Nurses’ Encounters With Older Adults Engaged in Self-Neglectful Behaviors in the Community: A Qualitative Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 965-989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tova Band-Winterstein
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Experienced Nurses ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Nurses Role

Objective: Alongside clinical tasks and decision making, there is a growing awareness of the emotions that arise during nurses’ interaction with clients and its significance in relation to meeting the demands of one’s role. This study aims to delve deeper into the experience of community care nurses’ encounters with older adults engaged in self-neglectful behaviors. Method: In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 22 experienced nurses in Israel, who worked with older adults engaged in self-neglectful behaviors in the community. Results: Three main themes emerged: “Everything is amplified in old age”: An age-related decline in functioning produces situations of self-neglect, Self-neglect as an experience imprinted on the nurse’s work: The struggle for treatment, and “What is our role here?”—Nurses’ obligations in cases of self-neglect. Conclusion: The complexity of older adults engaged in self-neglectful behaviors results in feelings of confusion and ambiguity regarding the nurses’ role.

Age-Related Differences in Motivational Integration and Cognitive Control

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Marianne Yee ◽  
Sarah L Adams ◽  
Asad Beck ◽  
Todd Samuel Braver
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Monetary Reward ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance

Motivational incentives play an influential role in value-based decision-making and cognitive control. A compelling hypothesis in the literature suggests that the brain integrates the motivational value of diverse incentives (e.g., motivational integration) into a common currency value signal that influences decision-making and behavior. To investigate whether motivational integration processes change during healthy aging, we tested older (N=44) and younger (N=54) adults in an innovative incentive integration task paradigm that establishes dissociable and additive effects of liquid (e.g., juice, neutral, saltwater) and monetary incentives on cognitive task performance. The results reveal that motivational incentives improve cognitive task performance in both older and younger adults, providing novel evidence demonstrating that age-related cognitive control deficits can be ameliorated with sufficient incentive motivation. Additional analyses revealed clear age-related differences in motivational integration. Younger adult task performance was modulated by both monetary and liquid incentives, whereas monetary reward effects were more gradual in older adults and more strongly impacted by trial-by-trial performance feedback. A surprising discovery was that older adults shifted attention from liquid valence toward monetary reward throughout task performance, but younger adults shifted attention from monetary reward toward integrating both monetary reward and liquid valence by the end of the task, suggesting differential strategic utilization of incentives. Together these data suggest that older adults may have impairments in incentive integration, and employ different motivational strategies to improve cognitive task performance. The findings suggest potential candidate neural mechanisms that may serve as the locus of age-related change, providing targets for future cognitive neuroscience investigations.

Tempering Expectations: A Qualitative Study of Prosecutorial Reform

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-73
Author(s):  
Rebecca Richardson ◽  
Besiki Luka Kutateladze
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Path Dependence ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Communication Challenges

Objectives: We investigate path dependence and barriers to the acceptance and implementation of reform-minded prosecution, which focuses on reducing unnecessary incarceration, promoting fairness, engaging with the community, and improving accountability in the criminal justice system. Method: Using semistructured interviews with 47 prosecutors in two Florida jurisdictions, both with newly elected state attorneys, we explore reform-minded prosecution priorities and barriers to their effective implementation. Results: Findings suggest that though reform-minded priorities are present in the study prosecutor’s offices, existing prosecutorial norms, case-focused decision-making, policy ambiguities, and communication challenges serve as barriers to their effective implementation. Conclusions: The study highlights the role that line agents play in determining the success of reform-minded prosecution. It also identifies key barriers to reform that reform-minded prosecutors must overcome if they are to achieve meaningful changes toward greater effectiveness, transparency, and impartiality in prosecution.

The benefits and barriers to technology acquisition: Understanding the decision-making processes of older adults with age-related vision loss (ARVL)

2016 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen McGrath ◽  
Arlene Astell
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Occupational Engagement ◽  
Technology Acquisition ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Vision Rehabilitation ◽  
Barriers To Technology

Introduction While research has investigated the factors influencing acquisition and use of technologies/assistive devices by older adults, few studies have addressed the decision-making processes regarding technology adoption of older adults with age-related vision loss. Method This critical ethnography engaged 10 older adults with age-related vision loss in narrative interviews, participant observation sessions, and semi-structured in-depth interviews to understand their decision-making processes related to the acquisition and use of low vision assistive devices to support occupational engagement. Findings Study findings focused on the benefits and barriers to technology acquisition and use. Benefits of technology acquisition included: enhanced occupational engagement; independence; safety; insurance; and validation of the disability, while the barriers to technology acquisition included: cost; training; usability; lack of awareness of low vision rehabilitation services; fear of being taken advantage of; and desire to preserve a preferred self-image. Conclusion Considering the low uptake of vision rehabilitation services, the study findings are important to occupational therapy. A better understanding of the perceived benefits and barriers to technology adoption from the perspective of older adults will help occupational therapists maximize treatment planning designed to enhance the occupational engagement of older adults aging with vision loss.

scholarly journals Bullying in Old Age: A Qualitative Study on Older Adults’ Perceptions About Being Bullied

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052094370
Author(s):  
Sofia von Humboldt ◽  
José Alberto Ribeiro-Gonçalves ◽  
Isabel Leal
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Sense Of Agency ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Learning Capacity ◽  
Being Bullied

Significant demographic changes and a growing aging population increasingly emphasize the importance of assessing phenomena of violence against older adults, who constitute a vulnerable population. Therefore, bullying in old age is a poorly studied phenomena, but of growing importance. This study aims to analyze the perspectives of bullying in old age, using qualitative research at a cross-national level. We interviewed 173 older participants aged 65–91 years. Participants were Portuguese and English and lived in the community. Participants were subjected to semi-structured interviews. All the interviews went through a process of content analysis. Sample recruitment occurred through initial telephone contact, followed by a request to participate. Outcomes of content analysis produced seven themes, all of them associated with bullying experiences such as compromised learning capacity, loss of sense of agency and decision-making, asexuality, less attractive appearance, less social skills, gender discrimination, and less financial resources. Portuguese older adults felt mostly bullied for their loss of sense of agency and decision-making, less attractive appearance, less social skills, and less financial resources, while English participants mostly felt bullied for their compromised learning capacity, gender discrimination, and asexuality. The themes identified as being the most prominent in bullying are valuable guidelines for social policies and interventions toward bullying among older adults. Considering the scarcity of studies on bullying in older adults, this study is relevant for understanding the experience of older adults in relation to being bullied and for implementing psychosocial intervention programs including bullying situations that affect community-dwelling older adults.

Challenges faced by older adults with vision loss: a qualitative study with implications for rehabilitation

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 748-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verena R Cimarolli ◽  
Kathrin Boerner ◽  
Mark Brennan-Ing ◽  
Joann P Reinhardt ◽  
Amy Horowitz
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Functional Domain ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Vision Rehabilitation ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Over Time

Objective: To provide an in-depth assessment of challenges faced by older adults with recent vision loss and to determine changes in the nature of these challenges over time for the purpose of informing the design of vision rehabilitation services. Design: Longitudinal, qualitative study with three time points. Setting: Vision rehabilitation agency. Subjects: Three hundred and sixty-four older adults aged 65 with significant vision impairment due to age-related macular degeneration. Interventions: In-person interviews conducted at baseline, one year and two years and coded using a qualitative analytical approach. Main measures: Open-ended questions assessing challenges faced due to vision loss in functional, social and psychological life domains. Results: Almost all participants reported a wide variety of challenges across all three domains with the most variety in the functional domain. Over a two-year period, functional challenges (e.g. using transportation) increased, social challenges (e.g. recognizing people) remained stable, and psychological challenges (e.g. negative affect) decreased overall. Conclusions: Although functional challenges are predominant, social and psychological challenges are quite common and need to be addressed in vision rehabilitation. Rehabilitation planning should also consider that vision-related challenges can change over time.

On the origins of ageism among older and younger adults

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1003-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehud Bodner
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Defensive Strategy ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Social ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Suitable Framework ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

ABSTRACTBackground: Ageism is apparent in many social structures and contexts and in diverse forms over the life cycle. This review discusses the development and consequences of ageism toward elderly people by others of any age, according to the Terror Management Theory (TMT) and the Social Identity Theory (SIT).Method: A systematic search of the literature was carried out on the social and psychological origins of ageism in younger and older adults.Results: Studies on the reasons for ageism among older adults point to attitudes that older adults have toward their own age group, while studies on ageism in young adults explain it as an unconscious defensive strategy which younger adults use against death anxiety. In other words, TMT can serve as a suitable framework for ageism in younger adults, and SIT appears to explain ageism in older adults.Conclusions: A dissociation of the linkage between death and old age in younger adults can be achieved by changing the concepts of death and old age. For older adults, it is recommended to improve self-worth by encouraging social contacts in which older adults contribute to younger adults, weaken the effects of age stereotypes in TV programs, and prepare middle-aged adults for living healthy lives as older adults. However, these conclusions should be regarded with caution, because several key areas (age related cues, activated cognitive processes, impact of death awareness on ageism) need to be investigated in order to validate this understanding of the origins of ageism among younger and older adults.

A Practical Theology of Aging: Biblical Perspectives for Individuals and the Church

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Davies
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Practical Theology ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Aging Well ◽  
The Church

Aging is a gracious gift given by God to cause us to ask about and work on the real issues of life. The Bible presents three main themes on aging. Achieving old age is a Divine Tribute. People in the last half of life are to be honored and respected. Growing older brings about Definite Testing along with blessing. Adults in the last third of their lives can glorify God uniquely. New understandings and spiritual depth can be developed. The process of aging well can be a Distinctive Triumph. How we see the issue of ministry with older adults depends largely on our vision of the old. In a culture striving to remain youthful and avoid any evidence of growing old, we would do well to allow our values about aging to be shaped by the age-related themes found in Scripture.

scholarly journals Factors affecting primary care practitioners’ alcohol-related discussions with older adults: Qualitative study

2021 ◽  
pp. BJGP.2020.1118
Author(s):  
Bethany Kate Bareham ◽  
Jemma Stewart ◽  
Eileen Kaner ◽  
Barbara Hanratty
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Older People ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Long Term Conditions ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Comparison Results ◽  
Primary Care Practitioners

Background: Risk of harm from drinking is heightened in later life, due to age-related sensitivities to alcohol. Primary care services have a key role in supporting older people to make healthier decisions about alcohol. Aim: To examine primary care practitioners’ perceptions of factors that promote and challenge their work to support older people in alcohol risk-reduction. Design and Setting: Qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews and focus groups with primary care practitioners in Northern England. Method: Thirty-five practitioners (general practitioners, practice/district nurses, pharmacists, dentists, social care practitioners, domiciliary carers) participated in eight interviews and five focus groups. Data were analysed thematically, applying principles of constant comparison. Results: Practitioners highlighted particular sensitivities amongst older people to discussing alcohol, and reservations about older people’s resistance to making changes in old age; given drinking practices could be established, and promote socialisation and emotional wellbeing in later life. Age-related health issues increased older people’s contact with practitioners; but management of older people’s long-term conditions was prioritised over discussion of alcohol. Dedicated time to address alcohol in routine consultations with older people, and training in alcohol intervention facilitated practitioners; particularly pharmacists and practice nurses. Conclusion: There are clear opportunities to support older people in primary care to make healthier decisions about alcohol. Dedicated time to address alcohol, training in identification of alcohol-related risks, particularly those associated with old age; and tailored interventions for older people, feasible to implement in practice settings, would support primary care practitioners to address older people’s alcohol use.

scholarly journals Moral Judgment in Old Age

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Margoni ◽  
Janet Geipel ◽  
Constantinos Hadjichristidis ◽  
Luca Surian
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Motivational Factors ◽  
Related Difference ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Judicial Systems

Abstract. Younger (21–39 years) and older (63–90 years) adults were presented with scenarios illustrating either harmful or helpful actions. Each scenario provided information about the agent’s intention, either neutral or valenced (harmful/helpful), and the outcome of his or her action, either neutral or valenced. Participants were asked to rate how morally good or bad the agent’s action was. In judging harmful actions, older participants relied less on intentions and more on outcomes compared to younger participants. This age-related difference was associated with a decline in older adults’ theory of mind abilities. However, we did not find evidence of any significant age-related difference in the evaluations of helpful actions. We argue that the selective association of aging with changes in the evaluation of harmful but not helpful actions may be due also to motivational factors and highlight some implications of the present findings for judicial systems.

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