RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN WELL-BEING FOR OLDER ADULTS RECEIVING LONG-TERM SERVICES AND SUPPORTS IN THE COMMUNITY

Abstract Even with forethought and planning, a lot can threaten economic wellbeing in the years ahead for older adults retiring at typical retirement ages. Although results for any individual cannot be predicted with certainty, some risks are quantifiable: for example, mortality/ longevity and disability risks are reasonably well-defined. Risk of dementia is not so well understood, and may be changing. Financial risk might be seen as manageable, but older adults relying on retirement income sources can be especially vulnerable to unprecedented shocks to the general economy. We consider four aspects of this dilemma. First, older adults retiring with outstanding debts may have difficulty weathering financial shocks. Our first presentation provides up-to-date information about trends in indebtedness at older ages, especially focusing on newly salient types of indebtedness: medical and student loan debt, and debt incurred to smooth finances in the recent recession. Stewardship of finances during retirement can be a challenging personal management undertaking. Our second presentation will consider how dementia can complicate this process. Protection against outliving one’s resources is more complex and costlier in the era of defined contribution retirement accounts. Our third presentation will discuss strategies to combine retirement assets, including Social Security claiming, to hedge longevity risk. Finally, needs for long-term services and supports may be met with either paid or informal (family) care, or both, but cannot be predicted with certainty. Our fourth presentation examines the long-term impacts on families due to the difficulty in insuring against this risk. Economics of Aging Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.

Download Full-text

Perception Versus Reality: Subjective and Objective Neighborhood Characteristics and Cognitive Function in REGARDS

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2470 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 703-703

Author(s):

Jessica Finlay ◽

Philippa Clarke ◽

Lisa Barnes

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Racial Differences ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Well Being ◽

Daily Basis ◽

Cognitive Status ◽

Functional Mobility ◽

Neighborhood Size ◽

Regards Study

Abstract Does the world shrink as we age? The neighborhood captures a spatial area someone inhabits and moves through on a daily basis. It reflects a balance between internal perceptions and abilities, and the external environment which may enable or restrict participation in everyday life. We frequently hear that older adults have shrinking neighborhoods given declining functional mobility. This is associated with declines in physical and cognitive functioning, depression, poorer quality of life, and mortality. Knowledge of the interplay between objective and subjective neighborhood measurement remains limited. This symposium will explore these linked yet distinct constructs based on secondary data analyses of the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a racially diverse sample of 30,000+ aging Americans. Finlay investigates how someone’s perceived neighborhood size (in number of blocks) varies by individual and geographic characteristics including age, cognitive function, self-rated health, and urban/rural context. Esposito’s analyses focus on neighborhood size in relation to race and residential segregation. Clarke compares subjective perceptions of neighborhood parks and safety from crime to objective indicators, and examines variations by health and cognitive status. Barnes will critically consider implications for how older adults interpret and engage with their surrounding environments. The symposium questions the validity of neighborhood-based metrics to reflect the perspectives and experiences of older residents, particularly those navigating cognitive decline. It informs policy-making efforts to improve physical neighborhood environments and social community contexts, which are critical to the health and well-being of older adults aging in place.

Download Full-text

Older Adults Post-Incarceration: Restructuring Long-term Services and Supports in the Time of COVID-19

Journal of the American Medical Directors Association ◽

10.1016/j.jamda.2020.09.030 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nathan A. Boucher ◽

Courtney H. Van Houtven ◽

Walter D. Dawson

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Services And Supports

Download Full-text

WHAT PREDICTS TRANSITIONS IN CARE FOR OLDER ADULTS NEW TO LONG-TERM SERVICES AND SUPPORTS?

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igx004.3421 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (suppl_1) ◽

pp. 951-951

Author(s):

K.B. Hirschman ◽

M. Toles ◽

A. Hanlon ◽

B.K. Daly ◽

M.D. Naylor

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Transitions In Care ◽

Services And Supports

Download Full-text

SLEEP IN LATE LIFE: RECENT RESEARCH ON PSYCHIATRIC CORRELATES AND TREATMENT

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.171 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S44-S44

Author(s):

Mary E Dozier

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Sleep Disturbance ◽

Behavioral Interventions ◽

Slow Wave Sleep ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Services And Supports ◽

Sleep And Cognition ◽

The Impact

Abstract Sleep is an often overlooked health factor, particularly in older adults. Sleep disturbance is associated with increased functional impairment as well as poorer cognitive, mental, and physical health trajectories. Understanding the clinical impact of disturbed sleep, and the optimal targets for intervention, is critical for the promotion of health and well-being in older adults. This symposium will highlight recent findings that advance the extant knowledge on the interplay of sleep disturbance and physical and psychiatric co-morbidities in older adults across a variety of settings. Darina V. Petrovsky will discuss the impact of medical, demographic, and contextual factors on excessive daytime sleepiness in older adults receiving long-term services and supports. Kathi L. Heffner will present data on a recent study examining change in slow wave sleep, and subsequent change in osteoarthritis pain, following insomnia treatment. Courtney Bolstad will discuss the differential impact of onset, maintenance, and terminal insomnia on anxiety and depression symptoms in community-dwelling older adults. Eliza Davidson will present research on the association between sleep disturbance and hoarding symptoms in older adults engaged in behavioral interventions for hoarding disorder. Finally, Christina McCrae will discuss the relationship between sleep and cognition in older adults with insomnia.

Download Full-text

Financial Vulnerability and Worker Well-Being: A Comparison of Long-Term Services and Supports Workers With Other Health Workers

Medical Care Research and Review ◽

10.1177/1077558720930131 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 107755872093013 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ulrike Muench ◽

Matthew Jura ◽

Joanne Spetz ◽

Rachel Mathison ◽

Charlene Herrington

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Health Workers ◽

Well Being ◽

Financial Vulnerability ◽

American Time Use Survey ◽

Care Workers ◽

Time Use Survey ◽

Services And Supports

Over 1.5 million new jobs need to be filled by 2026 for medical assistants, nursing aides, and home care aides, many of which will work in the long-term services and supports (LTSS) sector. Using 16 years of data from the American Time Use Survey, we examined the financial vulnerability of high-skill and low-skill LTSS workers in comparison with other health care workers, while providing insight into their well-being by measuring time spent on work and nonwork activities. We found that, regardless of skill status, working in LTSS was associated with lower wages and an increased likelihood of experiencing poverty compared with other health care workers. Results from time diary data indicated that the LTSS workforce spent a greater share of their time working and commuting to work. Low-skill LTSS workers were hardest hit, spending more time on paid and unpaid activities, such as household and child care responsibilities.

Download Full-text

Maintenance motives for physical activity among older adults: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032605 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. e032605 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mary Katherine Huffman ◽

Jason Brian Reed ◽

Theresa Carpenter ◽

Steve Amireault

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Older Adults ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Well Being ◽

Publication Date ◽

Sample Mean ◽

Institutional Review Board Review ◽

Human Research Protection Program

IntroductionPhysical activity (PA) is an important aspect for health and well-being, yet many older adults do not maintain their PA long term. The identification of key factors that are associated with, and likely causally related to, older adults’ PA maintenance is a crucial first step towards developing programmes that are effective at promoting long-term PA behaviour change. The purpose of this protocol is to outline a systematic review that will examine the relationship between four motives (ie, satisfaction, enjoyment, self-determination and identity) and older adults’ PA maintenance.Methods and analysisStudies that investigated PA maintenance with a sample mean age ≥55 years will be included. Five electronic databases (PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses) were searched on 6 April 2018 with no publication date limit (ie, from inception). One reviewer screened 100% of titles and abstracts (k=21 470) while a random subsample (20%) was screened independently by two reviewers. An update of the search was run on 1 October 2019. All studies for which the full text was retrieved will be independently screened by two reviewers. Data pertaining to study sample, design, motives, PA (eg, measurement validity evidence, study definition of maintenance) and essential bias domains (eg, bias due to missing data) will be extracted. Study-level effect sizes will be calculated, and if the number of studies is ≥5, a random-effects meta-analysis will be performed using inverse-variance methods; a narrative synthesis will be performed otherwise.Ethics and disseminationThe university’s Human Research Protection Program determined that the proposed study qualifies as exempt from the Institutional Review Board review under Exemption Category 4 (PROPEL #: 80047007). Results will be published in a peer-review journal, and the findings will help inform future interventions with older adults.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018088161.

Download Full-text

THE IMPACT OF A PARO INTERVENTION ON DEPRESSION AND WELL-BEING IN OLDER ADULTS WITH DEPRESSION

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.1236 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S341-S341

Author(s):

Shu-Chuan Chen ◽

Wendy Moyle ◽

Cindy Jones

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Older Adults ◽

Older People ◽

Long Term Care ◽

Well Being ◽

World Health ◽

Term Care ◽

Care Facilities

Abstract Aim: This study aimed to explore the effect of a social robot Paro intervention on depression and well-being in older adults with depression living in long-term care facilities in Taiwan. Methods: This study was adopted a single group and quasi-experimental with repeated measures design. Each participant participated in two stages: observation and Paro intervention stages. Stage 1 was an 8-week observation stage in long-term care facilities where the purpose was to observe the normal mood, behaviour and activities of older adults with depression. In stage 2, each participant was given a Paro by the researcher to keep for 24 hours for 7 days in for 8 weeks. Outcome measurements were obtained 4 times: a week before the intervention (T1), immediately the end of 8-week observation (T2), mid-point of Paro intervention (T3), and immediately the end of 8-week Paro intervention (T4). Instruments included the Geriatric Depression Scale, the UCLA Loneliness Scale version 3, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-OLD. Results: There were 20 participants completed the study. The mean age of participants was 81.1years (SD = 8.2). After 8-week Paro intervention, statistically significant differences in changes were found on depression, loneliness, and quality of life from pre-intervention to post-intervention. Conclusion: This study was found that Paro intervention has beneficial effects on depression and mental well-being for older people with depression in long-term care facilities. Paro Intervention might be a suitable psychosocial intervention for older people with depression and should be considered as a useful tool in clinical practice.

Download Full-text

SOCIAL ISOLATION AND OLDER ADULTS: UNDERSTANDING THEIR EXPERIENCE

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.1346 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S368-S369

Author(s):

Bonnie Jeffery ◽

Tom McIntosh ◽

Nuelle Novik

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Community Activities ◽

Rural And Urban ◽

Isolation Index ◽

Key Variables ◽

Services And Supports ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract This presentation will focus on a unique undertaking where three provincial organizations in Saskatchewan, Canada implemented nine projects to address social isolation for rural and urban older adults across a geography that encompasses one-half of the province. A survey of older adults was conducted to assess their level of social isolation in order to gain a more thorough understanding of the experiences of social isolation among community dwelling older adults. Key variables of interest included: older adult access to services and supports, participation in activities, feelings of being valued by others, barriers to supports and services, and the overall isolation experienced by older adults. The responses from 1,719 urban and rural older adults indicate that 24.1% of respondents felt that they lack support, 17.2% feel less connected to family and friends, and 16.8% of respondents do not feel valued by their friends and family. Overall, almost one-quarter (23.9%) of the survey respondents score ‘high’ or ‘medium’ on a Social Isolation Index. One-third of respondents report they experience barriers to participation in activities outside the home. Several key categories of barriers were identified: health, personal, environmental, social, transportation and systemic. Respondents identified accommodation, services, practices, and activities as areas where their community could assist in participation of community activities outside of the home. Social isolation can have serious health consequences for older adults. The results of this survey highlight several key areas that older adults identify as important for reducing their feelings of isolation and enhancing their overall health and well-being.

Download Full-text