Exploring Older Adults’ Experiences and Perceptions with a Peer-Led Wheelchair Training Program

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-199
Author(s):  
Alice Pellichero ◽  
Krista L. Best ◽  
François Routhier ◽  
William C. Miller

Background. Manual wheelchair (MWC) training is important, but less than 50% of new wheelchair users receive any training. The Wheelchair training Self-efficacy Enhanced for Use (WheelSeeU), a community-based peer-led MWC training program, is feasible and effective for improving wheelchair skills. However, implementing effective programs requires an understanding of stakeholders’ experiences. Purpose. Explore older adults’ perceptions about their participation in the WheelSeeU program. Method. Qualitative interviews were conducted with participants who completed the WheelSeeU program. Thematic analysis was conducted. Findings. Three themes emerged. 1. Getting my life back described participants’ perceived impact of the WheelSeeU program on their lives. 2. I can do it too, implied critical facilitators for success. 3. Social gains, revealed participants’ feelings of social inclusion through participation in the program. Implications. Older adults expressed satisfaction and quality of participation with the WheelSeeU program that increased autonomy, improved MWC mobility and self-efficacy, and enhanced social connectedness.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 229
Author(s):  
Lorena Marotta ◽  
Andrea Pesce ◽  
Andrea Guazzini

COVID-19 (Corona-Virus Disease 2019) in Italy and the measures that were adopted to contain its diffusion had a strong impact on people’s quality of life and mental health. The objective of the study was to quantify the psychological impact of the lockdown period on the general Italian population during the two weeks when the COVID-19 emergency in Italy was at its peak. The study (1556 adults) was conducted from April 6th to April 12th, 2020. A survey was developed through Google Forms in order to assess different psychological measures (Self Efficacy, Locus of Control, Social Connectedness, Sense of Virtual Community, Flourishing, Positive and Negative Affect, Life Satisfaction, and Risk Propensity). The results were then compared to reference data. Thelockdown period increased arousal mainly for negative emotions, but also for positive emotions, and quality of life seemed to be reduced. From a psychosocial point of view, while social connectedness has decreased during lockdown, probably because of isolation and social distancing, the virtual social community seemed to increase in the same period. Interestingly, we revealed how self efficacy increased during the lockdown period, and, at the same time, the Locus of control appeared as externalized, and the risk propensity as reduced. The results are discussed considering previous literature, and a coherent theoretical framework is proposed in order to refine the forecasting model for the psychological impact of the lockdown.


2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 2323-2329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Layne ◽  
Susan E. Sampson ◽  
Charlotte J. Mallio ◽  
Patricia L. Hibberd ◽  
John L. Griffith ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 21-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela G. Bowen ◽  
Olivio J. Clay ◽  
Loretta T. Lee ◽  
Jason Vice ◽  
Fernando Ovalle ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Estebsari ◽  
ZahraRaisi Filabadi ◽  
ArezooSheikh Milani ◽  
Shahoo Feizi ◽  
Maliheh Nasiri

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S866-S866
Author(s):  
Amanda E Hunsaker ◽  
Minh Hao Nguyen ◽  
Jaelle Fuchs ◽  
Teodora Djukaric ◽  
Larissa Hugentobler ◽  
...  

Abstract Older adults comprise a highly heterogeneous group that engages with digital media in varying ways, therefore a large variation in technology support needs is likely. This study examines the nature of support for using digital media among older adults. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with older adults (age 59+) in Hungary, the Netherlands, and Switzerland (N=58) in 2019 exploring: (1) whether and how older adults receive support in using digital media; and (2) older adults’ perceptions of whether the support they receive meets their needs. We began with open coding, then conducted consensus meetings to identify themes and coding schemes, and wrote memos to share findings and ensure reliability across coders. We find that older adults voice a highly varying range of need for technical support as well as varying instances of both receiving and not receiving technical help. Participants report receiving help from different informal (e.g. spouses) and formal (e.g. computer classes) sources. However, support may not be immediate, posing challenges for older adults who depend on the availability of their support sources. Importantly, we also find that there are older adults who are quite self-sufficient in the ways they use digital technology. For older adults needing support, greater access to community-based support may help those without satisfactory options in their own social circle. Given our findings that older adults can have great ease with solving technology-related problems, peer-driven support networks where older adults can offer support to others may be an effective approach to providing digital technology guidance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
pp. 991-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun-Jun Kim ◽  
Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen

We assessed factors contributing to ethnic and racial disparities in mental health quality of life (MHQOL) among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) midlife and older adults. We utilized cross-sectional survey data from a sample of non-Hispanic White and Hispanic LGB adults aged 50 and older. Structural equation modeling was used to test the indirect effect of ethnicity/race on MHQOL via explanatory factors including social connectedness, lifetime discrimination, socioeconomic status (SES), and perceived stress. Hispanics reported significantly lower levels of MHQOL, compared to non-Hispanic Whites. In the final model, the association between ethnicity/race and MHQOL was explained by higher levels of perceived stress related to lower SES, higher frequency of lifetime discrimination, and lack of social connectedness among Hispanic LGB adults. This study suggests that perceived stress related to social disadvantage and marginalization plays an important role in MHQOL disparities among Hispanic LGB midlife and older adults.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carri Hand ◽  
Debbie Laliberte Rudman ◽  
Suzanne Huot ◽  
Rachael Pack ◽  
Jason Gilliland

AbstractWithin research on ageing in neighbourhoods, older adults are often positioned as impacted by neighbourhood features; their impact on neighbourhoods is less often considered. Drawing on a study exploring how person and place transact to shape older adults’ social connectedness, inclusion and engagement in neighbourhoods, this paper explores how older adults take action in efforts to create neighbourhoods that meet individual and collective needs and wants. We drew on ethnographic and community-based participatory approaches and employed qualitative and geospatial methods with 14 older adults in two neighbourhoods. Analysis identified three themes that described the ways that older adults enact agency at the neighbourhood level: being present and inviting casual social interaction, helping others and taking community action. The participants appeared to contribute to a collective sense of connectedness and creation of social spaces doing everyday neighbourhood activities and interacting with others. Shared territories in which others were present seemed to support such interactions. Participants also helped others in a variety of ways, often relating to gaps in services and support, becoming neighbourhood-based supports for other seniors. Finally, participants contributed to change at the community level, such as engaging politically, patronising local businesses and making improvements in public places. Study findings suggest the potential benefits of collaborating with older adults to create and maintain liveable neighbourhoods.


Author(s):  
Raquel Lara ◽  
Mᵃ Luisa Vázquez ◽  
Adelaida Ogallar ◽  
Débora Godoy-Izquierdo

We explored possible paths from physical and mental health-related quality of life, self-efficacy, optimism, and social support to happiness in older adults, considering hedonic balance and life satisfaction as mediators. A total of 154 Spanish male and female (50%) older adults (65–96 years old, M = 77.44, SD = 8.03; 64% noninstitutionalized elderly) voluntarily participated in this correlational, cross-sectional study. The participants completed self-reports on their perceived health status, self-efficacy, social support, optimism, and global subjective well-being (SWB) as well as its dimensions. Path analysis was used to examine direct and indirect relationships. The final model had an excellent fit with the data (χ2(10) = 11.837, p = 0.296, χ2/df = 1.184; SRMR = 0.050, CFI = 0.994, RMSEA = 0.035), revealing the unique causal effects of all the included predictors on happiness. With the exception of self-efficacy, the psychosocial resources predicted older adults’ current happiness, and this relationship was fully mediated by hedonic balance and life satisfaction, which were found to be putative intermediary factors for SWB. Self-efficacy in turn predicted the remaining psychosocial resources. Our findings extend the existing evidence on the influences of health-related quality of life, self-efficacy, optimism, and social support on SWB. Furthermore, they support the proposal of hedonic balance and life satisfaction as dimensions of SWB, thus supporting the tripartite hierarchical model of happiness. These results may inform future interventions seeking to improve happiness in late adulthood.


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