scholarly journals Implications of therapeutic touch and relaxation massage on aging

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glaucia Pegorari Micillo ◽  
Nair Nunes Garcia ◽  
Angelica Castilho Alonso ◽  
José Maria Montiel ◽  
Marta Ferreira Bastos
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Body ◽  
Therapeutic Touch ◽  
World Population ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
The Social ◽  
Anxiety Depression ◽  
Increased Blood Flow

Background: The social, technological and scientific advances mainly linked to the health area were important for increasing the longevity of the world population, which highlights the need for studies and public policies aimed at the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases associated with aging. The search for complementary therapeutic techniques and practices to improve the quality of life of the elderly has increased in order to decrease the complications of the aging process such as chronic pain, fatigue, changes in sleep quality, stress/anxiety, depression and the risk of polypharmacy. Objective: Discuss the importance of touch in the elderly and the implications of using this therapeutic technique in improving the quality of life of the elderly. Methods:  Through bibliographic review, it was selected studies on touch and its implications on the physical, emotional and sentimental aspects of the elderly's life. There are several methodologies that use touch as a trigger for benefits to the body, such as: therapeutic touch, reiki and relaxation massage. However, massage has been strongly considered in the scientific literature, especially as it is a non-invasive and non-medicated technique, based on slips, friction, compression and stretches with different intensities and in certain regions of the body that promote improvement of physical aspects, such as: increased blood flow, with consequent increase in oxygenation and the arrival of nutrients to the tissues. Conclusion: It is possible to suggest that the beneficial influence of massage on physical, emotional and sentimental aspects may provide an improvement in the quality of life of the elderly.  

scholarly journals The Analysis of Nutritional Habits of the Third Age Students in Poznań

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-29
Author(s):  
Magdalena Pracka ◽  
Marcin Dziedziński ◽  
Przemysław Łukasz Kowalczewski
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Body ◽  
Nutritional Habits ◽  
Third Age ◽  
Waist To Hip Ratio ◽  
The Third

AbstractIn recent years have seen increasing percentage of the elderly in the overall population. This has driven the attention to the lifestyle factors that influence the health and quality of life of this social group, including their nutrition and physical activity. Universities of the Third Age (U3A) are a valuable platform for the dissemination and broadening of the knowledge related to these topics. The nutritional habits of 61 U3A students in Poznań were evaluated on the basis of a modified KomPAN questionnaire. Their nutritional status was determined using the body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) indices. Nearly half of the respondents were overweight and 16% had first degree obesity. The WHR index in women was on average 0.8, while in men it was 1.01. Only 13% of the students declared regular eating, with 60% consuming 4-5 meals a day. Women were found to eat snacks between meals more often than men. It was also found that the majority of the elderly do not add salt to ready meals or sweeten beverages with sugars. Taking into account the observed nutritional problems and the occurrence of improper eating habits of the elderly, it is recommended to continue the education on the prevention of common diet-related diseased.

scholarly journals The importance of anemia and health-related quality of life in the elderly

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Raditya Wratsangka ◽  
Rully Ayu Nirmalasari Haryadi Putri
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Hemoglobin Concentration ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
World Population ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Impact

Anemia is a global health problem with an extremely high prevalence and occurring in nearly 25% of the world population, particularly in the elderly group. Currently Indonesia is facing a rapid growth of the elderly population, with around 21 million elderly (8.2% of the total population), that is projected to increase to 33.7 million (11.8%) in the year 2025. Anemia in the elderly is frequently neglected, although the facts show that low hemoglobin concentration is an important marker of physiological decline and functional limitations. Although the factor of intrinsic aging may cause low hemoglobin concentration, anemia in the elderly is known to have a wide range w88ith regard to etiology, underlying disorders, and  possible mechanisms, such that it should be clinically followed up. Whatever its causes or underlying pathophysiological, anemia in the elderly has been proven to play a role in their morbidity and mortality, and may decrease their quality of life, that comprises all aspects of physical, mental, and social health, known as health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The impact of anemia on HRQoL has been studied in various populations, and most studies report the presence of an association between HRQoL and anemia in elderly individuals, which on the subscale level is particularly associated with physical health. Early diagnosis of anemia is important to prevent aggravation of the condition, to retard the progress of the disease, and to improve the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the patient. Prior to determining the treatment plan, the primary diagnosis and the comorbidities, especially treatable disorders, had better be identified first. The available data show that the overall prognosis will improve for anemia in patients with well-managed and corrected chronic disorders.

scholarly journals Nutrition and Healthy Aging: Prevention and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Diseases

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 4337
Author(s):  
Neri Maria Cristina ◽  
d’Alba Lucia
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Gastrointestinal Diseases ◽  
The Body ◽  
Fundamental Aspect ◽  
Effective Prevention

Nutritional well-being is a fundamental aspect for the health, autonomy and, therefore, the quality of life of all people, but especially of the elderly. It is estimated that at least half of non-institutionalized elderly people need nutritional intervention to improve their health and that 85% have one or more chronic diseases that could improve with correct nutrition. Although prevalence estimates are highly variable, depending on the population considered and the tool used for its assessment, malnutrition in the elderly has been reported up to 50%. Older patients are particularly at risk of malnutrition, due to multiple etiopathogenetic factors which can lead to a reduction or utilization in the intake of nutrients, a progressive loss of functional autonomy with dependence on food, and psychological problems related to economic or social isolation, e.g., linked to poverty or loneliness. Changes in the aging gut involve the mechanical disintegration of food, gastrointestinal motor function, food transit, intestinal wall function, and chemical digestion of food. These alterations progressively lead to the reduced ability to supply the body with adequate levels of nutrients, with the consequent development of malnutrition. Furthermore, studies have shown that the quality of life is impaired both in gastrointestinal diseases, but especially in malnutrition. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of malnutrition in elderly people is necessary to promote the knowledge of age-related changes in appetite, food intake, homeostasis, and body composition in order to better develop effective prevention and intervention strategies to achieve healthy aging.

scholarly journals Quality of life of elderly persons placed in a nursing home

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-88
Author(s):  
Nataša Egeljić-Mihailović ◽  
Jelena Pavlović ◽  
Nina Brkić-Jovanović ◽  
Dragana Milutinović
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
Life Assessment ◽  
World Population ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Quality Life

Modern society in recent decades is facing a large increase in the share of people over 65 in the total population. The research shows that the trend of increasing the number of the elderly is such that it is estimated that the share of people aged 65 and over in the world population will increase significantly (by 56%), from 901 million (12.3%) in 2015 to 1.4 billion (16.5%) in 2030. Nursing homes for the accommodation and care of the elderly are safe places that provide the elderly with reduced physical and other abilities and a life worthy of a human being. A wide field of interest for the research is the perception and experience of home care users about what a quality life in this environment could represent. As part of the quality of life assessment, different domains are assessed, and a certain degree of subjective assessment is included in the choice of quality of life domains. Given the demographic changes that have led to an aging population, as well as longer life expectancy, new measures of social and health policy towards the elderly are increasingly aimed at raising the quality of life of the elderly, while scientific research is increasingly focused on identifying factors that affect the quality of life of the elderly.

scholarly journals LIFE SATISFACTION AMONG PEOPLE AGED 60 AND OVER, PARTICIPATING IN RESTRICTED SOCIAL NETWORKS IN POLAND: RELATED VARIABLES

2015 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-39
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Kozerska
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
High Level ◽  
Difficult Situations

From the perspective of adult education, the engagement of older people in developing relationships with other people is related to their learning and creating their identities. The research conducted in the areas of various countries shows a relationship between a social participation of seniors and their well-being. Moreover, participation in rich social networks, composed of many people, coincides with a high quality of life. The article focuses on senior citizens functioning in restricted networks (less numerous social networks, consisting of several people).The study is to serve three purposes: firstly, to identify determinants of a subjective assessment of own life of senior citizens living in restricted networks; secondly, to analyse a relationship between seniors’ subjective, general assessment of life and their opinion on what determines a successful and happy life; thirdly, to analyse the relationship between seniors’ subjective, general assessment of life and the ways they handle problematic situations. The analysis has been conducted on the basis of the data collected in 2013, available to the general public on www.diagnoza.com. The data was collected within the Social Diagnosis (Diagnoza społeczna) project. The objective of the Social Diagnosis is an investigation of the conditions and quality of life in Poland. It is based on panel research. A questionnaire has been used as a research tool. The article presents information regarding 5623 individuals, aged 60+functioning in restricted social networks in Poland. The Mann-Whitney U test and the two proportions test helped to analyse the differences between variable distributions. The results show that a poor social life of the elderly does not have to be linked with a feeling of loneliness. The group of individuals with a high level of general satisfaction is more satisfied with a relationship with the family (especially children) than the group with a low level of life satisfaction. The analysis confirms that good relationships with family and friends are an important predictor of life satisfaction of the elderly. Health is considered to be a condition of a successful life by seniors with a high level of life satisfaction, as well as relationships with close family members: with children and a spouse. This group of respondents shows more confidence in other people, by whom they feel loved and confided in. In difficult situations people with a high level of life satisfaction turn to others for help, but they also act themselves. Seniors with a low level of satisfaction differ from the previous group in these terms. These are people who do not feel confided in by others and they also hardly ever turn to others for help. In difficult situations they are more often passive. In conclusion, the author highlights the significance of informal learning occurring in families to enhance older people’s quality of life. It is important, especially in case of poorly educated persons with low incomes who often function in small social networks. Key words: informal learning in the family, life satisfaction of older adults, social participation of seniors.

scholarly journals The quality of life of the older generation in Belarus

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-49
Author(s):  
E. A. Kechyna ◽  
L. V. Filinskaya
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Family Relations ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Demographic Aging ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Republic

The demographic aging of population typical for many countries requires much more financial and material resources to meet the needs of the post-working-age population. For the Republic of Belarus, the problem of population aging is highly relevant for the share of the elderly grows annually. The article focuses on the social-demographic characteristics and quality of life of the older generation in Belarus. The article is based on the data of the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus and the results of the sociological research “Belarus: Family, Stability of Family Relations, and Birth Rate in the Changing Social-Economic Conditions” conducted within the international research program “Generation and Gender”. The authors present a sociological-statistical approach to the analysis of the key characteristics of the elderly’s life in contemporary Belarus, which combines the information resources of sociology and statistics. The authors consider the general statistical data on the population aging and the elderly’s features and the sociological indicators revealing the perception of life at the older age. The assessment of the older generation’s life is presented as a set of indicators of the quality of life, which includes both objective statistical data and estimates of the older people’s satisfaction with various aspects of their life. For the first time in Belarus the quality of life of the 60-69- and 70-79-year-old cohorts is studied not only through statistical data but also taking into account their own assessments of various aspects of their lives, which allows to identify the most relevant issues for the social programs aimed at meeting the needs of the older generation.

scholarly journals Verso un modello glottogeragogico Lo scaffolding cognitivo-emozionale

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cecilia Luise ◽  
Mario Cardona
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Emotional Scaffolding

Language learning experiences seem to lead to advantages for the elderly in the social, psychological and cognitive spheres. Learning languages is not only useful for the quality of life of the elderly and for their active participation in society, but it also has an important role in stimulating and maintaining cognitive resources, increasing cognitive reserves and countering their decline favouring the development of compensation processes. From this point of view, learning languages for the elderly is not only possible but it is also desirable. This justifies a FL geragogic model, called cognitive-emotional scaffolding, which can become the basis of a project to teach foreign languages to elderly learners.

scholarly journals Active elderly and health—can moderate exercise improve health and wellbeing in older adults? Protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Giovanni Carta ◽  
Giulia Cossu ◽  
Elisa Pintus ◽  
Rosanna Zoccheddu ◽  
Omar Callia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Moderate Physical Activity ◽  
World Population ◽  
Medical Reason ◽  
Positive Effects

Abstract Background Aging is marked by a progressive rise in chronic diseases with an impact on social and healthcare costs. Physical activity (PA) may soothe the inconveniences related to chronic diseases, has positive effects on the quality of life and biological rhythms, and can prevent the decline in motor functions and the consequent falls, which are associated with early death and disability in older adults. Methods We randomized 120 over-65 males and females into groups of similar size and timing and will give each either moderate physical activity or cultural and recreational activities. Being younger than 65 years, inability to participate in physical activity for any medical reason, and involvement in a massive program of physical exercise are the exclusion criteria. The primary outcome measures are: quality of life, walking speed, and postural sway. Participants are tested at baseline, post-treatment, and 6-month (24 weeks) and 12-month (48 weeks) follow-ups. Discussion This study aims at improving the quality of life, wellness, and cognitive functioning in the elderly through a low-cost affordable program of moderate physical activity. Given the growing aging of the world population and the social and economic burden of disability in the elderly, our results might have a major impact on future practices. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03858114. Registered on 28 February 2019.

scholarly journals A Social Entrepreneurship Approach for the Development of an Active-Ageing Smartphone Application

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 17-20
Author(s):  
George Papageorgiou ◽  
Athanasia Ralli ◽  
Sofia A. Xergia
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Smart Phone ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
World Population

Trends in the world population are shown to favor the increase market of elderly people aged 65 and over. This creates a new and promising market with many peculiarities and a variety of needs to be satisfied in terms of improving quality of life. The proposed solution to this problem which is investigated in this paper comes from technology. Especially, smart phone technology can lead to the creation of innovative products and services facilitating the elderly in their daily lives. The purpose of this study is to explore how a smart phone application (Active Ageing), could upgrade the quality of life of the elderly people and how to motivate them by making them feel safe and comfortable to go out for a walk. Further, the proposed app development takes a stakeholder’s approach where the society, the state, local actors and private investors, are involved. In this way opportunities can be seized and be a deterministic factor in this new market with many economic, social and environmental benefits. At the same time, the study examines the conceptual framework of an innovative business model which will contribute to the sustainable development of the application in the Greek society by taking a social entrepreneurship approach. Going through a critical literature review in relation to Active Ageing, the benefits and risks of walking, social entrepreneurship, market research methods and smart cities, an appropriate survey instrument was developed for evaluating the potential of the envisioned Active Aging app. Elements in the survey examined key issues that concern the elderly. Specifically, market needs have been identified regarding the necessary information to create confidence, safety, enjoyment and high quality of life in a framework of sustainable mobility.

scholarly journals Association between Anxiety, Depressive Symptoms and Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Diagnostic Flexible Video Bronchoscopy

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (19) ◽  
pp. 10374
Author(s):  
Beata Brajer-Luftmann ◽  
Marcin Mardas ◽  
Marta Stelmach-Mardas ◽  
Dorota Lojko ◽  
Halina Batura-Gabryel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Anxiety Level ◽  
Patients At Risk ◽  
Anxiety Depression ◽  
Reduced State

Bronchoscopy is one of the basic invasive procedures in pulmonology accompanied by patients’ anxiety. This study aimed to find an association between predictors of state anxiety/depression and patient’s quality of life (QOL) with pulmonary symptoms undergoing diagnostic flexible video bronchoscopy (FVB). A total of 125 adult patients before FVB were included in a prospective observational study. The quality of life (QOL) was assessed by WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire, the depression possibility by the Beck’s Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the anxiety level by Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S; STAI-T). Results show that the older patients and patients with more comorbidities showed a significantly higher anxiety level. The previous FVB under deep sedation significantly reduced state anxiety. A significantly positive association was found between the STAI score and total BDI-II score. More severe symptoms of anxiety were especially related to lower QOL (physical health, psychological and environmental domains) in patients. Statistically higher trait anxiety in lower social QOL domain scores was observed. Our findings show that high state and trait anxiety were associated with higher depression scores and lower quality of life in the elderly. It seems that the elderly and patients at risk of depression development require more attention in the clinical setting to minimize the anxiety accompanying the bronchoscopy.

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