people are particularly likely to die in this setting. However, little is known about the barriers to palliative care provision for older people within acute hospitals. ⋯ numerous barriers exist to the provision of high-quality palliative care for older people within acute hospital settings. Additional research is now required to further explore age-related issues contributing to poor access to palliative care.