A New Interprofessional Community-Service Learning Program, HATS (Health Ambassador Teams for Seniors) to Improve Older Adults Attitudes about Telehealth and Functionality

Review that describes a new interprofessional community-service learning program geared towards improving older adults’ attitudes about telehealth.

Perceptions of Telehealth vs In-Person Visits Among Older Adults With Advanced Kidney Disease, Care Partners, and Clinicians

Review that describes how older adults with chronic kidney disease, their caregivers, and their clinicians perceive telehealth encounters and ultimately discusses that greater resources are needed to support older adults with chronic illness, limited English proficiency, hearing loss, and limited access to technology.

Change Management: Engaging a Champion

Making changes to the way care is delivered often requires a champion who will lead the way. Here are some tips for engaging a champion.

Change Management: Sample PDSA Form

PDSA Planning & Progress Form

Change Management: The Model for Improvement

Enacting policy or procedure improvements within a healthcare system is vital for ensuring that the institution remains on the forefront of providing high- quality care. It is critical that quality improvement measures encourage systematic behavior to reduce variability and achieve predictable results1. To best ensure a smooth transition, the Associates for Process Improvement (API) developed The Model for Improvement.

Developing Culturally CAPABLE Materials

Culturally CAPABLE: A Mnemonic for Developing Culturally Capable Materials.SM You can use it to think about what questions to ask community members to ensure the materials you design are culturally and linguistically appropriate.

Effective Cross-Cultural Communication Skills

Equitable and Accessible Care Accounts for Linguistic and Cultural Differences of Older Adults and Their Caregivers

RESPECT Model

What is most important when you engage with patients is that you remain open and maintain a sense of respect for your patients. The RESPECT model can help you remember what factors to consider to engage patients in a culturally and linguistically competent manner. These factors are important throughout assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.

National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care

In an effort to tackle one of the most modifiable factors of health inequity, culturally and linguistically sensitive care, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health has released a series of national standards that are intended to “advance health equity, improve quality, and help eliminate health care disparities by establishing a blueprint for health and health organizations.”

Engaging with Families and Caregivers

As a person ages, the need for family or caregivers to be engaged within their medical appointments generally increases. In a 2015 review, the Alzheimer’s Association noted that there were almost 15.7 million adult family caregivers in the United States that were providing care to an older adult that was diagnosed with either Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia alone.

Communicating with People with Disabilities

The failure of health care providers to communicate effectively and appropriately with people with disabilities is a major barrier to delivering quality health care. The following information identifies general recommendations for communicating with people with disabilities in general and for individuals with specific disabilities. If you are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with communication strategies, learn more about specific types of disability to increase your comfort level and communication skills.

Recommendations for Communicating with Older Adults During Telehealth Encounters

Equitable and Accessible Care Accounts for Older Adults’ Physical and Cognitive Differences