Experience of Time and Subjective Age When Facing a Limited Lifetime: The Case of Older Adults with Advanced Cancer

2021 ◽  
pp. 089826432110631
Author(s):  
Katsiaryna Laryionava ◽  
Anton Schönstein ◽  
Pia Heußner ◽  
Wolfgang Hiddemann ◽  
Eva C. Winkler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Advanced Cancer ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Perceived Quality Of Life ◽  
Experience Of Time ◽  
Finite Resource ◽  
Life Threatening

Objectives We addressed two questions: (1) Does advanced cancer in later life affect a person’s awareness of time and their subjective age? (2) Are awareness of time and subjective age associated with distress, perceived quality of life, and depression? Methods We assessed patients suffering terminal cancer (OAC, n = 91) and older adults free of any life-threatening disease (OA, n = 89), all subjects being aged 50 years or older. Results Older adults with advanced cancer perceived time more strongly as being a finite resource and felt significantly older than OA controls. Feeling younger was meaningfully related with better quality of life and less distress. In the OA group, feeling younger was also associated to reduced depression. Perceiving time as a finite resource was related to higher quality of life in the OA group. Discussion Major indicators of an older person’s awareness of time and subjective aging differ between those being confronted with advanced cancer versus controls.

Validation of the “Quality of Life in Life-Threatening Illness—Family Carer Version” (QOLLTI-F) in German-speaking carers of advanced cancer patients

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 2783-2791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Schur ◽  
Alexandra Ebert-Vogel ◽  
Michaela Amering ◽  
Eva Katharina Masel ◽  
Marie Neubauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Advanced Cancer ◽  
Family Carer ◽  
Advanced Cancer Patients ◽  
Life Threatening Illness ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Life Threatening

scholarly journals Scaling Down the PGCM Scale to Assess Views on Ageing More Efficiently: Finding a New Alternative

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 9414
Author(s):  
Tomáš Doseděl ◽  
Tereza Menšíková ◽  
Lucie Vidovićová
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Important Quality ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Positive Outlook

The aim of the study is to present a new and efficient way of measuring the quality of life among older populations, with special attention to morale, positive outlook on life and ageing. The measure is based on the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCM), originally consisting of 22 items. The growing numbers and proportions of older people among European populations has increased the need to obtain more reliable data on their needs, values, life experiences and overall quality of life. Using data from six surveys conducted in the Czech Republic, we have formulated a three-item positive outlook on life and ageing (POLA) scale. Our analyses are divided into three steps: (1) constructing the scale and testing its internal consistency; (2) testing the scale’s external validity using mean comparisons and correlation coefficients; and (3) determining the factors affecting a positive outlook on later life, such as gender and education. We have confirmed that the three-item approach to measuring positive outlook on ageing as a part of morale is highly applicable to surveys, producing compelling results in assessing important quality-of-life sub-concepts, such as subjective health, subjective age, and loneliness.

scholarly journals Cut-off point for WHOQOL-bref as a measure of quality of life of older adults

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 390-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Aparecida Barbosa Silva ◽  
Sônia Maria Soares ◽  
Joseph Fabiano Guimarães Santos ◽  
Líliam Barbosa Silva
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Roc Curve ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
World Health ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
World Health Organization Quality ◽  
Perceived Quality Of Life

OBJECTIVE To propose a cut-off for the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref (WHOQOL-bref) as a predictor of quality of life in older adults. METHODS Cross-sectional study with 391 older adults registered in the Northwest Health District in Belo Horizonte, MG, Southeastern Brazil, between October 8, 2010 and May 23, 2011. The older adults’ quality of life was measured using the WHOQOL-bref. The analysis was rationalized by outlining two extreme and simultaneous groups according to perceived quality of life and satisfaction with health (quality of life good/satisfactory – good or very good self-reported quality of life and being satisfied or very satisfied with health – G5; and poor/very poor quality of life – poor or very poor self-reported quality of life and feeling dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with health – G6). A Receiver-Operating Characteristic curve (ROC) was created to assess the diagnostic ability of different cut-off points of the WHOQOL-bref. RESULTS ROC curve analysis indicated a critical value 60 as the optimal cut-off point for assessing perceived quality of life and satisfaction with health. The area under the curve was 0.758, with a sensitivity of 76.8% and specificity of 63.8% for a cut-off of ≥ 60 for overall quality of life (G5) and sensitivity 95.0% and specificity of 54.4% for a cut-off of < 60 for overall quality of life (G6). CONCLUSIONS Diagnostic interpretation of the ROC curve revealed that cut-off < 60 for overall quality of life obtained excellent sensitivity and negative predictive value for tracking older adults with probable worse quality of life and dissatisfied with health.

The relation between the experience of time and psychological distress in patients with hematological malignancies

2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARC WITTMANN ◽  
TANJA VOLLMER ◽  
CLAUDIA SCHWEIGER ◽  
WOLFGANG HIDDEMANN
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Hematological Malignancies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Life Threatening Illness ◽  
Experience Of Time ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
Life Threatening

Objective: The experience of time is strongly related to our momentary mood states. Patients with a life-threatening illness experience an extreme change in mood and suffer from psychological distress that can develop into clinically relevant psychiatric disorders, like anxiety and depression. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations among the subjective perception of time, psychological distress, and quality of life in patients with hematological malignancies.Methods: Eighty-eight inpatients with hematological malignancies rated how fast time passes subjectively on a visual analog scale and prospectively estimated a time span of 13 min. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) self-report measures of health-related quality of life (FACT-G) and spiritual well-being (FACIT-Sp) were employed to assess psychological distress and quality of life.Results: Those patients who reported a lower quality of life, less spiritual well-being, and more anxiety experienced a slower passage of subjective time and overestimated the 13-min time interval.Significance of results: Our interpretation of the results is that patients with a life-threatening illness who show symptoms of psychological distress draw attention away from meaningful thoughts and actions and, thus, experience time as passing more slowly. An altered sense of time can be a sign of mental suffering, which should be addressed within psycho-oncological interventions. As this is the first study to demonstrate this relation in cancer patients, further research is needed to investigate the experience of time and its relation to meaning as an issue in clinical diagnostics.

scholarly journals Nonpharmacological Interventions for Anxiety and Dementia in Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. e731-e742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Brown Wilson ◽  
Lars Arendt ◽  
Mynhi Nguyen ◽  
Theresa L Scott ◽  
Christine C Neville ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Cochrane Reviews ◽  
Measurement Tools ◽  
Major Mental Disorder

Abstract Anxiety is a major mental disorder in later life that impacts on activities of daily living and quality of life for adults living with dementia in nursing homes. The aim of this article was to systematically review nonpharmacological interventions for older adults living in nursing homes who experience comorbid anxiety and dementia. Method A systematic literature search was conducted across key databases (Cinahl, ASSIA, Cochrane reviews and trials, psycARTICLES, psycINFO, and PubMed) to identify studies measuring anxiety as an outcome for an intervention for older adults living with dementia in nursing homes, up to December 31, 2017. Results The search yielded a total of 1,925 articles with 45 articles accessed for full article review. A total of 13 articles were included in this review following quality appraisal based on Cochrane methodology with six different anxiety measures used. The studies included were moderate to high-quality randomized control trials although heterogeneity precluded a combined meta-analysis. Clinical implications The most common interventions used to address anxiety in this population were music therapy and activity-based interventions although there was limited evidence for the efficacy of either intervention. Little is known about effective nonpharmacological treatment for anxiety for people living with dementia in nursing homes. Further research using consistent measurement tools and time points is required to identify effective interventions to improve the quality of life for people living with both dementia and anxiety in nursing homes.

Playfulness and Older Adults: Implications for Quality of Life

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-171
Author(s):  
Yvette C. Saliba ◽  
Sejal M. Barden
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
New Perspective

Changes in health, relationships, support systems, and social identity are inevitable throughout the life span. Therefore, research focused on mitigating the negative effects of changes due to aging while also improving quality of life (QoL) is warranted. As such, the aim of the current research study was to examine the extent to which subjective age, playfulness, and depression predict QoL among adults over the age of 55. Adults (N = 1,315) who were 55 and older were surveyed both face to face and online. Standard multiple regression was utilized, and results identified a statistically significant model with depression predicting the largest unique contribution. Playfulness predicted a small, statistically significant contribution, while subjective age did not statistically contribute to the prediction. Implications provide a new perspective on variables associated with quality of life and older adults.

Perceived quality of life and living arrangements among older rural South Africans: do all households fare the same?

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 2735-2755
Author(s):  
Margaret Ralston ◽  
Enid Schatz ◽  
Sangeetha Madhavan ◽  
F. Xavier Gómez-Olivé ◽  
Mark A. Collinson
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
World Health ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Multigenerational Households ◽  
Perceived Quality Of Life

AbstractThis study explores how living arrangements influence perceived quality of life in an elderly population in rural South Africa. We use data from the longitudinal World Health Organization Study of Global Ageing and Adult Health Survey (WHO-SAGE) and from the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). On average, older men and women who reside in single-generation and complex-linked multigenerational households report worse quality of life than those in two-generation and linear-linked multigenerational households. However, after controlling for prior wellbeing status, we find living arrangements to have a significant impact on women's perceived quality of life only, and that it is moderated by age. We conclude that not all multigenerational arrangements are protective of older adults’ wellbeing and highlight the gendered impact of living arrangements on quality of life. These results suggest the necessity to understand how living arrangements influence the social roles of older adults and change with age.

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