STRENGTHENING INFORMAL SUPPORT RESOURCES FOR OLDER ADULT PATIENTS: THE JOHNS HOPKINS ROYBAL CENTER

摘要

The increased emphasis on home- and community-based care for older adults often assumes that family caregivers and other informal support persons are available and properly equipped to help deliver that care. However, greater attention is needed to develop evidence-based tools and evaluate programs that better involve family members and other support persons in the care of older adults. The Edward R. Roybal Center at Johns Hopkins University is dedicated to developing and testing innovative programs to meet this need. This symposium will feature innovative pilot projects that are funded by the Center and have designed and implemented promising interventions for older adults and their families. Older adult populations that are being addressed include those with significant cognitive impairment, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), hearing loss, and those with complex medication regimens who are receiving home health services. Qualitative findings will be presented that capture challenges faced by patients and family members and have contributed to new tools and approaches. Individual presentations will describe 1) a pre-visit intervention to improve communication among primary care patients with cognitive impairment, their family members, and their health care providers; 2) a systematic approach that directly includes and involves family members in the home-based medication management of complex older adult patients; 3) an adaptation of an established environmental intervention to reduce social isolation and improve the mobility of older adults with ESRD; and 4) an affordable and accessible intervention for older adults with hearing loss that explicitly involves their family members or other communication partners.