scholarly journals Sense of Purpose Following a Dementia Diagnostic Appointment: Comparing Self- and Other-Reports of Care Recipients and Care Partners

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Wynn ◽  
Catherine H. Ju ◽  
Patrick L. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Older Adulthood ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Sense Of Purpose ◽  
Care Recipients ◽  
Care Partners ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Future Work

Objective: Purpose in life tends to decline in older adulthood and it is thought that intact cognitive functioning is required for purposeful living. Thus, it is likely that individuals may perceive older adults who are experiencing cognitive declines associated with dementia as having a reduced sense of purpose. Biases such as these may influence how individuals, especially care partners, interact with those with dementia.Method: This study examined how sense of purpose changed following a dementia diagnostic appointment for both the person receiving a diagnosis and their care partner. This study also explored how each individual perceived the other member of the dyad’s sense of purpose. Older adults (47 care recipients and 75 care partners, 57% female; Mage = 68.5 years, SDage = 12.0 years) provided self- and other-report ratings of sense of purpose before and after their appointment at a specialized memory clinic.Results: Overall, both care recipients and care partners’ sense of purpose declined following a dementia diagnostic appointment [t(85) = 7.01, p < 0.001]. However, when comparing self-reports and other-reports of purpose, care partners reported that care recipients experienced a lower sense of purpose in life than the care recipients reported about themselves.Conclusions: Care recipients and partners reported less purpose in life following their dementia diagnostic appointment. Care partners may hold certain biases regarding sense of purpose toward care recipients. These findings can inform future work regarding how care recipients and care partners can plan purposeful lives following a dementia diagnosis.

scholarly journals Sense of Purpose in Life Promotes Resilience to Memory Deficits Related to Depressive Symptomatology

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 255-255
Author(s):  
Nathan Lewis ◽  
Patrick Hill
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Mental Status ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Older Adulthood ◽  
Sense Of Purpose

Abstract Individuals higher in depressive symptoms commonly present with neuropsychological deficits including poorer memory performance. Sense of purpose in life, a component of psychological well-being, has been shown to promote resilience to cognitive impairment in older adulthood, but it is unclear whether it may also protect against cognitive deficits associated with higher depressive symptoms. This study examined whether purpose in life moderated the effect of depressive symptoms on cognitive functioning in a large longitudinal study of 4599 American older adults (Mage = 74.33 years, range = 65–104 years, 56.84% female) across a 12-year follow-up period. Depressive symptomatology was assessed at each wave using the 8-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Multilevel models assessed the influence of depressive symptoms and the interaction with sense of purpose in life on changes in word recall and mental status. Higher depressive symptoms were associated with poorer recall at baseline, but not rate of change over time. A negative interaction was observed between sense of purpose in life and depressive symptoms such that individuals higher in purpose experienced a less negative impact of depressive symptoms on word recall. No significant interaction of sense of purpose and depressive symptoms was observed on mental status. Having a sense of purpose in life may help protect older adults from memory deficits associated with higher depressive symptoms. The present findings underscore the potential for sense of purpose to promote cognitive reserve in older adulthood, allowing individuals to maintain cognitive performance in the face of accruing neuropsychological challenges.

Perceived barriers and contributors to sense of purpose in life in retirement community residents

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Nathan A. Lewis ◽  
Naomi Reesor ◽  
Patrick L. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Sense Of Purpose ◽  
The Social ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽  
Retirement Facilities

Abstract Despite the growing use of retirement communities and ageing care facilities, little is known about how residing in retirement residences may impact aspects of older adult wellbeing. Living in these communities may hold particular influence on residents’ sense of purpose, if they feel limited in their opportunities for individual action, or could serve to promote purposefulness depending on the social connections available. The current study sought to explore contributing factors as well as barriers to purpose in older adults living in three continuing care retirement communities. Using brief semi-structured interviews, 18 older adults were asked to describe their purpose in life, community-related activities and any perceived challenges limiting their ability to pursue this purpose. Thematic analysis was used to examine themes common across interviews. Interviews presented a mixed picture of the nature of purposefulness in retirement facilities. Residents espoused several benefits of community living such as social and leisure opportunities, while also noting several obstacles to their purpose, including health concerns and the belief that purpose in life was not relevant for older adults. These findings provide insight into how older adults can derive a sense of purpose from activities within their retirement community and how facilities can better tailor programmes to promote purposefulness and support personally valued roles for residents.

Leisure-Related Predictors on a Sense of Purpose in Life among Older Adults with Cancer

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanghee Chun ◽  
Jinmoo Heo ◽  
Sunwoo Lee ◽  
Junhyoung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Sense Of Purpose

scholarly journals Perception of COVID-19 Restrictions on Daily Life among Japanese Older Adults: A Qualitative Focus Group Study

Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 450
Author(s):  
Risa Takashima ◽  
Ryuta Onishi ◽  
Kazuko Saeki ◽  
Michiyo Hirano
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Focus Group Study ◽  
Sense Of Purpose ◽  
Social Risks

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed older adults to health and social risks. This study examined the perceptions of community-dwelling older adults regarding how COVID-19 restricted their daily lives. Six focus-group interviews were conducted with 24 participants (mean age, 78.2 ± 5.5 years) living in urban and rural areas in Japan. Then, a qualitative inductive content analysis was performed. Six themes were generated: “fear of infection and public, watchful eyes,” “consistency in daily personal life,” “pain from reducing my social life,” “readiness to endure a restricted life,” “awareness of positive changes in myself,” and “concern for a languishing society.” There was no change that would make their lives untenable, and they continued their daily personal lives at a minimum level. However, their social lives were reduced, which over the long term can lead to a lost sense of purpose in life. This was reported as an adverse factor in the development of other diseases and functional decline in previous studies. While there is no doubt that infection prevention is important, supporting older adults in engaging in activities that provide a sense of purpose in life could contribute to their present and future overall health including mental health.

scholarly journals Older Adults Place Greater Importance on a Purposeful Retirement

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 954-954
Author(s):  
Rachel Best ◽  
Gabrielle Pfund ◽  
M Teresa Cardador ◽  
Victor Strecher ◽  
Patrick Hill
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Sense Of Purpose ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Working Status ◽  
Status Data ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Sense of purpose is associated with desirable health and well-being measures in older adults. Unfortunately, existing research points to complexity in the connection between purpose and retirement: some but not all people decline in sense of purpose following retirement, and some view it as nonessential to maintain a purpose specifically during retirement. These findings suggest there may be individual differences both in the importance placed on being purposeful specifically during retirement, and that there may be a discrepancy in purpose importance before retirement and during retirement. In this study, we examined whether perceived purpose importance correlates with age and personality, as well as working status. Data were collected from a U.S sample (N = 2,009), aged18-93 (M =48.51). Participants completed a survey assessing the Big Five personality traits and were asked to rate the importance of purpose before and after retirement. Findings suggest that, overall, people believe it wasrbe important to have a purpose and direction during retirement (M = 3.86). Perceived purpose importance during retirement was greater among older, conscientious, and less neurotic adults, but working status did not appear to play a role. Moreover, when comparing perceptions of purpose importance before and during retirement, age was the distinguishing factor differentiating who perceives during-retirement purpose as more important than before-retirement purpose, such that older adults placed greater importance on sense of purpose during retirement. Results indicate that older adults do value having a purpose during retirement, suggesting that purpose-focused interventions may be well-received by this population.

scholarly journals Herpes zoster in older adults in Ontario, 2002–2016: Investigating incidence and exploring equity

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246086
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Buchan ◽  
Nick Daneman ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Sarah E. Wilson ◽  
Gary Garber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Herpes Zoster ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Income Quintile ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Neighbourhood Level ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Impact

Older adults are at increased risk of herpes zoster (HZ) and post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) and HZ vaccines are available to help prevent infection. The objective of our study was to provide updated data on incidence of HZ and PHN related to clinical and demographic factors in older adults to inform immunization practices. We conducted a population-based, retrospective cohort study and included all cases of HZ seen in outpatient, emergency department, and hospital settings for adults aged 65 years and over between April 1, 2002 to August 31, 2016 in Ontario, Canada. We calculated the incidence of HZ and PHN, and estimated the proportion within each subgroup that developed PHN. We also assessed incidence by neighbourhood-level income quintile before and after the availability of vaccine for private purchase. The average annual incidence of HZ in any setting was 59.0 per 10,000 older adults, with higher incidence in outpatient as opposed to hospital settings. Incidence was higher in the oldest age groups, females, and those classified as immunocompromised or frail. Relative to the pre-vaccine era, the disparities in incidence of HZ by neighbourhood-level income increased, with higher rates of HZ and PHN seen in those residing in lower income quintiles. Additional prevention efforts should be targeted toward adults who are immunocompromised, frail, and those living in lower socioeconomic quintiles. Future work should assess the impact of the zoster vaccine program with a particular focus on equity in the publicly-funded era.

A review of Internet use among older adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 3937-3954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Hunsaker ◽  
Eszter Hargittai
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
World Population ◽  
Older Adulthood ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
The World ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Relationship

As the world population ages and older adults comprise a growing proportion of current and potential Internet users, understanding the state of Internet use among older adults as well as the ways their use has evolved may clarify how best to support digital media use within this population. This article synthesizes the quantitative literature on Internet use among older adults, including trends in access, skills, and types of use, while exploring social inequalities in relation to each domain. We also review work on the relationship between health and Internet use, particularly relevant for older adults. We close with specific recommendations for future work, including a call for studies better representing the diversity of older adulthood and greater standardization of question design.

scholarly journals Sense of purpose in life and five health behaviors in older adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 106172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric S. Kim ◽  
Koichiro Shiba ◽  
Julia K. Boehm ◽  
Laura D. Kubzansky
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Sense Of Purpose

After the Curtain Falls: On the Post-Performance Adjustment of Solo Singers

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 172-177
Author(s):  
Ehud Bodner ◽  
Moshe Bensimon
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Sense Of Purpose ◽  
Negative Affects ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Better Than

The purpose of our study was to examine the psychological experience of a particular type of performing musicians, solo singers, upon finishing their stage performance. Thirty-eight professional rock singers completed questionnaires related to their self-esteem, positive and negative affects, and purpose in life, at 3 days before and after their performance. The contribution of these variables to the prediction of the participants' sense of purpose in life before and after performance was analyzed. We also compared the scores obtained from the singers' mental health condition with the scores of nonsingers who were nonpatients, ambulatory-neurotic patients, or inpatient-psychiatric patients tested by Florian and Drory in 1990. Results showed a post-performance decrement in emotional intensity and in the singers' sense of purpose in life. The singers' ability to maintain their sense of purpose in life after the performance was predicted by their professional experience, psychological well-being, and psychological mental distress. The singers' mental health appeared better than both the ambulatory-neurotic and inpatient- psychiatric groups, but it was worse than the mental health of the nonpatients. The meanings of these findings and their implications for post-performance psychotherapy are discussed.

scholarly journals Sense of Purpose Promotes Resilience to Cognitive Deficits Attributable to Depressive Symptoms

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan A. Lewis ◽  
Patrick L. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Mental Status ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Older Adulthood ◽  
Sense Of Purpose

ObjectiveIndividuals higher in depressive symptoms commonly present with neuropsychological deficits including poorer memory performance. Sense of purpose in life has been shown to promote resilience to cognitive impairment in older adulthood, but it is unclear whether it may also protect against cognitive deficits associated with higher depressive symptoms.MethodCognitive functioning among 4599 older American adults (Mage = 74.33 years, range = 65–104 years, 56.84% female) was examined across a 12-year follow-up period. Depressive symptomatology was assessed at each wave using the 8-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Multilevel models assessed the influence of depressive symptoms and the interaction with sense of purpose in life on changes in memory performance and mental status.ResultsHigher depressive symptoms were associated with poorer memory performance at baseline, but did not predict rate of change over time. A negative interaction was observed between sense of purpose in life and depressive symptoms such that individuals higher in purpose experienced a less negative association between depressive symptoms and baseline memory performance. No significant interaction of sense of purpose and depressive symptoms was observed on mental status.ConclusionHaving a sense of purpose in life may help protect older adults from memory deficits associated with higher depressive symptoms. The present findings underscore the potential for sense of purpose to promote cognitive reserve in older adulthood, allowing individuals to maintain cognitive performance in the face of accruing neurological insults.

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