scholarly journals GIFT: GRANDMOTHER INITIATIVES IN FAMILY TRANSFORMATION

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S356-S356
Author(s):  
Carol M Musil ◽  
Jaclene Zauszniewski ◽  
Alexandra Jeanblanc ◽  
McKenzie Wallace ◽  
Christina Henrich ◽  
...  

Abstract Little research has been conducted on the development and testing of interventions to support grandmothers during their caregiving experience. Our descriptive and pilot intervention studies provide the foundation for converting a face-to-face resourcefulness intervention into an NIH-funded self-administered, online intervention for grandmother caregivers, to determine its impact on individual health and family well-being. The online intervention provides personal and social resourcefulness training using online video content and structured reflective journaling to reinforce resourcefulness skills compared to reflective journaling. We are testing the resourcefulness intervention in a randomized clinical trial (RCT) with a national sample of 334 grandmothers living with/raising grandchildren, comparing the resourcefulness training protocol vs. unstructured journaling alone. Given the limited interventions available to grandmother caregivers, an intervention that transcends time and place and is available 24 hours a day is expected to bolster the personal and social resourcefulness, which will in turn affect individual and family outcomes.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha M Loi ◽  
Joanne Tropea ◽  
Ellen Gaffy ◽  
Anita Panayiotou ◽  
Hannah Capon ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: With increasing numbers of people living with dementia relying on family to care for them at home, there is an urgent need for practical and evidence-based programs to support carers in maintaining their mental health and well-being. The objective of this study was to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a modified STrAtegies for RelaTives (START) program delivered online (START-online). Method: A mixed methods non-blinded evaluation of START-online (using Zoom as videoconferencing platform) for acceptability and feasibility (completion rates and qualitative feedback through surveys and focus groups) and quantitative evaluation. This occurred at the National Ageing Research Institute, in metropolitan Victoria, Australia.Results: Twenty-nine eligible carers were referred, 20 (70%) consented to the study. Of these 16 (80%) completed all eight sessions, two completed only three sessions, and two withdrew. Carers’ qualitative feedback indicated that the therapist interaction was valued, content and online delivery of the program was acceptable. Feedback was mixed on the appropriate stage of caring. Conclusion: START-online was feasible and acceptable for carers, including those living outside of metropolitan areas who might otherwise be unable to access face-to-face programs. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic necessitating social distancing to avoid infection, interventions such as this one have increasing relevance in the provision of flexible services.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darío Páez ◽  
Gonzalo Martínez-Zelaya ◽  
Marian Bilbao ◽  
Felipe E. García ◽  
Javier Torres-Vallejos ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 984-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas D. Myers ◽  
Isaac Prilleltensky ◽  
Ora Prilleltensky ◽  
Adam McMahon ◽  
Samantha Dietz ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Evi Petersen ◽  
Annette Bischoff ◽  
Gunnar Liedtke ◽  
Andrew J. Martin

Background: Solo—being intentionally solitary in nature—is receiving growing attention as a valuable outdoor education program component. Its practice and history have been researched in the context of experiential learning, but few studies have explicitly examined how solo experiences can affect dimensions of well-being. This study investigated a broad range of well-being pathways provided by being solo, based on data from Norway, Germany, and New Zealand. Methods: Using qualitative content analysis (QCA), the solo debrief responses of 40 participants (26 females, age: 19–64 years) were analysed, applying the PERMA-V framework (emotions, engagement, relationship, meaning, achievement, and vitality). Variations in the reports were explored as a function of the national sample, gender, age, prior solo experiences and expectations. Results: The study suggests that hedonic and eudemonic well-being pathways, represented by the six PERMA-V pillars, interrelate strongly. The experience of a range of positive emotions and connecting process during solo highlights two of the most frequent findings related to well-being pathways. The secondary findings suggest minor variations in the well-being pathways for the different national samples, gender and age. Expectations and prior experiences with solo were identified as context factors with minor impact. Further, the data-driven analysis identified specific physical activities, landscape features, sense-activation, perception of time and ‘good’ weather as relevant to the specific experience. Conclusions: Solo experiences provide for well-being-related pathways in a multitude of ways, which highlights the well-being potential of solo implementation across practical fields beyond outdoor education, such as wilderness therapy, and environmental and planetary health initiatives. Future studies should continue to explore solo’s well-being potential in different settings, especially in the context of non-Western samples.


Author(s):  
Yannick van Hierden ◽  
Timo Dietrich ◽  
Sharyn Rundle-Thiele

In recent years, the relevance of eHealth interventions has become increasingly evident. However, a sequential procedural application to cocreating eHealth interventions is currently lacking. This paper demonstrates the implementation of a participatory design (PD) process to inform the design of an eHealth intervention aiming to enhance well-being. PD sessions were conducted with 57 people across four sessions. Within PD sessions participants experienced prototype activities, provided feedback and designed program interventions. A 5-week eHealth well-being intervention focusing on lifestyle, habits, physical activity, and meditation was proposed. The program is suggested to be delivered through online workshops and online community interaction. A five-step PD process emerged; namely, (1) collecting best practices, (2) participatory discovery, (3) initial proof-of-concept, (4) participatory prototyping, and (5) pilot intervention proof-of-concept finalisation. Health professionals, behaviour change practitioners and program planners can adopt this process to ensure end-user cocreation using the five-step process. The five-step PD process may help to create user-friendly programs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S529-S529
Author(s):  
Daniele Zaccaria ◽  
Georgia Casanova ◽  
Antonio Guaita

Abstract In the last decades the study of older people and social networks has been at the core of gerontology research. The literature underlines the positive health effects of traditional and online social connections and also the social networks’s positive impact on cognitive performance, mental health and quality of life. Aging in a Networked Society is a randomized controlled study aimed at investigating causal impact of traditional face-to-face social networks and online social networks (e.g. Social Network Sites) on older people’ health, cognitive functions and well-being. A social experiment, based on a pre-existing longitudinal study (InveCe - Brain Aging in Abbiategrasso) has involved 180 older people born from 1935 to 1939 living in Abbiategrasso, a municipality near Milan. We analyse effects on health and well-being of smartphones and Facebook use (compared to engagement in a more traditional face-to-face activity), exploiting the research potential of past waves of InveCe study, which collected information concerning physical, cognitive and mental health using international validate scale, blood samples, genetic markers and information on social networks and socio-demographic characteristics of all participants. Results of statistical analysis show that poor social relations and high level of perceived loneliness (measured by Lubben Scale and UCLA Loneliness scale) affect negatively physical and mental outcomes. We also found that gender and marital status mediate the relationship between loneliness and mental wellbeing, while education has not significant effect. Moreover, trial results underline the causal impact of ICT use (smartphones, internet, social network sites) on self-perceived loneliness and cognitive and physical health.


1986 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary J. Levitt ◽  
Toni C. Antonucci ◽  
M. Cherie Clark ◽  
James Rotton ◽  
Gordon E. Finley

The structure of social support and its relation to health, affect, and life satisfaction are compared for two samples of the elderly. The first is a national representative sample; the second is a distressed sample from South Miami Beach. Although there are similarities in the structure of social support across the two groups, those in the Miami Beach sample report fewer support figures, and far fewer within geographic proximity, than do those in the national sample. This comparative network impoverishment is particularly marked for male respondents and is accentuated by a high number of isolates in this group. In addition, stronger relationships are found between support network size and affect, and among affect, life satisfaction, and health in the South Miami Beach sample. Older men in poor health and without supportive relationships are targeted as a particularly high risk subgroup. The discussion includes a focus on personal, situational, and life span differences related to variations in support and well-being and a consideration of implications for more recent waves of elderly sun-belt migrants.


2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
pp. 1625-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight C K Tse

Abstract Objectives Volunteering is associated with improved physical and psychological well-being; volunteers feeling more respect for their work may have better well-being than their counterparts. Methods This study investigated the effects of felt respect for volunteer work on volunteering retention, daily affect, well-being (subjective, psychological, and social), and mortality. The study analyzed survey and mortality data from a national sample of 2,677 volunteers from the Midlife in the United States Study over a 20-year span. Daily affect data were obtained from a subsample of 1,032 volunteers. Results Compared to volunteers feeling less respect from others, those feeling more respect (a) were more likely to continue volunteering 10 and 20 years later, (b) had higher levels of daily positive affect and lower levels of daily negative affect, and (c) had higher levels of well-being over a 20-year period. The effect of felt respect on mortality was not statistically significant. Discussion Greater level of felt respect for volunteer work is positively related to volunteers’ retention rates, daily affective experience, and well-being.


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