scholarly journals Study protocol for TILDA COVID-19 survey. Altered lives in a time of crisis: preparing for recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Mark Ward ◽  
Niamh Clarke ◽  
Minjuan Wang ◽  
Christine A. McGarrigle ◽  
Céline De Looze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Healthcare Utilisation ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Full Effect ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Impact

Background: Older adults are the most at-risk of contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and among the most affected by measures put in place to prevent the spread of the virus. While the full effect of the public health measures, such as social distancing and wearing masks in public spaces, implemented since March 2020 are not yet known, it is expected that they will have a severely damaging effect on physical and psychological wellbeing. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) has been researching the lives of older adults in Ireland since 2008 with data collection conducted at two-year intervals. With an established research infrastructure, TILDA was ideally placed to examine the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on older adults. The aim of this study is to document the lives of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the effect of the pandemic and public health responses on their wellbeing. Methods: Data was collected from TILDA participants via self-completion-questionnaire (SCQ). The SCQ contains ten sections that capture information on many aspects of people’s lives during the pandemic including, changes in behaviour and social interactions, physical and psychological wellbeing indicators, healthcare utilisation, and exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Ethical approval was granted by the National Research Ethics Committee (NREC). Conclusions: Research findings will be shared in a variety of formats including research reports and briefs, presentations, and academic papers. Data will be archived in the Irish Social Science Data Archive (ISSDA) and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). As well as documenting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults, findings from this study will provide important information to policy-makers as we respond to the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Strategies Older New Zealanders Use to Participate in Day-To-Day Occupations

2011 ◽  
Vol 74 (11) ◽  
pp. 509-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Hocking ◽  
Juanita Murphy ◽  
Kirk Reed
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Older People ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Falls Prevention ◽  
Public Health Messages ◽  
The Impact

Aim: This exploratory study aimed to uncover the strategies that older adults employ to ameliorate the impact of impairments and barriers to participation. Method: Eight participants were interviewed in their own homes, in a town or city in New Zealand. Findings: Inductive analysis of data revealed four main categories of strategies: strategies to keep safe, to recruit and accept help, to meet social and biological needs (nutritional and medical), and to conserve financial, material and bodily resources. Discussion: The study supports some previous findings of strategies used by older people, and demonstrates that enquiring into the strategies that older people devise and adopt into their own lives is a productive line of inquiry. The strategies described differ from those that occupational therapists recommend, and do not incorporate public health messages about the benefits of physical activity or recommendations about falls prevention. Conclusion: The findings suggest that asking older clients about the strategies that they use will uncover valuable information for therapists giving advice or issuing equipment to help older adults to manage in the community.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Gatrell ◽  
Esther Dermott
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Research Relationships ◽  
The Impact

This introductory chapter explains how different research questions and methods can contribute to better understanding of contemporary fathers, fatherhood, and fathering. Given the enhanced methodological diversity and increased sophistication of methods across the social sciences, embracing qualitative and quantitative approaches, traditional (such as interviewing) and contemporary approaches (such as netnography and visual methods), and general ‘handbooks’ offering basic introductions to social research have limited use for advanced researchers and students. The book aims to link detailed concerns about conducting individual projects to wider methodological debates concerning the value of different forms and sources of data, the negotiation of research relationships, and the impact of research findings on participants, policy makers, employers, and a wider public.

scholarly journals Management of bio-psycho-social frailty to reduce hospital use and improve survival of older adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
G Liotta ◽  
N Accarino ◽  
S Orlando ◽  
S Gentili ◽  
E Terracciano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Hospital Care ◽  
Admission Rate ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Hospital Admission Rate ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Ageing of population is associated to the increase of care demand. Many health systems are still centered on hospital care, that sometime is not appropriate. The shift from hospital to community care requires a new model of service delivery. Aim of this paper is to assess the impact of a community service based on the assessment of frailty, on mortality and use of hospital care by older adults. Methods A cohort made up by 8,592 over-75 subjects (67.1% female, mean age 84.5; SD ± 5.29) has been assessed once a year for bio-psycho-social frailty by the administration of the Short Functional Geriatric Evaluation questionnaire. The enrolled subjects were involved in a Community-based pro-Active Monitoring Program which provides interventions aimed at reducing social isolation. Mortality, use of hospital care and use of residential long-term care have been recorded during the follow up and separate and cumulative incidence rate was measured. Results The sample was stratified in Robust (37.5%), Pre-frail (24.0%), Frail, (29.5%) and Very Frail (9.1%) individuals. Mortality, Hospital admission rate and Residential LTC admission rate were higher in the very frails than among the other groups. However, according to social isolation, the integrated subjects at the baseline assessment, showed the highest incidence of negative events: 29.5%, 20.8%, 21.0%, .and 20.8% for integrated, mild isolated, moderate isolated and severely isolated individuals respectively (p < 0.001). The logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, gender and level of frailty, confirmed the protective role of reducing social isolation among isolated individuals compared with integrated ones (OR: 0.729; CL95% 0.673-0.720). Conclusions The assessment of bio-psycho-social frailty could be the starting point for effective intervention at community level, like the program mentioned above. Management of frailty may lead to an improvement of public health outcomes. Key messages Intervention dealing with social isolation are able to revert the increase of mortality related to the lack of social resources. Management of frailty may lead to an improvement of public health outcomes.

scholarly journals Migration and Food Consumption: The Impact of Culture and Country of Origin on Obesity as an Indicator of Human Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7567
Author(s):  
Yuval Arbel ◽  
Chaim Fialkoff ◽  
Amichai Kerner
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
The United States ◽  
Type I ◽  
Russian Speakers ◽  
Conventional Measure ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Overweight Prevalence

Previous research demonstrates that the 1965 American immigration wave has tended to attenuate the obesity pandemic in the United States. Based on a survey carried out by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS) in 2012 and 2016, we observe the correlation between BMI, age, native language, and years-since-migration to Israel. BMI (=kgm2) is a conventional measure of obesity, where BMI ≥ 25 is considered overweight and BMI ≥ 30 as type I obesity. The results indicate that compared to 11 groups of immigrants, the median BMI among native Israelis is lower. While the prevalence of overweight (BMI ≥ 25) among Hebrew speakers is below 50%, in 11 groups of immigrants, the prevalence of overweight is above 50%. A noteworthy exception is the immigrants from Ethiopia, who exhibit lower overweight prevalence compared to native Israelis and all other population groups. Finally, while male Hebrew and Russian speakers cross the overweight benchmark at the same age (35 years), native Israeli women (Hebrew speakers) cross this benchmark only when they reach 50 years (15 years after the males) and Russian women cross this benchmark only five years after the Russian men. These research findings may be of assistance in public health and culture-oriented medicine.

scholarly journals EU-OSHÁs perspective on occupational safety and health in the Covid-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
E Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Biological Agents ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Pandemic Preparedness ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In July 2020, EU-OSHA published the results of a comprehensive research project on the exposure of workers to biological agents at work and the related health problems. Although the research was initiated long before the pandemic, researchers had highlighted pandemic preparedness as an issue, as well as the general lack of monitoring of serious infectious diseases. The research also made evident a lack of awareness among workplace actors of the risks from exposure to biological agents at work, although a detailed legislative framework has been in place for many years, and consequently a lack of prevention measures at work, which became evident after the pandemic broke out. It highlighted the need for public health and occupational safety and health organisations to cooperate to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The presentation will focus on the links between the research findings and the developments during the pandemic. It will furthermore present guidance produced by EU-OSHA and other relevant actions, with a view on the legislation that is in place. It will cover biological agents exposure as well as telework and ergonomic issues arising from it.

scholarly journals Job loss and lower healthcare utilisation due to COVID-19 among older adults across 27 European countries

2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2021-216715
Author(s):  
Gabriela Ksinan Jiskrova ◽  
Martin Bobák ◽  
Hynek Pikhart ◽  
Albert J Ksinan
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Job Loss ◽  
College Education ◽  
Healthcare Utilisation ◽  
Older Age ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Female Sex ◽  
Country Level ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundOlder adults are at greater risk for becoming severely ill from COVID-19; however, the impact of the pandemic on their economic activity and non-COVID-19-related healthcare utilisation is not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and predictors of COVID-19-related unemployment and healthcare utilisation in a sample of older adults across 27 European countries.MethodsWe used data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe COVID-19 Survey, collected between June and August 2020. Participants (n=52 061) reported whether they lost a job, forwent medical treatment and whether their appointment was postponed due to COVID-19. Three-level models were estimated for each outcome to test the effects of individual, household and country-level characteristics.ResultsThe mean prevalence of reported job loss, and forgone and postponed medical care was 19%, 12% and 26%, respectively. Job loss was associated with female sex, lower education and household income, and older age in women. For example, the OR of job loss, comparing primary versus tertiary (college) education, was 1.89 (95% CI 1.59 to 2.26). Forgone and postponed medical care was associated with older age in men, female sex and higher education. At the country level, postponed medical care was associated with more stringent governmental anti-COVID measures.ConclusionJob loss and lower healthcare utilisation for non-COVID-19-related reasons were common among older adults and were associated with several sociodemographic characteristics. Job loss appeared to disproportionally affect already economically vulnerable individuals, raising concerns about the exacerbation of social inequalities.

scholarly journals The Impact Of Oral Health On Psychological Distress Among Older Adults In California

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 868-868
Author(s):  
Esmeralda Melgoza ◽  
Jennifer Archuleta ◽  
Emma Tran ◽  
Gabino Abarca ◽  
Anna Fiastro
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
California Health Interview Survey ◽  
Performance Limits ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Annual Survey ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In California, the population of adults ages 65 and older is projected to increase from 11% in 2010 to 19% in 2030. The aging of the population requires modifications in public health to ensure that people are not only living longer, but also healthier lives. Oral health is an important, but often overlooked factor that affects the overall health of older adults. Poor oral health increases the risk of physical comorbidities, decreases chewing performance, limits food choices, and exacerbates weight loss. Furthermore, poor oral health disrupts social health via decreases in verbal communication and facial expressions, such as smiling. This study examines the effects of oral health, assessed by tooth condition, on psychological distress among adults ages 65 and older in California. The study uses the 2019 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), an annual survey of a representative sample of the state’s residential, noninstitutionalized population. Logistic regression models are used to determine the association between tooth condition on psychological distress controlling for gender, race, and elderly poverty index. Worsening tooth condition increases the odds of having psychological distress with lower odds among individuals 85+, and higher odds among women, and non-Hispanic whites compared to Hispanics. Public health programs and interventions are required in California to prevent and mitigate the impacts of poor oral health on psychological distress among the increasing and diverse older adult population.

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 public health restrictions on older people in Uganda: ‘Hunger is really one of those problems brought by this COVID’

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Clarissa Giebel ◽  
Bwire Ivan ◽  
Philomena Burger ◽  
Isaac Ddumba
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Health Care Utilisation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Security Guards ◽  
Care Utilisation ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objectives: To explore the impact of COVID-19 related public health restrictions on the lives of older adults living in Uganda. Design: Qualitative semi-structured interview study Setting: Participants’ homes Participants: Older adults living in Uganda (aged 60+) Measurements: Older adults in Uganda were interviewed over the phone and asked about their lives before and since COVID-19, and how public health restrictions have affected their lives. Semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Transcripts were thematically analysed and themes generated in discussion. Results: 30 older adults participated in the study. Five themes were identified: (1) Economic impacts; (2) Lack of access to basic necessities; (3) Impact on health care utilisation; (4) Social impacts; and (5) Violent reinforcement of public health restrictions. COVID-public health restrictions had severe impacts on their lives, with many people having not enough food to eat due to lack of income, and being unable to pay their grandchildren’s school fees. Steep rises in public transport fares and an overall avoidance of transport also resulted in a lack of access to healthcare services and difficulty in getting food. Restrictions were violently reinforced by security guards. Conclusions: Public health restrictions have a severe impact not only on older adults, but the whole family in Uganda. Governmental strategies to contain the virus need to provide more support to enable people to get basic necessities and live as normal a life as possible.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document