scholarly journals The effect of handrail cross-sectional design and age on applied handrail forces during reach-to-grasp balance reactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippa Gosine ◽  
Vicki Komisar ◽  
Alison C. Novak

AbstractHandrails have been shown to reduce the likelihood of falls. Despite common use, little is known about how handrail shape and size affect the forces that people can apply after balance loss, and how these forces and the corresponding ability to recover balance depend on age. Following rapid platform translations, 16 older adults and 16 sex-matched younger adults recovered their balance using seven handrail cross-sections varying in shape and size. Younger adults were able to withstand higher perturbations, but did not apply higher forces, than older adults. However, younger adults achieved their peak resultant force more quickly, which may reflect slower rates of force generation with older adults. Considering handrail design, the 38mm round handrails allowed participants to successfully recover from the largest perturbations and enabled the highest force generation. Conversely, tapered handrails had the poorest performance, resulting in the lowest force generation and withstood perturbation magnitudes. Our findings suggest that the handrail cross-sectional design affects the magnitude of force generation and may impact the success of recovery. Our findings can inform handrail design recommendations that support effective handrail use in demanding, balance recovery scenarios.

F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 216
Author(s):  
Sabuj Kanti Mistry ◽  
ARM Mehrab Ali ◽  
Uday Narayan Yadav ◽  
Nafis Md. Irfan ◽  
Binod Rayamajhee ◽  
...  

Background The COVID-19 has been appeared as the most remarkable global calamity of this century. Just as the COVID-19 spread throughout the world, so as the rumour and misconceptions related to it. The present study aimed to explore the prevalence of COVID-19 related misconceptions and its correlates among the older adults in Bangladesh. Methods The study followed a cross-sectional design and was conducted among 1032 participants aged 60 years and above from Bangladesh. Information was collected on 14 different locally relevant misconceptions related to the spread, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19, scored each misconception as one, and obtained a cumulative score, ranging from 0 to 14, with a higher score indicating a higher level of misconceptions. A multiple linear regression model explored the factors associated with misconceptions. Results The most common misconceptions were, all returning migrants carrying COVID-19 (45.5%), wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) in outdoors (80.1%), not going to the funeral of people died of COVID-19 (45.2%), its prevention by nutritious food (57.6%) and drinking water (39.4%), and doctor can cure COVID-19 (49.9%). Misconceptions were higher among the participants who were living alone, whose family members were not responsive to their needs during COVID-19, and who received COVID-19 related information from Radio/TV and health workers. These misconceptions were less likely among those who were aged 70-79 years, who had pre-existing non-communicable chronic conditions, who were overwhelmed by COVID-19, and who felt themselves at highest risk of COVID-19. Conclusion Overall, we found that misconceptions were prevalent among the older adults in Bangladesh. Government and other relevant stakeholders should take immediate actions to address the prevalent misconceptions through using appropriate channels, media, and message delivery systems, and applying evidence-based risk communication methods.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Grace Prost ◽  
Meghan A. Novisky

Purpose The purpose of this paper aims to examine differences in measures of and relationships between visitation and quality of life (QOL) among older and younger jailed adults. The authors also explored the contribution of visitation to QOL among adults in this setting. The authors anticipated fewer visits and lower QOL among older adults. Framed by psychosocial developmental theory, the authors also anticipated a larger effect in the relationship between visitation and QOL among older rather than younger adults and that visitation would contribute most readily to psychological QOL. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional data from a large US jail were used (n = 264). The authors described the sample regarding visitation and QOL measures among older (≥45) and younger adults (≤44) and examined differences in measures of and relationships between visitation and QOL using independent sample t-tests and bivariate analyses. The authors explored the contribution of visitation to psychological, social relationships, physical and environmental QOL among jailed adults using hierarchical multiple linear regression. Findings Older adults had fewer family visits and lower physical QOL than younger adults, disparities were moderate in effect (d range = 0.33–0.35). A significant difference also emerged between groups regarding the visitation and environmental QOL relationship (z = 1.66, p <0.05). Visitation contributed to variation in physical and social relationships QOL among jailed adults (Beta range = 0.19–0.24). Originality/value Limited research exists among jailed older adults and scholars have yet to examine the relationship between visitation and QOL among persons in these settings.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Di Domenico ◽  
Beth Fairfield ◽  
Nicola Mammarella

Objectives. While self-pain perception has been widely investigated in aging, the perception as well as memory of pain in others has received little attention.Methods. The study was designed as a cross-sectional behavioral study in which a group of 41 younger and a group of 41 older adults evaluated a series of valenced and pain-related pictures and were later required to recall them.Results. We found that older adults judge the stimuli as being less intense compared to their younger counterparts. However, older adults remembered a larger number of pictures with individuals expressing pain compared to pictures with individuals who have neutral or positive facial expressions.Conclusions. Older adults may underestimate emotional intensity in others, but they seem to remember painful information in others as well as younger adults. These data are discussed in terms of theories of pain perception and implications for hospitalization.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S711-S712
Author(s):  
Shayla Thompson ◽  
Broderick Sawyer ◽  
Suzanne Meeks

Abstract Racial microaggressions are a common form of racial discrimination consisting of subtle or interpersonal slights. Racial microaggressions are linked to various kinds of psychological distress in younger adults, but have not been studied across the lifespan. We examined the relationship of racial microaggressions with psychological distress and anger rumination among younger and older adults identified as racial or ethnic minorities. We hypothesized that age would moderate the relationship between racial microaggressions and psychological distress and anger rumination, that is, the relationship would be weaker for older than for younger adults. Participants were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and were compensated $1 for their participation. Preliminary tests of the hypotheses (N=220), using multiple regression analyses to test for moderation, failed to support the hypothesis that age would mitigate the impact of microaggressions on symptom severity. Both age and microaggressions were related to psychological distress and anger rumination, but contrary to prediction, older adults showed more exacerbation of distress in the face of microaggressions than younger adults. The results also differed by gender and ethnic groups, suggesting the importance of examining intersectional experiences of race, gender, and age in response to discrimination. These cross-sectional findings lend support to the importance of considering both subtle and overt discriminatory experiences in understanding the mental health challenges for minority groups in the U.S., but more work is needed to examine the intersection of ethnicity with other demographic variables, and to understand how the lifelong experiences of discrimination may shape older adults’ vulnerability, well-being, and resilience.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S343-S343
Author(s):  
Junyan Tian ◽  
Sara A Freed ◽  
Lesley Ross

Abstract Although annual driving mileage has frequently been examined as a predictor of crashes among older adults, most research used cross-sectional design and relied on self-reported crash data. This study used multivariate regression to examine the number of state reported at-fault crashes between groups of low (14,000km) self-reported annual distance over five years. Additionally, key factors of interest including age, gender, and population density were examined as predictors. The sample included 519 healthy older adults aged 65-90 (M=73.17, SD=5.56) across five sites in the United States. 12% of participants experienced a crash across five years, and among those who crashed, the majority (87%) experienced one crash (range 0-3 crashes). After controlling for age, gender and testing site, people in the high annual mileage group had a greater number of crashes compared to the low mileage group (β=.14, t(513)=2.37, p=.02). There was not a significant difference in number of prospective crashes between the low and medium group. Also, people who drove in sites with low population density had more crashes than those who in high population density sites (β=.10, t(513)=2.24, p=.03). Higher age was associated with a greater number of prospective crashes (β=.01, t(513)=3.67, p =.002); however, gender was not a significant predictor of crashes. Our results highlight the importance of examining prospective crashes over time, and taking mileage and population density into consideration. Future research should examine trajectories of driving exposure in relation to prospective crashes using multilevel modeling.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Devine ◽  
Cassandra Neumann ◽  
David Levari ◽  
Robert Wilson ◽  
Ben Eppinger

Abstract Prevalence-induced concept change describes a cognitive mechanism by which someone’s definition of a concept shifts as the prevalence of instances of that concept changes. The phenomenon has real-world implications because this sensitivity to environmental characteristics may lead to substantial biases in judgements. While prevalence-induced concept change has been established in young adults, it is unclear how it changes as a function of human ageing. In this cross-sectional study, we explore how prevalence-induced concept change affects older adults’ lower-level, perceptual, and higher-order, ethical, judgements. We find that older adults are less sensitive to prevalence-induced concept change than younger adults across domains. Using a combination of computational and experimental approaches, we demonstrate that these changes in judgements are sensitive to the pace with which the stimuli occur in the environment and are affected by the effort that subjects invest in order to make accurate decisions. Based on findings from three experiments we argue that older adults’ concept spaces are more rigid than those of younger adults. However, what appear as an age-related cognitive “deficit” may turn out to be beneficial because it makes older adults less susceptible to biases in judgments.  


2020 ◽  
pp. 016402752097514
Author(s):  
Sunwoo Lee

This study examined the relationship between material adversities due to pandemic crisis, institutional trust, and subjective well-being and mental health among middle-aged and older adults aged 50+ in Europe. The study used a cross-sectional design to examine Eurofound COVID-19 survey data collected from 27 European countries in April 2020. A total of 31,757 European middle aged and older adults aged 50 + were analyzed (Mean = 59.99, SD = 7.03). Analysis focused on the financial impact and material security in relation to pandemic lockdown, institutional trust (news media, police, national government, European Union, and healthcare system), and subjective well-being and mental health. Regression analysis indicated perceived insecurity in employment and housing, worsening finances, and difficulty paying for basic necessities were significantly related to respondents’ life satisfaction, happiness, self-rated health, mental health index, and psychological distress. Institutional trust partially mediated the relationship between perceived adversities and subjective well-being and mental health.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105477382110117
Author(s):  
Altun Baksi ◽  
Hamdiye Arda Sürücü ◽  
Hale Turhan Damar ◽  
Meltem Sungur

This study aimed to examine the relationship between older adults’ readiness for discharge after surgery and satisfaction with nursing care and effects factors, using a descriptive, cross-sectional design that included 204 older adults. Examining the state of readiness for the discharge of older adults who underwent surgery in terms of the expected support sub-dimension of patients revealed that the presence of someone to support home care, the existence of health insurance, living with someone, undergoing emergency surgery, and being illiterate were statistically significant predictors. Thought of improvement in terms of nursing care between prior hospitalization and the latest hospitalization, use of intensive care unit, male, nursing care satisfaction, and the existence of health insurance were statistically significant predictors of the readiness for discharge in older adults after surgery in terms of personal status sub-dimension. Accordingly, an individual approach that takes these characteristics/variables into account is recommended when planning discharge.


2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzan Parsinejad ◽  
Chris Kassner ◽  
Mark Kurtz ◽  
Naiquan Ye

This paper focuses on evaluating the impact of friction and contact pressure on helical steel tubes. The initial gaps between steel tubes and adjacent layers, friction coefficients and the contact stiffness are the main factors that affect such investigation. A novel methodology by using UFLEX2D (a MARINTEK product) has been applied for modeling complex umbilical cross sections and for the study of these parameters. Two cross sections for the same subsea application but with different designs have been investigated in the study. It has been shown how fatigue damage can be significantly impacted by different cross-sectional design. For this study, nonlinear moment/curvature relationship has been included in the analyses. Based on the findings of this study, more realistic results can be achieved by including the nonlinear behavior in global analysis for fatigue damage calculations instead of using nominal bending stiffness supplied by umbilical manufacturer.


2009 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L. Segal ◽  
Tracy N. Needham ◽  
Frederick L. Coolidge

The attachment patterns of younger and older adults were studied using two-dimensional self-report measures of adult attachment. Community-dwelling younger ( n = 144, M = 22.5 years, SD = 3.6) and older ( n = 106, M = 68.6 years, SD = 8.3) adults completed the Measure of Attachment Qualities (MAQ; Carver, 1997) and the Relationship Style Questionnaire (RSQ; Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994). Although the MAQ and RSQ are believed to be measuring similar constructs, they are derived from different theoretical perspectives. Correlations between the two measures were in the expected directions proving modest evidence for their convergent validity. Regarding cross-sectional results, as was expected, older adults scored lower than younger adults on the ambivalent-worry attachment scale of the MAQ and the preoccupied attachment scale of the RSQ. There were no age differences regarding secure, avoidant, and dismissing attachment. It appears that older adults experience anxious types of attachment less frequently than younger adults. Although these results primarily speak to age differences and possible cohort effects, they also provide some support for socioemotional selectivity theory and its hypothesized improved relationships in later life.


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