Journal of Applied Gerontology : the Official Journal of the Southern Gerontological Society

Rapidly growing populations of older adults rely heavily on formal long-term care services such as those provided in nursing homes. Nursing home staff are confronted with complex challenges. We explored how staff ( N = 88), particularly care aides, interpreted challenges and responded to them by taking adaptive leadership roles, and engaging in technical and adaptive work in nursing homes. We conducted analysis of the ethnographic case studies. In long-term care settings, staff face complex challenges in improving resident care due to contextual barriers...

Literature on the association between ageism and falling among older adults is limited. Using data from the nationwide cross-sectional SABE ( Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento ) Colombia Survey in 2015 with 18,875 participants aged ≥60 years living in the communities, the study aims to evaluate the association between perceived ageism within the family, neighborhood, health services, and public services, and recurrent falling. Participants had a mean age of 69.2 ± 7.1; 56.1% were female. Recurrent falling prevalence was 15%, and experiencing any ageism was 10%...

This study aimed to: (1) validate a natural language processing (NLP) system developed for the home health care setting to identify signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) documented in clinicians' free-text notes; (2) determine whether signs and symptoms detected via NLP help to identify patients at risk of a new ADRD diagnosis within four years after admission. This study applied NLP to a longitudinal dataset including medical record and Medicare claims data for 56,652 home health care patients and Cox proportional hazard models to the subset of 24,874 patients admitted without an ADRD diagnosis...

Addressing the spiritual needs of older adults is a central component of holistic service provision. Using a qualitative description design, this study identified: (1) common spiritual needs among Chinese nursing home residents, including the needs of residents with dementia, (2) the process staff use to identify these needs when residents are unable to verbalize them, and (3) the strategies staff implement to meet the identified needs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 nursing home administrators...

Amid a global aging trend, particularly notable in the U.S., there is a growing focus on achieving enhanced longevity and well-being. We evaluated the association between lifestyle factors (sleep, diet, and healthy lifestyle index) and COVID-19 infection in an older adult population in San Bernardino and Riverside counties in Southern California, the United States. A sample of 380 older adults ≥75 years old were surveyed cross-sectionally and self-reported lifestyle behaviors and COVID-19 infection...

Home- and community-based services (HCBS) are optimal ways to deal with disability problems among older adults. This study aims to analyze urban-rural disparities in the relationship between HCBS utilization and levels of disability among Chinese older adults with disabilities, so as to meet the long-term care needs of them. In applying the Andersen Behavioral Model, bivariate analysis and multivariate regression models were employed using data from 843 older adults with disabilities from the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS)...

Limited information exists on the potential link between levels of mindfulness and cognitive performance in seniors with low education. This cross-sectional study aims to explore the association between mindfulness levels and cognitive performance in older adults with different years of education. Participants were grouped by education levels and assessed for cognitive performance (ACE-R; Digit Span test), levels of mindfulness (Langer Mindfulness Scale-21), and depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale-15)...

Older adults are a high in risk of severe COVID-19 disease outcomes and experience "vaccine hesitancy." Guided by health communication models such as the Reasoned Action Approach and the Extended Parallel Process Model, online surveys designed to inform statewide public health communication efforts were administered in West Virginia, a primarily rural and fully Appalachian state, in Winter 2021 ( n = 272) and Fall 2022 ( n = 248). Adults ages 50+ years ( N = 520) reported attitudes, intentions, and behaviors regarding COVID-19 vaccination and their related patient-provider communication...

Engaging in regular physical activity offers a myriad of benefits, including the improvement of mental health, social well-being, and cognitive function. Unfortunately, obstacles, such as transportation constraints, time limitations, and inadequate exercise facilities, hinder the regular participation of older adults in physical activity. Online group physical activity programs present a promising solution to enhance the involvement of older adults; however, several barriers impede their effective utilization...

The aim of this study was to explore the post-earthquake experiences, difficulties, and coping strategies of older adults who experienced the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye in 2023. This research was designed as a qualitative descriptive study. The study was conducted with 21 (13 female and 8 male) older adults and the mean age of the participants was 70.2 (in the range of 65-85). In line with the data obtained from the participants, " Fulfilling Basic Needs of Older Adults, Emotional Turmoil in Later Life, Healthcare Disparities in Aging, Adaptive Response of Older Adults" themes and sub-themes related to the theme were formed...

This study examined the concordance in spouses' intention to move after retirement among midlife couples and its association with couples' marital characteristics (i.e., marital satisfaction and dyadic coping). Using a sample of 1,285 middle-aged couples in Korea (aged 49-64), we conducted logistic/multinomial regression controlling for individual and household characteristics. The majority of couples (83%) were concordant in their moving desires-by either agreeing to move (29%) or to stay (54%), whereas 17% of couples were not in agreement-either only husband (9%) or wife (8%) desires to move...

Providing opportunities for older adults to engage in physical and mental activity is important to support healthy aging. The present preliminary study investigated the feasibility of accessible chair yoga for older adults in care homes. Chair yoga participants ( n = 17) were assessed before and after attending twice weekly chair yoga sessions for 8 weeks, while control participants ( n = 16) underwent the assessments only. Participant ages ranged from 80 to 101 years and included those living with mild to severe dementia...

Ageism in healthcare is related to poor outcomes for older patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationships between ageism and various aspects of the psychological well-being of healthcare professionals in Atlantic Canada. In 2023, an online survey of 294 healthcare professionals from various disciplines was conducted. This survey included items to measure expectations of aging, stress, burnout, emotional dissonance, and well-being. Results indicated that aging expectations were significantly related to burnout, perceived stress, well-being, and emotional dissonance...

Age-related cognitive and somatic motor skills changes have been linked to impaired driving abilities. Taxi drivers play an important role in providing public transportation services and security. This study aimed to examine the level of fitness-to-drive (FTD) and identify the predictors of self-reported traffic injury among the older taxi drivers. Taxi drivers 60 years and older in Bangkok and the metropolitan area were enrolled. Hierarchical regression models were carried out to examine the effects of demographics, FTD, and metacognition towards self-reported road traffic injury...

To develop and validate scales for reliably assessing dementia and urinary incontinence knowledge of older adults in the community. Items were generated through a literature review, refined through a Delphi study ( n = 19), and then revised through a pilot study ( n = 29). Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis were applied to finalize the scales ( n = 244). Construct validity, reliability, and acceptability were evaluated ( n = 243). The two knowledge assessment scales for dementia and urinary incontinence, respectively, comprised 12 items and 8 items...

Older adults aged 70 and older who drive have higher crash death rates per mile driven compared to middle aged (35-54 years) adults who drive in the US. Prior studies have found that depression and or antidepressant medication use in older adults are associated with an increase in the vehicular crash rate. Using data from the prospective multi-site AAA Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers Study, this analysis examined the independent and interdependent associations of self-reported depression and antidepressant use with driving behaviors that can increase motor vehicle crash risk such as hard braking, speeding, and night-time driving in adults over age 65...

For older people, physical inactivity increases fall risk as well as other preventable health conditions. Despite the well-documented benefits of physical activity, uptake and adherence continue to challenge efforts aimed at increasing physical activity and reducing falls. Nested within a randomized controlled trial, this study reports on the factors influencing the physical activity behavior of people, aged between 70 and 90 years, engaged in StandingTall , a home-based balance exercise program proven to reduce falls in the community...

Dementia caregivers face daunting challenges as both the oldest subpopulation of those providing unpaid care and the most at risk of adverse health outcomes as a result of their role, including depression, anxiety, and increased mortality. To better understand the experiences and needs of dementia caregivers, a qualitative content analysis was conducted of secondary data extracted from call logs ( N = 569) recorded by a provider-initiated, telephone-based support program. Experiences identified from the call logs were coded, categorized, and ranked to determine the most prevalent dementia caregiving-related experiences...

The American healthcare system is ill-fitted to meet the needs of the growing population with Alzheimer's and Related Dementias (ADRD) and their caregivers, which disproportionately affects Latinos. This paper describes the caregiving process for Latino patients with ADRD from the perspective of caregivers and service providers to reveal service areas in need of improvement. Ten providers and 24 Latino caregivers were interviewed through the Miami-Dade County Aging Network. Interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach...

The goal of this study is to investigate the association between chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)/Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs) development among adults aged ≥50 using administrative claims data from a national commercial health insurance company during 2007-2017. To reduce selection bias, propensity-score matching was applied to select comparable CNCP and non-CNCP patients. Time-dependent Cox proportional-hazards regressions were conducted to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) of incident MCI/ADRDs...