| Abstrakt: |
Clinical research in geriatrics, to date, has focused on the ambulatory and acutely ill patient populations. However, the unique host, disease, and environmental factors common to the nursing home resident and facility underline the need to study drug use and response in the long-term care facility. Five specific areas require investigation: efficacy, safety, dosages, utilization, and cost. To adequately study these topics, interdisciplinary research teams may use methodologies from various backgrounds, including the biologic, agricultural, epidemiologic, economic, and ethnographic research traditions. Even with the numerous methodologies available, significant procedural and design issues confront the development and performance of long-term care research. While procedural problems usually involve legal and administrative issues, methodologic concerns often stem from the need to deal with multiple confounding variables or the limitations of available research tools and clinical data bases. Continued improvement in the existing quality-of-life and functional assessment instruments as well as the development of computerized nursing home data bases will enhance clinical research in the long-term care facility. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
