What are the likely changes in society and technology which will impact upon the ability of older adults to maintain social (extra-familial) networks of support now, in 2025 and in 2040?

This report reviews evidence on how changes in information and communication technology might affect the ability of older people to maintain social networks of support. It considers both traditional and new forms of social media, along with technological advances in support such as robotics and telecare

OK Cupid, Stop Bumbling around and Match Me Tinder: Using Dating Apps Across the Life Course

Social connectedness, sex, and intimacy are all factors associated with positive aging, facing individuals in society across the life course. Phenomenal technological developments in the 21st century have led to the increased use of smartphones, mobile apps, and dating apps for a myriad of services, and engagements. This paper focuses on two specific cohorts’ who have the opportunity to engage with dating apps, older adults and young citizens with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions, and highlights issues related to the intersection of technology, societal constructions of age, disability, and online dating

Factors associated with cognitive impairment in Latin American older adults: A cross‐sectional observational study of COVID‐19 confinement

INTRODUCTION: The effects of COVID-19 confinement have been severe, especially in older adults. Therefore, we analyzed the factors associated with cognitive impairment (CI) in Latin America (LA). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study with a total of 5245 older adults from 10 countries in LA. Measurement: We used the Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (T-MoCA) and the Eight-item Informant Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia (AD8) scale. RESULTS: We found that age, depressive symptomatology, bone fractures, being widowed, having a family member with dementia, and unemployment were associated with an increased risk of CI. In contrast, higher education, hypertension with continuous treatment, quarantine, and keeping stimulating cognitive and physical activities were associated with a lower probability of CI. No significant association was found between suffering from diabetes or being retired and CI. DISCUSSION: It is essential to conduct follow-up studies on these factors, considering their relationship with CI and the duration of confinement

Financing health and wellness programs : a toolkit for park and recreation professionals

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support the delivery and dissemination of arthritis-appropriate evidence-based interventions (AAEBIs). AAEBIs are beneficial, evidence-based physical activity and education programs for people with arthritis and other chronic conditions. Physical activity in a community-based setting has been shown to be effective in managing the symptoms of arthritis and enhancing the health, well-being and quality of life of people with arthritis and other chronic conditions.This publication was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $2,029,099 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.financing-health-and-wellness-programs-toolkit.pdf?ACSTrackingID=FCP_2_DM76489&ACSTrackingLabel=%5BProof%202%5D%20March%20Arthritis%20Newsletter&deliveryName=FCP_2_DM76489&ACSTrackingID=USCDC_306_DM76978&ACSTrackingLabel=March%20Arthritis%20Newsletter&deliveryName=USCDC_306_DM7697820211149

Social Factors and Nutrition Risk in Community-Living Seniors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Pandemic countermeasures (e.g., lockdown, restrictions) enacted to minimize the spread of COVID-19 may put older adults at nutrition risk. This thesis uses an online/telephone survey to investigate factors associated with nutrition risk for community-dwelling older adults living in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected on nutrition risk, loneliness, mental health, assistance with meal preparation and/or delivery, frequency of making phone/video calls and using social media, and more. Subsequent data were collected in waves approximately three months apart. Objectives of this thesis were to understand the prevalence of high nutrition risk and identify the association with social-related variables that could be impacted by COVID-19 during different time points of the pandemic. Research questions were: 1. What is the prevalence of high nutrition risk (SCREEN-8 score <38) in the IMPACT sample? 2. Are participant-reported variables (self-reported mental health, loneliness over the past week, and receiving assistance with meal preparation or delivery) that could be impacted by COVID-19 shelter-in-place public health policy in the first wave of the pandemic, associated with baseline nutrition risk scores (SCREEN-8) in community-dwelling adults over 65 years old in Hamilton, Ontario, when adjusting for meaningful covariates (e.g., sex, age)? 3. Is there a change in median nutrition risk score over nine months in community-dwelling adults over 65 years old in Hamilton, Ontario? 4. Do participants change nutrition risk categorization over this time frame? 5. Are changes in mental health, loneliness, frequency of video/phone calls and use of social media associated with change in nutrition risk scores over time (from baseline to nine months)? From this sample of older adults (n=272, 78±7.3 years old, 70% female), we found that nutrition risk was prevalent among the community-dwelling older adults (64% at high risk). In a multivariable cross-sectional analysis that examined baseline only, loneliness in the past week (β -2.92, 95% CI [-5.51, -0.34]) and resilience (β 1.28, [0.04, 2.52]) were found to be associated with nutrition risk. In a second longitudinal analysis (n=178) based on a subset with a complete nutrition risk questionnaire nine months later, authors also found that frequency of direct social contacts from phone/video calls was associated with less nutrition risk (β -6.84, [-12.9, -0.77]), but people using more social media are more likely to be at high risk (β 6.19, [0.64, 11.75]). Findings from this thesis may inform public health interventions with respect to social interactions in pandemic circumstances or other challenging situations. This research also implies that it is critical to understand and advocate for healthy social media use to improve nutrition for older adults. Strategies to mitigate the adverse outcomes, such as loneliness and subsequent nutrition risk of future pandemic countermeasures should target this vulnerable group

The Connective Power of Reminiscence: Designing a Reminiscence-based Tool to Increase Social Interactions in Residential Care

Reminiscence powers therapeutic interventions such as Life review and Reminiscence therapy, with well known positive outcomes on the wellbeing of older adults. In particular, reminiscence therapy supported by technology can increase self-esteem, facilitate social interactions and increase opportunities for conversation. Much research on reminiscence technology has in fact focused on improving interactions and conversation, mainly for people with dementia. Nonetheless, the potential for reminiscence to discover common life points among residents in residential care facilities and especially to use this information to foster bonding between residents has been little explored. The focus of this thesis is to design a reminiscence-based tool, to be used in nursing homes to stimulate interactions among older adults, family members, and nursing home staff. We start by describing early work that reinforces the potential of ICT interventions on improving the wellbeing of older adults. These studies highlight the importance of social interactions on social wellbeing and of doing activities together in engagement and motivation. Through review works and exploratory studies we confirm the positive effects of social interaction on the wellbeing of older adults, the benefits associated to contributing, and the opportunities to improve social interactions, not only from distance but also in co-located settings. In nursing homes we find a context that requires improving social interactions, and in reminiscence we find an ideal activity to make contributors out of older adults, stimulate conversation, and possibly increase connectedness between older adults and their networks. A series of studies were conducted with nursing homes stakeholders to define and design a tool suitable to their current practices, that could be used and adopted in nursing homes to stimulate co-located interactions. In this thesis, we present the work carried out to define and validate and concept of a reminiscence-based tool, and describe how input from nursing home stakeholders has been integrated into the design of a tool to improve social interactions in residential care facilities

Older adults internet use, outdoor activity, and the urban environment : empirical analysis

In an ageing society, information technology (IT) can be a powerful tool to support older adults in staying physically, mentally, and socially active. A growing number of studies show positive effects of Internet use on active ageing. Specifically, understanding the relationship between older adults Internet use and their participation in outdoor activity has gained attention. However, little is known about the role of specific online activities, as previous research mainly considered general Internet use, e.g., writing emails and browsing the Web, which does not provide a rationale for increased outdoor activity. Another important factor affecting outdoor activity is the urban environment in which older adults live, especially as the environment can either motivate or hinder participation in outdoor activity. Against this backdrop, the aim of this thesis is to get a better understanding of the association between Internet use, the urban environment, and participation in outdoor activity. By adopting an ecological perspective, this dissertation is first in comprehensively assessing this association. Three studies provide empirical insights into patterns of factors and contribute an enhanced understanding of the association between older adults Internet use, the urban environment, and outdoor activity. In summary, this thesis contributes to a relevant growth of knowledge on older adults Internet use and outdoor activity. The approach in this thesis uncovered important differences in the roles of individual factors as well as environmental factors in explaining older adults outdoor activity. Based on this contributions, important implications for research can be identified. For instance, future research can use the conceptual framework as a basis to investigate further types of outdoor activities and further types of online activities, such as social networks and messaging services which attain increasing relevance for the group of older adults. Further, this dissertation also has some practical implications, for example, as all three studies showed that socio-demographic predictors play important different roles, the findings are specifically relevant to identify specific groups of older adults. For instance, developers and providers can tailor their services to the needs of older adults, e.g., by designing responsive and barrier-free interfaces that adapt to individual capabilities in cognition, vision, and motor function. Concluding, older adults should be encouraged to go online because the Internet increasingly provides information about opportunities and offerings in the city. The findings of this dissertation provide a rationale for the development of online services that offer neighborhood information and ultimately support older adults to be active outdoors.In einer alternden Gesellschaft kann Informationstechnologie (IT) ein wirksames Instrument sein, um ältere Menschen dabei zu unterstützen, körperlich, geistig und sozial aktiv zu bleiben. Eine zunehmende Anzahl von Studien zeigt positive Auswirkungen der Internetnutzung auf das aktive Altern. Insbesondere das Verständnis der Beziehung zwischen Internetnutzung älterer Menschen und ihrer Teilnahme an außerhäuslichen Aktivitäten hat Aufmerksamkeit erregt. Über die Rolle spezifischer Online-Aktivitäten ist jedoch wenig bekannt, da frühere Untersuchungen hauptsächlich die allgemeine Internetnutzung in Betracht zogen, z. B. das Schreiben von E-Mails und das Surfen im Internet, was keine Begründung für vermehrte außerhäusliche Aktivitäten liefert. Ein weiterer wichtiger Faktor, der außerhäusliche Aktivitäten beeinflusst, ist die städtische Umgebung, in der ältere Menschen leben. Insbesondere, da die städtische Umgebung die Teilnahme an außerhäuslichen Aktivitäten entweder fördern oder behindern kann. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist es das Ziel dieser Arbeit, den Zusammenhang zwischen Internetnutzung, städtischer Umgebung und Teilnahme an außerhäuslichen Aktivitäten besser zu verstehen. Durch die Übernahme einer ökologischen Perspektive geht es in dieser Dissertation zunächst darum, diesen Zusammenhang umfassend zu bewerten. Drei Studien liefern empirische Einblicke in Faktorenmuster und führen zu einem besseren Verständnis des Zusammenhangs zwischen der Internetnutzung älterer Menschen, der städtischen Umgebung und außerhäuslichen Aktivitäten. Zusammenfassend trägt diese Arbeit zu einem relevanten Wissenszuwachs über die Internetnutzung und außerhäuslichen Aktivität älterer Menschen bei. Der Ansatz in dieser Arbeit deckt wichtige Unterschiede in der Rolle individueller Faktoren sowie Umgebungsfaktoren bei der Erklärung der außerhäuslichen Aktivitäten älterer Menschen auf. Basierend auf diesen Beiträgen können wichtige Implikationen für die Forschung identifiziert werden. Beispielsweise kann die zukünftige Forschung den konzeptionellen Rahmen als Grundlage verwenden, um weitere Arten von außerhäuslichen Aktivitäten und weitere Arten von Online-Aktivitäten wie soziale Netzwerke und Messaging-Dienste zu untersuchen, die für ältere Menschen zunehmend an Bedeutung gewinnen. Darüber hinaus hat diese Dissertation auch einige praktische Auswirkungen, da beispielsweise alle drei Studien zeigten, dass soziodemografische Prädiktoren wichtige unterschiedliche Rollen spielen. Die Ergebnisse sind speziell relevant, um bestimmte Gruppen älterer Menschen zu identifizieren. Beispielsweise können Entwickler und Anbieter ihre Dienste auf die Bedürfnisse älterer Menschen zuschneiden, z.B. indem sie reaktionsschnelle und barrierefreie Schnittstellen entwerfen, die sich an die individuellen Fähigkeiten in Bezug auf Kognition, Vision und Motorik anpassen. Zusammenfassend sollten ältere Menschen motiviert werden, online zu gehen, da das Internet zunehmend Informationen über Möglichkeiten und Angebote in der Stadt bietet. Diese Dissertation hat erstmalig die spezifische Internetnutzung für Angebote und Möglichkeiten in der Nachbarschaft untersucht um außerhäusliche Aktivitäten älterer Menschen zu erklären. Die Ergebnisse liefern eine Begründung für die Entwicklung von Online-Diensten, die Nachbarschaftsinformationen anbieten (z.B. digitale Quartiersplattformen) und schließlich ältere Menschen dabei unterstützen, außerhäuslich aktiv zu sein

Hooked on the Internet: the prevalence, risk, theory and presenting problem of Internet addiction

As the Internet becomes increasingly ubiquitous and mobile, Internet addiction appears as a potential mental health problem in adolescents and students. From the reported negative consequences, it appears Internet addiction can have a variety of detrimental outcomes for young people that may require professional intervention. The unique contribution to knowledge of this research is (i) the assessment of the interplay between certain personality traits and the usage of specific Internet applications in contributing to an elevated risk of Internet addiction in two independent samples of 3,105 adolescents in the Netherlands and 2,257 university students in the UK, (ii) the development and testing of the concise Internet addiction components model using the quantitative data obtained, and (iii) the phenomenological exploration of the presenting problem of Internet addiction from the perspective of 20 psychotherapists from Europe, the USA, and Canada. A mixed methods approach was used in the form of psychometric measurement and qualitative interviews. Data were analysed using logistic regression, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling, and interpretative phenomenological analysis