scholarly journals Creative Arts-Based Approaches to Improve the Well-Being of Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 234-235
Author(s):  
Darina Petrovsky ◽  
Justine Sefcik

Abstract As older adults age they may face cognitive impairment, disruption in their sleep, and a decrease in mood and overall well-being. Given the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, they may experience a disruption in their access to health care services. Creative arts-based approaches have shown promise in improving the well-being of older adults and may be helpful in augmenting health care services. In this symposium, we will present research results of creative arts-based interventions aimed at improving the well-being of older adults, including those with dementia. We will also discuss ways to successfully engage with organizations that serve older adults using arts-based interventions. The first presentation will focus on the results from a feasibility randomized controlled trial examining the effects of a tailored music listening intervention on sleep outcomes in older adults living with dementia and their caregivers. The second presentation will report findings from the Mason Music & Memory Initiative aiming to improve mood and behavioral outcomes in persons living with dementia in nursing homes. The third presentation will focus on the preliminary results of a pilot study that integrated the delivery of music therapy telehealth with remote social work support and service linkage for rural older adults from low-income areas. The fourth presentation will report findings from the capacity-building program for teaching artists, health/aging organizations, and arts organizations committed to strengthening Creative Aging efforts through research. Implications for future research and creative arts-based intervention development for older adults will be discussed.

2015 ◽  
pp. 132-151
Author(s):  
Sunilkumar S. Manvi ◽  
Manjula R. B.

Although the present technology has aided in development of high-technology-based disease detection machines, potential medicines and devices, the well-being of the individual remains a challenge. Human beings are struggling to control diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, asthma, hypertension, insomnia, heart disease, and diabetes due to non-availability of patient's real-time data for comprehensive study and analysis. Smart health centre environments represent the evolutionary developmental step towards intelligent health care. The Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) with pervasive and ubiquitous computing may be a solution for this predicament. WSNs are a key technology for ambient assisted living. The concept of WSN is used to measure the various health parameters like blood pressure, blood clot, allergy, ECG, cholesterol, RBCs, etc. In this chapter, the authors highlight the importance of WSNs with respect to health care services and discuss some of its challenging applications for diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, asthma, and heart disease. They delineate the challenges that researchers face in this area that may lead to future research.


Author(s):  
Sunilkumar S. Manvi ◽  
Manjula R. B.

Although the present technology has aided in development of high-technology-based disease detection machines, potential medicines and devices, the well-being of the individual remains a challenge. Human beings are struggling to control diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, hypertension, insomnia, heart disease, and diabetes due to non-availability of patient’s real-time data for comprehensive study and analysis. Smart health centre environments represent the evolutionary developmental step towards intelligent health care. The Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) with pervasive and ubiquitous computing may be a solution for this predicament. WSNs are a key technology for ambient assisted living. The concept of WSN is used to measure the various health parameters like blood pressure, blood clot, allergy, ECG, cholesterol, RBCs, etc. In this chapter, the authors highlight the importance of WSNs with respect to health care services and discuss some of its challenging applications for diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, asthma, and heart disease. They delineate the challenges that researchers face in this area that may lead to future research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-69
Author(s):  
Cynthia Sterling-Fox

Globally, the number of homebound older adults is rising exponentially as the aging population increases. Homebound older adults have complex medical and psychological issues for which many receive home-based primary care services. The purpose of this integrative review was to identify, analyze, and synthesize the existing literature regarding homebound older adults’ need for, use of, and access to five nonprimary health care services. They are dental, nutritional, optical, pharmacy, and psychological services. The integrative review was conducted using a database search of CINAHL, Health Source: Nursing Education, PubMed, Medline, PsycINFO, and Cochrane, that was supplemented by a hand search. Little research was found addressing the five nonprimary health care services. Five themes emerged from the 10 studies. They were (1) complex and interrelated health problems require more health care services; (2) perceived unimportance of nonprimary health care services; (3) barriers to use of and access to nonprimary health care services; (4) the impact of socioeconomic and demographical factors on access to services; and (5) the impact of psychological factors (depression and social isolation) on the use and access to health care services. These findings suggest further inequity and barriers to health care services by homebound older adults. Future research is needed with nonprimary health care providers to examine the clinical outcomes and costs of providing the services to homebound older adults.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill C. Slaboda ◽  
Sandahl H. Nelson ◽  
Zia Agha ◽  
Gregory J. Norman

Abstract Background Caregiving is a demanding role that can negatively impact a person’s health and well-being. As such, adequate access to health care is important for maintaining the family caregiver’s own personal health. The aims of this study were to identify if family caregivers of older adults had more difficulty accessing health care services than non-caregivers and to identify if family caregivers felt access to additional services would be beneficial for maintaining their own personal health care. Methods National survey of 3026 US adults aged 30 to 89 years old. Participants were grouped based on self-reported caregiving experience. Survey asked about access to care, importance of health care services and whether caregivers had support needed. Descriptive statistics were used to compare caregiver and non-caregiver’s responses. Multivariate logistic regression model assessed correlates of caregivers not having the support they needed. Results Caregivers were older, female, lower educational attainment, lower income, had more multiple chronic health conditions and health condition or disability that impacts their daily life. Caregivers reported difficulty accessing mental health services, dental services, medications, and supportive services at home. Caregivers felt it was important to have care coordinator, long-term relationship with primary care provider and access to house calls, telemedicine, and medications delivered to the home. Age, ethnicity, chronic conditions and confidence in finances were factors influencing whether caregiver had support needed to provide assistance to older care recipient. Conclusion Caregivers provide needed support and care to older adults while also needing support for themselves. Health care services delivered in the home were highly desirable to caregivers and could help them maintain their health and well-being.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 506
Author(s):  
Jan Ketil Rød ◽  
Arne H. Eide ◽  
Thomas Halvorsen ◽  
Alister Munthali

Central to this article is the issue of choosing sites for where a fieldwork could provide a better understanding of divergences in health care accessibility. Access to health care is critical to good health, but inhabitants may experience barriers to health care limiting their ability to obtain the care they need. Most inhabitants of low-income countries need to walk long distances along meandering paths to get to health care services. Individuals in Malawi responded to a survey with a battery of questions on perceived difficulties in accessing health care services. Using both vertical and horizontal impedance, we modelled walking time between household locations for the individuals in our sample and the health care centres they were using. The digital elevation model and Tobler’s hiking function were used to represent vertical impedance, while OpenStreetMap integrated with land cover map were used to represent horizontal impedance. Combining measures of walking time and perceived accessibility in Malawi, we used spatial statistics and found spatial clusters with substantial discrepancies in health care accessibility, which represented fieldwork locations favourable for providing a better understanding of barriers to health access.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 528
Author(s):  
Cristian Lieneck ◽  
Brooke Herzog ◽  
Raven Krips

The delivery of routine health care during the COVID-19 global pandemic continues to be challenged as public health guidelines and other local/regional/state and other policies are enforced to help prevent the spread of the virus. The objective of this systematic review is to identify the facilitators and barriers affecting the delivery of routine health care services during the pandemic to provide a framework for future research. In total, 32 articles were identified for common themes surrounding facilitators of routine care during COVID-19. Identified constructed in the literature include enhanced education initiatives for parents/patients regarding routine vaccinations, an importance of routine vaccinations as compared to the risk of COVID-19 infection, an enhanced use of telehealth resources (including diagnostic imagery) and identified patient throughput/PPE initiatives. Reviewers identified the following barriers to the delivery of routine care: conservation of medical providers and PPE for non-routine (acute) care delivery needs, specific routine care services incongruent the telehealth care delivery methods, and job-loss/food insecurity. Review results can assist healthcare organizations with process-related challenges related to current and/or future delivery of routine care and support future research initiatives as the global pandemic continues.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097206342110115
Author(s):  
Feryad A. Hussain

Integrative models of health care have garnered increasing attention over the years and are currently being employed within acute and secondary health care services to support medical treatments in a range of specialities. Clinical hypnosis has a history of working in partnership with medical treatments quite apart from its psychiatric associations. It aims to mobilise the mind–body connection in order to identify and overcome obstacles to managing symptoms of ill health, resulting in overall improved emotional and physical well-being. This article aims to encourage the use of hypnotherapy in physical health care by highlighting the effectiveness of hypnosis as an adjunct to medical treatment and identifying barriers preventing further integrative treatments.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-171
Author(s):  
Rachel Fisher ◽  
Jasneet Parmar ◽  
Wendy Duggleby ◽  
Peter George J. Tian ◽  
Wonita Janzen ◽  
...  

Introduction Family caregivers (FCGs) play an integral, yet often invisible, role in the Canadian health-care system. As the population ages, their presence will become even more essential as they help balance demands on the system and enable community dwelling seniors to remain so for as long as possible. To preserve their own well-being and capacity to provide ongoing care, FCGs require support to the meet the challenges of their daily caregiving responsibilities. Supporting FCGs results in better care provision to community-dwelling seniors receiving health-care services, as well as enhancing the quality of life for FCGs. Although FCGs rely upon health-care professionals (HCPs) to provide them with support and services, there is a paucity of research pertaining to the type of health workforce training (HWFT) that HCPs should receive to address FCG needs. Programs that train HCPs to engage with, empower, and support FCGs are required. Objective To describe and discuss key findings of a caregiver symposium focused on determining components of HWFT that might better enable HCPs to support FCGs. Methods A one-day symposium was held on February 22, 2018 in Edmonton, Alberta, to gather the perspectives of FCGs, HCPs, and stakeholders. Attendees participated in a series of working groups to discuss barriers, facilitators, and recommendations related to HWFT. Proceedings and working group discussions were transcribed, and a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted to identify key themes. Results Participants identified the following topic areas as being essential to training HCPs in the provision of support for FCGs: understanding the FCG role, communicating with FCGs, partnering with FCGs, fostering FCG resilience, navigating healthcare systems and accessing resources, and enhancing the culture and context of care. Conclusions FCGs require more support than is currently being provided by HCPs. Training programs need to specifically address topics identified by participants. These findings will be used to develop HWFT for HCPs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110535
Author(s):  
Nathan Wright ◽  
Marylee Scherdt ◽  
Michelle L. Aebersold ◽  
Marjorie C. McCullagh ◽  
Barbara R. Medvec ◽  
...  

Objectives: Rural residents comprise approximately 15% of the United States population. They face challenges in accessing and using a health care system that is not structured to meet their unique needs. It is important to understand rural residents’ perceptions of health and experiences interacting with the health care system to identify gaps in care. Methods: Our team conducted focus groups with members of the Michigan Farm Bureau during their 2019 Annual Meeting. Topics explored included resources to manage health, barriers to virtual health care services, and desired changes to localized healthcare delivery. Surveys were used to capture demographic and internet access information. Conclusion: Analysis included data from 2 focus groups (n = 14). Participants represented a wide age range and a variety of Michigan counties. The majority were full-time farm owners with most—93% (n = 13)—reporting they had access to the internet in their homes and 86% (n = 12) reporting that their cellphones had internet capabilities. Participants identified challenges and opportunities in 4 categories: formal health care; health and well-being supports; health insurance experiences; and virtual health care. Conclusion: The findings from this study provide a useful framework for developing interventions to address the specific needs of rural farming residents. Despite the expressed challenges in access and use of health care services and resources, participants remained hopeful that innovative approaches, such as virtual health platforms, can address existing gaps in care. The study findings should inform the design and evaluation of interventions to address rural health disparities.


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