Ageing International最新文献

Objectives

The cognitive function of older adults is an important indicator of healthy aging. Living arrangements have been identified as a potentially important factor affecting cognitive function among older adults. This study investigated the relationship between living arrangements and cognitive function among older adults aged 65 years and older in Kermanshah City, Iran.

Methods

The cross-sectional study design was used in this study. Participants aged 65 years and older in Kermanshah City, Iran were recruited for the study. The Neuropsychiatric Unit Cognitive Assessment (NUCOG) was used to assess cognitive function, and demographic information was collected to assess living arrangements.

Results

The study found that cognitive function was generally within the normal range among older adults, and that age, education level, and living arrangements were significantly associated with cognitive performance.

Discussion

These results highlight the importance of considering demographic factors when developing interventions aimed at promoting cognitive health among older adults.

The study aimed to explore the relationship between social support and perceived stress, considering self-efficacy as a mediator, in caregivers of older adult hemodialysis patients. This descriptive, cross-sectional study involved 252 primary caregivers of older patients. Participants were selected through a convenience sampling method from dialysis centers in Qazvin province, Iran. Data were collected using demographic checklists, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, general self-efficacy, and Cohen’s Perceived Stress questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed using multivariable regression models. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was run to determine the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between social support and perceived stress. The mean age of caregivers who participated in the study was 44.9 ± 13.16 years. Most were women (144; 57.10%) and married (200; 79.4%). The results of the regression model showed a significant association between perceived stress and both social support [β (SE): -0.24(0.07), p < 0.001] and self-efficacy [β(SE): -0.58(0.06), p < 0.001]. The results also confirmed the mediating role of self-efficacy in the association between social support and perceived stress (p < 0.001). The results of the present study showed a significant and negative association between social support and perceived stress with self-efficacy as a mediator among caregivers of older patients under hemodialysis. Greater attention should be given to promoting caregivers’ self-efficacy to reduce their perceived stress.

The pandemic has undoubtedly affected almost every aspect of life for people around the world. However, the most affected are older adults living in developing countries like India. In fact, the second wave of the pandemic in India was the most devastating wave so far. Now that the worst appears to be over, there is a need to study the impact of the pandemic on the wellbeing of older adults recovering from the virus in the country. Hence, the aim of the present study is to examine the long-term impact of covid 19 on older adults, its connection with wellbeing, and the role of social workers in their recovery. A total of 203 older adults from India took part in the study. The results show that the majority of the respondents have poor wellbeing and have been more frequently plagued by chest pain, fatigue, and isolation, ever since they became infected. Moreover, respondents who are female, those with co-morbidities, and are suffering from other problems such as frequent chest pain, fatigue, and feelings of isolation, have lower levels of wellbeing. The implications of social work practice have also been discussed in the full paper.

The rapid pace of ageing raises concerns regarding financial security, health and long-term care and place for older people to live as they age. This paper examined the factors associated with preference to age in place (AIP) among 2231 respondents aged 60 and older from the Malaysia Ageing and Retirement Survey (MARS). The Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CATPCA) was utilized to identify variables that represent family supports, social connectedness and social participation. 75% of the respondents indicated that they would like to age in place with the binary logistic regression showing a greater likelihood among respondents with strong family and social connectedness, having a spouse, being non-Chinese and being in a good health condition. Urban respondents, with a high individual capacity and social participation, are less likely to age in place. There is a need to strengthen the family institutions and communities, providing incentives and support to promote ageing in place and empower them to remain sustainable for future generations.

Unresolved family conflicts regarding caring for older adults can devastate their overall health, well-being, and the quality of care from their support networks. To better understand conflict in the context of caring for older populations, this study developed and piloted a new screening tool, the Eldercaring Conflict Checklist (ECC). The ECC was developed to help professionals provide targeted responses and interventions. The ECC is based on a literature review focusing on the factors associated with the typologies of family conflict in caring for older populations. A diverse sample of 157 professionals serving older populations in conflict answered an online survey using a case study vignette and the ECC. The ECC's validity, reliability, and factor structure were analyzed and explored quantitatively and by coding emerging themes in open-ended qualitative questions in the survey. The respondents reported that the ECC is comprehensive and useful, indicating its value as an intake screening tool and helpful for reliably and thoroughly assessing and measuring conflict within older adult family relations. Results show that the ECC demonstrates very high internal validity and model fit indices for the entire ECC, and each of the eight factors showed promising results. Implications are discussed regarding working with families within eldercaring coordination and elder mediation.

Dementia affects 50 million people worldwide and that number may treble by 2050, yet there are not many studies for this population, especially when they are living in homes for the aged. Regarding the latest published evidence, this study is a systematic review to investigate the effects of exercise on the physical, functional and cognitive capacity of institutionalized older adults with dementia. Searches were performed on Medline, PEDro, Lilacs, Scielo and Cochrane Library and this review follows the PRISMA guidelines, including only randomized controlled trials. The quality of studies was graded according to PEDro and the strength of the current evidence using the GRADE approach. This study is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021232166). A total of ten studies met the inclusion criteria, with a sample of 876 participants with a mean age of 80 years old. The interventions were diversified, with multicomponent exercises, high-intensity functional training and activities of daily living training. The duration varied from three to six months and frequency averaged from two to three times a week. Studies suggested interventions with low technology, easy to implement and observed improvement in physical, functional and cognitive capacity, however there is no consistent evidence of which is the most suitable intervention. More studies should be encouraged considering the different types of dementia and levels of impairment, considering this is a diverse population that could benefit from physical exercise.

This literature review explores the impact of COVID-19 upon the residential aged care (RAC) workforce during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including the workforce from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. It also considers COVID-19 related interventions for the RAC workforce. The databases ProQuest, PubMed, Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Google Scholar and Cochrane Central were searched in April and May 2022. Twenty-six studies were identified which were related to the impact of COVID-19 on the RAC workforce, including four studies on the CALD workforce. Many studies highlighted the impact of COVID-19 upon workforce shortages, workplace demands, worker wellbeing, and intention to quit the profession. The importance of workplace communication and support strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic were also underlined. Issues pertinent to the CALD workforce included understanding dementia, vaccine hesitancy and the impact of aged care, migration and labour market policies on the workforce. Workforce factors, including poor working conditions (and lack of paid leave) had a significant impact upon COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Conversely, responding to COVID-19 impacted workforce mental health. There is a need for workforce support policies and research which consider organisational communication, work-life balance, and specific training and support needs of workers from CALD backgrounds, who comprise a significant proportion of the aged care workforce in Australia and many other countries.

The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge on the theoretical concept of elder neglect (EN), analyze definitions used by researchers and identify their characteristics with the view to consistent understanding of the phenomenon. The literature search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science and CINAHL using keywords associated with elder neglect. Articles published between 1990 and 2020, including a definition of EN, were taken into consideration. From 7,821 articles found in the initial search, 85 relevant studies were selected for the final evaluation. Most frequently, researchers described neglect as a form of elder abuse or mistreatment, within the framework of the official and internationally used definitions. The review demonstrates inconsistency in identification of EN, but common characteristics are possible to identify in its theoretical concepts. The selected conceptual elements allow to develop a new comprehensive definition of EN.

This descriptive study was carried out to investigate the relationship between the attitudes of nurses working at a university hospital towards older people and their compassion levels. The sample of the study comprised 432 nurses working at a university hospital. The data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the University of California at Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitudes Scale, and the Compassion Scale. In the analysis of the data, frequencies, percentages, arithmetic mean values, tests for the significance of the difference between two mean values, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and Pearson’s correlation test were used. The attitudes of the participants towards older adults were positive (47.18 ± 6.40), and their compassion levels were high (4.08 ± 0.41). There was a significant positive correlation between the participants’ mean scores on the University of California at Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitudes Scale and the Compassion Scale (r = 0.313). The participants had positive attitudes towards elderly individuals and high compassion levels. As the participants’ compassion levels increased, so did their mean University of California at Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitudes Scale scores. Gender, length of service, working unit, status of living with an older person, and compassion were identified as predictors of University of California at Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitudes Scale scores. The use of methods likely to increase compassion in nurses’ education and professional life may increase their perception of attitudes towards older age and thus ensure that older people receive quality healthcare.

Available statistics show that the population of older adults in Ghana increased from 200,000 in 1960 to two million in 2021, with females comprising 57% of this population. This increase in the size of the older Ghanaian population has research, policy, and practice implications. Qualitative research has rarely explored the psychological health of older Ghanaians by paying attention to the emotions and feelings they experience and the reasons they give for those emotions and feelings. The current study aimed to fill the gap by exploring emotions and feelings that underlay the psychological well-being of older persons in Ghana and the subjective reasons behind their feelings. Twenty-three adults aged 60 years plus (14 male vs 9 female) provided interview data that were analyzed thematically, and psychological well-being perspectives provided a framework to make sense of the data. The findings show that participants’ psychological well-being belongs to three subthemes of psychological functioning: high positive functioning; low negative functioning; and high negative functioning. These subthemes translated into three main themes: pride of conquest; being older can be depressing; and, living with regret, respectively. Overall, the findings suggest that participants’ psychological well-being is a confluence of flourishing mental health and depression. It is concluded that older Ghanaians experience a mixture of positive and negative emotions and feelings, and, therefore, a blend of good mental health and depression. One reason for positive psychological well-being is that older adults are happy about living longer, and satisfied with what they have accomplished. They are also proud of their continued social contribution, and look forward to health and happiness in retirement. However, fear of death and worries over what the future holds for children, despair over the debilitating effects of sickness, abusive experience, poverty, and the shame of being accused of witchcraft and ostracized, among others are reasons for depression in this population. The research and practice implications of these findings are outlined.