UNMC’s College of Nursing and Nebraska Health System will host Lois Evans, D.N.Sc., as its Visiting Nurse Scholar, Oct. 14 and 15. Dr. Evans, Viola MacInnes/Independence Professor in Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, is one of the nation’s foremost researchers in the care of the elderly.
Dr. Evans conducted research on reducing the use of restraints on frail elders in the nation’s nursing homes and hospitals, ultimately developing a new model of individual care for frail elders to reduce the use of physical restraints in nursing homes and hospitals. The work has brought international attention to the problems of frail elders in nursing homes and hospitals and has been influential in setting clear standards and policy for care.
Dr. Evans and her colleagues were the first to carry out a systematic, randomized trial to reduce restraints in nursing homes. Findings have influenced the care of older people not only at the bedside but at the policy level as well.
The research has been supported by the National Institute on Aging, the Commonwealth Fund, and the Alzheimer’s Association and honored by the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) with its prestigious Doris Schwartz Gerontological Nursing Research Award.
While at UNMC/NHS
During her visit, Dr. Evans will consult with, and make presentations to UNMC and NHS faculty, staff and students. She will present “Building an evidence base for individualized restraint-free care” Oct. 15, from 11 to 12:30 p.m. in the College of Nursing, Room 2018. The presentation also will be broadcast live to: Lincoln, Teachers College, Room 202; College of Nursing Kearney Division, Room 144W; and the College of Nursing West Nebraska Division, Room 205.
Individualized care
“The vital importance of gerontologic and geropsychiatric nursing for an aging society is underscored by rapidly shifting demographics, both nationally and globally,” Dr. Evans said. “Development of knowledge that will help to provide individualized care to the most vulnerable among older adults, especially those with dementia, is crucial. Our research on clinical problems of frail elders is contributing to assuring quality of life for this high risk population.”
Research helps reduce use of restraints
In 1986, nearly 40 percent of elders in nursing homes were physically restrained everyday, Dr. Evans said. Today, restraints are used far less and are due partly because of her and her colleagues’ benchmark studies to reduce the use of physical restraints.
Through the research, Dr. Evans repeatedly demonstrated that physical restraints, intended to keep frail elders from harm, does not protect patients from falling, wandering, or removing tubes or dressings. On the contrary, physical restraints may actually cause serious injuries and emotional and physical problems, Dr. Evans said.
The research helped change the physical restraint practice with educational programs and consultation by advanced practice nurses. Instead, they promote using individualized, restraint-free care without increased staff, psychotropic drug use, or patient injuries.
Activities, awards
A fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, Dr. Evans serves as co-director for the John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, the Center for Gerontologic Nursing Science, and the Delaware Valley Geriatric Education Center. She is president of the Association of Women Faculty and Administrators at the University of Pennsylvania, and chair-elect of the Clinical Medicine Section of the Gerontological Society of America.
Together with her colleague, Neville Strumpf, Ph.D., she has received numerous awards for her research including the prestigious Baxter Episteme Award from Sigma Theta Tau International, the Maes MacInnis Award, and most recently the Doris Schwartz Gerontological Nursing Research Award.