Geriatric Nursing Commons^™

Social Activity Restriction And Psychological Health Among Caregivers Of Older Adults With And Without Dementia, Elliane Irani, Kylie Meyer, Scott Emory Moore, Kedong Ding

Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: We examined associations between social activity restriction and psychological distress and well-being for caregivers of older adults with and without dementia, and if the identified associations are different for the two groups. Methods: Using data from the 2017 National Study of Caregiving, we identified caregivers of older adults with (N = 541) and without (N = 1701) dementia. Linear regression models were estimated, adjusting for caregivers’ age, gender, race, education, relationship to care recipient, and self-rated health. Results: Restriction in visiting friends and family and attending religious services were associated with higher distress in dementia caregivers. Restriction in visiting …

The Mediating Effect Of Caregiving Relationship Quality On The Association Between Caregiving Stressors And Mental Health Problems Among Older Spousal Caregivers, Fei Wang, Elliane Irani

Faculty Scholarship

Providing care to a spouse can be especially challenging for older adults given their compounding stressors resulting from aging and caregiving. This cross-sectional study examines the relationships between caregiving stressors and caregiver mental health problems and the potential mediator (i.e., caregiving relationship quality) of these associations. A total of 431 Americans (≥65 years) were selected from the National Study of Caregiving. Path analysis shows that care assistance was positively associated with caregiver mental health problems, and this association was mediated by negative relationship quality (Indirect effect =.14, p =.016). Moreover, role overload was positively associated with caregiver mental health problems, …

Factors Impacting Organ Transplant Outcomes, Katelyn Grubich

Nursing | Senior Theses

Organ transplants are crucial to the survival of those on the receiving end. With medicine advancing, so has transplantation. Health care providers are becoming more aware of the strategies necessary to prolong the transplanted organ and how to obtain better outcomes. Heart, lungs, kidney, liver, pancreas, and some where more than one organ are involved, are the types of organ transplants performed.

Providing patients information will allow them to be a part of their treatment and can help to ease their anxiety knowing what is being performed and what can be expected. Health care providers must ensure that patients and …

Addressing Anxiety In Hospitalized Adults Using A Music Intervention, Raina M. Rochon

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: The practice problem is anxiety related to hospitalization among adults in an acute care setting. Increased anxiety can lead to other issues while hospitalized including disruptive behaviors.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: In hospitalized medical-surgical adults (P), how does the implementation of a music intervention as an adjunct to standard distraction techniques (I) compared to standard care (C) affect symptoms of anxiety as observed by the rate of behavior de-escalation team calls (O) within eight weeks (T)?

Evidence: There were five systematic reviews, four systematic reviews with meta-analysis with high level of …

Dnp Final Report: Seal The Deal In Dementia Care, Christian D. Garrett

DNP Final Reports

Background: Individuals with dementia are often burdened with behavioral problems, which augment health care costs and burden of disease. Treatment of behavioral symptoms with pet therapy is acknowledged to be emotionally beneficial. Robotic pets have demonstrated similar promising effects without the undesirable outcomes of traditional pet therapy. Robotic pet therapy offers an effective replacement to traditional pet therapy.

Objective: The DNP scholarly project rigorously appraises the effectiveness of the SAR, PARO, an FDA approved biofeedback device, for non-pharmacological treatment of dementia-related symptoms.

Methods: An experimental design with repeated measures guided the study. Pre- and post- measures included reliable, valid tools …

Mental Health Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Older Adults, Elizabeth Kerr

Dissertations

Problem: Significant psychological effects such as anxiety, depression, stress, and loneliness are shown to affect the older adult population, aged 65 years and older. The social isolation and disconnectedness related to the COVID-19 pandemic potentially worsens anxious and depressive feelings, increasing the risk for adverse outcomes in the high-risk older adult population. This project aimed to identify older adults at risk for acute, situational mental health issues associated with the pandemic.

Methods: A descriptive study design was used. Telephone interviews were conducted to explore effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health responses in older adults. A convenience sample …

Addressing Psychosocial Outcomes Of Social Isolation In Older Adults, Megan Friesen, Madeline M. Christensen

Nursing DNP Projects

Purpose and Rationale

The aim of the evidence-based practice (EBP) project is to improve psychological outcomes for socially isolated older adults enrolled in a Homebound Program (HP) through the implementation of an EBP intervention. Social isolation has a multitude of negative consequences, including impacting the psychological health (e.g. depression, loneliness, anxiety) of the older adult population.

Synthesis of Evidence

Meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and randomized controlled trials addressing the clinical problem of social isolation were identified. Through critical appraisal of the evidence, physical activity, psychotherapy, and socialization interventions have shown to decrease depression and loneliness in older adults. There were mixed …

Nursing Students' Willingness To Care For Older Adults, Insun Jang, Younglee Kim, Phoebe (Yeon) S. Kim

Nursing Faculty Publications

The older adult population has increased and is projected to grow. This population usually has chronic disorders that need continuous care. However, it has been reported nurses and nursing students have negative attitude towards older adults. This descriptive study aimed at investigating factors influencing nursing students’ willingness to care for older adults. This study was conducted among 270 nursing students at the university in the United States from February 1 to February 28, 2017. Study participants answered the survey about quality and frequency of contact with older adults, anxiety about aging, empathy, attitude, and willingness to care for older adults. …

Psychological Distress And Cardiac Disease, Tracey Vitori

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate the association of psychological distress with cardiac disease, events, and mortality. Specific aims were to: 1) to evaluate the association between hostility level and recurrence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and all-cause mortality in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD); 2) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) hostility and anxiety subscales in a group of incarcerated participants at high risk of cardiovascular disease; and 3) to evaluate the association of patient and caregiver psychological state with quality of life in both patient and caregiver, and postoperative complications …