Characteristics of registered nurses in nursing homes. Preliminary data from the 1985 National Nursing Home Survey.

Registered nurses work more often in other types of facilities or settings than in nursing homes. The typical RN working in a nursing home in 1985 was female, white, and married. RN's who work with the elderly tend to be older than the average RN. RN's on the staff of nursing homes in 1985 had a median age of about 45 years, and the majority had been working in their profession for 10 years or more. Studies have shown that nursing students associate negative stereotypes with caring for the elderly and that older health personnel, regardless of their profession, are more likely than their younger colleagues to view the elderly favorably (Feldbaum and Feldbaum, 1981; Smith, Jepson, and Perloff, 1982). Because the positions held most often by RN's who work full time in nursing homes are head nurse or supervisor or director of nursing, the actual hands-on care of the elderly is usually not performed by the registered nurse. That leaves the primary care of the elderly being provided by licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses, and nurse's aides.     

Characteristics of patients receiving hospice care at home versus in nursing homes: results from the National Home and Hospice Care Survey and the National Nursing Home Survey

This study examined 1170 deceased home hospice patients from the 1998 National Home and Hospice Care Survey and 617 deceased nursing home hospice patients from the 1997 and 1999 National Nursing Home Surveys. T tests and Bonferroni adjustments for multiple comparisons were performed to assess differences in characteristics of patients receiving hospice care at home versus in nursing homes. We found that the nursing home hospice population differs significantly from the home hospice population in the United States. Nursing home hospice patients were more likely to be older, have Medicaid as their primary payment source, have dementia and other noncancer primary diagnosis, and receive dietary/nutrition service, medication management, and physician services than home hospice patients.     

Longitudinal trends in antibiotic resistance in US nursing homes, 2000-2004.

We evaluated antibiotic resistance trends in US nursing homes using the Minimum Data Set. Significant increases in the number and proportion of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria were documented over the 5-year study. Further research on antibiotic resistance in nursing homes is urgently needed.     

An overview of nursing home facilities: data from the 1997 National Nursing Home Survey

OBJECTIVE: This report presents estimates on the number and distribution of nursing home facilities, their services, current residents, and discharges in the United States during 1997. METHODS: Data presented in this report are estimates based on a sample of nursing home facilities, residents, and discharges from the 1997 National Nursing Home Survey (NHHS). The survey collects information about providers and recipients of care from nursing home facilities. NHHS has been periodically conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics since 1973. RESULTS: In 1997 there were an estimated 1.6 million current residents and 2.4 million discharges from 17,000 nursing homes nationwide. These facilities were predominantly proprietary and certified by both Medicare and Medicaid. There was an average of 107 beds per nursing home with an occupancy rate of 88 percent and a discharge rate of 130 patients per 100 beds. The majority of nursing home residents and discharges were elderly, white, and female.     

Characteristics of elderly nursing home residents: data from the 1995 National Nursing Home Survey

OBJECTIVE: This report presents the sociodemographic characteristics, functional dependencies in the activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), dental status, primary admission diagnosis, types of services used, and source of payment of elderly nursing home residents. METHODS: The data used for this report are from the National Center for Health Statistics' 1995 National Nursing Home Survey's (NNHS) sample of current residents age 65 years and above. The 1995 NNHS is the fourth annual survey of nursing homes. The first survey was conducted from August 1973 through April 1974, the second was conducted from May through December 1977, and the third was conducted from August 1985 through January 1986. The 1995 NNHS was conducted from July 1995 through December 1995. RESULTS: The overall results of the survey indicate that elderly nursing home residents were predominantly women, 75 years old and over, white, non-Hispanic, and widowed. A large portion of residents needed assistance in their ADL's and IADL's. A shifting of the primary source of payment to Medicaid occurred among residents who used Medicare as their source of payment at the time of admission.     

Prevalence rates for scoliosis in US adults: results from the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

National prevalence estimates of scoliosis in adults, based on the reading of 6594 chest X-rays from the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, are presented by age, sex and race. Among US adults aged 25-74 years in 1971-75, the prevalence rate of scoliosis was 8.3%. The prevalence of scoliosis increased across age groups among women (p less than 0.001), but not among men. Women had about twice the prevalence of scoliosis as men; 10.7% versus 5.6% (p less than 0.001). Because scoliosis prevalence rates differed by age and sex, prevalence rates and means for scoliosis status subgroups were adjusted for age and sex. Blacks had a higher rate, although not statistically significant (using alpha = 0.10), of scoliosis than whites: 9.7% versus 8.1%. Bone density of the radius was lower for scoliotics than for non-scoliotics: (287.0 versus 294.0 aluminum equivalency units, p less than 0.001), suggesting a possible association between scoliosis and osteoporosis. The percentage with delayed menarche was higher for scoliotics than non-scoliotics: 37.8 versus 30.8% (p = 0.01). Scoliotic women also had a lower mean age of menstruation termination than non-scoliotic women: 43.4 years versus 44.8 years (p = 0.07). This is the first study to present national prevalence estimates for scoliosis among adults in the US.     

The provision and use of mental health services in nursing homes: results from the National Medical Expenditure Survey.

Data from the Institutional Population Component of the National Medical Expenditure Survey were used to provide national estimates of annual mental health service provision and use in nursing homes. In addition, the relationship between service provision and setting characteristics such as ownership, size, Medicaid certification, and chain status was examined. Although more than three quarters of residents with a mental disorder resided at a nursing home that provided counseling services, fewer than one fifth actually received any mental health services within the year.     

中国第三次死因抽样调查(2004-2005)卵巢癌死亡情况分析

目的 利用全国第3次死因回顾抽样调杳的结果,分析我国卵巢癌死亡的分布特点及流行趋势.方法 采用2004-2005年全国第3次死因回顾抽样调查158个样本点的资料,全国样本地区调查女性人口69 690 241人年(其中城市23 598 822人年,农村46 091 419人年).按照统一标准划分东、中、西部地区和城市、农村地区,分别计算粗死亡率、年龄别死亡率、标化死亡率、死因构成,并与1990-1992年全国第2次死因回顾抽样调查资料和世界部分国家的卵巢癌死亡率资料比较.结果 2004-2005年女件卵巢癌粗死亡率1.45/10万(1008/69 690 241),在女性恶性肿瘤死因顺位中排第12位,占女性全部恶性肿瘤死亡的1.45%(1008/69 667),中国人口标化死亡率(简称中标率)为0.97/10万,世界人口标化死亡率为1.26/10万.城市卵巢癌粗死亡率为2.67/10万(630/23 598 822),中标率为1.62/10万;农村卵巢癌粗死亡率为0.82/10万(378/46 091 419),中标率为0.59/10万.与1990-1992年调查结果(卵巢癌粗死亡率0.60/10万、中标率0.53/10万和占全部恶性肿瘤死亡的0.75%)比较,卵巢癌粗死亡率上升了141.07%,中标率上升了83.02%,占女性全部恶性肿瘤死亡的构成比上升了92.92%,死因顺位由第17位上升到第12位,卵巢癌中标率上升幅度农村(118.52%)高于城市(31.71%).结论 卵巢癌不是危害我国居民健康的主要恶性肿瘤,城市卵巢癌死亡率高于农村,近20年来死亡率有较大幅度上升,应允分引起重视.     

Tobacco smoking by occupation in Australia: results from the 2004 to 2005 National Health Survey

OBJECTIVE: This study presents the most recent estimates of Australia's national tobacco smoking rates by occupation. METHODS: Smoking data was extracted from the 2004 to 2005 National Health Survey, which captured approximately 26,000 persons and achieved a response rate of around 90%. Participants were limited to those of working age (18 to 64 years), with data stratified by job category and gender during the analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking among Australian workers is estimated to be 25% (28% among males and 21% among females). Tobacco usage is considerably less common among those who are employed compared with the unemployed. By job category, smoking was most common among laborers and the least common among professionals, managers, or administrators. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study suggests that Australian rates of tobacco smoking vary widely depending on occupation. Effective tobacco-control strategies targeting vulnerable sections of the workforce, particularly blue-collar workers, are clearly needed.     

Prevalence of concurrent hearing and visual impairment in US adults: The National Health Interview Survey, 1997-2002

Analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of US adults (n=195801) showed that concurrent hearing and visual impairment prevalence rates were highest for participants older than 79 years of age (16.6%); a 3-fold increase in age-adjusted rates of reported hearing and visual impairment was observed for Native Americans compared with Asian Americans. Research on preventing concurrent hearing and visual impairment and countering its consequences is warranted, especially in population subgroups, such as Native and older Americans.     

Parental vaccine safety concerns: results from the National Immunization Survey, 2001-2002

BACKGROUND: According to the 2002 National Immunization Survey (NIS), vaccination coverage with recommended vaccines among U.S. children aged 19 to 35 months remained near all-time highs. Sustaining this high coverage requires significant effort, including consideration of parental vaccine safety concerns that have led to decreasing coverage in other countries. METHODS: The Parental Knowledge and Experiences module was administered to a random subset of NIS respondents from July 2001 to December 2002. The module included questions regarding attitudes toward vaccine safety and side effects, simultaneous vaccine administration, and acceptance of new vaccines. Multivariate logistic regression analyses examined associations between attitudes and up-to-date (UTD) vaccination coverage (four or more doses of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis vaccine, three or more doses of poliovirus vaccine, one or more doses of any measles-containing vaccine, three or more doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine, and three or more doses of hepatitis B vaccine), while controlling for demographics. RESULTS: Ninety-three percent of parents rated vaccines as safe, 6% as neither safe nor unsafe, and 1% as unsafe. After adjusting for demographics, parental safety belief was significantly associated with the child's vaccination status. For children whose parents believed vaccines are safe, the odds of being UTD were 2.9 times the odds of being UTD for children of parents who believed vaccines are unsafe (75% vs 53%, respectively). Children whose parents were neutral about the safety of vaccines had vaccination coverage similar to children whose parents believed vaccines are unsafe. CONCLUSIONS: A significant association with vaccine coverage was found for a small group of parents with high vaccine safety concerns. Strategies focused on safety concerns may yield better protection for these children.     

Current cigarette smoking among in-school American youth: results from the 2004 National Youth Tobacco Survey

Background  

Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. In the developed nations where the burden from infectious diseases is lower, the burden of disease from tobacco use is especially magnified. Understanding the factors that may be associated with adolescent cigarette smoking may aid in the design of prevention programs.     

Self-reported stress: findings from the 1985 National Health Interview Survey

The National Health Interview Survey's 1985 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Questionnaire included questions on the amount of stress experienced in the past 2 weeks, the effect of stress on health, thoughts about seeking help for personal or emotional problems, and actual help-seeking behaviors. This report examines responses to these questions and analyzes self-reported levels of stress by sex and other respondent characteristics. In 1985, an estimated 34 million people aged 18 years and older experienced "a lot" of stress in the 2-week period preceding the interview. Women were more likely than men to report a lot of stress (23 percent versus 18 percent), and respondents 65 years of age or older were more likely than younger respondents to report "almost no" stress. An estimated 21 million people (13 percent) believed that, over the past year, stress had "a lot" of effect on their health. Seventeen percent of the population considered seeking help in the past year for personal or emotional problems from family, friends, helping professionals, or self-help groups. Sixty-nine percent of those who thought about seeking help reported that they actually did seek help. In terms of health practices, men and women who reported higher levels of stress than others of their sex also were more likely to report that they rarely or never ate breakfast, slept 6 or fewer hours per night, were physically less active than their peers, or drank more alcoholic beverages than usual in the 2 weeks prior to the survey.