Retirement village physical activity and nutrition intervention process evaluation:Informing practice

© 2018 AJA Inc. Objective: This process evaluation aimed to determine participants’ perceptions of the strategies utilised in a six-month intervention that set out to improve physical activity and nutrition in retirement village (RV) residents. Methods: Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from intervention participants residing in 17 RVs located in Perth, Western Australia, via self-report questionnaires (n = 139) and semi-structured interviews (n = 16). Results: Intervention resources were moderately useful and suitable. Program ambassadors were encouraging (86%), but more frequent, and more direct, contact were preferred. The main reason for withdrawing from the program was health-related conditions (aches, pains, injuries). Conclusion: This study provides evidence that the intervention was reasonably appropriate for older adults residing in RVs. Program ambassadors were well accepted, a successful strategy that should be considered for future interventions in RVs. Increased face-to-face engagement was preferred, but such an approach will require greater investment. The findings contribute to a small research base concerned with health behaviour interventions in RVs

A simple measure with complex determinants: investigation of the correlates of self-rated health in older men and women from three continents

Self-rated health is commonly employed in research studies that seek to assess the health status of older individuals. Perceptions of health are, however, influenced by individual and societal level factors that may differ within and between countries. This study investigates levels of self-rated health (SRH) and correlates of SRH among older adults in Australia, United States of America (USA), Japan and South Korea. We conclude that when examining correlates of SRH, the similarities are greater than the differences between countries. There are however differences in levels of SRH which are not fully accounted for by the health correlates. Broad generalizations about styles of responding are not helpful for understanding these differences, which appear to be country- and possibly cohort-specific. When using SRH to characterize the health status of older people, it is important to consider earlier life experiences of cohorts as well as national and individual factors in later life. Further research is required to understand the complex societal influences on perceptions of health.The Australian data on which this research is based were drawn from several Australian longitudinal studies including: the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ALSA), the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health (ALSWH) and the Personality And Total Health Through Life Study (PATH). These studies were pooled and harmonized for the Dynamic Analyses to Optimize Ageing (DYNOPTA) project. DYNOPTA was funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant (# 410215)

The effect of cancer on the labor supply of employed men over the age of 65

This paper investigates the relationship between cancer diagnosis and the labor supply of employed men over the age of 65. While almost 60% of male cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65, no previous research has examined the effect that cancer has on this age group, which is surprising given the relevance of this group to public policy. With data from the Health and Retirement Study, I show that cancer has a significant negative effect on the labor supply of these workers. Using a combination of linear regression models and propensity score matching, I find that respondents who are diagnosed with cancer work 3 fewer hours per week than their non-cancer counterparts. They are also 10 percentage points more likely to stop working. This reduction seems to be driven by a deterioration in physical and mental health

The moderating role of employment status and gender on relationships between psychological age and health: A two-wave cross-lagged panel analysis of data from the health and retirement study

© The Author(s) 2017. In this study we explored the direction of over-time relationships between psychological age (PA) and 4 facets of health for older adults, with social comparison theory (SCT) and stereotype embodiment theory (SET) providing the rationale for competing causal orderings of these relationships. Expanding on recent longitudinal work (Petery, 2015; Spuling, Miche, Wurm, & Wahl, 2013) we investigated whether over-time employment status (employed, transition to retired, retired), gender, and the interaction of employment status and gender moderate the nature of these relationships for older (over 50 years old) adults. We examined data on PA and indicators of general, functional, physical, and mental health from the Health and Retirement Study collected at 2 time points, 4 years apart. Hypothesis testing on the causal ordering of the 2 constructs and the proposed moderations were conducted, with each health facet examined independently using cross-lagged panel path analysis and multigroup analysis of employment by gender subgroups. Effect sizes for relationships between PA and health were small in magnitude for all health facets and all employment status and gender subgroups. The apparent primary causal direction of relationships differed by health facet, with support provided for both Health ? PA and PA ? Health temporal orderings. Furthermore, with the exception of physical health, which exhibited consistent support for a Health ? PA relationship, the primary causal direction of the relationship between PA and health depended on both employment status and gender, jointly. These provide further evidence of the complexity of the health-PA relationship