Tara C Klinedinst, Nicholas Hollman, Michael J Hankes, Raymond Jones
{"title":"Linking Social Cohesion to Biological Markers of Aging: Evidence From the National Health and Aging Trends Study.","authors":"Tara C Klinedinst, Nicholas Hollman, Michael J Hankes, Raymond Jones","doi":"10.1177/07334648251325623","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648251325623","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Social cohesion, a measure of community belonging, and inflammatory biomarkers, like interleukin-6 (IL-6) and c-reactive protein (CRP), have emerged as significant factors influencing age-related chronic conditions and functional decline among older adults. Understanding the link between social cohesion and inflammation is particularly relevant in aging populations, as with age, social networks often diminish, and the prevalence of inflammatory conditions increases. Using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), we assessed the relationship between low social cohesion and IL-6 and CRP. We found that low social cohesion was associated with higher levels of CRP and IL-6 after adjusting for the influence of sociodemographic variables. These findings could inform health policies and community-level interventions designed to enhance social cohesion for aging adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":47970,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Gerontology","volume":" ","pages":"7334648251325623"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143625833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Operationalizing Inclusion of Diverse Older Adults in Aging Services Information.","authors":"Joseph Winberry, Bharat Mehra","doi":"10.1177/07334648251318420","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648251318420","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As the United States' population ages, it is also becoming more diverse. The country's Older Americans Act requires county-level offices on aging to be both service and information providers. But it is unclear to what extent offices on aging can identify gaps within the aging services information they provide and improve efforts to meet the information needs of diverse older adults. Utilizing an action research methodology, this study describes a partnership with an office on aging which ultimately resulted in the development and deployment of a diversity audit which is used to increase diverse representation in the aging services information their organization provides. The results reinforce the importance of designing resources with diversity in mind. By implementing the diversity audit and its recommendations, other aging services providers worldwide can ensure they are prepared to serve all older adults who may benefit from the services and information they have to offer.</p>","PeriodicalId":47970,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Gerontology","volume":" ","pages":"7334648251318420"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143617635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How did the Sudden Closures of Adult Day Services During COVID-19 Impact Dementia Care Dyads?","authors":"Laura M Girling, Regina L Hrybyk","doi":"10.1177/07334648251315261","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648251315261","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted daily routines across all age groups. However, the impact of the enforced closures of Adult Day Services (ADS) on dementia care dyads has received limited qualitative attention. To address this gap, data from a National Institute of Health (NIH) study (<i>N</i> = 43) were analyzed to explore how COVID-19 impacted community-dwelling persons with dementia and their caregivers. Analyses were conducted on the subsample of caregivers (<i>n</i> = 13) who supported a community-dwelling person with dementia who attended an ADS program at the onset of COVID-19. Findings indicate four central themes: (a) struggle to meet the needs of the person with dementia, (b) physical and cognitive decline of the person with dementia, (c) lack of time for self-care, and (d) adaptations by ADS and caregivers. This study posits that the mandated closure of ADS sites due to COVID-19 exacerbated both caregiving burden and deterioration in individuals with dementia.</p>","PeriodicalId":47970,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Gerontology","volume":" ","pages":"7334648251315261"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143606724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Max E Coleman, Donald A Godfrey, Amber D Thompson, Catharine Sparks, Rebecca L Utz
{"title":"Improving Respite Outcomes for Caregivers: Who Benefits and Under What Conditions?","authors":"Max E Coleman, Donald A Godfrey, Amber D Thompson, Catharine Sparks, Rebecca L Utz","doi":"10.1177/07334648251324270","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648251324270","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) pose a substantial caregiving burden in the United States, yet efforts to improve caregiver well-being have seen mixed results. We ask whether an app-based intervention (<i>N</i> = 143) to prioritize <i>caregiver respite</i> can substantially improve the caregiving experience, and whether these benefits are moderated by (1) caregiver demographics and (2) conditions of the caregiving situation (such as baseline impairment). Constructing curvilinear growth models to assess changes over a 20-week period, we find significant improvements in the positive aspects of caregiving (PAC). Greater benefits accrue to women, lower-income households, caregivers with a college degree, and caregivers who provide ≥80% of care to their family member. No differences in PAC growth are detected for care recipient memory and behavior problems, caregiver age, or caregiver race. We conclude that efforts to improve caregiver well-being may be especially effective for disadvantaged groups, with the notable exception of educational attainment.</p>","PeriodicalId":47970,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Gerontology","volume":" ","pages":"7334648251324270"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143606726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Urška Smrke, Tanja Špes, Izidor Mlakar, Bojan Musil, Nejc Plohl
{"title":"Technophobia Mediates the Associations Between Age, Education Level, and Readiness to Adopt New (Health) Technology Among Aging Adults.","authors":"Urška Smrke, Tanja Špes, Izidor Mlakar, Bojan Musil, Nejc Plohl","doi":"10.1177/07334648241274260","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07334648241274260","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Current research on technophobia and readiness to adopt new technology in the aging population is often limited to the context of specific technologies and treat<b>s</b> technophobia as a unidimensional construct. In this study, we investigate the role of demographic variables and various aspects of technophobia in determining Slovenian aging adults' readiness to adopt new technology. Partial least squares structural equation modeling revealed that age and educational level generally significantly predicted technophobia and indirectly contributed to readiness to adopt new technology via the human versus machine ambiguity dimension of technophobia. Moreover, age and human versus machine ambiguity were significant direct negative predictors of readiness to adopt new technology. Findings obtained specifically in the health sub-domain were similar. Our results have important implications for addressing the low adoption of new technology among aging adults as they provide guidance on whom should be targeted with interventions and which aspects need to be addressed.</p>","PeriodicalId":47970,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Gerontology","volume":" ","pages":"497-507"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11827277/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142037301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Who can Benefit From Volunteer Participation? Analysis of Wellbeing Heterogeneity in Volunteer Participation of Older People.","authors":"Qiyan Zeng, Lining Zhu, Zhipeng He","doi":"10.1177/07334648241273387","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07334648241273387","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The basic premise of this study is that the traditional method to treating all older people as coming from the same distribution misspecifies the true model and ignores potentially important information in wellbeing outcomes of social participation. Using data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), this paper proposes a finite mixture model (FMM) to identify the heterogeneous relationship between volunteer participation and older people's subjective well-being (SWB) and then explore the determinants of wellbeing heterogeneity in volunteer participation. The results reveal that older people can be classified into two latent subgroups, that is the volunteering beneficiary group (accounting for about 42%) and the volunteering non-beneficiary group (accounting for about 58%). The FMM is therefore more appropriate in estimating the complex impact of volunteering. Rural older people with poorer health, weaker social networks, better economic status, and better community environments are more likely to benefit from volunteer participation. Our findings have suggested some practical implications to increase the probability of benefit from volunteer participation.</p>","PeriodicalId":47970,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Gerontology","volume":" ","pages":"439-449"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142009721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
İbrahim Duman, Aysun Kazak Salti, Duygu Vefikuluçay Yilmaz
{"title":"Factors Affecting Successful Aging of Older Adults and the Relationship Between Leisure Activities Duration and Successful Aging.","authors":"İbrahim Duman, Aysun Kazak Salti, Duygu Vefikuluçay Yilmaz","doi":"10.1177/07334648241273432","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07334648241273432","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study was conducted with older adults who lived in a nursing home and applied to the geriatric outpatient clinic of a university hospital between April and August 2022. The study sample was 516 older adults and the data were collected by using the Older Information Form and Successful Aging Scale (SAS). It was determined that the mean duration of daily leisure activities was 6.61 ± 3.69 hours, and their mean SAS score was 58.31 ± 15.21. A moderate positive correlation was found between the SAS scores of the older adults and the activities of shopping; whereas a low positive correlation was found between their SAS scores and activities of walking, visiting friends and relatives, growing flowers, listening to music, reading, hand knitting, spending time on social media, exercising, and puzzles (<i>p</i> < .05). The main results of our study revealed that planned leisure activities that older adults engage in would contribute to their successful aging.</p>","PeriodicalId":47970,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Gerontology","volume":" ","pages":"450-457"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142019117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elsie Yan, Louis To, Debby Wan, Daniel W L Lai, Edward Leung, Vivian W Q Lou, Daniel Y T Fong, Sheung Tak Cheng, Habib Chaudhury, Karl Pillemer, Mark Lachs
{"title":"Resident Aggression and Staff Burnout in Nursing Homes in Hong Kong.","authors":"Elsie Yan, Louis To, Debby Wan, Daniel W L Lai, Edward Leung, Vivian W Q Lou, Daniel Y T Fong, Sheung Tak Cheng, Habib Chaudhury, Karl Pillemer, Mark Lachs","doi":"10.1177/07334648241272027","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07334648241272027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examined the effects of exposure to resident aggression, self-efficacy, neuroticism, and attitudes toward dementia on burnout among direct care workers (DCWs) in nursing homes. A convenience sample of 800 DCWs from 70 randomly selected nursing homes in Hong Kong were recruited and individually interviewed. DCWs reported past-month experiences of resident aggression, levels of burnout, self-efficacy, neuroticism, attitudes toward dementia, and other personal and facility characteristics. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that, while physical environment of the facilities, and demographic background and self-efficacy of DCWs were not significant contributing factors, DCWs' exposure to resident aggression, insufficient experience and training in dementia care, negative attitudes toward dementia, and neurotic personality were associated with higher levels of staff burnout. Findings point to the importance of mitigating resident aggression and adequately screen and train staff to optimize their empathy and competence in minimizing the risk of burnout.</p>","PeriodicalId":47970,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Gerontology","volume":" ","pages":"405-416"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141907946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring the Therapeutic Effects of Music Intervention Embedded With Binaural Beats on Health and Well-Being of Older People: A Scoping Review.","authors":"Onouma Thummapol, Sadaf Murad, Oluwakemi Amodu, Megan Kennedy","doi":"10.1177/07334648241275965","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07334648241275965","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The utilization of music intervention featuring auditory binaural beats (BBs) has garnered attention as a promising avenue for enhancing the health and well-being of younger, healthy individuals. This scoping review systematically examines the effects and correlates associated with BB stimulation in the context of older adults' health. Additionally, it briefly addresses how incorporating BBs as a therapeutic modality can facilitate medical treatment strategies and support the rehabilitation of aging populations. Employing scoping review methodology, and adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension (PRISMA-ScR) for Scoping Review guidelines, a comprehensive literature search of seven databases was conducted. Twelve articles meeting the predefined inclusion criteria were identified and subsequently incorporated into the review. The findings of this scoping review underscore a notable paucity of studies exclusively dedicated to investigating the innovative and noninvasive application of binaural beat interventions among older individuals. The review delves into the applications of BB stimulation, health outcomes, and factors influencing the efficacy of BB interventions, with a particular focus on the older adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":47970,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Gerontology","volume":" ","pages":"392-404"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142141443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring Subjective Mental Health Change in Older Adults after Experiencing an Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) -Based Natural Environment.","authors":"Jong In Kim, Gukbin Kim","doi":"10.1177/07334648241272042","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07334648241272042","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study explored subjective mental health change in adults aged 60 to 100 by experiencing immersive virtual reality (IVR)-based on the natural environment. It investigated changes in thinking, behaviour, and emotions from a socioecological perspective. The study conducted quantitative surveys of 540 older adults via IVR who lived in 20 longevity villages in South Korea from Dec. 2022 to Nov. 2023. It also paralleled a qualitative study with 38 of the 540. Study results predicting subjective mental health changes after experiencing IVR in those over 70 showed the highest gladness and happiness. In over 70 compared with 60 to 69 ages, the study found that relieving stress and depression, gladness and happiness, and relaxing the mind have about two-fold subjective mental health changes after experiencing IVR. The study suggests that it can be utilized to promote subjective mental health through the experience of an IVR-based natural environment for older adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":47970,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Gerontology","volume":" ","pages":"364-376"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141989157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}