scholarly journals Personal and Environmental Challenges of Aging in Place with Long-Term Mobility Disabilities

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 956-956
Author(s):  
Widya Ramadhani ◽  
Wendy Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Aging In Place ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Mobility Limitations ◽  
Environmental Barriers ◽  
Age Related ◽  
At Home

Abstract Maintaining independence while aging in place at home requires support, especially for older adults aging with long-term mobility disabilities. As age-related changes progress, individuals with long-term mobility disabilities experience more challenges engaging with daily living activities (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). To understand the activity challenges of these older adults, we analyzed the interview data from the Aging Concerns, Challenges, and Everyday Solution Strategies (ACCESS) study, a comprehensive user needs assessment of 60 older adults who have had mobility disabilities for at least ten years (Koon et al. 2019). We selected interview data that focused on the conduct of ten activities at home: bathing, dressing, moving around, toileting, transferring, doing hobbies, housekeeping, home maintenance, managing diet and nutrition, and caring for others. This archival study used the coding schemes from the ACCESS study that were developed using both conceptual- and data-driven approaches (Koon et al., 2019). The ecological theory of adaptation and aging (Nahemow and Lawton, 1973) was the underlying framework to identify the challenges related to older adults' functional capacity (personal) and physical environmental barriers (environmental). We identified five main challenges: physical strength, general health limitations, mobility limitations, physical access, and transferring. Older adults' responses to overcoming the challenges involved personal, environmental, and person-environment interaction strategies. This study provides insights into the relationship between the source of environmental barriers and personal coping strategies to guide the design of appropriate aging in place supports for older adults with mobility disabilities.

scholarly journals Aging in Place with Age-Related Cognitive Changes: The Impact of Caregiving Support and Finances

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Alexandra Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Aging In Place ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Age In Place ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Personal Finances ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

In the United States, aging in place is a common concept that refers to older adults’ desire to remain in their homes as they age. However, this ability to age in place is a complex process that is not only impacted by the home’s accessibility or individual functional abilities. This paper aims to examine different factors, such as home environment and home modification, caregivers, finances, and other supports present in the participants’ lives, that impact older adults with age-related cognitive changes (ARCC) (in)ability to age in place. Qualitative interviews with older adults with ARCC (n = 5) and their caregivers (n = 5) were conducted. The participants’ experiences while aging in place indicate that finances and caregiving support greatly impacted their lives at home and ability to age in place. Personal finances dictated where some of the participants could age and the support, they could afford from home health aides. Additionally, informal and formal caregivers were an important source of support that aided in the older adults’ ability to remain home. As researchers, we need to continue to address personal finances and the support that the individual has in their lives to most effectively promote aging in place and their life at home.

scholarly journals Housing adaptations and housing accessibility problems among older adults with long-standing spinal cord injury

2020 ◽  
pp. 030802262097951
Author(s):  
Lizette Norin ◽  
Björn Slaug ◽  
Maria Haak ◽  
Susanne Iwarsson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Occupational Performance ◽  
Environmental Barriers ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Long Term Follow Up ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
The Individual

Introduction Adults with spinal cord injuries are living longer than previously, and a majority are living in ordinary housing in the community. Housing accessibility is important for maintaining independent occupational performance for this population, but knowledge in this area is insufficient. We investigated housing adaptations and current accessibility problems among older adults with long-standing (>10 years) spinal cord injuries. Method Data from home visits among 122 older adults with spinal cord injuries in Sweden were used. Housing adaptations and environmental barriers were descriptively analysed. Findings Kitchens, entrances, and hygiene areas were common locations for housing adaptations and environmental barriers that generated accessibility problems. The most common adaptations were ramps, wheelchair-accessible stovetops, and ceiling-lifts. Wall-mounted cupboards and high shelves (kitchen), inaccessible storage areas (outside the dwelling), and a lack of grab bars (hygiene area) generated the most accessibility problems. Conclusion Despite housing adaptations, there are considerable accessibility problems in the dwellings of older adults with long-standing spinal cord injuries in Sweden, indicating that long-term follow-up of the housing situation of this population is necessary. Focusing on accessible housing as a prerequisite for occupational performance is at the core of occupational therapy, deserving attention on the individual as well as the societal level.

Aging of Competitive Athletes

Gerontology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 488-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirofumi Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Masters Athletes ◽  
Competitive Athletes ◽  
Vascular Stiffening ◽  
High Motivation ◽  
Clinical Conditions

Demographics of human aging are rapidly changing. As illustrated in the biomedicalization of aging, an ever increasing number of older adults is affected by a variety of clinical conditions and diseases, including vascular stiffening, sarcopenia, physical disability, and poor quality of life. One population that is situated in the opposite end of the health and functional spectrum to the sedentary frail elderly is Masters athletes. These older competitive athletes are endowed with substantial functional capacity, overall long-term health, high motivation, and psychosocial outlook. Masters athletes are combating the dogma and negative stereotypes of older adults and aging. From the scientific standpoint, examining Masters athletes can provide insight into preventive gerontology, primary prevention of age-related diseases and dysfunctions, and exercise-based medical practices. Moreover, the study on Masters athletes is simply joyous and entertaining as they often remind us what can be possible in aging.

Older Adults’ Ways of Dealing With Daily Life While Living With Long-Term Musculoskeletal Pain at Home

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 685-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catharina Gillsjö ◽  
Donna Schwartz-Barcott ◽  
Ingrid Bergh ◽  
Lars Owe Dahlgren
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Musculoskeletal Pain ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
At Home

scholarly journals Fatigue as a long-term risk factor for limitations in instrumental activities of daily living and/or mobility performance in older adults after 10 years

2016 ◽  
Vol Volume 11 ◽  
pp. 1579-1587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigrid Mueller-Schotte ◽  
Nienke Bleijenberg ◽  
Yvonne T. van der Schouw ◽  
Marieke J. Schuurmans
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Mobility Performance ◽  
Instrumental Activities

scholarly journals Gaming Technology to Support Leisure Activities Among Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 559-559
Author(s):  
Walter Boot
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Gaming Technology ◽  
Research And Education

Abstract There has been a great deal of research on technology to support older adults in their performance of Activities and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. There has been substantially less research, however, on exploring technology solutions that support hobbies and leisure. This is unfortunate, as quality of life and well-being are determined by more than just one’s ability to manage everyday tasks. An overview will be presented of research the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) has conducted over two decades with the goals of understanding and supporting older adults’ performance of technology-based leisure activities. Many of these studies have involved videogaming, where there exists a substantial age-related digital divide. CREATE has evaluated older adults’ attitudes and game experiences through survey and research studies and has even recorded longitudinal gameplay. How these findings can be applied to support technology-based leisure activities will be expanded upon. Part of a symposium sponsored by Technology and Aging Interest Group.

scholarly journals Dissociating refreshing and elaboration and their impacts on memory

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea M. Bartsch ◽  
Vanessa M. Loaiza ◽  
Lutz Jäncke ◽  
Klaus Oberauer ◽  
Jarrod A. Lewis-Peacock
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Ethics Committees ◽  
Fmri Data ◽  
Ethical Review ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
List Type ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Age Related

AbstractMaintenance of information in working memory (WM) is assumed to rely on refreshing and elaboration, but clear mechanistic descriptions of these cognitive processes are lacking, and it is unclear whether they are simply two labels for the same process. This fMRI study investigated the extent to which refreshing, elaboration, and repeating of items in WM are distinct neural processes with dissociable behavioral outcomes in WM and long-term memory (LTM). Multivariate pattern analyses of fMRI data revealed differentiable neural signatures for these processes, which we also replicated in an independent sample of older adults. In some cases, the degree of neural separation within an individual predicted their memory performance. Elaboration improved LTM, but not WM, and this benefit increased as its neural signature became more distinct from repetition. Refreshing had no impact on LTM, but did improve WM, although the neural discrimination of this process was not predictive of the degree of improvement. These results demonstrate that refreshing and elaboration are separate processes that differently contribute to memory performance.HighlightsRepeated reading, refreshing, and elaboration are differentiable in brain activation patterns in both young and older adults.Elaboration selectively improved long-term memory for young adults, and the size of the benefit was related to the neural separability of elaboration from other processes.Older adults implemented a sub-optimal form of elaboration, and this may be a factor contributing to age-related deficits in long-term memory.Ethics statementThe study was approved by the ethical review board of the canton of Zurich (BASEC-No. 2017-00190) and all subjects gave informed written consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.Data and code availability statementAll behavioral data and analysis scripts can be assessed on the Open Science Framework (osf.io/p2h8b/). The fMRI data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, LMB. The fMRI data are not publicly available due to restrictions of the Swiss Ethics Committees on research involving humans regarding data containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

scholarly journals Improvements of Disability Outcomes in CAPABLE Older Adults Differ by Financial Strain Status

2020 ◽  
pp. 073346482097555
Author(s):  
Minhui Liu ◽  
Qian-Li Xue ◽  
Laura Samuel ◽  
Laura N. Gitlin ◽  
Jack Guralnik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Aging In Place ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Financial Strain ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Home Based Intervention ◽  
Strain Status

The Community Aging in Place–Advancing Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) program reduces disability in low-income older adults. In this study, we used CAPABLE baseline and 5-month data to examine whether its effects in reducing activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs (IADLs) difficulties differed by participants’ financial strain status. At baseline, participants with financial strain were more likely to report higher scores on depression ( p < .001), have low energy ( p < .001), and usually feel tired ( p = .004) compared with participants without financial strain, but did not differ in ADL/IADL scores. Participants with financial strain benefited from the program in reducing ADL (relative risk [RR]: 0.61, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43, 0.86) and IADL disabilities (RR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.54, 0.87), compared with those with financial strain receiving attention control. Individuals with financial strain benefited more from a home-based intervention on measures of disability than those without financial strain. Interventions that improve disability may be beneficial for financially strained older adults.

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