The development of neuropsychological assessment methods using virtual reality (VR) is a valid and promising option for the detection of cognitive impairment in the older people, focusing on activities composed of tasks of multiple demands. This study verified the association of age, schooling, and general cognitive status on the performance of neurologically healthy older adults in ECO-VR, a virtual reality task of multiple demands for neuropsychological assessment. A total of 111 older adults answered a sociodemographic (...) questionnaire, the Mini Mental State Examination, the Vocabulary subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults (third edition), and the ECO-VR. Correlation analyses, multiple linear regression, and comparisons between groups (effects by age and schooling groups) were used to evaluate the results. The ECO-VR total score was significantly associated with age, years of education, MMSE, and Vocabulary subtest. The linear regression models identified that age was the main predictor for total score and rule breaking of ECO-VR. According to the univariate analysis, it was identified the main effect of age group and schooling group in the total ECO-VR score, but there was no interaction effect. The results are discussed in order to understand the role of sociodemographic characteristics in the performance of older adults in a virtual reality task of multiple demands. It was also verified the possibility use of virtual reality for neuropsychological assessment of older adults. (shrink)

Central tenets of Freirean philosophy and pedagogy are explored and applied to the emerging field of older adults’ learning (educational gerontology), a sub-field of adult education. I argue that many of Freire’s concepts and principles have direct applicability to the tasks of adult educators working alongside marginalized older adults. In particular, Freire’s ideas fit comfortably within a critical educational gerontology approach as they challenge prevailing orthodoxies and provide a robust analytical framework from which radical adult (...) educators can work effectively in promoting social transformation. (shrink)

Background: Dignity is a multidimensional construct that includes perception, knowledge, and emotions related to competence or respect. Attitudes to aging are a comprehensive personal view of the experience of aging over the course of life, which can be influenced by various factors, such as the levels of health and self-sufficiency and social, psychological, or demographic factors. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes to aging of home-dwelling and inpatient older adults, and whether dignity and (...) other selected factors belong among the predictors influencing attitudes to aging in these two different groups of older adults. Research design: Cross-sectional study using a set of questionnaires: Patient Dignity Inventory, Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire, and Barthel Index. Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses and multivariable linear regression were used for statistical processing. Participants and research context: 233 inpatients and 237 home-dwelling older adults participated in the research in two regions of the Czech Republic. Ethical considerations: Institutional Review Board approval was received from the authors’ university. Findings: The inpatients had more negative attitudes to aging (M = 74.9±10.9; P <0.0001). The predictors of their attitudes to aging were gender and dignity. Women ( β = −2.969, P = 0.045) and inpatients with poor dignity ratings ( β = −0.332, P <0.0001) had more negative attitudes to aging. The predictors for home-dwelling older adults were education, living arrangement, and dignity. More negative attitudes to aging were found in older adults with lower levels of education ( β = 2.716, P = 0.007) who lived alone ( β = 2.163, P = 0.046) and rated their dignity as low ( β = −0.325, P <0.0001). Discussion and Conclusions: The results of this study add to the understanding that a sense of dignity is an important predictor of attitudes to aging for both home-dwelling older adults and inpatients. (shrink)

Based on the data of four periods of CLHLS, the latent variable growth model was applied to 2344 older adults who completed four follow-up surveys, to study the trajectory of leisure activities and cognitive ability and explore the relationship between leisure activities and cognitive ability of older adults. The results showed that: leisure activities and cognitive ability of older adults showed a non-linear downward trend; leisure activities significantly and positively predicted the cognitive ability of (...) older adults at every time point; the initial level of leisure activity positively predicted the initial level of cognitive ability but negatively predicted the rate of cognitive decline; In addition, cognitive activities had a greater effect on cognitive ability than non-exercise physical activities; the rate of decline of leisure activities also significantly and positively predicted the rate of decline of cognitive ability; cross-lagged regression analysis further suggested the overall positive predictive effect of leisure activity on cognitive ability; overall, education level had a significant contribution to cognitive ability, and the higher the education level, the slower the decline of cognitive ability; and smoking could promote cognitive ability in older adults and no significant effect was found between alcohol drinking and cognitive ability. Accordingly, the government should encourage older adults to do more leisure activities, especially the cognitive activity, to effectively prevent cognitive decline. (shrink)

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the physical and mental health of older adults has been threatened. Promoting physical and mental health through physical activity has therefore become a strategy for healthy aging. In order to better understand the impact of the participation of older adults in physical activity, this paper selects different types of physical activity, and examines the relationship between them and subjective well-being through the analysis of the mediation effect of outdoor exercise (...) environment and the regulating effect of exercise form. In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire survey was conducted in mainland China. The main data come from 903 older adults in five urban areas in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The surveys were carried out using the Physical Activity Rating Scale, Newfoundland Subjective Well-Being Scale, Exercise Environment Scale, and Exercise Form Scale. SPSS was used for statistical analysis, linear regression analysis was adopted for processing data, and AMOS was used to establish a mediation model. The mediating variable is the outdoor exercise environment, and the moderating variable is exercise form; gender, age, education level, and monthly income were used as control variables. The study results showed that different physical activities were significantly, positively correlated with the subjective well-being of older adults ; among the activities, tai chi had the strongest effect on the subjective well-being of older adults. Outdoor exercise environment played a mediating role between different physical activity types and subjective well-being of older adults [tai chi: β = 0.030, 95% CI ; health qigong: β = 0.018, 95% CI ; walking and jogging: β = 0.034, 95% CI ]. Exercise form moderated the subjective well-being of older adults in different physical activities. The results of this study demonstrate that the outdoor exercise environment plays a mediating role between different physical activities and the subjective well-being of older adults, and the form of exercise can also moderate the impact of different physical activities on the subjective well-being of older adults. This study has enlightening significance for psychological intervention with older adults facing stress, anxiety and depression. (shrink)

Verbal learning and memory summaries of older adults have usually been used to describe neuropsychiatric complaints. Bayesian hierarchical models are modern and appropriate approaches for predicting repeated measures data where information exchangeability is considered and a violation of the independence assumption in classical statistics. Such models are complex models for clustered data that account for distributions of hyper-parameters for fixed-term parameters in Bayesian computations. Repeated measures are inherently clustered and typically occur in clinical trials, education, cognitive psychology, (...) and treatment follow-up. The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test is a general verbal knowledge and memory assessment administered repeatedly as part of a neurophysiological experiment to examine an individual’s performance outcomes at different time points. Multiple trial-based scores of verbal learning and memory tests were considered as an outcome measurement. In this article, we attempted to evaluate the predicting effect of individual characteristics in considering within and between-group variations by fitting various Bayesian hierarchical models via the hybrid Hamiltonian Monte Carlo under the Bayesian Regression Models using ‘Stan’ package of R. Comparisons of the fitted models were done using leave-one-out information criteria, Widely applicable information criterion, and K-fold cross-validation methods. The full hierarchical model with varying intercepts and slopes had the best predictive performance for verbal learning tests [from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly study dataset] using the hybrid Hamiltonian-Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach. (shrink)

Population aging has brought great challenges to many regions throughout the world. Enhancing the sense of participation, access, and well-being of older adults is the goal of China’s aging development. This study, taking urban–rural difference as the entry point, examined the difference in subjective well-being between urban and rural older learners. A total of 2,007 older adults learners aged over 50 years were recruited in Zhejiang, Anhui, and Shandong Provinces in China, including 773 rural (...) class='Hi'>older adults and 1,234 urban older adults. This study found that there was a significant positive correlation between senior learning and the subjective well-being of urban and rural older adult learners. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the subjective well-being of urban and rural older adult learners’ and there was also an urban–rural difference between the effects of older adult learning on the subjective well-being. Based on the above findings, this study reveals the mechanism of the impact of older adult learning on subjective well-being of urban and rural older adults and gives relevant suggestions for improving the subjective well-being of urban and rural older learners. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention regarding end-of-life discussion directed at older Japanese adults and their attitude to and acceptance of this intervention. A quasi-experimental design was used. A total of 121 older adults, aged 65 years and over, consented to participate. Data from 55 intervention and 57 control participants were used for the analysis. The intervention consisted of an education program comprising a video, a lecture using (...) a handout, and discussion among participants. The control group received only the handout. Both groups were followed up after one month. The intervention group’s attitude became more favorable towards advance directives, especially living wills (P = 0.024). In addition, their expression of preference for life-sustaining treatment by means of artificial nutrition was less at follow up, demonstrating that these older adults had become more autonomous (P = 0.008). There was greater acceptance of the intervention as a whole by the intervention group compared with the control group (P = 0.011). Although few participants overall completed living wills, at follow up twice as many in the intervention group had discussed end-of-life matters with family members and/or their physician. (shrink)

Background: Human rights are an important part of nursing practice. Although there is increasing recognition regarding the importance of including human rights education in nursing education, few studies have focused on nursing students’ perspectives and experiences in relation to human rights in nursing, especially regarding older nursing home residents’ right to food. Objective: To explore nursing students’ perspectives and experiences in relation to the right to food. Research design: The study followed a qualitative interpretative research design. Data (...) were collected from multistage focus groups before, during and after clinical placement in a nursing home and analysed through thematic analysis. Participants and research context: Participants were 18 first-year nursing students; the study was conducted in 2017. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data. Findings: Students’ understanding of older nursing home residents’ right to food was a dynamic process. Their perceptions evolved from a polarized perspective to a reality orientation and finally to retrospective reflection. Discussion: The article discusses how nursing students learn about and understand human rights within and throughout their placements. Conclusion: The study bridges human rights theory and practice. Findings suggest that the human right to food must be enacted in daily practice for students to learn in context. Human rights education, specifically pertaining to nutritional care, thus benefits from a practice-oriented approach preparing students to face ‘real life’ challenges and ethical dilemmas. Findings will help nurse educators tailor education in this field. (shrink)

IntroductionThe present study aimed to evaluate the effects of the Active Communication Education program on the social/emotional impacts of hearing loss in a group of older adults with a cochlear implant.DesignProspective cohort study design, with a “within-subject” control procedure.Study SampleTwenty adults over-65 post-lingually deafened CI users. All subjects were required to be native Italian speakers, to have normal cognitive level, have no significant psychiatric conditions and/or diagnosed incident dementia, and used CI for at least 9 months.Materials (...) and MethodsTwenty participants were assessed using the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly, the Geriatric Depression Scale, and the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale before, during, and after ACE program, with a one and 6-month follow up. The cognitive and audiological evaluation was carried out before commencing the ACE program.ResultsThe ACE program had a positive impact by reducing HL’s social/emotional effects. Participants benefited from a rehabilitative approach by improving multilevel skills: comprehension of audiological and hearing dimensions, acquisition of communicative, pragmatic and problem-solving strategies, and interaction and sharing of experiences with peers.ConclusionAlthough targeting the older adults with moderate HL, the ACE program also seemed to benefit older adult CI users. An improvement in social and emotional adaptation to hearing difficulties can, in turn, significantly promote optimal use of CI in the older adults, thereby possibly reducing the risk of losing motivation and engagement in device use and in rehabilitation protocols. (shrink)

BackgroundHospitalized older adults frequently have impaired cognition and must rely on surrogates to make major medical decisions. Ethical standards for surrogate decision making are well delineated, but little is known about what factors surrogates actually consider when making decisions.ObjectivesTo determine factors surrogate decision makers consider when making major medical decisions for hospitalized older adults, and whether or not they adhere to established ethical standards.DesignSemi-structured interview study of the experience and process of decision making.SettingA public safety-net hospital (...) and a tertiary referral hospital in a large city in the Midwest United States.ParticipantsThe study included 35 surrogates with a recent decision-making experience for an inpatient aged 65 or older.MeasurementsThe key factors that surrogates considered when making decisions. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed using the grounded theory method of qualitative analysis.ResultsSurrogates considered patient-centered factors and surrogate-centered factors. Patient-centered factors included: respecting the patient’s input, using past knowledge of the patient to infer the patient’s wishes, and consider ing what is in the patient’s best interests. Some surrogates expressed a desire for more information about the patient’s prior wishes. Surrogate-centered factors included: surrogate’s wishes as a guide, surrogate’s religious beliefs and/or spirituality, surrogate’s interests, and family consensus.ConclusionOur study indicates that surrogate decision making is more complex than the standard ethical models, which are limited to considerations of the patient’s autonomy and beneficence. Because surrogates also imagine what they would want under the circumstances and consider their own needs and preferences, models of surrogate decision making must account for these additional considerations. Surrogates’ desire for more information about patients’ preferences suggests a need for greater advance care planning. (shrink)

BackgroundSexual minority (SM) older adults experience mental health disparities. Psychiatric disorders and neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are risk factors for cognitive decline. Although older people in same-sex (SSR) compared to mixed-sex relationships (MSR) perform more poorly on cognitive screening tests, prior studies found no differences in rates of dementia diagnosis or neuropsychological profiles. We sought to explore the role of NPS on neurocognitive outcomes for SM populations. We compared cognitive performance and structural brain parameters of older (...) class='Hi'>adults in SSR and MSR.MethodsData were originally collected at Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRCs). Inclusion criteria were: age of 55+ years, a study partner identified as a spouse/partner, and availability of T1-MRI brain volumes/thickness. Participants were labeled as either SSR or MSR based on their/their co-participant's reported sex. We identified 1,073 participants (1,037 MSR−555 cognitively unimpaired [CU]; 36 SSR−23 CU) with structural MRI data, Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) scores. A subset of the overall sample completed comprehensive neuropsychological assessment (n = 939; 908 MSR−494 CU; 31 SSR−22 CU). Covariates included in statistical models were age, sex, education, total intracranial volume, and apolipoprotein E genotype.ResultsMultivariate general linear models showed significant diagnosis-by-relationship interaction effects on the left parahippocampal gyrus volume. After stratification by relationship group, only cognitively impaired (CI) MSR had significantly smaller left parahippocampal volumes than MSR-CU. The SSR group showed better episodic memory performance. Severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms was negatively associated with volume/thickness of bilateral fronto-temporal areas and with MMSE scores, predominantly in the MSR group.ConclusionIn our study, MSR participants presented with a more compromised cognitive profile than SSR participants. MSR-CI participants showed significantly smaller left medio-temporal volumes, a neural signature of AD. Neuropsychiatric symptoms predicted smaller fronto-temporal volumes in the MSR more consistently than in the SSR group. These findings may be due to unexplored protective factors against cognitive decline in SM elders. Indeed, social support has been proposed as a protective factor warranting future investigation. (shrink)

AimThe aim of our study was to analyze physical activity levels, sitting time, physical fitness, and their relationship with depressive symptoms after home confinement in previously active older adults.MethodsThis cross-sectional study sample comprised 68 older adults from a community-based exercise program conducted in Porto, Portugal. After home confinement, participants were assessed in person for lower-body strength, cardiorespiratory fitness, agility/dynamic balance, handgrip strength, and anthropometry. Telephone interviews were performed to evaluate depressive symptoms with the Geriatric Depression Scale (...) – 15 items and physical activity levels through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Individuals were also asked to self-report changes in their physical activity levels and time spent sitting.ResultsNinety percent of older adults self-reported a decrease in overall physical activity levels, and nearly 65% increased daily sitting time during the home confinement. However, previously active older adults still presented high levels of physical fitness after 11 weeks of home confinement. Overall, 52.9% of participants scored 5 or more points on GDS-15, which is suggestive of depression. Higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness were found in the non-depressed group compared with the depressed group. Finally, results from multiple regression analysis revealed that MVPA was negatively associated with depression. This model explained 16.4% of the variability seen in depression score, controlled for age, gender, and education.ConclusionEven reporting a decline in physical activity, older adults who previously participated in a formal exercise program, still presented high levels of physical fitness after 11 weeks of home confinement. However, MVPA, but not physical fitness, seems to be an associated depression score in previously active older adults. These results reinforce the importance of older adults to remain physically active, since higher levels of MVPA may have a protective effect on depressive symptoms and, therefore, mitigate the negative impact of home confinement on mental health. Future longitudinal research studies are needed to ascertain these results. (shrink)

In France, continuing professional training is a national obligation within the framework of lifelong education (Law n° 71-575 of July 16, 1971). Although it is considered an essential tool for adapting skills in the second half of one’s career, older workers benefit less than their younger counterparts (Demailly, 2016). Some specialists also consider this population to be specific when it comes to training (Cau-Bareille et al., 2006; Kern, 2016; Tikkanen and Nyhan, 2009). In order to better understand the (...) interest and the educational issues of this public in terms of training engineering, this article proposes to explore this theme using a multidisciplinary approach. (shrink)

The growing number of older adults in America will result in an increasing demand for psychotherapists familiar with their psychological needs. To treat this population in an ethical manner, practitioners need to be aware of the unique characteristics of the aging process, especially in regards to age-related vulnerabilities, such as cognitive decline. Unfortunately, recent research has shown that those currently in practice do not have sufficient knowledge of the aging process and age specific issues of older (...) class='Hi'>adults. To address these deficits the American Psychological Association published a report outlining six general concepts: attitudes, general knowledge about adult development, clinical issues, assessment, intervention, and education. These concepts are described. Furthermore, this article extends the current thinking on ethical issues regarding older adults by addressing their vulnerabilities. In addition, ethical issues such as informed consent, confidentiality, and elder abuse are addressed as they apply to both clinical and research situations. In addition, methods of resolving these important issues are suggested throughout the article. A depiction of the ethical issues of psychologists working with older adults is provided and practical procedures to help psychologists perform with high ethical standards of care for this age group are offered. (shrink)

Associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and brain health in healthy older adults have been reported using a variety of cardiorespiratory fitness estimates. Using commonly used methods to determine CRF, we assessed the relationship between CRFe and executive function performance. Healthy older adults, underwent three CRF tests: a Maximal Graded Exercise Test performed on a cycle ergometer, the Rockport Fitness Walking Test, and a Non-Exercise Prediction Equation. Executive function was assessed by a computerized cognitive assessment using an N-Back (...) task and a Stroop task. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between different CRFe and executive function performance. Regardless of age and education, cardiorespiratory fitness estimated from the Maximal Graded Exercise Test and the Rockport Fitness Walking Test was significantly associated with the global switch cost. All CRFe were associated with the interference cost. No association was observed between CRFe and local switching costs or the updating costs. In the present study, not all subcomponents of executive function were related to CRFe. Interestingly, the executive functions that were associated with CRFe are those that are known to be the most affected by aging. (shrink)

Despite the police preventing special fraud victimisation of older adults, both the number of cases and the amount of damage have remained high in Japan. ‘Special fraud’, in Japan, is a crime in which victims are tricked by fraudsters who through phone or postcards impersonate the victims’ relatives, employees and other associates, to dupe the victims of their cash or other valuables. The number of recognised cases of special fraud has been turned to increase in 2021. Although police (...) or consumer affairs administrations have been conducting all-encompassing enlightenment or public education for prevention, it is also necessary to reach out to those who are vulnerable to fraud. In this study, we determine the psychosocial characteristics of victims of special fraud in Japanese older adults. We analysed the age, gender, education, residential status, household satisfaction, risk perception and scam vulnerability scale of 56 older adults aged 60 years or older who had been victims of special fraud and 99 older adults aged 60 years or older who had never been victims of special fraud. The study found that the victimised older adults were more likely to be females who live alone and go out less frequently than the non-victimised older adults. The total scores of the scam vulnerability scale were higher among the elderly victims of special fraud compared to those who had never been scammed, suggesting that the psychosocial characteristics of victims of special fraud among older adults are being female, living alone, going out infrequently, having high confidence against fraud victimisation and responding quickly to phone calls and unknown visitors. Therefore, government agencies or family members should take care of older women who meet these characteristics to reduce their contact with fraudsters. (shrink)

The present study aimed to reflect on the predictive role of socio-demographic characteristics (SDCs), moral sensitivity (MS) and moral distress (MD) in nurses’ ageism toward older adults. A total of 145 nurses were recruited to complete the main research instruments, i.e. a Sociodemographic Information Form, the Tool for Evaluating Ageism in Nursing Care of Older People, the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire and the Moral Distress Scale. The results of the study confirmed that gender and MS could predict nurses’ (...) ageism toward older adults. However, MD was not correlated with ageism. The results of the study could therefore contribute to the development of some strategies to improve nurses’ gerontological nursing knowledge and skills through continuing education. (shrink)

Chinese-speaking older adults usually do not perceive a hearing problem until audiometric thresholds exceed 45 dB HL, and the audiometric thresholds of the average hearing-aid user often exceed 60 dB HL. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between cognitive and hearing functions in older Chinese adults with HAs and with untreated hearing loss. Participants were 49 Chinese older adults who used HAs and had moderate to severe HL, and 46 (...) class='Hi'>older Chinese who had mild to moderately severe HL but did not use HAs. Multiple linear regression analysis was employed to evaluate how well age, education level, audiometric thresholds, and speech perception in noise were related to performance on general cognitive function, working memory, executive function, attention, and verbal learning tests. Results showed that speech perception in noise alone accounted for 13–25% of the variance in general cognitive function, working memory, and executive function in the UT group, and 9–21% of the variance in general cognitive function and verbal learning in the HA group. Audiometric thresholds did not explain any proportion of the variance in cognitive functioning in the HA or UT group. Thus, speech perception in noise accounts for more variance in cognitive performance than audiometric thresholds, and is significantly associated with different cognitive functions in older Chinese adults with HAs and with untreated HL. (shrink)

During normal aging there is a decline in cognitive functions that includes deficits in oral discourse production. A higher level of education and more frequent reading and writing habits might delay the onset of the cognitive decline during aging. This study aimed at investigating the effect of education and RWH on oral discourse production in older adults. Picture-based narratives were collected from 117 healthy adults, aged between 51 and 82 years with 0–20 years of formal (...) education. Measures of macro, microlinguistic and modalizations were computed and entered as dependent variables in hierarchical regression analyses that included age, education and RWH as regressors. Results revealed that higher education explained a better performance at the macrostructure and microstructure dimensions. Higher frequency of RWH explained the production of fewer modalizations. These results demonstrate the positive effect of education and RWH in oral discourse production in older adults. Therefore, higher attention should be given to these social factors. (shrink)

Older adults were considered a vulnerable group for the COVID-19 infection and its consequences, including problems with sleep.AimTo evaluate the prevalence of sleep disorders in older adults, to describe their sleep patterns, as well as to analyse if there were any changes in comparison with the period pre-pandemic.Materials and MethodsOnline survey used for data collection received answers from 914 elderly age range 65–90 years, from April to August 2020. Results: 71% of the sample reported a pre-existent (...) sleep disorder, and some of them worsened during the pandemic, especially Insomnia in women and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in men. No difference in sleep duration before and during the pandemic was found, although there was a worsening of some aspects related to sleep, such as sleep quality, sleep efficiency, awakening quality, sleep latency and nocturnal awakenings, especially in the female gender. Educational level influenced sleep latency, indicating higher sleep latency among those with primary education when compared with the ones with Ph.D.ConclusionThe pandemic had influenced sleep patterns among the elderly, as well as worsening of pre-existent sleep disorders. Female gender and low educational level were considered risk factors for sleep alterations, and high educational level, on its turn, appeared to be a protective factor. (shrink)

Working memory is developed in one region of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The dysfunction of this region leads to synaptic neuroplasticity impairment. It has been reported that several biochemical parameters and anthropometric measurements play a vital role in cognition and brain health. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between cognitive function, serum biochemical profile, and anthropometric measurements using DLPFC activation. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 35 older adults who experienced mild cognitive impairment. For (...) this purpose, we distributed a comprehensive interview-based questionnaire for collecting sociodemographic information from the participants and conducting cognitive tests. Anthropometric values were measured, and fasting blood specimens were collected. We investigated their brain activation using the task-based functional MRI, specifically in the DLPFC region. Positive relationships were observed between brain-derived neurotrophic factor and Mini-Mental State Examination ; however, negative relationships were observed between serum triglyceride and serum malondialdehyde with right DLPFC activation while the participants performed 1-back task after adjustments for age, gender, and years of education. In conclusion, higher serum triglycerides, higher oxidative stress, and lower neurotrophic factor were associated with lower right DLPFC activation among older adults with MCI. A further investigation needs to be carried out to understand the causal-effect mechanisms of the significant parameters and the DLPFC activation so that better intervention strategies can be developed for reducing the risk of irreversible neurodegenerative diseases among older adults with MCI. (shrink)

Research supporting cognitive reserve theory suggests that engaging in a variety of cognitive, social, and physical activities may serve as protective factors against age-related changes in mental functioning, especially if the activities are cognitively engaging. Individuals who participate in a variety of cognitive activities have been found to be more likely to maintain a higher level of cognitive functioning and be less likely to develop dementia. In this study, we explore the relationship between engaging in a variety of activities and (...) cognitive performance amongst 206 healthy older adults between the ages of 65–85. Age and years of education were found to be the most significant predictors of a global composite representing cognitive performance, consistent with previous work linking these variables to age-related changes in cognition and the cognitive reserve. We interpret these results to suggest that age and education are better predictors of global cognitive performance in older adults than self-reported activity engagement. (shrink)

PurposeOlder adults aged 60 years and above are classified as being of high-risk for infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the associations of psychological factors of preventive behaviors with three preventive behaviors among Chinese older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire survey was administered via SOJUMP, a widely used online survey platform in China. A total of 928 older adults were recruited using a snowball sampling approach from Hubei Province and (...) outside Hubei Province in China during May 18, 2020 to June 7, 2020. Multiple hierarchical regressions were conducted with four models to examine the association between demographic, past behavior, psychological factors and each preventive behavior.Principal FindingsAll three preventive behaviors in older adults increased dramatically during the pandemic of COVID-19. Gender, living status, educational level, past behavior, health knowledge, intention and planning significantly predicted hand washing behavior, R2 = 0.395, F = 54.372, p < 0.001. Gender, education level, important others infection, past behavior, health knowledge, planning and action control significantly predicted mask wearing behavior, R2 = 0.202, F = 23.197, p < 0.001. Living place, past behavior and health knowledge significantly predicted social distancing behavior, R2 = 0.204, F = 26.201, p < 0.001.Major ConclusionsPast behavior and health knowledge predicted all three preventive behaviors. Planning was an important psychological factor for both hand washing and mask wearing behaviors. All those critical demographic and psychological factors are critical for future interventions to facilitate older adults to comply with three preventive behaviors in daily life and to stay healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. (shrink)

Purpose: Studies of reactive and proactive modes of inhibitory control tend to show age-related declines and are accompanied by abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex. We explored which mode of inhibitory control would be more amenable to change and accrue greater benefits following engagement in a 4-week theater acting intervention in older adults. These gains were evaluated by performance on the AX-CPT task. We hypothesized that an increase in proactive control would relate to an increase in AY errors and (...) a decrease in BX errors. In contrast, an increase in reactive control would be associated with a decrease in AY errors, no change in AY reaction time, and an increase in BX response time. Further, we posited that an increase in behavioral proactive control would accompany greater cue versus probe activity for previously identified regions in the prefrontal cortex. In contrast, an increase in behavioral reactive control would be accompanied by greater probe activation in these identified brain areas.Materials and Methods: The participants were 179 community-dwelling adults aged 60–89 years who were on average, college-educated. Participants were pseudo-randomly assigned to either an active-experiencing acting intervention condition or the active control condition ; participant assignment was subject to time of enrollment. Participants in both groups were trained by theater-actor researchers with expertise in acting interventions. In contrast to the active control participants who attended a course on theater acting, the acting-intervention group was required to consistently deploy proactive and reactive control mechanisms. Both groups met two times/week for 75-min for 4 weeks. Participant brain-behavioral performance on the AX-CPT task was evaluated prior to and after this four-week period.Results: No intervention effects were found in favor of proactive control. Behavioral evidence in favor of reactive control was weak. Brain-related benefits to reactive control was illustrated by greater probe-activation in Brodmann areas 6 and 8, relative to controls and pre-intervention.Conclusion: We found some evidence for improvements in reactive control via brain measures, attributed to engagement in the acting intervention. (shrink)

Regular musical activity as a complex multimodal lifestyle activity is proposed to be protective against age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. This cross-sectional study investigated the association and interplay between musical instrument playing during life, multi-domain cognitive abilities and brain morphology in older adults from the DZNE-Longitudinal Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Study study. Participants reporting having played a musical instrument across three life periods were compared to controls without a history of musical instrument playing, well-matched for reserve proxies (...) of education, intelligence, socioeconomic status and physical activity. Participants with musical activity outperformed controls in global cognition, working memory, executive functions, language, and visuospatial abilities, with no effects seen for learning and memory. The musically active group had greater gray matter volume in the somatosensory area, but did not differ from controls in higher-order frontal, temporal, or hippocampal volumes. However, the association between gray matter volume in distributed frontal-to-temporal regions and cognitive abilities was enhanced in participants with musical activity compared to controls. We show that playing a musical instrument during life relates to better late-life cognitive abilities and greater brain capacities in OA. Musical activity may serve as a multimodal enrichment strategy that could help preserve cognitive and brain health in late life. Longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to support this notion. (shrink)

There has been a radical turn towards ideals of patient autonomy and person-centred care, and away from historically entrenched forms of medical paternalism, in the last 50 years of nursing practice. However, along the way, some shades of grey between the areas of ideal patient participation and of outright patient non-participation have been missed. The current article constitutes an exploratory proof-of-concept study of the real-world traction of a distinction-straddling concept of ‘constrained participation’ and its two sub-concepts of ‘fought-for participation’ and (...) ‘forced-to participation’. In order to concretise these additions to the conceptual terrain of person-centred participation and its anti-theses, we apply them to themes in the care of vulnerable older adults. In the final section, we close by eliciting some characterological, educational and clinical implications of adding these new tools also to the conceptual repertoire of nursing practice and education. (shrink)

PurposeThis study aimed to examine the long-term association between social activity, physical function decline and cognitive function, as well as verify the long-term mediating effect of physical function decline on the relationship between social activity and cognitive function.MethodsData from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging that was collected over 10 years was analyzed. The sample included 10,240 adults aged 45–93 years. Multivariate latent growth modeling was applied to verify the long-term effect of social activity and physical function on cognitive (...) function.ResultsThe results revealed that social activity had a positive impact on cognitive function and negative impact on physical function decline after controlling for age and education level. Additionally, physical function decline negatively influenced cognitive function. Finally, social activity indirectly affected cognitive function through physical function decline.ConclusionThe contribution of this study was to test the long-term effect social activity on physical and cognitive function. (shrink)

This study analyzes the most important predictors of acceptance of social network sites in a sample of Chilean elder people. We employ a novelty procedure to explore this phenomenon. This procedure performs apriori segmentation based on gender and generation. It then applies the deep learning technique to identify the predictors by segments. The predictor variables were taken from the literature on the use of social network sites, and an empirical study was carried out by quota sampling with a sample size (...) of 395 older people. The results show different predictors of social network sites considering all the samples, baby boomer males and females, silent males and females. The high heterogeneity among older people is confirmed; this means that dealing with older adults as a uniform set of users of social network sites is a mistake. This study demonstrates that the four segments behave differently, and many diverse variables influence the acceptance of social network sites. (shrink)

Older people are an increasingly important consumer group and hence advertising target, yet relatively little research in the UK and in Europe has examined how older adults are portrayed in advertising. In this study, a sample of 221 magazine advertisements depicting older adults were coded for features such as the advertised products, setting, role prominence, rhetorical scheme, tone and type of portrayal. In a departure from previous studies, we devised a set of six descriptive ‘types’ (...) which encapsulate the way older people are portrayed in these advertisements. Also, and as the main focus of this paper, we compared a magazine designed for people over 50 to ten general readership magazines in order to investigate any differences in the portrayal of older adults in age-targeted vs. general readership advertising. Previous research on old age stereotyping, social identity theory and inter-group theory form the basis of our analysis. (shrink)

ObjectiveThe Spatial Learning Task of Lhermitte and Signoret is an object-location arbitrary associative learning task. The task was originally developed to evaluate adults with severe amnesia. It is currently used in populations where the memory system either is not yet fully developed or where it has been compromised (e.g. epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, electroconvulsive therapy, cerebrovascular disease and dementia). Normative data have been published for paediatric cohorts and for older adults, however no data exist for the intervening (...) adult years.MethodHere, we address this gap, collecting normative data from 101 adults aged 18–45.ResultsOur data indicate that performance on the Spatial Learning Task is not influenced by age, gender, level of education or overall IQ. Less than 10% of the variance in learning scores is associated with variability in verbal memory. Ninety percent of participants achieved perfect scores on two successive trials (T2Cr) within five or fewer trials on the Spatial Learning Task. A T2Cr score of 6 is suggestive of impairment and a T2Cr score of 7 or more is statistically abnormal.ConclusionThese data expand the clinical utility of the Spatial Learning Task in the adult population. Future work should examine performance in lower IQ cohorts, including intellectual disability, and explore sensitivity to disease factors such as laterality of mesial temporal lobe damage. (shrink)

The issue of voting rights for older children has been high on the political and philosophical agenda for quite some time now, and not without reason. Aside from principled moral and philosophical reasons why it is an important matter, many economic, environmental, and political issues are currently being decided—sometimes through indecision—that greatly impact the future of today’s children. Past and current generations of adults have, arguably, mortgaged their children’s future, and this makes the question whether (some) children should (...) be granted the right to vote all the more pressing. Should (some) children be given the right to vote? Moreover, does the answer to this question depend on civic education, on whether children have been deliberately prepared for the exercise of that right? These are the questions that will occupy us in this article. Our answer to the first will be that older children—children roughly between 14 and 16 years of age1—ought to be given the right to vote. (shrink)

Planning ability is important in everyday functioning, and a key measure to assess the preparation and execution of plans is the Tower of London task. Previous studies indicate that older adults are often less accurate than the young on the ToL and that there may be cultural differences in performance on the task. However, potential interactions between age and culture have not previously been explored. In the current study we examined the effects of age on ToL performance in (...) an Asian culture and a Western culture. We also explored whether working memory, age, education, and socioeconomic status explained variance in ToL performance across these two cultures. Results indicated that age effects on ToL performance were greater in the Malaysian sample. Subsequent moderated mediation analysis revealed differences between the two cultures, in that the age-related variance in ToL accuracy was accounted for by WM capacity at low and medium education levels only in the Malaysian sample. Demographic variables could not explain additional variance in ToL speed or accuracy. These results may reflect cultural differences in the familiarity and cognitive load of carrying out complex planning tasks. (shrink)

Studies regularly show that an age-based stereotype threat impairs older adults’ performance on memory tasks. Results regarding stereotype threat effects on false memories are less clear. Some studies suggest that education may moderate the relationship between an age-related stereotype threat and episodic memory performance in older adults. The present study aimed at examining the moderating role of education on the relationship between perceived stereotype threat and false memories in older adults. With this (...) aim, 82 adults between 60 and 70 years of age performed a Deese-Roediger-McDermott task followed by a free recall test and completed questionnaires assessing both their perception of an age-based stereotype threat and their education level. Regression analyses showed no effect of PST on the production of critical lures. However, as was expected, our results showed that in higher educated older adults, as the perception of stereotype increases, the production of critical lures increases. These results confirm the moderating role of education and highlight its key role in the relationship between the age-based stereotype threat and older adults’ susceptibility to false memories. (shrink)

In this article we examine the association between national welfare regime and the propensity of middle–aged and older individuals with adult children of their own to provide social support to aged parents. Using data from mature adults (50+) in 26 European countries, we examine whether older and younger generations compete for the time resources of the middle “sandwiched” generation, and whether national policy context shapes this competition. Contrary to expectations, we found that sandwich generation members were less (...) likely to provide support to their parents in Conservative–Mediterranean and East European regimes, but more likely to do so in universalistic Social–Democratic regimes. This evidence supports the hypothesis that well–developed welfare states “crowd–in” family support to older individuals. Middle generation members who provided social support to their adult children tended to provide to their older parents as well. This was particularly true in the two regimes where resources and public benefits tend to be more generous and may be interpreted as state benefits that reduce intergenerational competition. Findings are discussed in terms of the capacity of state policies to shape the allocation of family resources to older adults where extended family lineages have become the norm. (shrink)

As intergenerational interactions increase due to an ageing population, the study of emotion-related responses to the elderly is increasingly relevant. Previous research found mixed results regarding affective mimicry – a measure related to liking and affiliation. In the current study, we investigated emotional mimicry to younger and older actors following an encounter with a younger and older player in a Cyberball game. In a complete exclusion condition, in which both younger and older players excluded the participant, we (...) expected emotional mimicry to be stronger for younger vs. older actors. In a partial inclusion condition, in which the younger player excluded while the older player included the participant, we predicted that the difference in player behaviour would lead to a difference in liking. This increased liking of the older interaction partner should reduce the difference in emotional mimicry towards the two different age groups. Results revealed more mimicry for older actors following partial inclusion especially for negative emotions, suggesting inclusive behaviour by an older person in an interaction as a possible means to increase mimicry and affiliation to the elderly. (shrink)

Action video game (AVG) has attracted increasing attention from both the public and from researchers. More and more studies found video game training improved a variety of cognitive functions. However, it remains controversial whether healthy adults can benefit from AVG training, and whether young and older adults benefit similarly from AVG training. In the present study, we aimed to quantitatively assess the AVG training effect on the cognitive ability of adults and to compare the training effects (...) on young and older adults by conducting a meta-analysis on previous findings. We systematically searched video game training studies published between January 1986 and July 2015. Twenty studies were included in the present meta-analysis, for a total of 313 participants included in the training group and 323 participants in the control group. The results demonstrate that healthy adults achieve moderate benefit from AVG training in overall cognitive ability and moderate to small benefit in specific cognitive domains. In contrast, young adults gain more benefits from AVG training than older adults in both overall cognition and specific cognitive domains. Age, education, and some methodological factors, such as the session duration, session number, total training duration, and control group type, modulated the training effects. These meta-analytic findings provide evidence that AVG training may serve as an efficient way to improve the cognitive performance of healthy adults. We also discussed several directions for future AVG training studies. (shrink)

Background With the deepening trend of global aging, the issue of dignity of older adults has received widespread attention. The research on the dignity of older adults in nursing homes in China has only just begun, and it is necessary to further explore the dignity experience of older adults in nursing homes. Research Objective To investigate the thematic features of dignity experiences of older adults residing in nursing homes in mainland China. Furthermore, (...) it may serve as a starting point for further research that formulates intervention strategies. Research Design This is a qualitative descriptive study. Twenty older adults living in one of two private nursing homes between September and November 2022 were selected as participants. For each patient, we conducted semi-structured interviews, from which we extracted and assessed information using qualitative content analysis method. SRQR reporting guidelines were used. Ethical considerations ‘Ethical considerations' with information regarding ethical review, informed consent process and confidentiality. Results Five themes and eight subthemes emerged from the transcripts: (1) self-esteem (sense of self-worth and becoming a burden), (2) perceived value to society (being respected and belonging), (3) interpersonal relationships (relationships with others and respectful behavior toward others), (4) autonomy (control of daily life and participation in decision-making), and (5) acceptance and adaptation. Conclusion Dignity in older adults can be preserved by realizing self-worth, relieving the burden of self-perceived, promoting belonging, strengthening social ties, enhancing autonomy, and engaging in activities. (shrink)

BackgroundInformation and communication technology solutions have the potential to support active and healthy aging and improve monitoring and treatment outcomes. To make such solutions acceptable, all stakeholders must be involved in the requirements elicitation process. Due to the COVID-19 situation, alternative approaches to commonly used face-to-face methods must often be used. One aim of the current article is to share a unique experience from the Pharaon project where due to the COVID-19 outbreak alternative elicitation methods were used. In addition, an (...) overview of common functional, quality, and emotional goals identified by six pilot sites is presented to complement the knowledge about the needs of older adults.MethodsOriginally planned face-to-face co-creation seminars were impossible to carry out, and all pilot sites chose alternative requirements elicitation methods that were most suitable in their situation. The elicited requirements were presented in the form of goal models. In one summary goal model, we provide an overview of common functional, quality, and emotional goals.ResultsDifferent elicitation methods were combined based on the digital literacy of the target group and their access to digital tools. Methods applied without digital technologies were phone interviews, reviews of literature and previous projects, while by means of digital technologies online interviews, online questionnaires, and virtual co-creation seminars were conducted. The combination of the methods allowed to involve all planned stakeholders. Virtual and semi-virtual co-creation seminars created collaborative environment comparable to face-to-face situations, while online participation helped to save the time of the participants. The most prevalent functional goals elicited were “Monitor health,” “Receive advice,” “Receive information.” “Easy to use/comfortable,” “personalized/tailored,” “automatic/smart” were identified as most prevalent quality goals. Most frequently occurring emotional goals were “involved,” “empowered,” and “informed.”ConclusionThere are alternative methods to face-to-face co-creation seminars, which effectively involve older adults and other stakeholders in the requirements elicitation process. Despite the used elicitation method, the requirements can be easily transformed into goal models to present the results in a uniform way. The common requirements across different pilots provided a strong foundation for representing detailed requirements and input for further software development processes. (shrink)

Successful spoken discourse requires a speaker to be informative to deliver a coherent, meaningful message. The informativeness of discourse can be conveyed by the variety of vocabulary produced (i.e., lexical diversity [LD]), the typicality of vocabulary items used (i.e., core lexicon [CL]), and the amount of relevant content produced (i.e., information units). Yet, it is well documented that older adults produce less informative content compared to younger adults despite relatively subtle changes to LD. The typicality of core (...) lexical items has not been assessed in healthy aging. Paradoxically, these results indicate that some aspects of discourse informativeness remain stable or even improve across the adult lifespan, while other aspects decline. The purpose of the current study is to understand how microlinguistic processes of informativeness change across the adult lifespan. The cross-sectional study included narrative language samples from two wordless picture books collected from 420 healthy participants between 20 and 89 years old. LD and percent of correct information units (%CIUs) were analyzed, as well as CL nouns and verbs. The results indicate that %CIUs and CL nouns demonstrate a quadratic decline starting around the ages of 40 and 60, respectively. LD shows a slight linear decline as a function of age. CL verbs are resistant to age-related changes but are influenced greater by education. The differing findings across the microlinguistic measures can be explained by the weakened connections within the language system and the differential characteristics of the measures. The findings contribute to the aging literature by systematically identifying the trajectory of how variables of informativeness change with age. (shrink)

Emergency departments in many nations worldwide have been struggling for many years with crowding and the subsequent provision of care in hallways and other unconventional spaces. While this issue has been investigated and analyzed from multiple perspectives, the ethical dimensions of the place of emergency department care have been underexamined. Specifically, the impacts of the place of care on patients and their caregivers have not been robustly explored in the literature. In this article, a feminist ethics and human geography framing (...) is utilized to argue that care provision in open and unconventional spaces in the emergency department can be unethical, as vulnerability can be amplified by the place of care for patients and their caregivers. The situational and pathogenic vulnerability of patients can be heightened by the place of the emergency department and by the constraints to healthcare providers’ capacity to promote patient comfort, privacy, communication, and autonomy in this setting. The arrangements of care in the emergency department are of particular concern for older adults given the potential increased risks for vulnerability in this population. As such, hallway healthcare can reflect the normalized inequities of structural ageism. Recommendations are provided to address this complicated ethical issue, including making visible the moral experiences of patients and their caregivers, as well as those of healthcare providers in the emergency department, advocating for a systems-level accounting for the needs of older adults in the emergency department and more broadly in healthcare, as well as highlighting the need for further research to examine how to foster autonomy and care in the emergency department to reduce the risk for vulnerabilities. (shrink)

Background: Food is an important part of nursing care and recognized as a basic need and a human right. Nutritional care for older adults in institutions represents a particularly important area to address in nursing education and practice, as the right to food can be at risk and health personnel experience ethical challenges related to food and nutrition. Objective: The present study investigates the development of coursework on nutritional care with a human rights perspective in a nursing (...) programme for first-year nursing students and draws upon reflections and lessons learned. Research design: The study utilized educational design research. The coursework, developed through two rounds, combined on-campus learning and clinical placement in nursing homes. Nursing studentsʼ perspectives and experiences gathered through focus groups and a written assignment informed the development and evaluation of the coursework. Participants and research context: In the first round, multistage focus group interviews were conducted with 18 nursing students before, during and after placement. In the second round, four focus group interviews with 26 nursing students were conducted shortly after placement. Ethical consideration: The study was approved by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data. Findings: Three main ʽlessons learnedʼ emerged regarding introducing a human rights perspective in nursing education: 1) the contribution of the human rights perspective in changing the narrative of ʽvulnerable and malnourished patientsʼ, 2) the importance of relationships and experiences for learning about human rights and 3) the benefit of combining development of ethical competence with a human rights perspective. Conclusion: A human rights perspective enabled the students to give meaning to nutritional care beyond understanding of food as a basic physical need. Incorporating human rights in nursing education can support nursing students and nurses in recognizing and addressing ethical and structural challenges and being able to fulfil the right to food for patients. (shrink)

This book exploits the power of phenomenological methods to access and describe lived moral experiences of pain and suffering for patients, their families and the wider community. Creating new fields of communication for patients, their family members and health professionals in shared decision making processes, this book builds on knowledge about suffering to help and guide correct action in preventing and relieving chronic pain and improving systems of care. It offers a new phenomenology for understanding moral experience in serious illness (...) and suffering, and its implication for policy, practice and research. A series of applied chapters, looking at individual experiences of suffering and care experiences, present some areas of ethical inquiry, including: pain and suffering maternal care ethics evaluation and moral deliberation about treatment options decision-making and moral agency end-of-life experiences of care. Exploring how moral phenomenology could provide fruitful alternatives to traditional frameworks in bioethics, this is an important addition to the literature. It will be of interest to scholars and students of bioethics and phenomenological methods in the health and human services. (shrink)

In this article we explore how the experience of searching for Online Health Information becomes a meaningful activity in the lives of older adults living with chronic health conditions. A descriptive phenomenological approach was adopted to contribute to the overall understanding of individuals’ lived experiences of OHI-seeking through an exploration of the consciousness of the experiencer. This article provides rich experiential descriptions that have the potential to make a contribution toward healthcare practice within the UK by providing healthcare (...) professionals with an understanding of patient experience that can help them identify patients’ needs and make improvements to care in terms of the quality of empathy and understanding for older adults with chronic health conditions. The findings also provide rich stories of older adults actively engaging in this form of health information seeking, data that could be used to challenge pre-conceptions that age is a barrier to using the Internet for this purpose. (shrink)

ObjectivesMany older adults with visual impairment also have significant hearing loss. The aim was to investigate the effectiveness of a newly developed Dual Sensory Loss protocol on communication and wellbeing of older persons with DSL and their communication partners in the Netherlands and Belgium.MethodsParticipants and their communication partners were randomized in the “DSL-protocol” intervention group or a waiting-list control group. The intervention took 3 to 5 weeks. Occupational therapists focused on optimal use of hearing aids, home-environment modifications (...) and effective communication strategies. The primary outcome was the Communication Strategies domain of the Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired. Secondary outcomes measured in participants were the Low Vision Quality Of Life Adjustment subscale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression Scale, De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale and the Fatigue Assessment Scale. The Hearing Handicap and Disability Inventory - Reaction of Others subscale and the Care-related Quality of Life - 7 Dimensions was measured in communication partners. Measurements were taken at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Linear mixed models were used to analyze effects between groups over time for every outcome measure.ResultsIntention-to-treat analyses showed a significant effect of the DSL-protocol on the use of verbal strategies in favor of the control group, however, this effect was non-significant after adjustment for confounding. Effect sizes of other outcomes varied between −0.23 [−0.57, 0.12] and 0.30 [−0.05, 0.64]. The LMM showed a significant effect on the HHDI-Reaction of others scale in favor of communication partners in the treatment group, however, the effect did not remain significant at a 0.01 significance level and the effect size was very small and non-significant 0.12, 95% CI [−0.27 to 0.51]. Adjusted analyses did not reveal treatment effects.ConclusionThe DSL-protocol did not clearly contribute to the enhancement of communication and wellbeing in DSL-patients. Possible reasons for the lack of effects are OTs not being comfortable giving advice on communication and psychosocial issues or the short-term treatment and follow-up period. Further study is warranted to find out how the protocol may be adapted or whether it is necessary to involve mental healthcare professionals.Clinical Trial Registrationwww.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NTR2843. (shrink)

This article shows - in the light of personalistic psychology - the subjective features of old people which are manifested in the works of eminent creators. The progress of inner subjectivity is shown as a specific developmental tendency. It is characterized by reflection, concentration on one’s own experiences, remembrances and encapsulating life events. It is readily observable that old creators are open to spiritual values and that melancholy is a predominant mood in their creation.

PurposeThis study aimed to explore current developments and trends in the field of subjective well-being of older adults at a macro level and identify research hotspots.MethodsWe included reviews and articles on the SWB of older adults in the Web of Science Core Collection published from 2002 to 2021. We used CiteSpace to draw a knowledge map of the authors, institutions, countries, references, and keywords for visual analysis and used Microsoft Excel tables to count basic information details.ResultsA (...) total of 354 papers were included, and the number of papers published over the past two decades showed a pattern of growth. The core force of publications was primarily attributed to studies conducted in Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania, which have relatively major issues of aging and good economic strength. However, links between states, institutions, and authors were relatively weak. Cluster analysis showed that the research field could be divided into eight topics: the application of social psychology in the study of the SWB of older adults, aging in older adults, health condition of older adults, achieving successful aging, interventions for SWB, age differences in SWB research, an economic perspective of SWB research and social support for older adults. Current research frontiers are socioeconomic status, community, intervention, participation, adjustment, validation, and personality.ConclusionThe results of the present study provided a comprehensive picture in the research field of SWB of older adults. It showed that the mechanism, especially the bidirectional effect, between the SWB of older adults and its influencing factors is still worthy of further exploration. More research on evidence-based and intervention strategies should be conducted in the future. (shrink)