scholarly journals The impact of COVID-19 on the well-being and cognition of older adults living in the United States and Latin America

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 100848
Author(s):  
Ganesh M. Babulal ◽  
Valeria L. Torres ◽  
Daisy Acosta ◽  
Cinthya Agüero ◽  
Sara Aguilar-Navarro ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (S10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ganesh M Babulal ◽  
Valeria L Torres ◽  
Daisy M Acosta ◽  
Cinthya Aguero ◽  
Sara Gloria Aguilar‐Navarro ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 772-773
Author(s):  
Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili ◽  
Connie Bales ◽  
Julie Locher

Abstract Food insecurity is an under-recognized geriatric syndrome that has extensive implications in the overall health and well-being of older adults. Understanding the impact of food insecurity in older adults is a first step in identifying at-risk populations and provides a framework for potential interventions in both hospital and community-based settings. This symposium will provide an overview of current prevalence rates of food insecurity using large population-based datasets. We will present a summary indicator that expands measurement to include the functional and social support limitations (e.g., community disability, social isolation, frailty, and being homebound), which disproportionately impact older adults, and in turn their rate and experience of food insecurity and inadequate food access. We will illustrate using an example of at-risk seniors the association between sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and function, with rates of food security in the United States. The translational aspect of the symposium will then focus on identification of psychosocial and environmental risk factors including food insecurity in older veterans preparing for surgery within the Veterans Affairs Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health clinic. Gaining insights into the importance of food insecurity will lay the foundation for an intervention for food insecurity in the deep south. Our discussant will provide an overview of the implications of these results from a public health standpoint. By highlighting the importance of food insecurity, such data can potentially become a framework to allow policy makers to expand nutritional programs as a line of defense against hunger in this high-risk population.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Glusker

A Review of: Bennett-Kapusniak, R. (2013). Older Adults and the Public Library: The Impact of the Boomer Generation. Public Library Quarterly, 32(3), 204-222. doi: 10.1080/01616846.2013.818814 Abstract Objective – To determine whether programming at public libraries in the United States is aimed at older adults, and whether the programs help older adults maintain their health and well-being. Design – Web site evaluation. Setting – Public libraries in the United States of America. Subjects – The main library of each public library system located in the capital city of each of the 50 states in the United States of America. Methods – A scan of each of the web sites of the selected public library branches was performed by the author, to determine the number of programs specifically directed towards older adults. Main Results – The scan of sites indicated that there was very little programming specifically aimed at older adults and their needs. Mainly, offerings for older adults took the form of mixing in with adults of all ages. Computer technology class offerings were particularly lacking. The majority of libraries had programs to teach how to access library resources and electronic media (although not necessarily aimed at older adults), programs for those who are less mobile, as well as some adaptive technology for those with sensory disabilities. In addition, the majority of libraries had adult literacy programs, and active collaboration with community organizations. Conclusions – Public libraries can do more to develop programs specifically for older adults. They should take into account the wide diversity of older adults’ information and other needs. In particular, they should consider offering programs that focus on technological skills, and also should offer assistive technology for older patrons. There also needs to be more research on the needs of older adults, from the perspective of the patrons themselves and that of library staff.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 484-484
Author(s):  
Shinae Choi ◽  
Eun Ha Namkung

Abstract The growing prevalence of functional impairment is a serious concern due to its relation to decreased quality of life in later life. Guided by the social convoy model and the stress process model, the present study investigated whether psychological resilience, particularly optimism and mastery moderated an association between functional impairment and subsequent depressive symptoms in later life. This study used data derived from two population-based national studies in the United States: 2012 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 5,035) and 2004 and 2013 waves of the Midlife in the United States (N = 2,476). Ordinary least squares regression was used to estimate the impact of optimism and mastery, respectively, on the associations between functional impairment (baseline measure at wave(t-1), changes over the study period from wave(t-1) to wave(t)) on subsequent changes in depressive symptoms. Across both studies, we found that having and developing functional impairment are related to increased number of depressive symptoms. Optimism independently predicted decreased depressive symptoms over the study periods and buffered the negative effects of functional impairment on depressive symptoms across the two studies. Specifically, the mitigating effects of optimism on depressive symptoms were greater for those with more numbers of functional limitations. The findings suggest that psychological resilience plays a key role in decreasing depressive symptoms, especially for midlife and older adults with functional impairment. The results also demonstrate the importance of examining both optimism and mastery when investigating psychological resilience and emotional well-being in older adults.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 295-295
Author(s):  
Suzanne Marmo ◽  
Manoj Pardasani ◽  
David Vincent

Abstract Upon the outbreak of COVID-19, recommendations to cease all non-essential in-person social services were mandated across the United States to prevent transmission to non-infected individuals. As a result, approximately 96% of all senior centers in the United States were closed to in-person programming (National Council on Aging, 2020). LGBT older adults in particular were at higher risk of isolation and declines in overall health as they were more likely to live alone, experience loneliness or have less immediate family support systems when compared to non-LGBT older adults (Yang, Chu & Salmon, 2017). The purpose of this presentation is to explore how LGBT older adult participants in senior centers transitioned to virtual programming during the pandemic. Using a risk-resiliency theory framework, the purpose of this presentation is to share the impact of virtual programming on the health and well-being of LGBT community-dwelling older adults. An exploratory, cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing an online survey to understand their needs, concerns and experiences. Participants reported a relatively easy adaptation to technology, steady participation in programs and services, satisfaction with virtual senior center programming and a consistent sense of engagement with their peers. Higher levels of engagement with senior center programs were associated with greater perceptions of social support. Additionally, stronger perceptions of social support and participation in exercise and fitness programming were associated with higher life satisfaction and lesser symptoms of depression and anxiety. Strategies for outreach, engagement and service provision will be presented.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Rigoli

Research has shown that stress impacts on people’s religious beliefs. However, several aspects of this effect remain poorly understood, for example regarding the role of prior religiosity and stress-induced anxiety. This paper explores these aspects in the context of the recent coronavirus emergency. The latter has impacted dramatically on many people’s well-being; hence it can be considered a highly stressful event. Through online questionnaires administered to UK and USA citizens professing either Christian faith or no religion, this paper examines the impact of the coronavirus crisis upon common people’s religious beliefs. We found that, following the coronavirus emergency, strong believers reported higher confidence in their religious beliefs while non-believers reported increased scepticism towards religion. Moreover, for strong believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus threat was associated with increased strengthening of religious beliefs. Conversely, for non-believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus thereat was associated with increased scepticism towards religious beliefs. These observations are consistent with the notion that stress-induced anxiety enhances support for the ideology already embraced before a stressful event occurs. This study sheds light on the psychological and cultural implications of the coronavirus crisis, which represents one of the most serious health emergencies in recent times.


1979 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip R. P. Coelho ◽  
James F. Shepherd

Differences in regional prices and wages are examined for the United States in 1890, together with the relationship between the cost of living and city size, and the determinants of regional industrial growth. Results indicate that regional cost-of-liying differences were sufficiently large so that money wages cannot be used for purposes of comparing the economic well-being of wage earners across regions. Except for the South, money wages and the cost of living were positively correlated. The relative differences in money wages, however, were greater; consequently real wages in high wage-price areas were generally higher.


Author(s):  
Dawn Joosten-Hagye ◽  
Anne Katz

This chapter examines loneliness and how it affects health and well-being. It discusses how loneliness may lead to ill health but also how ill health may lead to feelings of loneliness. It reviews the evidence suggesting that loneliness is not only linked to overall morbidity and mortality in older adults but also a major predictor of psychological distress. With the global growth of the aging population, considerable research attention focuses on these issues in Europe, the United States, and Australia. The proportion of Australians aged 65 years or older is growing, with prevalence rates of loneliness among older adults as high as 30%. The impact of this is discussed in this chapter, as are recent developments, current conditions, historical trends, transnational feminism and advocacy, and how loneliness impacts the health and well-being of older women in Australia.


Author(s):  
James Dunkerley

This chapter examines US foreign policy in Latin America and the historical evolution of US relations with the region. It first considers the Monroe Doctrine and manifest destiny, which sought to contain European expansion and to justify that of the United States under an ethos of hemispherism, before discussing the projection of US power beyond its frontiers in the early twentieth century. It then explores the United States’ adoption of a less unilateral approach during the depression of the 1930s and an aggressively ideological approach in the wake of the Cuban Revolution. It also analyzes US policy towards the left in Central America, where armed conflict prevailed in the 1980s, and in South America, where the Washington Consensus brought an end to the anti-European aspects of the Monroe Doctrine by promoting globalization. Finally, it looks at the impact of the Cold War on US policy towards Latin America.


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