Digital Commons Network^™

Webinar: Mobility, Accessibility, And Resiliency Of Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Kate Hyun, Kathy Lee, Caroline Krejci

TREC Webinar Series

Mobility disparities among older adults affect their ability to travel and access services. This project seeks to understand challenges, barriers, and gaps that older adults experience and to develop forms of assistance or educational strategies to fill the varying mobility gaps and meet the mobility needs. This study characterizes older adults’ use of existing and potential transportation options, including conventional transit, paratransit, and ride-hailing systems, based on surveys and interviews collected from community-dwelling older adults in Dallas, Texas. Through the interview during the pandemic, the research team found that perceptual and knowledge barriers appear to be reduced among older adults …

Sources Of Information About Covid-19 Among Older Adults In Ghana, 2019-2021, Samuel Adu-Gyamfi, Emmanuel Akwasi Asante

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a worldwide search for information. Information about COVID-19 is crucial and it could be the first step toward designing practical disease-control strategies. Misinformation amid the widespread information about COVID-19 has undoubtedly caused psychological distress, especially among older adults. We present an empirical and descriptive study of the sources of information among older adults and how they perceived the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 58 participants were recruited and interviewed using an in-depth semi-structured interview and structured questionnaire for our study. The study participants were recruited using purposive and convenience sampling in their respective homes from Mallam, …

Covid-19 Medication Scams, Cognitive Decline, & The Elderly, Mark S. Johnson, Mkay Bonner

Contemporary Southern Psychology

Around the world, the elderly population continues to increase in numbers and financial access. With this growth, the potential for this aging population to be victimized has increased as well. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided scammers and thieves with an unprecedented opportunity to take advantage of the weak and defenseless. Older individuals have more pre-existing health conditions which increases their vulnerability to COVID-19. Age-related conditions such as cognitive decline affect scam awareness, decision-making, fear, and insecurities. These vulnerabilities have placed the elderly population at a higher risk of being victimized through scams and deception. These criminal acts of deceit can …

Encounters Between The Elderly And Law Enforcement

Contemporary Southern Psychology

The elderly population is growing dramatically throughout the world. Out of this growth comes an increase in the number of encounters between the aged and law enforcement. These encounters occur because of a variety of factors including mental illnesses and addictions. Furthermore, older adults may be victims as evidenced in different forms of abuse such as physical, emotional, or financial abuse. Sadly, some documentation exists that older adults are committing more crimes. Multiple reasons have been postulated for these crimes including poverty, jealousy, and boredom. All of these different situations with the aged have created an increase in the number …

Factors Affecting Seniors' Relocation To Senior Living Communities, Suja Chaulagain, Abraham Pizam, Youcheng Wang, Denver Severt

Rosen Research Review

The 1960s’ counterculture generation is coming of senior age. This is the generation who witnessed the Civil Rights Movement, protested against the Vietnam War, and went to Woodstock. What they expect in retirement is radically different from their parents. So what are the factors that affect whether or not they choose to move into senior living communities? In one of the first studies of its kind, UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management’s Dr. Suja Chaulagain, Dr. Abraham Pizam, Dr. Youcheng Wang and Dr. Denver Severt look at the motivational factors that influence seniors’ decision-making.

Animal Assisted Therapy For Older Adults In Aged Care Facilities: A Rapid Review, Mitchell A. Franklin, Tracey Parnell, Natasha Versi, Rodney Pope

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of animal assisted therapy (AAT) for improving the mental health of older adults in residential care. The aim of this rapid review was to synthesise existing research evidence to determine the approaches that AAT should take to enhance outcomes for older adults living in residential care. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify studies published between 2009 and 2019 that investigated AAT and improvement in physical and/or psychosocial outcomes for adults aged over 65 years, living in residential care. Studies were critically appraised to determine methodological quality, key data were extracted, and …

Pengaruh Kerawanan Pangan, Bantuan Pangan Dan Jaminan Kesehatan Terhadap Keluhan Kesehatan, Ofi Ana Sari, Nachrowi Djalal Nachrowi

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan Indonesia

The health condition of the Indonesian from life expectancy at birth tends to increase, but not all years are in a healthy. The health conditions can be influenced by food insecurity, food aid and health insurance. This study aims to study the effects of food insecurity, food assistance and health insurance on health complaints. Indonesian Socio-Economic Survey (Susenas) data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. The results show that food insecure individu are risky health complaints and are disrupted more than twice than food secure individu. BPJS PBI has a lower risk of health complaints than for paid BPJS. Food …

Conceptual Complexity And Terrorist Rhetoric: Examining Conceptual Complexity’S Role In Political Violence, Westley S. Hunter

Honors Undergraduate Theses

It is well-documented that leaders' conceptual complexity can affect their decision-making, but what about its broader effects on political violence? While Hermann & Sakiev (2011) and Conway & Conway (2011) have examined terrorists' conceptual complexity before attacks, this study generates a more extensive analysis by examining weapon types and target types. This research explored the connection between a terrorist leader's level of conceptual complexity and the violent attacks their organizations commit, arguing that complexity lowers before an attack and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It employed a content analysis of Osama bin Laden's rhetoric from 1999 to 2003 to discern …

Exploring Gaps In Understanding And Responding To Ageism: A Conceptual Model, Psychosocial Health, And Racialized Ageism, Andrew T. Steward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ageism is an insidious, prevalent social justice issue which has harmful effects on the health of older adults. This dissertation includes three manuscripts which explore gaps in understanding and responding to ageism through three distinct methodological approaches. Two primary gaps are addressed in the three manuscripts: 1) conceptualizing and testing activities or interventions to reduce internalized ageism and enhance psychosocial health for older adults, and 2) exploring the intersectionality of ageism with racism.

The first manuscript draws from stereotype embodiment theory and theories of successful and productive aging to detail a conceptual model of interventions which may reduce internalized ageism …

Longitudinal Associations Of Conscientiousness And Neuroticism With Perceived Mastery And Constraints For Aging Adults, Masahiro Toyama, Heather R. Fuller, Joel M. Hektner

Psychology Faculty Research

It has not been well understood how conscientiousness and neuroticism are associated with two related but distinct dimensions of perceived control (i.e., perceived mastery and constraints) among aging adults. The present study examined these associations and their change over time, while addressing whether they differ by age or gender. For respondents aged 50+ at baseline (N = 2,768) in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to assess how conscientiousness and neuroticism predicted perceived mastery and constraints over 2 decades. As expected, higher conscientiousness and lower neuroticism (for both between- and within-person variability) predicted …

Mobility Of Older Adults In Mexico City: A Mixed Methods Approach, Jessica Villena Sanchez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation covers the topic of the mobility of older adults in Mexico City using a mixed methods approach. First, I looked at the literature to uncover what is known about elderly mobilities coming from the Global South. Second, I analyzed the 2017 Household Origin Destination Survey to reveal travel behavior patterns and transport mode choice of older adults in Mexico City. Third, I revealed mobility experiences from older adults living in different neighborhoods in Mexico City by conducting twenty two telephone interviews. Lastly, I created joint displays that included both previous results to better understand how the findings from …

The Imaginal Lexicon Of Aging Studies, William Ebenstein

Publications and Research

Aging Studies focuses on the cultural, humanistic and experiential aspects of aging insofar as these are already embedded in literature, art, language and everyday life. The lexicon of this multi-disciplinary field has evolved in response to shifts in cultural attitudes, social roles, and conceptual frameworks. At the same time, many age-related words have links to poetic imagery and ancient myths, and to evocative etymologies that conjure an historical context. The article looks at the ongoing and surprisingly difficult effort to find the right word to call an older person. It reviews the language and literary genres associated with longevity. And, …

Digital Media Use And Social Inclusion: A Case Study Of East York Older Adults, Anabel Quan-Haase, Molly-Gloria Harper, Alice Hwang

FIMS Publications

Digital media is essential to sustaining communication with various types of social ties. However, older adults (aged 65+) are reported to be the least likely to use digital media. While statistics show that older adults are increasingly using more digital media, evidence shows this is predominately aging long-term users of digital media rather than older adults adopting new digital media. To investigate this “grey divide” and adoption of digital media by older adults, this study qualitatively analyses semi-structured interviews of 41 individuals aged 65 and older from the East York region of Toronto, Canada. Our findings suggest that satisfaction with …

Endangered Languages: A Sketch Of The Sengwer Sound System, Jamas Nandako

Journal of the Language Association of Eastern Africa

Within the next century as many as half of the world’s seven thousand languages, are poised to become extinct at an alarmingly accelerated rate (Evans 2010). This correlates to a loss of knowledge, collective and individual identities, and social values. This loss is not only one of the most serious issues facing humanity today, but also it is representative of an unspeakable loss of information invaluable to humanity. This is so because these languages are among our few sources of evidence for understanding human history and each of these languages embodies unique local knowledge of the cultures and natural systems …

An Investigation Of The Sled-Push Exercise In Older Adults: Physiological Quantification, Perceived Enjoyment And Body Discomfort, Micheal A. Baumann

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Healthy aging is defined as the process of maintaining and developing functional ability that allows a state of mental and physical wellbeing. Physical activity, particularly exercise training, has been highly recommended for individuals of all ages, especially older adults, as way to maintain, improve or restore functional ability and health. Different modalities and types of exercise have been successfully tested in older adults but not much is known about the potential of the sled-push exercise in this population, a modality that has been highly used among athletes to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength and endurance, and core stability. PURPOSE: The …

Economic Security Of Older Women In Maine, Kimberly I. Snow Mhsa, Elizabeth Gattine Jd, Sammy-Ellie Mackinnon Msw

Disability & Aging

The Economic Security of Older Women in Maine: Data Report provides a snapshot of how women compare to men on measures such as wages and income, caregiving status, living arrangements, and rates of disability—factors that can impact Maine women's ability to meet their needs with the resources they have. The report, compiled by staff at the University of Southern Maine's Cutler Institute, informs an initiative led by the Maine Women's Lobby Education Fund and the Maine Council on Aging to identify gaps and pathways to support the health and economic security of older Maine women and all Mainers, now and …

An Exploratory Study Of Future Plans And Preferences For Long-Term Services And Support For Older Kenyan Immigrants, Lenah Chepngetich Langat

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Quality of life and client’s satisfaction with Long-term Services and Support (LTSS) in later life are influenced by care preference and timely plans. Ethnic, and racial disparities in the use of both informal formal and formal LTSS are reported. Consequently, the diversity in LTSS decision-making has gained attention in research and policy with a predominant focus on migration background, acculturation, and ethnicity. However, LTSS preference data for older Kenyan immigrants are homogenized into the African Americans block without the acknowledgment of their inherent cultural and ethnic diversity. The development of culturally competent, effective, and responsive policies across the LTSS continuum …

Attitudes And Perceptions Of Nursing Graduates Regarding Interest In Gerontological Nursing Practice, Sonia Millicent Donaldson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAn ongoing increase in the number of older adults means an increased need for specialized health care, creating, in turn, a need for an increase in nurses in the United States to meet the demand. However, there is a problem in that nursing graduates, from the time they are students, do not choose geriatric-gerontological nursing (GN) as is practiced in long-term care and some specialty areas or units. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore nursing graduates’ perceptions of GN as a field for professional practice and to determine how interest in GN may be encouraged. The …

Music As An Instrument For Healing: Exploring Music Therapy For Increasing The Quality Of Life For Geriatric Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd), Travis Adams

DSW Capstone Projects

Military personnel can sometimes be put in dangerous situations that expose them to various types of traumas. Due to the nature of their work, veterans may be at a higher risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a complex and challenging mental health disorder with symptoms that evolve with time. Geriatric veterans with PTSD are a particular population with unique needs that require attention and care. Music therapy is explored as a potential intervention to increase geriatric veterans' quality of life with PTSD.

Product One was a systematic review that examined the effectiveness of music therapy in improving …

The Transition From Service Member To Veteran Student, Charles Daniel Ensminger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Colleges may not be prepared to support veteran students transitioning from the military to higher education, resulting in more significant attrition levels for veteran students struggling to adapt to their new surroundings. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the experiences of post-9/11 veteran students as they transitioned from the military to higher education and their involvement and interaction with cocurricular, extracurricular, and nonacademic programs during their first year of college. The research questions focused on how veterans-students described the transition from the military and into their first year of college. The theoretical framework was a combination of Bridges's transitional model, Astin's …

Happiness – Concept, Measurement And Promotion, Yew Kwang Ng

eBooks

While interests in issues pertaining to happiness have been long-standing, we have witnessed recently an increasing focus by both scholars and members of the general public. ‘Subjective well-being (SWB) is an extremely active area of research with about 170,000 articles and books published on the topic in the past 15 years’ (Diener et al. 2018, Abstract). Not only psychologists (e.g. Kahneman et al. 1999, Diener et al. 2010, 2018) and sociologists (e.g. Veenhoven 1984, 1993, 2010, 2017), but also economists have made substantial investigations.1 After about 2–3 decades of gestation since the first publication on happiness issues by an economist …

Fp-22-16 Older Adult Cohabiting And Married Couples, Christopher A. Julian

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Dementia Care Among Somali Elders, Emmanuel Asante Opoku

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Caring for persons with dementia is demanding and complicated since there is “no one-size-fits all formula for dementia care. The care needs to be modified to fit the various stages of the condition and each family's unique situation. Racial and ethnic differences place unique demand on all the forms of dementia care; in-home care (IHC), long-term care (LTC), adult day centers(ADC), short term care (STC) and hospice care (HC).

This paper aimed to study how Somali elders think and interact with dementia care services, from in-home care to hospice care. Some recommendations to study this issue is to do a …

Social Work Newsletter 2020-2021-2022, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Social Work.

Social Work Newsletter

In this Issue:

--- Years in Review 2020-2022
--- New Staff & Faculty Highlights: Sarina Carrillo; Jaimie O'Gara; Angelica Velazquillo Franco
--- In Memoriam: James G. McCullagh
--- Student Spotlight: Monifah (Mo) Ponton; Chit Phuu
--- Alumni Spotlight: Ashley Wood; Ariane Hakizimana
--- Highlights from the Field: Arielle Roth; Zoey Weber; Emma Baertlein; Madison Neece
--- Agency Partnership Highlights
--- Conference Highlights
--- UNI Boasts Top Ranking MSW Program
--- Social Work Advisory Board

Characterizing Cellular Stress, Hippocampal Function, And Behavior In A Novel Rat Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Anne A. Schulman

Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects over 5 million individuals in the United States alone. While AD is primarily thought of as a disease that destroys neural networks required for memory recall and formation, AD also cause impairment in emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and executive function pathways. The cause of AD is unknown; however, the allele ApoE4 has been identified as a risk factor for the onset of AD. ApoE4 provides a valuable opportunity to study AD through animal models. This thesis utilized a human ApoE4 transgenic rat model (hApoE4) to investigate the biological and behavioral …

Effect Of Living Arrangements On Cognitive Function In Chinese Elders: A Longitudinal Observational Study, Yanwei Lin, Qi Zhang, Tingxian Wang, Zhirong Zeng

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Objective To examine how living arrangement as a social contextual factor can affect Chinese elders’ cognitive function.

Setting and participants Our sample consists of 2486 Chinese elders from two waves (2014 and 2018) of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) that was administered in 22 of China’s 31 provinces using a multi-stage, disproportionate, purposive random sampling method. The CLHLS aims to better understand the determinants of healthy longevity in China and collects extensive data on a large population of fragile elders aged 80–112 in China.

Outcome measures Cognitive function was measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Living arrangement …

The Negative Effects Of Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) On Behavioral Problems Of Children In Kinship Care: The Protective Role Of Kinship Caregivers' Mental Health, Yanfeng Xu, Merav Jedwab, Kerry Lee, Sue E. Levkoff

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

This study aims to examine the (a) prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among children in kinship care; (b) relationships between the number and type of ACEs and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems; and (c) moderating role of kinship caregivers’ mental health on the relationships between ACEs and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. A sample of children in kinship care (N = 224) obtained from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II was used. Ordinary least squares regression models were conducted. Results indicated that neglect followed by parental substance abuse were found to be the most prevalent …

Aging In Hamilton: Planning For The Future, A Community Needs Assessment, Caitlin Coyle, Mary Krebs, Shayna Gleason, Nidya Velasco Roldan

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Like many communities across Massachusetts, the population in the Town of Hamilton is aging. According to projections created by the Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts, a trend toward an older population is expected. Donahue Institute vintage projections suggest that by 2035, more than one out of each three Hamilton residents will be age 60 or older—32% of the Town’s population will be between the ages of 60 and 79, with an additional 9% age 80 and older. As the demographics of Hamilton shift toward a population that is older and living longer, the demand for programs and services …

The Differential Influence Of Maltreatment Subtype And Age Of Exposure On Empathy, Kate L. Senich

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The capacity for empathy may be shaped by interpersonal interactions throughout development. Research shows that detrimental interactions, such as maltreatment, lead to aberrant levels of empathy. However, different subtypes of abuse and neglect as well as age of exposure complicate the relationship between maltreatment and empathy. The current study aims to elucidate the contributions of maltreatment subtypes and age of exposure in predicting state and trait empathy. Participants (N=94, M age=19.12 years, 45.7% male) self-reported their age of exposure to eight subscales of maltreatment from caregivers. Next, participants self-reported their trait empathy and completed a vignette measure aimed to assess …

How The Senior Community Service Employment Program Influences Participant Well-Being: A Participatory Research Approach With Program Recommendations, Cal J. Halvorsen, Kelsey Werner, Elizabeth Mccolloch, Olga Yulikova

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging

The federal Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides on-the-job training to people 55 years and older with incomes at or below 125% of the federal poverty level with multiple barriers to employment. This study examined the processes by which SCSEP may influence participant financial, physical, and mental well-being. We engaged 15 SCSEP participants and case managers over four virtual and one telephone session using a participatory research method called community-based system dynamics. Activities included identifying key problem trends, variable elicitation, developing a causal map, and identifying changes to the system to increase participant well-being. Respondents identified how individual, organizational, …