Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Undertaking Action Research In Prison: Developing The Older Prisoner Health And Social Care Assessment And Plan, Kate O'Hara, Elizabeth Walsh, Katrina Forsyth, Jane Senior, Jenny Shaw

Articles

Older prisoners are the fastest growing group in prisons. They have complex health and social care needs and the coordination of their care is suboptimal. An action learning group including health care staff, prison staff and older prisoners was established at one prison in England. The group developed the Older prisoner Health and Social Care Assessment and Plan (OHSCAP) which is a health and social care assessment and care planning process for the better identification and management of older prisoners’ needs. This paper describes and critically analyses the process of action learning in prison to develop and pilot the OHSCAP. …

Usability Testing Of Asthmawise With Older Adults, Pippa Burns, Sandra C. Jones, Don Iverson, Peter Caputi

Sandra Jones

There are many reasons why online self-management education is attractive to both patients and providers. AsthmaWise, an online self-management program, was developed using a Moodle platform, to enable older adults to learn asthma self-management skills. This study aimed to improve AsthmaWise through conducting: usability testing with a sample of end users; a cognitive walk-through undertaken by an independent health researcher; and assessment of content readability. A Perceived Health Web Site Usability Questionnaire score of 67% was achieved, indicating that there were usability issues that needed to be addressed. The cognitive walk-through and readability assessment identified unique issues that were not …

Where Do Older Australians Receive Their Health Information? Health Information Sources And Their Perceived Reliability, Pippa Burns, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Sandra Jones

Background: Chronic disease prevalence is increasing, in part due to the ageing population, adding further pressure to Australia's over-stretched primary health care services. While patients are encouraged to self-manage their chronic disease(s) in order to minimise the impact on their day-to-day functioning, little is known about where older adults receive health information and their perceptions of the reliability of these sources. Such knowledge would facilitate the development of self-management support strategies using health information sources that are acceptable to older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional design was utilised to investigate where older adults receive their health information and their perceptions of …

Asthmawise - A Field Of Dreams? The Results Of An Online Education Program Targeting Older Adults With Asthma, Pippa Burns, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Sandra Jones

Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish the feasibility and acceptability of an online asthma self-management program developed for older Australians with asthma. Methods: AsthmaWise, an internet education self-management program, was piloted for a 3-month period at the beginning of 2012. Participants were recruited using both online and offline strategies and were required to complete surveys, both pre- and post-intervention, in a repeated measures design. Results: Matched data were collected from 51 participants; the results showed AsthmaWise to be a feasible and acceptable method of delivering asthma education to the target population. Self-reported measures showed an increase in …

'Get Your Life Back': Process And Impact Evaluation Of An Asthma Social Marketing Campaign Targeting Older Adults, Uwana Evers, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Sandra Jones

Background: Asthma in older adults is underdiagnosed and poorly self-managed. This population has little knowledge about the key symptoms, the prevalence among older adults, and the serious consequences of untreated asthma. The purpose of this study was to undertake a multifaceted evaluation of a social marketing campaign to increase asthma awareness among older adults in a regional Australian community. Methods: A cohort of older adults in an intervention region (n = 316) and a control region (n = 394) were surveyed immediately prior to and following the social marketing campaign. Campaign awareness, message recall, materials recognition, and actions taken as …

Promoting Asthma Awareness To Older Adults: Formative Research For A Social Marketing Campaign, Uwana Evers, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald C. Iverson

Sandra Jones

The limited existing research on the asthma perceptions of older adults suggests that this population perceives asthma to be a childhood disease and, therefore, believe that they are not susceptible to developing the condition as an adult. The asthma mortality rate is much higher for older adults than for children, and there is considerable negative impact on health-related quality of life. However, health promotion regarding asthma is rarely aimed at this population. To address this issue, social marketing campaign messages and materials about asthma were developed for an older adult population based on quantitative survey data. Through a series of …

The Devil Is In The Detail: Determining The Content Of An Internet Intervention For Older Adults With Asthma, Pippa Burns, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Sandra Jones

Introduction: The Internet can support people to self-manage their asthma, while overcoming barriers frequently found in primary care. A user-centred design process was utilised to explore the types of asthma information older adults perceived to be beneficial in helping them manage their asthma and the website features they felt were desirable for an asthma education website. Methods: A survey package was mailed to 9,000 adults aged 55 years and over, whose contact details had been obtained from the Australian Electoral Commission. Four focus groups were also conducted covering: asthma management; asthma Internet information; and website features. The Technology Acceptance Model …

Asthma In Older Adults: The Need For Asthma Health Promotion Interventions, Uwana Evers, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald C. Iverson

Sandra Jones

Asthma is a serious health issue for older adults. Among Australians aged 55 years and older, asthma prevalence, morbidity, and mortality are relatively high by international comparison and compared to other age groups. As people age, the diagnosis of asthma becomes more complicated, primarily due to comorbid conditions. Treatment and self-management are also more difficult in this age group due to the different medications prescribed for multiple conditions. At the same time, older adults do not perceive that they are susceptible to developing asthma, and they do not consider asthma to be a particularly serious disease, especially compared to other …

The Asthma Knowledge And Perceptions Of Older Australian Adults: Implications For Social Marketing Campaigns, Uwana Evers, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald C. Iverson

Sandra Jones

Objective: The purpose of this research is to gain an understanding of the asthma perceptions of older adults and identify gaps in their asthma knowledge. Methods: In regional New South Wales, Australia, a stratified, random sample of 4066 adults, aged 55 years and over, both with and without an asthma diagnosis, completed a survey based on the Health Belief Model about asthma knowledge and perceptions. Results: Almost half of the sample had experienced symptoms of breathlessness in the past four weeks. Breathlessness was a predictor of lower health ratings and poorer mood. Older adults reported low susceptibility to developing asthma. …

If At First You Don't Succeed: Older Consumers And Hospital Food & Beverage Packaging - A Matter Of Try, Try And Try Again!, Alison F. Bell, Karen L. Walton, Nicola Westblade, Kate Morson, Jacqueline S. Chevis, Leire Harries, Alaster Yoxall

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

‘Openability’ of food and beverage packaging has been shown to be problematic for older consumers. Pressure on resources has seen the use of packaged food and beverages increase in Hospitals within the NSW region of Australia. Studies at the University of Wollongong have shown that not only is Hospital food & beverage packaging problematic, difficulty opening it was identified as a barrier to nutritional intake.

Given the serious nature of the problem, a series of studies have been undertaken by the University of Wollongong and Sheffield Hallam University, to evaluate the issues surrounding the ‘openability’ of this packaging in an …

Prevalence And Risk Factors Of Food Insecurity Among A Cohort Of Older Australians, Joanna Russell, Victoria M. Flood, Heather Yeatman, Paul Mitchell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective

With ongoing national concern about food security, the aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of food insecurity and to identify associated characteristics in a cohort of older Australians.

Design, setting and participants

The Blue Mountains Eye Study is a cohort study of community living participants aged 49 + years. The 12-item food security survey was completed by 3068 participants in the cross sectional study which comprised 2335 survivors from baseline and the recruitment of an additional 1174 eligible residents.

Main outcome measures

Prevalence of self reported food insecurity was calculated and multivariate logistic regression provided odds …

Eyes-Closed Vs. Eyes-Open Eeg In Young And Older Adults, Robert Barry, Frances M. De Blasio, Adele E. Cave

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 17th World Congress of Psychophysiology (IOP2014) of the International Organization of Psychophysiology (IOP) Hiroshima, Japan, September 23rd to 27th, 2014

Examining The Risk And Protective Factors That Influence Falls Among Native American Older Adults, Kelly Winjum

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The risk factors for falls and the adverse outcomes of falls have been well documented among the general older adult population. However, fall frequency, fall risk factors, and fall outcomes have rarely been studied among minority groups specifically. Furthermore, to date there are no known studies that exclusively examine falls among Native American older adults. The purpose of this study is to examine falls among Native American older adults, in order to understand the risk and protective factors for falling among this population, and to develop recommendations for intervention. The theoretical framework of the Disablement Process guides this study. The …