Improving Care in the Nursing Home

In recent years, the nursing home has emerged as the dominant health-related institution in U.S. health care. Yet, the knowledge base regarding nursing home patients, care, and outcomes is underdeveloped compared to that of acute and ambulatory care. Improving Care in the Nursing Home provides systematic reviews of the state of clinical and health services research in patient-care problem areas pertinent to nursing homes. Each chapter defines progress on a specific clinical nursing home problem and provides a critical synthesis and review of research information. Topics covered include medication use, infection control, pressure ulcers, falls, urinary incontinence, and behavior problems. This volume also includes sections on managing nurse aides, clinical interventions for nutritional problems, and clinical research on falls in nursing homes. Improving Care in the Nursing Home is essential reading for those in the health professions interested in quality of care in the nursing home. "The language is clear and approachable without excess medical jargon. . . . The chapters are well organized, self-contained, and easily digested, reflective of a great deal of effort by both the authors and editors. . . . [This book] is a worthwhile addition to the libraries of academically oriented nursing homes and of researchers in the issues of clinical practice in the long-term care setting." --Journal of the American Geriatrics Society