The Effect of Case Conferencing in Nursing Homes

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Dementia
• Interventions: Other: Case conferencing

• Registration Number: NCT02790372
• Lead Sponsor: Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the effect of using comprehensive geriatric assessment in combination with case conferences on the prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms (also known as behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia) in Norwegian nursing homes

Detailed Description

Long-term care patients in nursing homes (NH) are characterized by frailty and having multiple health problems and reduced quality of life. Some of these issues relates to the quality of care and do therefore possess a potential for improvement. There is a need for approaches enabling nurses to carry out effective interventions that can promote health related to sustain or improve the nursing home patients health status. Integrating a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and case conferencing (CC) might be an effective method to individualize care plans in order to improve quality of care.

The intervention nursing homes will implement CGA, using the International resident instrument suite for Long Term Care Facilities (InterRai LTCF) and CC. The patients will be included and assessed three times during a 12-month period (control and intervention NHs). In the intervention NHs the results from the CGA will be reviewed in monthly CCs. The CCs are structured and consist of four main steps; evaluating the effects of earlier interventions, defining patients risks or area for improvement, defining the aetiology of the risk or problem, defining interventions and measures for improvement along with an appropriate method for evaluation. The CC group's consensus is basis for the patient's care plan.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2015-04
• Study First Submitted: 2016-05-31
• Study First Submitted QC: 2016-06-02
• Study First Posted: 2016-06-03
• Status Verified: 2017-04
• Primary Completion: 2017-04-05
• Study Completion: 2017-04-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2020-06-02
• Last Update Posted: 2020-06-04

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 309

Inclusion Criteria

• registered as long term care patient
• been in the nursing home for more than a month
• Informed consent from the patient or legal guardians

Exclusion Criteria

• life expectancy less than six months

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention nursing homes	Case conferencing	Nursing homes that carries out regularly case conferencing

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms measured by neuropsychiatric inventory	12 months	Measured by neuropsychiatric inventory

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Activities in daily living measured by Physical self-maintenance scale	12 months	Measured by Physical self-maintenance scale
Depression measured by Cornell scale for depression in dementia	12 months	Measured by Cornell scale for depression in dementia
Quality of life measured by the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia Scale	12 months	Measured by the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia Scale

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Overhalla sykeheim; 🇳🇴 Overhalla, Norway