Loeb M, Brazil K, Durand P, Gordon M, Krueger P, Lewis D, Lohfeld L, McGeer A, Nicolle L, Papaioannou A, Simor A E
Hamilton Regional Laboratory Program, Mc Master University, Hamilton, Canada.
BMC Geriatr. 2001;1:1. doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-1-1.
Infections pose a substantial burden to the health of older adults. In this report, we describe the proceedings of a workshop to formulate and prioritize research questions about infections in older adults using an interdisciplinary approach.
Researchers from four sectors (basic science, clinical sciences, health services and epidemiology/determinants of health) and representatives from various Canadian local, provincial, and federal stakeholder groups were invited to a two-day workshop. Five multi-disciplinary groups and stakeholders from each of three healthcare settings (long term, acute care and community) discussed research priorities for each of the settings. Five to ten research questions were identified for each setting.
The research questions proposed ranged from risk factors and outcomes for different infections to the effect of nutrition on infection and the role of alternative and complementary medicine in treating infections. Health service issues included barriers to immunization, prolongation of hospital length of stay by infection, use of care paths for managing infections, and decision-making in determining the site of care for individuals with infections. Clinical questions included risk factor assessment for infection, the effectiveness of preventative strategies, and technology evaluation. Epidemiologic issues included the challenge of achieving a better understanding of respiratory infections in the community and determining the prevalence of colonization with multi-resistant bacteria.
The questions are of direct relevance to researchers in a wide variety of fields. Bringing together a multi-disciplinary group of researchers to frame and prioritize research questions about aging is feasible, participants valued the opinions of people working in other areas.
感染给老年人的健康带来了沉重负担。在本报告中，我们描述了一个研讨会的过程，该研讨会采用跨学科方法来制定有关老年人感染的研究问题并确定其优先级。
来自四个领域（基础科学、临床科学、卫生服务以及流行病学/健康决定因素）的研究人员以及加拿大各地方、省级和联邦利益相关者团体的代表受邀参加了为期两天的研讨会。五个多学科小组以及来自三种医疗环境（长期护理、急性护理和社区护理）中每个环境的利益相关者讨论了每个环境的研究重点。为每个环境确定了五到十个研究问题。
提出的研究问题范围广泛，从不同感染的风险因素和结果到营养对感染的影响以及替代医学和补充医学在治疗感染中的作用。卫生服务问题包括免疫接种的障碍、感染导致的住院时间延长、使用感染管理护理路径以及确定感染患者护理地点的决策。临床问题包括感染的风险因素评估、预防策略的有效性以及技术评估。流行病学问题包括更好地了解社区呼吸道感染的挑战以及确定多重耐药菌定植的患病率。
这些问题与众多领域的研究人员直接相关。召集一个多学科研究小组来构建有关老龄化的研究问题并确定其优先级是可行的，参与者重视其他领域工作人员的意见。
