Living in the New Normal: Effect of Residential Setting on Perception of a Meaningful Life among Older Women

Abstract Perception of a meaningful life is related to depression, anxiety, and general well-being. The sense that one’s life is meaningful influences overall quality of life, which influences aging well. It is not clear whether differences in residential setting influence perception of a meaningful life. This study evaluated the effect of residential setting (community versus assisted living) on perception of a meaningful life in 48 older (79.7 ± 1.0 years) women living in the community (n=24) or assisted living (n=24) who were pair matched by age. They completed a one-time questionnaire regarding self-rated health and whether life has meaning. Both questions were scored on a 5-point scale with 0 indicating poor health or no life meaning and 4 indicating excellent health or strong life meaning. There were no significant differences in age between women in community living (CL) and assisted living (AL) (78.0 ± 09 vs. 81.5 ± 1.6 years, respectively; p=0.7). Both groups also reported similar self-rated health scores (CL: 2.4 ± 0.2; AL: 2.2 ± 0.2; p=0.4), indicating good-very good health. However, there were significant differences between groups in their perception of a meaningful life. Women in CL reported significantly lower scores compared to women in AL (2.9 ± 0.2 vs. 3.6 ± 0.1; p=0.006), indicating that women in CL perceived a less meaningful life. Based on our findings, it appears that the supportive infrastructure provided by AL residential settings may promote quality of life and successful aging by enhancing the perception of a more meaningful life.

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Factors associated with the quality of life of elderly caregivers of other elderly persons

Revista Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia ◽

10.1590/1981-22562019022.180155 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Letícia Decimo Flesch ◽

Samila Sathler Tavares Batistoni ◽

Anita Liberalesso Neri ◽

Meire Cachioni

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Signs And Symptoms ◽

Well Being ◽

The Elderly ◽

Poor Quality ◽

Elderly Persons ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

Selection Of Variables ◽

Elderly Caregivers

Abstract Objective : To evaluate the association between the double vulnerability of being elderly and a caregiver and quality of life assessed by Control, Autonomy, Self-realization and Pleasure factors (CASP-19). Method : 148 elderly caregivers participated in the present study. They were selected for convenience from Brazilian public and private health services - a sample from the study “The Psychological Well-Being of Elderly Persons Caring for Other Elderly Persons in a Family Context”. The variables: caregiver’s state of health, care demands, perception of burden, self-rated health, and quality of life were selected. Descriptive analyses, chi-squared tests, Fisher’s exact test, the Kruskal-Wallis test and analysis of multivariate hierarchical logistics were carried out, with theStepwisecriteria applied for selection of variables. Results : The hierarchical multivariate analyses found that number of symptoms and total burden were significantly associated with a poorer quality of life. Elderly persons with three or more symptoms and those with a high burden level were at a higher risk of poor quality of life. The variables number of diseases, burden, and self-rated health compared with the past, were significantly associated with a poorer quality of life. Conclusion : It can be concluded that for the elderly caregiver, physical aspects (signs and symptoms, chronic diseases and a perception of health deterioration) combined with burden are the aspects that most influence quality of life.

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Gender Differences in Self-Rated Health among University Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Do Confounding Variables Matter?

Global Journal of Health Science ◽

10.5539/gjhs.v8n11p168 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (11) ◽

pp. 168 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Walid EL-Ansari ◽

Christiane Stock

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Health Service ◽

Physical Health ◽

Service Use ◽

Health Behaviours ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Service Use ◽

Health Complaints ◽

Self Rated Health

INTRODUCTION: We assessed gender differences in self-rated health (SRH) while considering physical health, health complaints, health service use, wider wellbeing, and health behaviours.METHODS: 3706 undergraduates at 7 Universities in the United Kingdom completed a self-administered questionnaire (2009–2008). Logistic regressions with excellent/very good SRH as dependent variable assessed the variables that explained the SRH sex difference. RESULTS: Females had more health complaints, illness periods, lower quality of life, more burdens, and took medication/s more often. The crude (unadjusted) odds ratio (OR) proposed that females were less likely to report excellent/very good SRH than males [OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.68-0.94]. Adjusting only for physical health and health service use, females’ OR increased considerably, and the association between female sex and SRH was no longer significant. Also, when adjusting only for wider well-being or when adjusting only for health behaviour, the negative association between females and SRH was no longer significant. Adjusting for all the variables simultaneously (physical health, health service use, wider well-being, health behaviours) resulted in considerable increase of females’ OR indicating now a positive association between female sex and SRH [OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.04-1.74]. CONCLUSION: Females’ lower SRH found in the crude analyses was confounded by their higher stress level, lower quality of life, lower physical activity and by more illnesses or health complaints when compared with males. Gender-related SRH research should control for many potential confounders to prevent overestimation of the gender effect. Health promotion programs should consider these factors when tackling gender health disparities.

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IoT/Sensor-Based Infrastructures Promoting a Sense of Home, Independent Living, Comfort and Wellness

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s19030485 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 485 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Joan Cahill ◽

Raul Portales ◽

Sean McLoughin ◽

Nithia Nagan ◽

Braden Henrichs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Assisted Living ◽

Independent Living ◽

Participatory Design ◽

Care Delivery ◽

Ambient Assisted Living ◽

Residential Setting ◽

Human Machine Interaction ◽

Resident Wellness

This paper presents the results of three interrelated studies concerning the specification and implementation of ambient assisted living (AAL)/Internet of Things (IoT)/sensor-based infrastructures, to support resident wellness and person-centered care delivery, in a residential care context. Overall, the paper reports on the emerging wellness management concept and IoT solution. The three studies adopt a stakeholder evaluation approach to requirements elicitation and solution design. Human factors research combines several qualitative human–machine interaction (HMI) design frameworks/methods, including realist ethnography, process mapping, persona-based design, and participatory design. Software development activities are underpinned by SCRUM/AGILE frameworks. Three structuring principles underpin the resident’s lived experience and the proposed ‘sensing’ framework. This includes (1) resident wellness, (2) the resident’s environment (i.e., room and broader social spaces which constitute ‘home’ for the resident), and (3) care delivery. The promotion of resident wellness, autonomy, quality of life and social participation depends on adequate monitoring and evaluation of information pertaining to (1), (2) and (3). Furthermore, the application of ambient assisted living technology in a residential setting depends on a clear definition of related care delivery processes and allied social and interpersonal communications. It is argued that independence (and quality of life for older adults) is linked to technology that enables interdependence, and specifically technology that supports social communication between key roles including residents, caregivers, and family members.

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Universities for Seniority: A New Perspective of Aging

Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies ◽

10.9734/ajess/2020/v10i230267 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 50-54

Author(s):

Daniela Ponciano ◽

Fernanda Bogarim Borin Chiacchio ◽

Gisele Alves Rodrigues ◽

Daniely de Sousa Prado ◽

Deusimar Noleto Soares ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Successful Aging ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Well Being ◽

The Elderly ◽

Free Access ◽

Self Knowledge ◽

New Perspective ◽

Bibliographic Study

Universities for the elderly are places focused on learning, well-being, and quality of life of the elderly which ensures healthier aging. Objective: To describe the contributions of universities of the elderly to the healthy aging of their participants. Methodology: The work is characterized as bibliographic research. Regarding inclusion criteria, the bibliographic study included national journals on the theme, of the free access databases SCIELO and LILACS from 2008 to 2018. Results: Social experiences in universities promote the elderly a pleasurable old age, with socialization, the maintenance of friendships, self-knowledge, self-esteem, learning, the satisfaction of living. All this helps in coping with crises and losses of this phase and enables successful aging. Final considerations: given what was raised, it is concluded that the participation of the elderly in a university for the elderly contributes positively to a better quality of life in the aging process. This is because these sites offer the elderly the opportunity to live in a pleasurable and healthier way, as well as favors in maintaining biopsychosocial well-being.

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Connecting the dots: Using a network approach to study the well-being spectrum

10.31234/osf.io/9u6vt ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Margot Van de Weijer ◽

Anne Landvreugd ◽

Dirk Pelt ◽

Meike Bartels

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Satisfaction With Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Happiness ◽

Network Approach ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

Connecting The Dots ◽

Insight Into

Many theories on the structure of well-being exist, but there is no consensus on how different well-being constructs fit into an overarching well-being framework. We sought insight into the structure of well-being using a psychometric network approach in a sample of Netherlands Twin Register participants. First, in a trimming sample of N=1343 participants, we examine potential item redundancy based on associations between satisfaction with life, subjective happiness, quality of life, flourishing, self-rated health, depressive symptoms, neuroticism, and loneliness items. Next, we fit the network in a estimation sample of N=759 participants, and examine the performance and accuracy of the network. Our final network consists of a positive cluster including satisfaction with life, subjective happiness, and flourishing items, and a negative cluster including depressive symptoms, loneliness, and neuroticism items. While items belonging to the same well-being measure clustered together, all well-being items were densely connected, re-affirming the complexity of the construct.

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Daily and social activities influence the quality of life of renal chronic patients in hemodialysis

Medicina (Ribeirao Preto Online) ◽

10.11606/issn.2176-7262.v51i2p131-137 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

pp. 131-137

Author(s):

Antonio Batista Da Silva Filho ◽

Camila Dos Santos Xavier ◽

Carolina Guilherme dos Santos ◽

Luiza Franco Corá ◽

Marcela Machado Fonseca ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Good Health ◽

Daily Activities ◽

Social Activities ◽

Social Environments ◽

Chronic Patients ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Sf 36

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the physical and social factors that influence the quality of life of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on hemodialysis (HD). Study Design: Descriptive and cross-sectional. Methods: There were 149 patients with CKD routinely submitted to HD that answered a questionnaire adapted (Medical Results Survey; SF-36) about the presence of symptoms during and after the HD sessions, main diseases concomitant, and the presence of factors that influence the quality of life. Results: According to the multivariate analysis, the presence of symptoms after the HD contributes to a decrease in the quality of life (p=0.04). However, emotional well-being was positively associated with social activities (p=0.01). The daily activities and the absence of concomitant diseases are associated with good health and, therefore, a better quality of life for patients with CKD (p<0.05). Patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes should be better observed, since such illnesses are always associated with renal dysfunction. Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrate that the chronic renal patients should be inserted into social environments and should perform daily activities despite the limitations of the treatment since an active lifestyle contributes positively to their well-being and quality of life.

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The Effect of Material and Social Deprivation on Well-Being of Elderly in Europe

International Journal of Health Services ◽

10.1177/0020731420981856 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 002073142098185

Author(s):

Marco Terraneo

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Successful Aging ◽

Lower Risk ◽

Social Deprivation ◽

Well Being ◽

Material Deprivation ◽

Explanatory Factors ◽

Path Models

In this work, attention is paid to 2 explanatory factors of successful aging. The first is material deprivation. There is growing evidence that poverty is associated with the onset of physical and mental disorders and, broadly, with aspects such as life satisfaction and happiness. The second factor is social deprivation. Social exclusion affects health due to lack of emotional and concrete support; moreover, participation in social activities among older people is associated with greater longevity and a lower risk of disability. The study describes the effect of material and social deprivation on depression (measured through the EURO-D scale) and quality of life (through CASP-12 scale), for individuals aged 50 and older in 14 European countries. Data is derived from Wave 5 of the SHARE project. To estimate the effect of material and social deprivation on outcomes and to determine whether it is moderated by the country in which people live, we apply 2 multi-group path models, respectively, for people aged 65 or younger and for those aged 66 years or older. Findings indicate that higher material and social deprivation is associated with greater levels of stress and worse quality of life. The effect of social deprivation would be stronger than that of material deprivation, and this result seems to be valid in all countries considered, although their intensity varies significantly between them.

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Influence of Successful Aging, Quality of Life, and Factors Related to Potential Stressors on Older Consumers’ Purchase of Private Health Insurance in South Korea: An Empirical Study Based on Proactive Coping Theory

Journal of Applied Gerontology ◽

10.1177/07334648211002006 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 073346482110020

Author(s):

Jimin Lee ◽

Hyeyoon Bae ◽

Euehun Lee

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Older Adults ◽

Health Insurance ◽

Successful Aging ◽

Private Health Insurance ◽

Well Being ◽

Coping Resources ◽

Proactive Coping ◽

Coping Theory

Considering the weak role of public health insurance in South Korea, this study identified the impact of older consumers’ coping resources such as income and education, well-being (e. g., successful aging and quality of life), and psychological and economic aspects affecting potential stressors on their purchasing of private health insurance (PHI) based on proactive coping theory. From the sixth wave of the 2016 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), a sample of 1,224 Korean older adults aged above 65 years was used; binary logistic regression was conducted to identify the association of PHI and purchase decision factors, first separately for two groups (lower/higher use of health care services), and then for the total group. The results showed that older adults with higher levels of well-being, especially with a higher successful aging index and coping resources such as income are more likely to purchase PHI in all three groups.

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The quality of life, meaning in life, positive orientation to life and gratitude of Catholic seminarians in Poland: A comparative analysis

Archive for the Psychology of Religion ◽

10.1177/0084672420983488 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 008467242098348

Author(s):

Jacek Prusak ◽

Krzysztof Kwapis ◽

Barbara Pilecka ◽

Agnieszka Chemperek ◽

Agnieszka Krawczyk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Meaning In Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Control Group ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Life Meaning ◽

Positive Orientation ◽

Group Members ◽

First Time

The aim of the article is to examine differences in the quality of life (the psychophysical, psychosocial, personal, and metaphysical spheres) as well as gratitude, meaning in life and positive orientation to life between diocesan and religious seminarians and secular students. The influence of religiosity on quality of life and subjective well-being is the subject of numerous studies, but seminarians (i.e. people preparing to be priests) have rarely been included in them. The present research was carried out for the first time with a group of diocesan and religious seminarians in Poland and secular students. The study involved 296 participants—98 diocesan seminarians, 96 religious seminarians and 102 secular students in the control group. Results showed significant differences in the quality of life. Religious and diocesan seminarians scored higher than the control group members in the psychophysical, personal, psychosocial and metaphysical spheres. In addition, in terms of gratitude, and the presence of meaning in life, religious and diocesan seminarians achieved higher scores than the control group but lower scores in searching for the meaning in life. There were no significant differences between diocesan and religious seminarians except that only diocesan seminarians obtained significantly higher scores on positive orientation to life than the control group. Overall, results support the idea that seminarians have higher quality of life and subjective well-being than secular students. Research implications are discussed.

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Let’s Walk It: Mobility and the Perceived Quality of Life in Older Adults

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182111515 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (21) ◽

pp. 11515

Author(s):

Ulrike Bechtold ◽

Natalie Stauder ◽

Martin Fieder

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Older Adults ◽

Research And Development ◽

Social Integration ◽

Well Being ◽

Assistive Technologies ◽

Self Perception ◽

Ageing Society ◽

Self Rated Health

European policy and the research and development landscape put forward a number of arguments in favor of implementing “Active Assisted Living” (AAL) for older adults: it will improve older adults’ quality of life, allow them to age in place, and keep costs for an ageing society down by exploiting new technology markets. The idea is that older adults who are supported by AAL and make use of assistive technologies will enjoy more freedom, autonomy, and mobility and also improved social integration and better communication. Yet, despite a history of more than 10 years of European research and development, the use of AAL applications is not as widespread as expected. To examine older adults’ attitudes to assistive technologies, we conducted a study in Vienna (Austria) between 2018 and 2020 questioning 245 older adults aged 61–93 years (M = 74.27 SD = 6.654) who lived at their private homes and had different support needs (ranging from “no support” to “everyday visit of social and/or care organizations”). The three goals of the study encompassed: (1) examination of their quality of life, (2) their attitudes and use of assistive technologies, and (3) the way they perceive their own and others’ life-course and getting older. AAL as a concept links “ageing in place” and “quality of life”. However, “mobility” is also of major importance here. In this paper, we aim to investigate the relation between the independent variables “Quality of life” and “Mobility” and their possible associations with the following dependent variables: cohabitation, social integration, self-rated health, sportive activities, locomotion, home well-being and safety, physical limitations, falls, and self-perception of their own ageing (compared to others). We calculated multivariate models regressing on these explaining and confounding variables. We found a positive correlation between mobility and quality of life. In detail, our results show a significant positive association between QOL and mobility regarding self-rated health and self-perception. Experiencing vertigo, walking difficulties, and balance problems significantly and negatively influence self-rated health and self-perception compared to others. Our findings can also be read as a clear message that there is a need to improve both health and the culture of ageing and to facilitate positive attitudes toward ageing as an efficient way to enhance the Quality of life of older adults.

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