Exploring associations between older adults’ demographic characteristics and their perceptions of self‐care actions for communicating with healthcare professionals in southern United States

The number of older adults in the United States is projected to increase in coming years, including the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ+) older adults requiring long-term care (LTC) services. We conducted an online survey of older LGBTQ+ adults living in the Southern United States between January and March of 2018 to inquire about their anticipation of discrimination in and willingness to utilize LTC services. We found that 78.6% of respondents ( N = 789) anticipated discrimination in LTC. Previous experiences with discrimination, higher educational attainment, and queer/questioning sexual orientation were associated with greater expectation of discrimination. Higher anticipation of discrimination was also associated with a greater preference for utilizing LTC services offered by LGBTQ+ providers or for LGBTQ+ older adults. These findings suggest that LTC staff and researchers may be uniquely positioned to craft outreach and policies to protect LGBTQ+ LTC residents.

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What are the highly important and desirable patient engagement actions for self-care as perceived by individuals living in the southern United States?

Patient Preference and Adherence ◽

10.2147/ppa.s127519 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol Volume 11 ◽

pp. 181-191 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Huey-Ming Tzeng ◽

James Marcus Pierson

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Patient Engagement ◽

Self Care ◽

Southern United States

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Essentials of essential oils

American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy ◽

10.2146/ajhp151043 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 74 (9) ◽

pp. e153-e162 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Chelsea R. Manion ◽

Rebecca M. Widder

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Essential Oils ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Self Care ◽

The United States ◽

Annual Number ◽

Medical Subject Headings ◽

Published Evidence ◽

Medicinal Use ◽

United States Healthcare

Abstract Purpose Information to guide clinicians in educating and advising patients using or intending to use essential oils for self-administered aromatherapy or other medicinal purposes is presented. Summary The term essential oils refers to highly concentrated, aromatic oils extracted from plants by steam distillation, hydrodiffusion, or pressure. Market reports indicate strong growth in the use of essential oils in the United States in recent decades. Therapeutic claims made in the marketing of essential oils have led the Food and Drug Administration to caution a number of suppliers. Along with rapid growth in sales of essential oils to consumers there has been an increase in the amount of published evidence regarding aromatherapy and essential oils; the annual number of relevant articles indexed using Medical Subject Headings terminology has doubled since 2004. In order to help ensure proper application and safe use of essential oils as a self-care modality, healthcare professionals can benefit from a general knowledge of the terminology and foundational concepts of medicinal use of essential oils, as well as resources to facilitate evaluations of appropriateness of use. Conclusion Because of the increasing popularity of essential oils and the prevalence of essential oil–based self-care practices targeting a wide variety of ailments in the United States, healthcare professionals must be prepared to address concerns about the agents’ safety and efficacy. Proper literature evaluation requires the ability to discern the quality of an oil, the safety of administration, and the validity of its use.

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