"Are You Sure?": Lapses in Self-Reported Activities Among Healthy Older Adults Reporting Online
Accurate retrospective reporting of activities and symptoms has been shown to be problematic for older adults, yet standard clinical care relies on self-reports to aid in assessment and management. Our aim was to examine the relationship between self-report and sensor-based measures of activity. We administered an online activity survey to participants in our ongoing longitudinal study of in-home ubiquitous monitoring. We found a wide range of accuracies when comparing self-report with time-stamped sensor-based data. Of the 95 participants who completed the 2-hr activity log, nearly one quarter did not complete the task in...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - May 5, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Wild, K. V., Mattek, N., Austin, D., Kaye, J. A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Municipality and Neighborhood Influences on Volunteering in Later Life
This article explores the relationships between municipality features and volunteering by older adults. In the literature, strong evidence exists of the influence of place on older people’s health. However, the question how neighborhoods and municipalities promote or hinder volunteer participation remains under-explored. Data for the research are derived from the Belgian Aging Studies. We estimate logistic multilevel models for older individuals’ engagement in volunteering across 141 municipalities in Belgium (N = 67,144). Analysis shows that neighborhood connectedness, neighborhood satisfaction, home ownership...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - May 5, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Dury, S., Willems, J., De Witte, N., De Donder, L., Buffel, T., Verte, D. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
DriveSafe and DriveAware Assessment Tools Are a Measure of Driving-Related Function and Predicts Self-Reported Restriction for Older Drivers
This study investigates the relationship between the DriveSafe and DriveAware assessments and restriction of driving. Community-dwelling adults aged more than 75 (n = 380) were recruited in New South Wales, Australia. Questionnaires were administered to assess driving habits and functional assessments to assess driving-related function. Self-reported restriction was prevalent in this cross-sectional sample (62%) and was related to DriveSafe scores and personal circumstances but not DriveAware scores. DriveSafe scores were correlated with better performance on the Trail-Making Test (TMT; β = –2.94, p < .0001) ...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - May 5, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Allan, C., Coxon, K., Bundy, A., Peattie, L., Keay, L. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Driving and Other Important Activities in Older Adulthood
(Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology)
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - May 5, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Gaugler, J. E. Tags: Editor ' s Introduction Source Type: research
The Continuing Evolution of Old Age Policy in 21st-Century America
(Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology)
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - April 12, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Miller, E. A. Tags: Book Review Source Type: research
Assessing Communities Age-Friendliness: How Congruent Are Subjective Versus Objective Assessments?
In this study, we examine the congruence between two types of age-friendly surveys: subjective assessments by community residents versus objective assessments by municipal officials. The study was based on data from 39 mostly rural communities in Manitoba, Canada, in which a municipal official and residents (M = 25 residents per community) completed a survey to assess age-friendly features in a range of domains, such as transportation and housing. Congruence between the two surveys was generally good, although the municipal official survey consistently overestimated communities’ age-friendliness, relative to resident...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - April 12, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Menec, V. H., Newall, N. E. G., Nowicki, S. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Assessment of an Expanded Functional Disability Scale for Older Adults With Diabetes
Although prior literature has shown the plausibility of combining the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) items to form an expanded scale for measuring the degree of functional decline, this has not been shown in older adults with diabetes who are disproportionately affected by functional disability. Using the 2009 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data, we evaluated the factor structure of the pooled ADL and IADL items. Based on our study comprising 2,158 community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years) with diabetes, the unidimensional model exhibited good fit. Despite well...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - April 12, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Ng, X., Quinn, C. C., Burcu, M., Harrington, D. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Rasch Analysis of the Lubben Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6)
The purposes of this article are to review the psychometric properties of the Lubben Social Network Scale–6 (LSNS-6) and to determine its utility in assessing social networks of an older adult community sample. We tested the LSNS-6 with Rasch methodology using a sample of 196 older adults, aged 55 and above who live in public and subsidized housing facilities. Rasch analysis showed unidimensionality of the overall scale, high person and item reliability, and good fit of individual items with one exception. Principal component analysis (PCA) of Rasch model residuals suggested family and friend subdimensions. Response ...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - April 12, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Gray, J., Kim, J., Ciesla, J. R., Yao, P. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Factor Analysis of the 12-Item Zarit Burden Interview in Caregivers of Persons Diagnosed With Dementia
The Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) is commonly used to measure dementia caregiver burden, but its factor structure is unclear. A two-factor structure for the 12-item ZBI, "personal strain" and "role strain," has been shown, but recent data suggest that an additional factor of "guilt" is embedded in the "role strain" items. The 12-item ZBI administered to 194 informal rural and urban caregivers of persons diagnosed with dementia was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. A two-factor structure, with item loadings consistent with previously conceptualized constructs of "personal strain" and "role strain," was found. Moreo...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - April 12, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Branger, C., OConnell, M. E., Morgan, D. G. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Comparison of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis and Air Displacement Plethysmography in Community-Dwelling Older Adults
This study compared two commonly used two-compartmental anthropometric models (bioelectrical impedance analysis [BIA] and air displacement plethysmography [ADP]) to determine whether these two cost-effective methods would provide similar fat free mass index (FFMI) values in a mixed and sex-separated sample population of healthy older adults. Community-dwelling older adults (N = 37, 18 men) aged 74.5 ± 5.2 years participated. FFMIBIA was correlated with FFMIADP (r = .916); however, these correlations were markedly reduced when the population was split by sex (r < .60). The level of agreement between the difference...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - April 12, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Smale, K. B., McIntosh, E. I., Vallis, L. A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Assessment and Measurement in Applied Gerontology
(Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology)
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - April 12, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Gaugler, J. E. Tags: Editor ' s Introduction Source Type: research
Factors Associated With Preferences for Institutionalized Care in Elderly Persons: Comparing Hypothetical Conditions of Permanent Disability and Alzheimers Disease
Discussion: Although some similarities exist between the correlates for care preferences in the two distinct situations, there are noticeable differences. These are discussed and implications for practice are suggested. (Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology)
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - March 1, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Werner, P., Segel-Karpas, D. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Expressed Sense of Self by People With Alzheimers Disease in a Support Group Interpreted in Terms of Agency and Communion
The self is constructed in cooperation with other people and social context influences how people perceive and express it. People with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) often receive insufficient support in constructing their preferred selves, but little is known about how they express themselves together with other people with AD. In accordance with Harré’s social constructionist theory of self, this study aimed to describe how five people with mild and moderate AD express their Self 2 (i.e., their personal attributes and life histories) in a support group with a facilitator experienced in communicating with peo...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - March 1, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Hedman, R., Hansebo, G., Ternestedt, B.-M., Hellström, I., Norberg, A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
"If I Dont Like the Way I Feel With a Certain Drug, Ill Tell Them.": Older Adults Experiences With Self-Determination and Health Self-Advocacy
This study examined perceptions of older adults’ health self-advocacy behaviors and the context under which they self-advocate for their chronic conditions. The study involved in-depth interviews with 37 older adults with chronic illnesses and disabilities and 9 geriatric case managers in South and Central Florida. Data were systematically analyzed for themes. Thematic findings revealed that concerns over quality of life is the most common motivator for older adults to engage in health self-advocacy and that self-advocacy involves gathering information to prepare for decision-making and confronting providers about th...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - March 1, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Ruggiano, N., Whiteman, K., Shtompel, N. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Addressing Spiritual Needs and Overall Satisfaction With Service Provision Among Older Hospitalized Inpatients
This study examined this relationship, in tandem with the effects of eight potential mediators. Toward this end, structural equation modeling was used with a sample of 4,112 adults age 65 and older who were consecutively discharged over a 12-month period from hospitals in California, Texas, and New England. As hypothesized, addressing spiritual needs was positively associated with overall satisfaction. The relationship between spiritual needs and satisfaction was fully mediated by seven variables: nursing staff, the discharge process, visitors, physicians, the admissions process, room quality, and the administration of tes...
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology - March 1, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Hodge, D. R., Salas-Wright, C. P., Wolosin, R. J. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
