scholarly journals The Elderly Nursing Core Set and the cognition of Portuguese older adults: a cross-sectional study

BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
César Fonseca ◽  
Lara Guedes de Pinho ◽  
Manuel José Lopes ◽  
Maria do Céu Marques ◽  
José Garcia-Alonso
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Functional Profile ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Core Set ◽  
Epidemiological Profile

Abstract Background The aging population and its associated health needs require specific nursing care. The aim of this study was to draw an epidemiological profile of Portuguese elderly adults attending in residential homes and day centers and to evaluate the association between the functioning and cognition of these older adults and their sociodemographic characteristics and presence of multimorbidity. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 613 older adults. Functioning was assessed using the Elderly Nursing Core Set, and cognition was assessed using the Mini Mental State Examination. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed. Results The mean age was 85.73 years; the majority of the participants were female (69.3 %), widowed (67.0 %) and over 85 years old (60.4 %). A total of 68.2 % of the sample presented multimorbidity. A total of 54.5 % had cognitive impairment, and the average functional profile was classified as “moderate difficulty”. Institutionalized older adults had more diseases than those who attended the day center. Women, those who were illiterate, those who were institutionalized and older adults who had diseases of the nervous system had a worse functional profile and greater cognitive impairment. Those with multimorbidity had a worse functional profile, and those without a spouse had greater cognitive impairment. Conclusions Given the functional and cognitive profile of older adults, it is necessary to adopt care practices focused on the rehabilitation/maintenance of self-care and affective relationships. This care must be provided by highly qualified professionals. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the ratio of nurses per older adult in these institutions.

scholarly journals Functioning and Cognition of Portuguese Older Adults Attending in Residential Homes and Day Centers: A Comparative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 7030
Author(s):  
Manuel José Lopes ◽  
Lara Guedes de Pinho ◽  
César Fonseca ◽  
Margarida Goes ◽  
Henrique Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Residential Homes ◽  
Core Set ◽  
Functional Problem ◽  
State Examination

The functioning and cognition of older adults can be influenced by different care contexts. We aimed to compare the functioning profiles and cognition of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized older adults and to evaluate the effect of sociodemographic factors on the functioning and cognition. This is a cross-sectional study that included 593 older adults. The data were collected using the Elderly Nursing Core Set and Mini Mental State Examination. Women, older adults who did not attend school and those live in Residential Homes are more likely to have a higher degree of cognitive impairment than men, those who attended school and those frequent Day Centre. The chances of an older adult with moderate or severe cognitive impairment increases with age. Older women, older adults who did not attend school, and older adults who live in Residential Homes had a higher degree of functional problem than men, those who attended school and those who frequent a Day Centre, independently to age. It is necessary to promote the health literacy of older adults throughout life. The implementation of social and health responses should allow older adults to remain in their homes, given the influence of functioning and cognition on self-care and quality of life.

scholarly journals The Assessment of Fear of COVID-19 among the Elderly Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (23) ◽  
pp. 5537
Author(s):  
Siddarth Agrawal ◽  
Mateusz Dróżdż ◽  
Sebastian Makuch ◽  
Alicja Pietraszek ◽  
Małgorzata Sobieszczańska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Fear And Anxiety

The prevailing COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the mental health and well-being of individuals. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the perceived fear of COVID-19 among older adults in Poland and identify subpopulations with the highest risk of potential mental health disorders. The study was conducted in November–December 2020 on 500 people aged ≥60 years (mean M = 67.9, standard deviation SD = 4.2). In order to collect information on participants’ characteristics and COVID-19-related information, they were asked to complete a questionnaire based on recorded telephone calls. Perceived fear of COVID-19 was measured using our generated and validated seven-item tool: “Scale of fear of COVID-19 infection”, which ranged from 7 to 35. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify factors associated with the perceived fear of COVID-19. Our results showed that the highest level of fear of COVID-19 infection was observed among women (p = 0.025) and patients taking anticoagulants (p = 0.004). Moreover, older adults with higher anxiety levels were more likely to be fearful of COVID-19 (according to the GAS-10 scale; p < 0.001). These findings may help policy makers and healthcare workers to adapt and implement better mental health strategies to help the elderly fight fear and anxiety during the prevailing pandemic.

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