Gerontologist最新文献

Background and objectives: Sexual health is essential to older adults' quality of life, yet it remains understudied due to ageism. This review aims to explore how different forms of ageism influence the sexual health of older adults.

Research design and methods: Whittemore and Knafl's five-step integrative review method served as guideline of this review. A systematic search was performed across multiple databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost published before January 2025. The search combined keywords related to ageism, sexual health, and older adult. A reference list search of all included publications was conducted to identify additional studies. Quality appraisal of the included studies was evaluated using Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool while Gough's weight of evidence framework was used to assess the level of evidence. Data extraction was organized in spreadsheets, and research themes were synthesized using the constant comparison method.

Results: Out of 634 records identified, 29 studies were included in the review. Evidence suggests that both societal and internalized ageism negatively impacts sexual health in older adults, including: (1) stigmatizing sexuality in aging population, (2) neglecting intimate and private environments for older adults, (3) decreased experience of sexual pleasure among older adults, (4) overlooked sexual health concerns in later life, and (5) underestimation of sexual violence against older adults.

Discussion and implications: This review indicates that ageism negatively impacts various aspects of sexual health in older adults. Sexual health awareness of older adults should be enhanced by mitigating ageism toward older adults.

Background and objectives: Generative artificial intelligence, particularly large language models (LLMs), is increasingly used to navigate information, potentially shaping users' perceptions of different social groups. This study examines age-related stereotypes in LLM-generated text using natural language processing (NLP) techniques.

Research design and methods: To ensure neutrality, extensive pilot testing was conducted to craft a prompt that did not elicit bias yet generated coherent responses. The final prompt, "Describe the personality of a [AGE]-year-old person," was used with OpenAI's GPT-4o API in February 2025, varying AGE from 10 to 90 in 10-year increments. The analysis was guided by the Stereotype Content Model, which assesses social cognition along two key dimensions: warmth (sociability, morality) and competence (ability, assertiveness). Scores were quantified using sentence embeddings.

Results: Text similarity and stereotype content analyses revealed three age clusters, with older adults showing the most internal consistency. Descriptions of individuals aged 60 years and above featured relatively higher warmth but lower competence compared to younger groups. Notably, positive assertiveness terms were rarely used to describe older adults.

Discussion and implications: Findings suggest that GPT-4o may embed subtle age-related stereotypes, even when using largely positive language. These patterns potentially influence user perceptions through repeated exposure. Future research should investigate the mechanisms behind these biases and explore mitigation strategies to promote more age-inclusive artificial intelligence-generated content.

Background and objectives: Artificial intelligence (AI) combined with smart sensors or conversational agents are becoming part of our lives, and have the potential to improve aging in place by supporting independent living. Trust and willingness to use AI seem essential for actual embedding. Explainable AI (XAI), originating from the recognition that AI infrastructures often operate in an opaque, "black boxed" way, might assist in understanding the underlying logic of AI-made decisions. However, it is unknown what older adults think about XAI and what they consider as needed explainability.

Research design and methods: I conducted 28 semi-structured interviews to explore XAI in the worlds of older adults. Inductive analysis was applied to analyze what do older adults know about AI and how do they imagine our society with AI? What is XAI to them and how do they value explainability?

Findings: The analysis resulted in nine themes: four regarding the knowledge on AI of older adults, including definitions, knowledge acquisition, attitudes, and expectations, and five themes were leading for the views on XAI in which XAI is not desirable, XAI is necessary, or collaboration is preferred.

Discussion and implications: The visions of XAI are different from current technological discourses. For older adults, XAI is not only technological, but a constellation between humans and machines. Most argue that a form of joint decision-making is important. As a follow-up, it seems recommended to explore the enactment of XAI in real life, and investigate the form or degree of XAI needed and for whom.

Background and objectives: The global ageing population calls for innovative strategies to support healthy ageing. Community organized/sponsored activities (COAs) are community-led nonclinical activities, typically facilitated by community centers, volunteers or peers, designed to promote social participation, interpersonal connections and enhanced well-being. COAs are increasingly promoted to enhance older adults' health. As research on their health impact is fragmented, this systematic review aims to synthesize evidence on the relationship between distinct COAs and health outcomes among older adults, focusing on physical, mental, behavioral health, and overall well-being.

Research design and methods: A search of PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science identified peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 2004 and 2024. Eligible studies examined COAs and health outcomes in older adults. Study quality was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) tool, and thematic analysis classified activities into six types across four health dimensions.

Results: Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Physical, social, and volunteer activities consistently correlated with improved physical health outcomes, including enhanced mobility and reduced disability risk. Social activities also correlated with better mental health, reducing depressive symptoms. However, associations between educational/cultural and health promotion activities with behavioral health were less clear. Studies lacking specified activity types produced mixed findings, highlighting a need for standardized classifications.

Discussion and implications: COAs significantly contribute to healthy ageing, particularly enhancing physical and mental health. Future research should adopt standardized classifications and longitudinal designs to clarify causal relationships and subgroup differences, guiding targeted activities and fostering age-friendly communities.

Background and objectives: Effective education on Alzheimer's disease (AD) requires methods fostering empathy, confidence, and knowledge. Artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced virtual reality (VR) provides immersive experiences potentially superior to traditional modalities. No previous studies have compared VR immersive learning experiences to analogous computer-based or in-person embodiment exercises. This quasi-experimental study compared the efficacy of an AI-enhanced VR scenario, "Beatriz," with computer-based and face-to-face methods in improving students' confidence, empathy, and knowledge of AD.

Research design and methods: A quasi-experimental design included 173 undergraduate health science students assigned to AI-enhanced VR, computer-based, or face-to-face modalities depicting early, middle, and late AD stages. Confidence, empathy, and knowledge were measured via pre-post surveys. Repeated measures analysis of variance values determined significant differences.

Results: All groups significantly improved confidence across AD stages post-intervention. The VR group showed greater improvement specifically in early-stage confidence. VR also significantly increased empathy compared to other modalities. No modality significantly improved factual knowledge of AD symptoms.

Discussion and implications: AI-enhanced VR effectively improved empathy and early-stage confidence, suggesting strong benefits for dementia education. However, it did not surpass traditional methods in improving factual knowledge. AI-driven VR has promising implications for enhancing therapeutic and caregiving practices for aging populations. Further research should explore long-term impacts and direct older adult care applications.

Background and objectives: Family caregiving is common in U.S. Hispanic/Latino populations. Using the Sociocultural Stress and Coping Model framework, the researchers examined the prevalence, duration, and reported stress levels of caregivers from different heritage groups in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (unweighted-n = 5,313).

Research design and methods: The researchers generated target population specific prevalence and mean estimates of study variables and compared between those who reported caregiving and those who did not. Then, for care providers, the researchers generated prevalence and mean estimates of study variables by Hispanic/Latino heritage. Lastly, they fit a series of survey generalized linear models to examine the associations between the proposed variables and the outcomes reflecting caregiving and caregiving experiences.

Results: Nearly two in five individuals in this study were involved in caregiving. In models adjusting for demographic covariates, participants of Mexican heritage were most likely to report caregiving for others but were less likely to report caregiving for more than 6 months. Older age and foreign-birth were linked to increased odds ratios of providing care. On average, Central Americans and Puerto Ricans reported higher levels of stress associated with caregiving.

Discussion and implications: Understanding the nuanced characteristics of caregivers from varying Hispanic/Latino heritage groups can facilitate the development of tailored caregiver interventions to address stress associated with being a caregiver and its impact on health.

Background and objectives: Participatory arts have been identified as having health and well-being benefits. While there are many forms of arts participation being studied, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore what it is like for older women to tap dance.

Research design and methods: A purposive, convenience sample of 14 dancers aged 48-79 years participated in the study. Data were collected from individual interviews, class observations, and a focus group.

Results: Physical, cognitive, and social-emotional benefits, meaning and purpose, as well as opportunities for self-expression and creativity were noteworthy benefits of tap dancing for these women. The safe, relatable environment created by their "older" teacher was significant for this cohort as well.

Discussion and implications: This study adds to existing knowledge of the value of arts engagement for older adults as it explicates the intrinsic value of tap dancing as well how the environment created at the studio where the study took place positively influenced participants' experiences. As arts engagement gains traction and healthcare professionals proactively refer clients to community-based programs and services that promote creative, expressive art forms, tap dancing, with its multidimensional sensory-motor and social benefits, has the potential to uniquely and positively influence well-being.

Background and objectives: Older adults' personal views of aging (VoA) can shape health and well-being outcomes. This study explores how non-kin social interactions within a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) influence the development and reinforcement of personal VoA before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research design and methods: This qualitative study was nested within an ongoing ethnographic project in a Midwestern U.S. CCRC. Data included 22 resident interviews contextualized by 2 months of ethnographic fieldwork and participant observation. Interviews and field notes were analyzed using thematic analysis to explore how non-kin social interactions affect the multidimensional aspects of VoA, including losses and growth in physical functioning, cognitive abilities, and socioemotional experiences.

Results: Findings show that non-kin interactions played a dual role in buffering against and reinforcing negative VoA. They buffered residents by replenishing social networks, reducing isolation, encouraging health behaviors, and fostering solidarity. At the same time, peer and staff interactions reminded residents of decline and death, reinforcing stereotypes and leading to othering and patronizing behaviors. These dynamics mirror prior studies yet highlight the unique salience of non-kin ties in CCRCs. The timing of data collection suggests that the pandemic amplified rather than fundamentally altered the benefits and risks of peer influence on VoA.

Discussion and implications: Personal VoA is multidimensional and sensitive to social environments. Friendships and non-kin ties are pivotal in shaping how older adults interpret their own aging, with potential to both promote and undermine positive VoA and well-being.

Background and objectives: Black Americans have the highest rates of hypertension worldwide, yet the social and psychological mechanisms driving this disparity in older adulthood are not well established. Discrimination is theorized as a salient chronic stressor with implications for cardiovascular health, though findings linking discrimination to hypertension remain mixed. This study examined the role of positive reappraisal, a coping strategy, as a moderator of the association between discrimination and hypertension among older Black adults.

Research design and methods: Data were drawn from the Nashville Stress and Health Study, a population-based sample in Davidson County, Tennessee. Analyses focused on 273 Black respondents aged 50 and older. Modified Poisson regression models with robust standard errors were used to estimate direct associations between discrimination and positive reappraisal with physician-diagnosed hypertension, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. We then included a discrimination x positive reappraisal interaction to this model.

Results: Greater discrimination was associated with lower hypertension risk (RR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.79-0.99). Positive reappraisal was not directly associated with hypertension, but the discrimination x positive reappraisal interaction was significant (RR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.02-1.12), indicating that the association between discrimination and hypertension varied by levels of positive reappraisal.

Discussion and implications: Findings highlight the complex, context-dependent ways that older Black adults cope with racism-related stress. While positive reappraisal may buffer hypertension risk when discrimination is low, alternative strategies may be more protective when discrimination is high. These results underscore the need for culturally grounded interventions that address both exposure and coping in promoting cardiovascular health equity.

Background and objectives: Centenarians represent a growing demographic that remains under-theorized in gerontology. Subsumed within the broader category of the oldest old, they are often examined through a biomedical lens, which tends to frame extreme old age as the final stage of decline. While a number of qualitative, interview-based studies have explored centenarians' views and experiences, these accounts have not yet been systematically reviewed or conceptually integrated, leaving a gap in our understanding of this phase of life. This study aimed to synthesize and reinterpret existing qualitative research on centenarians.

Research design and methods: Through six English-language databases this meta-ethnography identified and included qualitative studies that captured the first-order constructs of centenarians and the second-order constructs of primary researchers, which informed our third-order interpretations. Study quality was appraised against the CASP Qualitative Checklist, and we followed the 19 steps of the eMERGe reporting guidelines.

Results: From 28 included studies, involving a total count of 359 centenarians with potential sample overlap, five lines of argument were constructed: (a) reaching 100 as a continuation of everyday life; (b) resilience shaped by loss; (c) staying connected through people and space; (d) autonomy in physical and mental health, and (e) reconsidering the meaning of life and death after losing loved ones.

Discussion and implications: Our findings invite a reconsideration of late life as a space of continuous meaning-making, marked by intergenerational connection, resonant loss, and autonomy in care and end-of-life choices. Further research should incorporate centenarians who were not represented in the reviewed studies.