Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Gerontology

Discipline
Institution
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 181 - 210 of 268

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Annual Report, Western Kentucky University College Of Health & Human Services, Dr. John Bonaguro, Dean, Wku College Of Health & Human Services Apr 2010

Annual Report, Western Kentucky University College Of Health & Human Services, Dr. John Bonaguro, Dean, Wku College Of Health & Human Services

College of Health & Human Services Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Geriatric Competency, Training, And Services: Surveying A Local Aging Access Point, Toni Aiduk Jan 2010

Geriatric Competency, Training, And Services: Surveying A Local Aging Access Point, Toni Aiduk

Undergraduate Review

By the year 2030, 61 million baby boomers will be between the ages of 66 and 84. Add to that cohort the nine million “oldest old,” or those born before 1946, and significant numbers of 70 million individuals will need access to aging related services. Researchers and policy makers predict huge shortfalls in services and resources for the elderly, and document - that even now – there are too few social workers in the geriatric field. Many of those currently in the field lack professional geriatric training and may not be adequately prepared to help aging clients. However, these studies …

Go to article

Neurophysiological Adaptations To Resistance Training And Repetitive Grasping, Michael Falvo Jan 2010

Neurophysiological Adaptations To Resistance Training And Repetitive Grasping, Michael Falvo

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Perhaps the most prominent feature of the central nervous system is its ability to respond to experience and its environment. Understanding the processes and mechanisms that govern adaptive behavior provides insights into its plastic nature. Capitalizing on this plasticity is of critical importance in response to injury and recovery: 35, 106), and the importance of its promotion is increasingly recognized by rehabilitation scientists. Neurophysiological techniques permitting study of cortical function in vivo may play a significant role in validating exercise interventions and disease management approaches: 14). It may be possible that with these advances we may better understand the relationship …

Go to article

Our Grandparents, Our Parents, Our Future Selves: Optimizing Function In Old Age., Thomas Michael Gill Jan 2010

Our Grandparents, Our Parents, Our Future Selves: Optimizing Function In Old Age., Thomas Michael Gill

Center for Policy Research

Most of my research at Yale University School of Medicine over the past several years has focused on identifying older adults at risk of functional decline and disability, identifying events that may precipitate the transition from functional independence to disability, and developing strategies to postpone or reduce frailty and disability. As a result of the Precipitating Events Project (PEP) and other research conducted by the Yale Center on Aging/Pepper Center, we now realize that age is only a proxy for other factors that lead to disability, and that some of these factors can be modified to reduce the risk of …

Go to article

Effectiveness Of Strategies For Solving Everyday Problems During Early And Later Adulthood: A Reexamination Of The Everyday Problem Solving Inventory, Joseph P. Mcfall Jan 2010

Effectiveness Of Strategies For Solving Everyday Problems During Early And Later Adulthood: A Reexamination Of The Everyday Problem Solving Inventory, Joseph P. Mcfall

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Within the everyday problem-solving literature, a small number of studies have examined effectiveness as a problem-solving outcome measure. Effectiveness is a method of determining the quality of strategies used to solve ill-defined problems. Knowing the effectiveness of a problem-solving strategy can help determine whether an age differences in the use of that strategy also indicates better everyday outcomes for one age group. Of the few studies that have examined age differences in effective problem solving, none have systematically assessed the dimensions that make some strategies effective and others ineffective for various problem situations. In addition, a variety of methodological considerations …

Go to article

Domestic Violence Or Elder Abuse? Why It Matters For Older Women, Teresa Kilbane, Marcia K. Spira Jan 2010

Domestic Violence Or Elder Abuse? Why It Matters For Older Women, Teresa Kilbane, Marcia K. Spira

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Law enforcement and legal services are 2 systems that respond to reports of abuse against women through programs such as adult protective services (APS) and domestic violence (DV). APS and DV systems operate independently and define the cause of the abuse differently. The designation of a woman as having suffered domestic violence or having been abused often depends on which system she enters. This designation can lead to different options for women to obtain services. Aging may further complicate access and usability of these systems to respond to the needs of abused elderly. Using vignettes, this article explores the definitions …

Go to article

Spirituality And Aging (Review), Holly Nelson-Becker Dec 2009

Spirituality And Aging (Review), Holly Nelson-Becker

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Review of Robert C. Atchley 'Spirituality and Aging.'

Go to article

The First Anniversary: Stress, Well-Being, And Optimism In Older Widows, Mary E. Minton, Melody Hertzog, Cecilia R. Barron, Jeffrey French, Roni Reiter-Palmon Dec 2009

The First Anniversary: Stress, Well-Being, And Optimism In Older Widows, Mary E. Minton, Melody Hertzog, Cecilia R. Barron, Jeffrey French, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

The first anniversary for older widows (n = 47) has been explored during Months 11, 12, and 13. Concurrent correlations show that optimism inversely correlates with psychological (intrusion and avoidance) stress as measured with the Impact of Event Scale (r = —.52 to —.66, p < .005) and positively correlates with well-being (physical: r = .36 to .46, p < .025; psychosocial: r = .58 to .72, p < .005; spiritual: r = .50 to .69, p < .005). Lagged correlation patterns suggest that higher levels of optimism at a given time are associated with higher life satisfaction and spiritual well-being at later times. Psychological stress is higher at Month 12 when compared to Month 13, t(43) = 2.54, p = .01, but not when compared to Month 11, t(43) = 1.49, p > .10. There are no significant differences in physiologic stress (salivary cortisol) or well-being during the first …

Go to article

A Process Examination Of The Framing Effect In Younger And Older Adult Medical Decision Making, Erin L. Woodhead Dec 2009

A Process Examination Of The Framing Effect In Younger And Older Adult Medical Decision Making, Erin L. Woodhead

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Older and younger adults are susceptible to a decisional bias when faced with medical decisions, which results in different treatment decisions when presented with survival or mortality data. Although this bias, termed the framing effect, has been demonstrated in multiple studies, no published studies have attempted to determine the decisional process older and younger adults engage in when presented with different information frames. The current study used a think-aloud procedure to examine decisional process differences in younger and older adults who did and did not demonstrate a framing effect. All participants were presented with two data formats (interval and cumulative …

Go to article

Successful Aging Through The Eyes Of Alaska Native Elders: What It Means To Be An Elder In Bristol Bay, Alaska, Jordan Paul Lewis Apr 2009

Successful Aging Through The Eyes Of Alaska Native Elders: What It Means To Be An Elder In Bristol Bay, Alaska, Jordan Paul Lewis

Psychology

Alaska Natives view aging from a holistic perspective, an approach not typically found in the existing literature on successful aging. There is little research on Alaska Native (AN) Elders and how they subjectively define a successful older age. The lack of a culturally specific definition often results in the use of a generic definition that portrays AN Elders as aging less successfully than their non-Native counterparts. This research explores the concept of successful aging from an AN perspective and what it means to age well in AN communities. An Explanatory Model (EM) approach was used and adapted to focus on …

Go to article

Order-Restricted Covariate Effects And Hazard Regression Models., Arnab Bhattacharjee Dr. Feb 2009

Order-Restricted Covariate Effects And Hazard Regression Models., Arnab Bhattacharjee Dr.

Doctoral Theses

The proportional hazards (PH) model, but more speciÖcally its special case the Cox regression model (Cox, 1972), plays an important role in the theory and practice of lifetime and duration data analysis. This is because the PH model (and the Cox regression model) provides a convenient way to evaluate the ináuence of one or several covariates on the probability of conclusion of lifetime or duration spells. However, the PH speciÖcation substantially restricts interdependence between the explanatory variables and the lifetime in determining the hazard. In particular, the Cox regression model model restricts the coe¢ cients of the regressors in the …

Go to article

Defining Gerontechnology For R&D Purposes, Johanna E.M.H. Bronswijk, Herman Bouma, James L. Fozard, William D. Kearns, Gerald C. Davison, Pan-Chio Tuan Jan 2009

Defining Gerontechnology For R&D Purposes, Johanna E.M.H. Bronswijk, Herman Bouma, James L. Fozard, William D. Kearns, Gerald C. Davison, Pan-Chio Tuan

Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Faculty Publications

Gerontechnology is an interdisciplinary field that links existing and developing technologies to the aspirations and needs of aging and aged adults. It helps support ‘successful aging’, is organized according to the WHO definition of health, and is a response to the combination of the aging of society and rapidly emerging new technologies. Distinguishing it from other technology approaches is its focus on the total human life-span, its recognition of different technology generations, its cross-fertilization of specific technology and gerontology disciplines, its public health goals and the encompassing of all domains of human activity. An enhanced quality of life in older …

Go to article

Organizational Learning And Nursing Home Quality Of Care In New York State, Ting-Wei Chiang Jan 2009

Organizational Learning And Nursing Home Quality Of Care In New York State, Ting-Wei Chiang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The primary purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between organizational learning (OL) and nursing home quality of care (NHQC). The present study addresses OL through both descriptive and prescriptive approaches. The descriptive approach proposes a prism model that defines OL from psychological perspectives, structural perspectives, and cultural perspectives. The prescriptive approach illustrates how each dimension of OL can be improved by its corresponding organizational learning mechanisms (OLMs).

Go to article

Exploring The Potential Of Aging Network Services To Improve Depression Care, Leslie Hasche Jan 2009

Exploring The Potential Of Aging Network Services To Improve Depression Care, Leslie Hasche

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Depression is a prevalent, debilitating yet treatable psychiatric disorder affecting older adults. Older adults underutilize specialty mental health care, persistently receive poor quality care in primary care settings, and have high rates of non-adherence to pharmacotherapy. Aging network services, such as adult day services, homecare services, senior centers, and supportive housing may be able to improve the quality of depression care. However, it is unknown how current models of empirically supported depression care are used within or could be adopted by aging network services. Thus, this study described the organizational factors, staff factors, and current agency practices regarding depression among …

Go to article

Quality Of Life And Affect Across The Adult Lifespan, Patrick Brown Jan 2009

Quality Of Life And Affect Across The Adult Lifespan, Patrick Brown

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The premise of this dissertation is based on the work of M. Powell Lawton, in particular his theories of Environmental Press: Lawton and Nahemow, 1973) and the Dual-Channel Hypothesis: Lawton, 1996; Lawton, Winter, Kleban, & Ruckdeschel, 1999). Study 1 used a correlational approach to test Lawton and colleagues: 1999) model in a community sample of people across the adult lifespan, thereby expanding previous findings to individuals under age 60. Study 2 used an experimental approach to determine if individuals are affectively susceptible to differing environmental conditions based on their performance on a cognitive task. Whereas Study 1 provided a naturalistic …

Go to article

Age Differences In Younger And Older Adults' Experience Of Interpersonal Problems, Leo Schlosnagle Jan 2009

Age Differences In Younger And Older Adults' Experience Of Interpersonal Problems, Leo Schlosnagle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Differences between younger (N=78) and older (N=78) adults' frequency of experience of interpersonal problems were examined. Previous research has shown age-related declines in contact frequency and negative interactions (Akiyama, et al., 2003; Carstensen, 1992). Aging has also been associated with concurrent increases in emotional closeness and relationship satisfaction with social partners (Birditt, et al., 2005; Lang & Carstensen, 2002), and social self-efficacy and problem-solving effectiveness (Artistico, Cervone, and Pezzuti, 2003; Blanchard-Fields, Mienaltowski, & Seay, 2007; Lachman, 1986). In the current study, older adults reported experiencing interpersonal problems significantly less often than younger adults. Older adults also reported less contact frequency …

Go to article

Spirituality And Symptom Self Management Of Osteoarthritis, Lois M. Kannan Phd Jul 2008

Spirituality And Symptom Self Management Of Osteoarthritis, Lois M. Kannan Phd

Dissertations

Healthcare providers need to identify holistic self-care techniques that are endorsed by patients as effective strategies for symptom management of osteoarthritis, which is the single most common cause of disability in older adults. Research in this area may direct the development of interventions to ensure that older adults are afforded every opportunity to remain active and productive, with an improved health related quality of life, despite age related musculoskeletal conditions. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationships among symptom experience, symptom management, and symptom outcome based on spiritual well-being. A quantitative, descriptive, correlational, and noninterventional study design, …

Go to article

Reducing Inpatient Falls And Fall Related Injuries In Acute Care Settings, Channing Williams, Nikita Lewis, Victoria Thomas May 2008

Reducing Inpatient Falls And Fall Related Injuries In Acute Care Settings, Channing Williams, Nikita Lewis, Victoria Thomas

McCabe Thesis Collection

Falls are a continually rising issue in today's healthcare. In acute care settings, patient falls make up 38% of all adverse events in which include physical injury, undesirable emotional and financial outcomes for the client (Angn, Mordiffi, Wong, Devi, & Evans, 2007). Falls in the hospitals lead to fear, pain, decreased healing, longer in-patient stays, further health-related complications. Falls may also cause patient discomfort and affect quality of life. Prevention of falls is an important goal of hospitals world-wide. Research has been conducted to determine the clinical effectiveness and implementation of a fall prevention. Although falls in hospitals cannot always …

Go to article

Mortality Prognostication In Long-Term Care Residents: The Mds-Chess Scale, Caroline Etland Phd, Msn, Cns Apr 2008

Mortality Prognostication In Long-Term Care Residents: The Mds-Chess Scale, Caroline Etland Phd, Msn, Cns

Dissertations

Quality end of life (EOL) care for the elderly continues to be a challenge, in part due to late referral for palliative and/or hospice services. The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of the MDS-CHESS scale (Hirdes, Frijters & Teare, 2003) in predicting 6-month mortality in a stable American nursing home (NH) population. A secondary aim was to determine any differences in mortality between the 2 sites. A sample of 191 residents of two NHs was analyzed in a retrospective, correlational cohort study, using data collected from the federal MDS database. Correlational statistics and logistic regression were …

Go to article

The Reality Beyond Appearances: Elders On Growing Old, Trudy C. Medcalf Jan 2008

The Reality Beyond Appearances: Elders On Growing Old, Trudy C. Medcalf

Digitized Theses

Six community-dwelling able older adults, aged seventy to eighty-five years, collaborated with the researcher as elder co-researchers in this participatory action research project. With the goal of increasing awareness about the experience of growing old and living in old age, the research team investigated the question: What can elders teach about the experience of growing old? Meeting weekly for eighteen weeks of discussion and written reflection, the research team members reported an experience of personal transformation in the way that they had come to understand and value their own aging process. Positive feelings were expressed both about living in old …

Go to article

The Experience Of Older Men Living Alone: A Phenomenological Perspective, Leslie Susan Yetter Jan 2008

The Experience Of Older Men Living Alone: A Phenomenological Perspective, Leslie Susan Yetter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to uncover older men's experience of living alone. This study was pursued because much of the literature reports that older men who live alone face the highest risk of death, mental illness, physical disability, and social isolation in our country. Based upon this literature, nurses appeared to be ignoring the needs of this vulnerable population. Using Giorgi's phenomenological method, 14 men 60 years and older who lived alone were interviewed and asked about their experience living alone. In the data analysis, the themes of self-growth, self-determination, structure, balance and sense of purpose emerged. Essentially, …

Go to article

Do We Want To Measure The Quality Of Care For Vulnerable Older People? The Acove Approach., Neil S. Wenger Jan 2008

Do We Want To Measure The Quality Of Care For Vulnerable Older People? The Acove Approach., Neil S. Wenger

Center for Policy Research

There's limited information available about measuring the quality of medical care that is targeted to the needs of older patients. And there's very limited pressure on the system to provide high quality geriatric care. Why is that? Because the quality measures haven't been adequately developed and implemented, and it's more difficult to measure care for an older sample. Measuring care for ill older adults is complex, because they tend to have multiple medical conditions, and they demonstrate substantial variation in goals for care (Wenger and colleagues 2007). The Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders (ACOVE) project began in 1998 as a …

Go to article

Spirituality And Aging In Social Work: State Of The Art And Future Possibilities, Holly Nelson-Becker, Edward R. Canda Jan 2008

Spirituality And Aging In Social Work: State Of The Art And Future Possibilities, Holly Nelson-Becker, Edward R. Canda

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article identifies the unique contributions social work has made to the study of spirituality and religion in relation to aging, based on respect for their diverse expressions. Definitions of religion and spirituality that particularly relate to late life are provided. The study of spirituality and aging is situated in four historical phases ranging from sectarian origins (1890s to 1920), to professionalization and secularization (1920s-1970s), to renewed interest (1980s to mid 1990s), to the current phase characterized by transcending boundaries. Interdisciplinary research by social workers is prevalent. Topics of study include a wide range of religious and nonreligious spiritual perspectives, …

Go to article

Sociodemographic And Health -Related Risks For Loneliness And Outcome Differences By Loneliness Status In A Sample Of Older U.S. Adults, Laurie A. Theeke Dec 2007

Sociodemographic And Health -Related Risks For Loneliness And Outcome Differences By Loneliness Status In A Sample Of Older U.S. Adults, Laurie A. Theeke

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background. Loneliness is a prevalent problem for older adults and has been shown to be associated with negative physical, psychological, and social variables. There has been limited research focusing on the relationship of loneliness to health. There is a gap in the literature when it comes to understanding how the problem of loneliness relates to the health of older adults in the United States.;Purpose. The purpose of this study was to address this gap in the literature through the testing of two models, the first model represented the postulated risks for loneliness and the second model represented the postulated outcomes …

Go to article

The Effects Of Framing On Decision Making: Collaborative Versus Individual Decision Making Among Older Adults, Sarah A. Stoner May 2007

The Effects Of Framing On Decision Making: Collaborative Versus Individual Decision Making Among Older Adults, Sarah A. Stoner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The framing effect in medical decision making was examined using individual and collaborative older adult decision makers. One hundred eight adults over the age of 60 participated. A lung cancer scenario was presented to each participant, with the option of choosing surgery or radiation for treatment. Participants viewed the options in either a positive (survival) or negative (mortality) frame. A mixed design was used, with frame (positive or negative) and condition (individual or collaborative) as the between subject factors, and data format (cumulative probability, interval probability, and life expectancy) as the within subject factor. Individuals demonstrated the framing effect in …

Go to article

Hospice Nurses, Spiritual Development And A Changing Health Care Paradigm, Amy L. Barr Jan 2007

Hospice Nurses, Spiritual Development And A Changing Health Care Paradigm, Amy L. Barr

Master's Theses and Capstones

Recently researchers have become increasingly interested in how we are going to care for our growing elderly population. Little, however, has been done to examine the personal attitudes toward death, dying and spirituality of the professionals who care for the terminally ill. The purpose of this study is to examine spiritual development among hospice nurses who work in palliative care. Data were obtained using qualitative, in-depth interviews with 20 hospice nurses (4 males, 16 females) from ages 36 to 61. The interviews were conducted at three different hospice organizations located in the northwest, northeast and New England regions of the …

Go to article

Job Characteristics And The Psychological Well-Being Of Older Workers, Anne M. Shattuck Jan 2007

Job Characteristics And The Psychological Well-Being Of Older Workers, Anne M. Shattuck

Master's Theses and Capstones

Changes in public and private pensions as well as demographic and economic changes will likely lead to higher labor force participation rates for older adults in the future. Little research has examined the impact of work on the well-being of older adults beyond simply comparing those who work with those who do not. Using data from the 2002 and 2004 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, this thesis examined whether specific job characteristics---namely job flexibility, job stress, and the workplace climate's friendliness to older workers---were associated with depressive symptoms among a group of workers aged 62 to 73. Cross-sectional …

Go to article

Improving Life Satisfaction Of Elders Through Oral History: The Narrator's Perspective, Mary B. Ligon Jan 2007

Improving Life Satisfaction Of Elders Through Oral History: The Narrator's Perspective, Mary B. Ligon

Theses and Dissertations

Oral history is a method of preserving historical information through in-depth interviews. Because the process requires narrators to use remote recall while sharing their life experiences, it can also be considered a reminiscence-related activity. Before this study, the positive effects on narrators of providing an oral history were noted in the research literature but had not been evaluated through quantitative methods. Based on theoretical constructs of Erikson and Butler, it was hypothesized that participation in oral history interviews would improve the life satisfaction of narrators. Life satisfaction was operationalized and measured using the Life Satisfaction Index Version A (LSIA). The …

Go to article

Evaluation Of A Tube Feeding Decision Aid For Substitute Decision Makers, Emily H. Bower Dec 2006

Evaluation Of A Tube Feeding Decision Aid For Substitute Decision Makers, Emily H. Bower

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Substitute decision makers may be in a position to make "preference-sensitive" decisions for their patient, including whether to approve tube feeding. The present study evaluated the only known tube feeding decision aid for substitute decision makers (Mitchell, Tetroe, & O'Conner, 2001). Sixty adults completed a pre-questionnaire, read an active control brochure (control group) or decision aid (experimental group), and completed a post-questionnaire. Both groups demonstrated increased knowledge and decisional conflict at post-test, although the experimental group had higher scores in both. Participants who were either in favor or against tube feeding at pre-test rarely changed their decision at post-test. Control …

Go to article

Older Single Women In Transition: Moving To A Supportive Retirement Community, Linda L. Hansen-Kyle Phd Jun 2006

Older Single Women In Transition: Moving To A Supportive Retirement Community, Linda L. Hansen-Kyle Phd

Dissertations

This study explored role changes, resilience, social, and health challenges encountered by older women who transitioned to a retirement community that provided social, health, and safety support structures. The aim of this study was to analyze and describe the transition from the viewpoint of the participants. Although previous research has shown transitions lead to psychosocial, emotional, physical, and health changes, the importance of this study stems from the lack of research on older women moving to supportive communities and their unique challenges. A convenience sample of 39 women, aged 70-94, who had been living alone before moving to a church …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last