Age-friendly cities in the Netherlands: An explorative study of facilitators and hindrances in the built environment and ageism in design

The World Health Organization (WHO) strives to assist and inspire cities to become more ‘age-friendly’ through the Global Age-Friendly Cities Guide. An age-friendly city offers a supportive environment that enables residents to grow older actively within their families, neighbourhoods and civil society, and offers extensive opportunities for their participation in the community. In the attempts to make cities age-friendly, ageism may interact with these developments. The goal of this study was to investigate the extent to which features of age-friendly cities, both facilitators and hindrances, are visible in the city scape of the Dutch municipalities of The Hague and Zoetermeer and whether or not ageism is manifested explicitly or implicitly. A qualitative photoproduction study based on the Checklist of Essential Features of Age-Friendly Cities was conducted in five neighbourhoods. Both municipalities have a large number of visual age-friendly features, which are manifested in five domains of the WHO model, namely Communication and information; Housing; Transportation; Community support and health services; and Outdoor spaces and buildings. Age-stereotypes, both positive and negative, can be observed in the domain of Communication and information, especially in the depiction of third agers as winners. At the same time, older people and age-friendly features are very visible in the cityscapes of both municipalities, and this is a positive expression of the changing demographics

How to measure nurses’ knowledge and attitude regarding older patients?

Background: Worldwide, people are aging. This demographic change results in an increase of older people admitted in hospitals. A growing number of registered nurses will encounter older patients in their daily work and a good knowledge and positive attitude is often promoted.Healthcare professionals need to understand current knowledge and attitudes regarding older patients when workforce strategies for promoting positive attitudes are to be implemented. In this theses, the development and validation of two instruments is presented. Method: all studies were conducted based on the guidelines and criteria stated by the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN). Results and conclusion:The KOP-Q (Knowledge about Older Patients-Quiz) is a valid and reliable measurement tool which enables educators/researchers to measure knowledge and certainty regarding this knowledge, to give feedback on (student) nurses’ knowledge and self-reflection levels or to use as an instrument to provoke discussion between (student) nurses enabling them to learn from each other. The OPACS (Older Patient in Acute Care Survey) can be used in the USA to asses nurses practice experiences and general opinion regarding older patients and can be used for educational purposes. However, more evidence regarding validity, reliability, responsiveness and interpretability is needed. Discussion: In the Netherlands, there is still a need for a rigorous developed instrument measuring attitudes of nurses towards older patients. If we are able to measure and understand the knowledge and attitude levels of (student) nurses using measurement instruments which can make true, rightful assumptions, shortcomings of (student) nurses can be addressed in educational and quality improvement programs positively influencing the quality of care older patients receive. Given the described changes in the hospital populations combined with the societal challenges, this should be the priority concern of professionals, educators and policymakers

Boekbespreking: Storytelling als leerstrategie voor reflectie tijdens stages

Met storytelling wordt een verhaal verteld, gericht op het teweegbrengen van beleving en betekenis, waarbij persoonlijke en professionele reflectie worden gestimuleerd. De ervaringen van verpleegkundestudenten tijdens hun stages zijn vaak complex. Hierdoor kunnen studenten niet alleen voordeel hebben bij een cognitieve benadering, maar ook bij een creatieve reflectie. Deze literatuurstudie benadrukt de waarde van storytelling als creatieve strategie om de reflectie van studenten tijdens de stage te bevorderen

Kan serious gaming een manier zijn om klinisch redeneren te leren?

Het vroegtijdig kunnen signaleren van achteruitgang bij de patiënt en daarop goed kunnen reageren, heeft grote invloed op diens prognose. Daarom is het essentieel dat verpleegkundigen hiertoe worden opgeleid. Hoewel simulatietrainingen worden aanbevolen om klinisch redeneren aan te leren, worden de meeste verpleegkundestudenten opgeleid via traditionele lesmethoden (klassikaal, luisterend en schriftelijk). Blanié et al. (2020) vergelijken in hun onderzoek een traditionele lesmethode met een serious game waarin een simulatie inclusief nabespreking centraal stond. Beide lesvormen hadden als uitgangspunt het klinisch redeneren te verbeteren rondom het signaleren en handelen bij achteruitgang van een patiënt. Maar werkt een serious game nu beter

The association between ageism and subjective age of older people in Europe

Background: Stigmata on older people in society remains a big problem in the whole of Europe. It can lead to a lower self-esteem and is even as sociated with higher suicide rates. This study questioned whether the identification with one’s own age group is associated with an individual’s perceived stigma on the group of 70+, which has been unexamined so far for European citizens. Method: Data were derived from the European Social Survey (ESS). The sample consisted of 7878 persons aged 70+ stratified by three age groups. Group 1 = 70 – 75, Group 2= 76 – 80 and Group 3= >80. Independent T-test and Multiple regression analyses were used to examine influence of perceived stigmata in society on identification with one’s own age group, controlled for the covariates gender, household’s income, education, subjective general health, limitations in activities of daily life, marital status, having children living at home and having children not living at home. Results: A significant association was found for Group 1 (70 – 75) and Group 2 (76 – 80). Participants of these age groups, who reported a higher perception of stigmata for older people (70+), identified themselves less with their age group. No significant effect was found for Group 3 (people 80+). Conclusion: The results suggest that people older than 80 are less affected by stigmata of society on old age than younger groups (aged 70 - 80). Future research is necessary to examine the mechanisms which lead to a lower identification with their age of people aged 70 to 80