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interRAI provides a suite of standardized, validated instruments used to assess health and psychosocial well-being, and to inform person-centered care planning. Data obtained from these standardized tools can also be used at a population level for research and to inform policy, and interRAI is currently used in more than 40 countries globally. We present a brief overview of the use of interRAI internationally within research and policy settings, and then introduce how interRAI is used within the universal public health system in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), including considerations relating to Māori, the Indigenous people of NZ. In NZ, improvement in interRAI data utilization for research purposes was called for from aged care, health providers, and researchers, to better use these data for quality improvement and health advancement for New Zealanders. A national research network has been established, providing a medium for researchers to form relationships and collaborate on interRAI research with a goal of translating routinely collected interRAI data to improve clinical care, patient experience, service development, and quality improvement. In 2023, the network members met (hybrid: in-person and online) and identified research priorities. These were collated and developed into a national interRAI research agenda by the NZ interRAI Research Network Working Group. Research priorities included reviewing the interRAI assessment processes, improving methods for data linkage to national data sets, exploring how Indigenous Data Sovereignty can be upheld, as well as a variety of clinically focused research topics. Implications for Practice, Policy, and Research: This appears to be the first time national interRAI research priorities have been formally identified. Priorities identified have the potential to inform quality and clinical improvement activities and are likely of international relevance. The methodology described to cocreate the research priorities will also be of wider significance for those looking to do so in other countries., Competing Interests: Disclosure All authors are members of the New Zealand interRAI Research Network. G.C., H.A.J., and B.M. are interRAI fellows. G.L.S. is an employee of Te Whatu Ora - interRAI NZ. N.M.K. is a member of the NZ interRAI Leadership Advisory Board., (Copyright © 2024 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on falls rates in long-term care residents with cognitive impairment., Design: An observational study using routinely collected national interRAI data., Setting and Participants: Participants were from long-term care residents (age ≥60 years) who received an interRAI Long Term Care Facility assessment anywhere in New Zealand between August 17, 2018, and August 16, 2022., Methods: The primary outcome was "At least 1 fall in the last 30 days." Based on the Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS), cognitive impairment was categorized into 3 levels: intact or borderline intact (0-1), mild to moderate impairment (2-3), and moderately to very severe impairment (4-6). The COVID-19 pandemic was divided into 3 periods (First wave: March 21, 2020, to June 8, 2020; Varying level of community outbreaks: June 9, 2020 to August 16, 2021; and Delta-Omicron wave: August 17, 2021, to August 16, 2021) and compared to a pre-COVID-19 period (August 17, 2018, to March 20, 2020). Cox regression modeling was used to study falls and interactions between CPS and COVID-19 pandemic periods, along with other established falls risk factors in the literature., Results: A total of 282,518 interRAI-LTCF assessments from 75,132 unique residents were included. Interactions between CPS and COVID-19 pandemic periods found that cognitive impairment was associated with a higher hazard ratio (ranged from 1.22 to 1.37) in each of the 3 COVID-19 pandemic periods. We also found unstable health, unsteady gait, wandering, and moderate to severe ADL dependency were the strongest risk factors for falls., Conclusions and Implications: Cognitively impaired long-term care residents had an increased risk for falls during the COVID-19 pandemic. This risk was influenced by several factors. In future pandemic or infection control related isolation, residents who are most at risk can be identified for targeted falls prevention programs., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Oral health is known to be associated with general health, but longitudinal relationships between oral health and general health indicators have not yet been fully explored in international research., Setting and Participants: The sample consisted of 3 longitudinal databases: a sample from Belgium from the Protocol 3 project (n = 8359), a combined sample from 6 European countries (n = 2501) from the IBenC study (Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands), and a sample from New Zealand (n = 15,012). All clients were 65 years or older and received long-term home care services., Methods: Bayesian models were used to analyze the associations between 3 oral health indicators (chewing difficulty, nonintact teeth, and dry mouth) and 4 aspects of general health (activities of daily living functioning, cognition, depression, and health instability). In addition, the models explored the associations between current oral health and general health status and future oral health and general health status., Results: Clients who had poorer oral health had a higher risk of suffering from poor general health. Especially chewing difficulty was associated with all general health indicators in all data sets (odds ratios > 1). Dry mouth and nonintact teeth showed significant associations with almost all general health indicators. Additionally, having poor oral health (respectively general health) was predictive of poor general health (respectively oral health) at future assessments (significant cross-lagged parameters)., Conclusions/implications: The results point out the need of the inclusion of oral health assessment and advice from dentists or oral health practitioners into the multidisciplinary conversation. In addition, identifying older people with oral health problems is essential in order to provide treatment and monitoring. Raising awareness for oral health is important, and policy makers should foster oral health promotion and care for older adults in order to keep them in good health., (Copyright © 2019 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)