scholarly journals An intervention to increase the wellbeing of older people

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-33
Author(s):  
Ana Raquel Ortega ◽  
Encarnación Ramírez ◽  
Alberto Chamorro
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Emotional Disorders ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Intervention Measures ◽  
Quasi Experimental

Background. Research has shown that happiness and well-being play a critical role in the health of the elderly. Therefore programs based on positive psychology include any of these variables to improve their quality of life by preventing and reducing the occurrence of emotional disorders. Objectives. Prove if an intervention based on Autobiographical Memory, Forgiveness, Gratitude and Sense of Humor will increase the quality of life in institutionalized elderly. Method. A quasi-experimental design with pre and post intervention measures were used. Participants. Twenty institutionalized people aged 65 years. Instruments. Measures were taken for depression, anxiety, happiness, life satisfaction, autobiographical memory and cognitive impairment by administering questionnaires. Procedure. After obtained informed consent, questionnaires were administered in an individual interview and the purpose of the intervention was explained. The duration of the program was eleven weeks and once completed, were reevaluated participants. Results. The intervention has been effective in producing an increase in the welfare of the elderly. Conclusions. The proposed intervention is revealed as one effective new tool easy to use and inexpensive to allow to improve the quality of life and emotional disorders of the elderly.

scholarly journals An intervention to increase the wellbeing of older people

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-33
Author(s):  
Ana Raquel Ortega ◽  
Encarnación Ramírez ◽  
Alberto Chamorro
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Emotional Disorders ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Intervention Measures ◽  
Quasi Experimental

Background. Research has shown that happiness and well-being play a critical role in the health of the elderly. Therefore programs based on positive psychology include any of these variables to improve their quality of life by preventing and reducing the occurrence of emotional disorders. Objectives. Prove if an intervention based on Autobiographical Memory, Forgiveness, Gratitude and Sense of Humor will increase the quality of life in institutionalized elderly. Method. A quasi-experimental design with pre and post intervention measures were used. Participants. Twenty institutionalized people aged 65 years. Instruments. Measures were taken for depression, anxiety, happiness, life satisfaction, autobiographical memory and cognitive impairment by administering questionnaires. Procedure. After obtained informed consent, questionnaires were administered in an individual interview and the purpose of the intervention was explained. The duration of the program was eleven weeks and once completed, were reevaluated participants. Results. The intervention has been effective in producing an increase in the welfare of the elderly. Conclusions. The proposed intervention is revealed as one effective new tool easy to use and inexpensive to allow to improve the quality of life and emotional disorders of the elderly.

scholarly journals Autobiographical Memory, Gratitude, Forgiveness and Sense of Humor: An Intervention in Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Chamorro-Garrido ◽  
Encarnación Ramírez-Fernández ◽  
Ana Raquel Ortega-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Emotional Disorders ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Improve Quality ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Sense Of Humor

Research has shown that happiness and well-being play a fundamental role in the health of older adults. For this reason, programs based on Positive Psychology seek to improve quality of life, preventing and reducing the appearance of emotional disorders. The objective of this study was to verify whether an intervention based on Autobiographical Memory, Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Sense of humor would increase quality of life in institutionalized older adults. We used a quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-intervention measures and follow-on measures at 3, 6, and 12 months. A total of 111 institutionalized older adults participated in the study and were randomly assigned to one of three groups: experimental (n = 36), placebo (n = 39), and control (n = 36). Measurements were taken of depression, subjective happiness, satisfaction with life, psychological well-being, and specific memories. Program duration was 11 weeks, followed by refresher sessions of the activities that had been conducted. The results showed that the intervention was effective, producing lasting increase in the participating adults’ well-being, maintained for the following 12 months, in contrast to the other two groups. In conclusion, the proposed intervention proved to be a novel tool that was effective, easily applied, and able to improve quality of life and emotional disorders in older adults.

scholarly journals Functional Capacity and Quality of Life in Old Aquatic Exercising Practicers

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Rafaella Araújo De Campos ◽  
Suely Maria Satoko Moriya Inumaru ◽  
Elizabeth Rodrigues De Morais ◽  
Marcelo Silva Fantinati ◽  
Adriana Márcia Monteiro Fantinati
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Functional Capacity ◽  
Elderly Women ◽  
Exercise Program ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Initial Population ◽  
Test Statistic ◽  
Post Intervention

As chronological age increases, people become less active, thus reducing their functional abilities (CF). For the elderly, CF represents a potential decision and action in their lives, since the lack of autonomy and independence generates a great vulnerability of this individual compromising well-being and quality of life (QoL). The objective of this study was to evaluate the aquatic exercise program in the quality of life and functional capacity of the elderly of UNATI PUC-GO. This study is characterized by being almost experimental longitudinal and quantitative, in which the initial population was composed of 30 elderly women, finishing 16 within the inclusion criteria. The QOL assessment was performed using the WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire and the six-minute walk test (6MWT) was used to assess functional capacity (FC). Data collection was performed at the Life School Clinic of PUC - GO for a period of three months. Pre- and post-intervention comparisons were performed by the paired T-test. Statistic performed in SPSS version 20.0 adopting significance with value of p≤0.05 and the normality of the data was tested using the Shapiro-Wilk test. A significant statistical difference was found in the comparison between pre and post TC6 '(p

scholarly journals The practice of the art of clowning by a person with aphasia: a case report

Revista CEFAC ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica da Silva Duarte ◽  
Jaqueline dos Santos Rocha ◽  
Lenisa Brandão
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Language Therapy ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Community Project ◽  
Intervention Measures ◽  
Potential Benefits

ABSTRACT This study addresses the effects of the art of clowning on the quality of life and wellbeing of a woman presented with aphasia and depression. She was discharged from individual Speech-Language Therapy due to improved language skills, but she continued expressing emotional complaints associated with communicative situations. The participant joined Palhafasia, a community project that welcomes aphasics for group clowning sessions. She participated for six months in once-a-week meetings that lasted three hours each. The comparison of pre- and post-intervention measures detected improvements in her quality of life, including communication and subjective well-being of the participant. This innovative case study provides a preliminary contribution that must be further investigated. The study points to the potential benefits of the practice of clowning to promote quality of life and well-being of people with aphasia who suffer from depression.

The effectiveness of hope-fostering interventions in palliative care: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 026921632199472
Author(s):  
Natalia Salamanca-Balen ◽  
Thomas V Merluzzi ◽  
Man Chen
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Symptom Burden ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Medium Effect ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
Quasi Experimental

Background: The concept of hope is an important theme in chronic illness and palliative care and has been associated with increased psycho-spiritual well-being and quality of life. Psycho-spiritual interventions have been described in this population, but no systematic review of hope-enhancing interventions or hopelessness-reducing interventions has been conducted for persons with palliative care diseases. Aim: To describe and assess the effectiveness of interventions in palliative care that measure hope and/or hopelessness as an outcome. Design: This systematic review and meta-analysis was pre-registered (Prospero ID: CRD42019119956). Data sources: Electronic databases, journals, and references were searched. We used the Cochrane criteria to assess the risk of bias within studies. Results: Thirty-five studies (24 randomized controlled trials, 5 quasi-experimental, 6 pre-post studies) involving a total of 3296 palliative care patients were included. Compared with usual/standard cancer care alone, interventions significantly increased hope levels at a medium effect size ( g = 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.28–0.93) but did not significantly reduce hopelessness ( g = −0.08, 95% CI = −0.18 to 0.02). It was found that interventions significantly increase spirituality ( g = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.02–1.37) and decrease depression ( g = −0.29, 95% CI = −0.51 to −0.07), but had no significant effect over anxiety, quality of life, and symptom burden. Overall, quality of evidence across the included studies was rated as low. Conclusions: Evidence suggests that interventions can be effective in increasing hope in palliative care patients.

scholarly journals Monitoring Health Parameters of Elders to Support Independent Living and Improve Their Quality of Life

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 517
Author(s):  
Ilia Adami ◽  
Michalis Foukarakis ◽  
Stavroula Ntoa ◽  
Nikolaos Partarakis ◽  
Nikolaos Stefanakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Health And Well Being

Improving the well-being and quality of life of the elderly population is closely related to assisting them to effectively manage age-related conditions such as chronic illnesses and anxiety, and to maintain their independence and self-sufficiency as much as possible. This paper presents the design, architecture and implementation structure of an adaptive system for monitoring the health and well-being of the elderly. The system was designed following best practices of the Human-Centred Design approach involving representative end-users from the early stages.

scholarly journals Health-related quality of life among 13–14 year old adolescents with overweight - a mixed methods approach

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Turid Kristin Bigum Sundar ◽  
Kirsti Riiser ◽  
Milada Småstuen ◽  
Randi Opheim ◽  
Knut Løndal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Reference Population ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related

Abstract BackgroundOverweight and obesity are public concerns with risk of adverse health outcomes. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is lower in adolescents than children in general. An increase in body mass index (BMI) is associated with a decrease in HRQoL. The purpose of this study was to measure and explore the HRQoL among adolescents with overweight or obesity who had participated in an intervention study with the aim of increasing PA, reducing BMI and promoting HRQoL.Methods Mixed methods, with a convergent design, were used to investigate how different methodological approaches could expand our understanding of the adolescents’ HRQoL. Quantitative post-intervention data on HRQoL were collected among the 84 intervention participants, aged 13–14 years, using the KIDSCREEN 52 questionnaire. The data were compared with a Norwegian reference population of 244 individuals, and analysed using a non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 adolescents from the intervention. A directed approach to content analysis was adopted, using the ten sub-scales from KIDSCREEN 52.ResultsHRQoL in the intervention sample was significantly reduced on the sub-scale of physical well-being compared to the reference population. The reference population scored significantly lower than the intervention sample on the sub-scale of parent relation and home life. No significant differences were found on the other sub-scales. The qualitative data supported the quantitative findings on the sub-scale of physical well-being, but showed that perceptions of fitness, energy level or health could vary. Regarding parent relations, the interviewees extended this to include relationships to other family members as equally important. Most of the interviewees expressed a negative view of their bodies, but not their clothing or accessories. This may explain why no statistically significant differences were found on these aspects in the results from the KIDSCREEN questionnaire. ConclusionThe use of the KIDSCREEN 52 instrument gave important indications about the adolescents’ HRQoL. Combining methods enabled a comprehensive approach to research on HRQoL, indicating better ways of providing help. More research using the benefits of mixed methods approaches is needed to further elucidate these findings.

scholarly journals An Association of Quality of Life and Ageing Perceptions Among Community Dwelling Older Adults in Uganda

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Louise -Onoria ◽  
Raymond Odokonyero ◽  
Bruno Giordani ◽  
Dickens Akena ◽  
Emmanuel Mwesiga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Positive Perception

Abstract Background: Uganda’s population, though, largely characterized by young people, has seen the number of people aged 60 and over grow from 686,000 twenty years ago, to 1,433,596 in 2014. Effective caring for the well-being of this population requires strategic and deliberate planning that involves quality of life (QoL) assessments. QoL assessments among the elderly are important in evaluating the efficacy of strategies, such as health interventions, welfare programs, health care, and well-being of the elderly. However, elderly in Uganda face several challenges, ranging from loneliness, poor housing, lack of social and financial support, and poor health. These may negatively affect older persons’ quality of life and consequently their perceptions and attitudes towards aging. Methods: The study was carried out in 2019 in the communities of Nansana and Busukuma town councils in Wakiso district, Uganda. The participants were 380 people 60 years and older. To establish the association between perceptions of ageing and QoL, this study utilized a locally adapted version of the Older Person’s Quality of Life Questionnaire (OPQOL) and the Brief Ageing Perceptions Questionnaire (B-APQ). The OPQOL assesses three domains of QoL: Health QoL (HQoL); Social economic QoL (SQoL); and Psychosocial QoL (PQoL). The B-APQ assesses perceptions about physical age, participation in social activities, and perceptions about ability to regulate emotions as one ages. Pearson’s Chi-square tests were used to characterize the relationship between the perceptions and quality of life.Results: The majority of the respondents, 61% (95%CI 56.7-64.8), had negative perceptions towards ageing. Eighty six percent had poor HQoL, 90% poor SQoL and 83% poor PQoL. There was a significant association between good HQoL and positive perception about participation in social activities (X2 = 7.3670, P = 0.007) as well as with positive perception on regulation of emotions (X2 = 18.1803, P<0.001). There was a significant association between good SQoL and positive perception about participation in social activities (X2 = 5.3472, P = 0.021), as well with positive perception on regulation of emotions (X2 = 10.5128, P<0.001). A significant association between good PQoL and positive perception on regulation of emotions (X2 = 9.2414, P= 0.002).Conclusion: Positive perceptions of ageing are associated with good QoL. Directly addressing perceptions of ageing could be a low cost and effective strategy to improve the QoL of older persons in SSA

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.

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