Elderly persons who live alone in Brazil and their lifestyle

Abstract Objective: to assess the prevalence of elderly persons living alone in Brazil, based on covariates of health status, behavior and socio-demographic characteristics. Method: data from 11,967 individuals (aged 60 or over) were obtained from the National Health Survey (Brazil, 2013). Living alone was defined as residing in a one-person household. The prevalence of individuals living alone was stratified by socio-demographic conditions and geographic region. Living alone was also assessed as a factor for outcomes of physical functioning, behavior and health conditions. Poisson regression models were used to evaluate the prevalence ratios and a 95% confidence interval was applied. Results: in Brazil, 15.3% of people aged 60 years and over live alone. This condition is more prevalent in higher income regions; however, more lower-income individuals were affected. Prevalence was higher among women and individuals aged 75 years or more. Living alone was associated with difficulties in instrumental activities of daily living (prevalence ratio 1.15; 95% confidence interval 1.04-1.28); the reporting of an illness in the two prior to the study (PR=1.35; 95%CI=1.16-1.57); watching television (five or more hours daily) (PR=1.40; 95%CI=1.26-1.56) and falls in the previous year (PR=1.35; 95%CI=1.10-1.66). Elderly persons living alone also had worse eating habits, with a less frequent intake of meat, beans and salads than their counterparts who lived with others. Conclusion: elderly persons living alone in Brazil have a worse health status and health-related habits. These findings represent a challenge and should motivate social and health policies aimed at fulfilling the greater needs of adults who grow old alone.

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Study of the health status of geriatric age group in Chitwan district of Nepal

Journal of Chitwan Medical College ◽

10.3126/jcmc.v5i1.12560 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 11-17

Author(s):

L Subedi ◽

R B Sah

Keyword(s):

Health Status ◽

Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Living Alone ◽

Age Group ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Health Related ◽

History Of ◽

Mental Well Being

Retirement, change in housing, illness or death of spouse greatly affect the physical and mental well-being of the geriatric person. This study aims to find out the health status of geriatric age group in chitwan district of Nepal. A cross sectional study was carried out among 300 geriatric people where 15.7% of the geriatric were living alone, 50.3 % and 39.7% of geriatrics gave history of regular use of tobacco and alcohol respectively. Co-morbidities were found in 63% of geriatrics who suffered from 2 or more diseases. In Total 44% were found to have Ophthalmic problems, 23% were found to have ENT problems, 5.33% were found to mental disorders, 33% were found to have CVS problems, 43% were found to have GI problems, 15.67 % were found to have Metabolic disorder. The study highlighted a high prevalence of morbidity and health related problems in geriatric age groups.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmc.v5i1.12560

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Feasibility and Efficacy of Life Logging System Using TouchCare Application for Older Adults Living Alone: Pilot Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.35866 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jo Woon Seok ◽

Yu-Jin Kwon ◽

Hyangkyu Lee

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Health Status ◽

Older People ◽

Communication Technology ◽

Living Alone ◽

Sensor Data ◽

Psychological Status ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Health Related Behaviors ◽

Health Related

BACKGROUND With the number of older people living alone continuously rising, health-monitoring systems using information and communication technology (ICT) have been developed to manage their health issues. Life logging, a type of ICT, has been adapted to manage and monitor health status of the elderly. However, its feasibility and efficacy remain unclear. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the feasibility of a life logging system combined with human body communication technology and its effect on the physical and psychological status of older adults living alone. METHODS The life logging system, which consisted of a wearable watch, touchpad sensors, TouchCare application, and context-aware artificial intelligence, was developed by DNX Co. Ltd and used by the participants for 5 months. Out of the 111 selected participants, 91 replied to the satisfaction survey, and 22 participated in further investigation regarding their physical and psychological status. Finally, health assessment and sensor data from 14 participants (mean age=77.4; SD=3.8) were analyzed to compare their health status and health-related behaviors before and after use of the system. RESULTS Out of the 91 participants who took the survey, 51.6% were satisfied with the system. Nutritional status (pre-intervention (10.6± 2.0) vs. post-intervention (11.8± 1.9), P=0.04) and fall efficacy (pre-intervention (89.2± 15.3) vs. post-intervention (99.9± 0.5), P=0.001) significantly improved after use of the system. Chronic pain (pre-intervention (4.8± 2.5) vs. post-intervention (4.4± 3.7), P=0.78) and depressive symptoms (pre-intervention (5.7± 3.9) vs. post-intervention (5.4± 3.1), P=0.60) reduced, while cognitive function (pre-intervention (4.1± 1.4) vs. post-intervention (4.6± 1.1), P=0.15) and physical performance related to walking improved (pre-intervention (3.9± 0.2) vs. post-intervention (4.0± 0), P=0.35), but were not significant. Behaviors related to physical activity and gait improved after use of the system; touch counts of refrigerator and microwave also increased with a decrease in night touch counts. CONCLUSIONS The life logging system was acceptable to older people living alone, and it efficiently managed their daily living while promoting their health-related behaviors. Further experimental studies are required to verify the effectiveness of the system, and to develop the system which meet the individualized needs of older people living alone.

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Health Status in Elderly Persons Living Alone—Reply

JAMA Internal Medicine ◽

10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.2136 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 173 (4) ◽

pp. 323 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Carla Perissinotto ◽

Kenneth E. Covinsky

Keyword(s):

Health Status ◽

Living Alone ◽

Elderly Persons

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Health related behaviours of secondary students living in dormitory in Hungary

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz186.136 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

P Skerlecz ◽

B Gulyás ◽

L Nedeczky ◽

J Takács ◽

Z s Rákosy

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Health Promotion ◽

High School Students ◽

Health Status ◽

Eating Habits ◽

School Students ◽

Health Consciousness ◽

Unhealthy Eating ◽

Health Related ◽

Lack Of Exercise

Abstract Background Previous studies have shown that unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise are still widespread among high school students. Hungary and many other countries have attempted to introduce campaigns and health education programs among adolescents to promote healthier lifestyle, but the effectiveness of these programs is unclear. Our aim was to investigate the consistency between knowledge and behavior in adolescents. Methods A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in 9 secondary schools’ student dormitories, involving 163 students. Descriptive statistics were estimated and chi2- test was used to compare the prevalence between groups. Results Of the participants 69.3% reported their health status good, girls and those students who studied in vocational school frequently considered their own health bad (p = 0.002). Almost all of them highlighted the importance of regular physical activity, but 27.7% had low physical activity. Daily consumption of fruit and vegetables seems to be characteristic just half of the students, the structure of their daily snacks consists more in sugar-sweetened snacks (21.7%) and energy dense beverages (22.8%). Students with higher level of health-consciousness rated better their own health status and took exercise more frequently, but the higher level of health-consciousness had not positive effect on the healthy food consumption (p = 0.143). Conclusions Our findings suggest lack of exercise and unhealthy eating habits were still widespread among high school students. The results of the study showed that adolescents have sufficient knowledge about healthy lifestyle, however, it has little impact on their health-related behaviour. Key messages The most important characteristic of an effective health promotion programme is its ability to change behaviour. Health promotion programmes should continue in schools, especially focus on behaviour changing interventions to effectively influence the health of the students.

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Health Status in Elderly Persons Living Alone

JAMA Internal Medicine ◽

10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.1601 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 173 (4) ◽

pp. 323 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Renzo Rozzini ◽

Marco Trabucchi

Keyword(s):

Health Status ◽

Living Alone ◽

Elderly Persons

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Predictors of Demand for Emergency Prehospital Care: An Australian Study

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x00027540 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 60-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Michele J. Clark ◽

Jennifer Purdie ◽

Gerry J. FitzGerald ◽

Noelene G. Bischoff ◽

Peter K. O'Rourke

Keyword(s):

Health Status ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

Medical Condition ◽

Prehospital Care ◽

Prevalence Ratio ◽

Economic Incentive ◽

Time Of Day ◽

Insurance Status ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Patient Disposition

AbstractIntroduction:Determining the predictors of demand for emergency prehospital care can assist ambulance services in undertaking policy and planning activities.Hypothesis:Demand for prehospital care can be explained by demographic, health status, and economic determinants.Methods:The study used a cross-sectional design to investigate the association of demographic, health status, and insurance factors with the use of prehospital, ambulance care. Core data items including age, gender, marital status, country of origin, triage score, diagnosis, time of presentation, method of arrival, and patient disposition were collected for every patient who pre-sented at the Emergency Department of the study hospital over a four-month period. Ambulance usage was analysed using Poisson regression.Results:For the 10,229 patients surveyed, only a small number were triaged as having the highest level of urgent medical need (0.8%), but the majority of these used prehospital emergency medical care (90.2%). Predictors of ambulance use included age >65years (Prevalence Ratio [Prevalence Ratio] = 2.92; 95% confidence interval [ Confidence Interval]: 2.35–3.63), being married or in a defacto relationship (Prevalence Ratio = 0.69; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.60–0.79) or divorced, separated, or widowed (Prevalence Ratio = 0.83; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.70–0.98), triage score level 1 or 2 (Prevalence Ratio = 1.95; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.68–2.28), or triage score level 3 (Prevalence Ratio = 1.54; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.38–1.72), diagnosis involving either mental (Prevalence Ratio = 4.29; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.84–10.01), nervous (Prevalence Ratio = 2.74; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.19–6.31) or trauma (Prevalence Ratio = 2.33; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.03–5.27) conditions, and insurance status (Prevalence Ratio =1.54; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.40–1.71). Ethnicity, gender, and time of day were not associated with usage.Conclusion:Demand for ambulance services can be predicted by a number of demographic, medical status, and insurance variables. Age and triage levels are key influences on demand for ambulance services. Ambulance insurance status provides an economic incentive to use ambulance services regardless of the urgency of the medical condition.

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