Comparing definitions of successful ageing: the case of Anglo- and Chinese- Australians

Research into the concept of successful ageing, or ageing well, within the context of migration has become significant in cross-cultural gerontology and psychology. Given that attributes of successful ageing had been identified in published Western literature, it has been argued that these attributes commonly reflect Western perceptions. This study examined the 20 attributes identified by Phelan, Anderson, LaCroix & Larson (2004) as important to successful ageing, comparing the views of older adults with researchers' definitions. The sample consisted of 152 Anglo-Australians and 116 Chinese-Australians: English speaking (n = 68) and Chinese speaking (n = 48). Anglo-Australians and Chinese-Australians rated 13 and 14 of the 20 successful ageing attributes as important, respectively. Results also revealed that Anglo-and Chinese-Australians differed significantly on four successful ageing attributes. For Chinese speaking Chinese-Australians, heredity was rated as important to successful ageing compared to their English speaking and Anglo-Australian counterparts. The research contributes to greater understanding of the way in which people from different backgrounds view quality of life so as to better support positive ageing in minority groups.Joanne Tan, Lynn Ward, Tahereh Ziaia

Resilience and its association with depression, emotional and behavioural problems, and mental health service utilisation among refugee adolescents living in South Australia

Extent: 9p.Background. Despite the frequency of traumatic or stressful events experienced by refugee children and adolescents prior to migration and following resettlement, the majority do not experience mental health problems emphasising the critical nature of resilience. While a host of factors deemed to be protective of mental health in young refugees have been identified, there has been little research exploring the role of resilience as a distinct psychological construct. This study aimed to explore the nature of psychological resilience in refugee adolescents and the relationship between resilience and depression, other emotional and behavioural problems, and mental health service uptake. Method. One hundred and seventy multiethnic refugee adolescents aged 13–17 from South Australia were administered a survey comprising the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results. Females tended to have higher resilience, as did those adolescents who had been living in Australia longer. Adolescents suffering from depressive symptoms or other emotional or behavioural problems had lower resilience. There was little evidence of an association between resilience scores and exposure to trauma or service utilisation. Discussion. Fostering resilience may be critical to efforts to prevent or reduce mental health problems in refugee adolescents.Tahereh Ziaian, Helena de Anstiss, Georgia Antoniou, Peter Baghurst, and Michael Sawye

Socially assistive robots in health and social care: acceptance and cultural factors. Results from an exploratory international online survey

Aim: This study explored the views of an international sample of registered nurses and midwives working in health and social care concerning socially assistive robots (SARs), and the relationship between dimensions of culture and rejection of the idea that SARs had benefits in these settings. Methods: An online survey was used to obtain rankings of (among other topics) the extent to which SARs have benefits for health and social care. It also asked for free text responses regarding any concerns about SARs. Results: Most respondents were overwhelmingly positive about SARs' benefits. A small minority strongly rejected this idea, and qualitative analysis of the objections raised by them revealed three major themes: things might go wrong, depersonalization, and patient‐related concerns. However, many participants who were highly accepting of the benefits of SARs expressed similar objections. Cultural dimensions of long‐term orientation and uncertainty avoidance feature prominently in technology acceptance research. Therefore, the relationship between the proportion of respondents from each country who felt that SARs had no benefits and each country's ratings on long‐term orientation and uncertainty avoidance were also examined. A significant positive correlation was found for long‐term orientation, but not for uncertainty avoidance. Conclusion: Most respondents were positive about the benefits of SARs, and similar concerns about their use were expressed both by those who strongly accepted the idea that they had benefits and those who did not. Some evidence was found to suggest that cultural factors were related to rejecting the idea that SARs had benefits

Living with, managing and minimising treatment burden in long term conditions: a systematic review of qualitative research.

BACKGROUND: 'Treatment burden', defined as both the workload and impact of treatment regimens on function and well-being, has been associated with poor adherence and unfavourable outcomes. Previous research focused on treatment workload but our understanding of treatment impact is limited. This research aimed to systematically review qualitative research to identify: 1) what are the treatment generated disruptions experienced by patients across all chronic conditions and treatments? 2) what strategies do patients employ to minimise these treatment generated disruptions? METHODS AND FINDINGS: The search strategy centred on: treatment burden and qualitative methods. Medline, CINAHL, Embase, and PsychINFO were searched electronically from inception to Dec 2013. No language limitations were set. Teams of two reviewers independently conducted paper screening, data extraction, and data analysis. Data were analysed using framework synthesis informed by Cumulative Complexity Model. Eleven papers reporting data from 294 patients, across a range of conditions, age groups and nationalities were included. Treatment burdens were experienced as a series of disruptions: biographical disruptions involved loss of freedom and independence, restriction of meaningful activities, negative emotions and stigma; relational disruptions included strained family and social relationships and feeling isolated; and, biological disruptions involved physical side-effects. Patients employed "adaptive treatment work" and "rationalised non-adherence" to minimise treatment disruptions. Rationalised non-adherence was sanctioned by health professionals at end of life; at other times it was a "secret-act" which generated feelings of guilt and impacted on family and clinical relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Treatments generate negative emotions and physical side effects, strain relationships and affect identity. Patients minimise these disruptions through additional adaptive work and/or by non-adherence. This affects physical outcomes and care relationships. There is a need for clinicians to engage with patients in honest conversations about treatment disruptions and the 'adhere-ability' of recommended regimens. Patient-centred practice requires management plans which optimise outcomes and minimise disruptions

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Suicide, gender, and age variations in India - are women in Indian society protected from suicide?

© 2002 Hogrefe & Huber PublishersA new set of data concerning the pattern of suicide in India between 1991-1997 are presented. Suicide rates rose over this period despite a small decline in the Indian suicide rate in 1995 and 1996. It was found that between 1995 and 1997 there was a modest fall in the suicide rates among under 29-year-olds of both sexes, and an increase among those 30 years and older. The pattern of suicides in India is bimodal: the incidence of suicides is highest for those in the 30-44-year-old category of both sexes and tends to decline in higher age categories. Suicide rates were nearly equal for young women and men, a contrast with the pattern of suicide sex ratios in eight developed countries

Indian suicide and marriage: A research note

This study explores the impact of gender and marital status on suicide rates in India. It was hypothesized on the basis of established findings elsewhere that suicide rates for those who are married would be lower than for all other marital categories. It was also predicted that with two significant exceptions for all marital categories, male suicide rates would be higher than female rates. The predicted exceptions were for suicides by widows and widowers and for those who were divorced. Because of the traditional stigmatization of widows, it was hypothesized that their suicide rates would be higher than those of widowers. It was also predicted that the social disapproval of divorce in Indian society would result in higher suicide rates for divorced women than for men. Data are official suicide statistics provided by India's National Crime Records Bureau. The results of the study do not confirm the conventional patterns of variations in suicide according to marital status. In accordance with the traditional hypothesis first enunciated by E. Durkheim, married persons are less prone than the unmarried to commit suicide. Sociological studies over the last eighty years have consistently supported Durkheim's theory. The present data reveal that while marriage provides better protection against suicide for Indian women it does not do so for Indian men

Transcendental meditation for the improvement of health and wellbeing in community-dwelling dementia caregivers [TRANSCENDENT]: A randomised wait-list controlled trial

Background Dementia is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder affecting an estimated 24.3 million people across the globe. The burden on those caring for people with dementia is substantial, with widespread implications for the caregiver, the care recipient and the community. Relaxation techniques, such as Transcendental Meditation® (TM), have been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in healthy workers; similar benefits are anticipated in dementia caregivers. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether TM can improve psychological stress, quality of life, affect and cognitive performance in dementia caregivers. Methods The study was conducted as a pilot prospective, multi-centre, community-based, randomised wait-list controlled trial. Community-dwelling caregivers of persons with diagnosed dementia were randomly assigned to a 12-week (14-hour) TM training program or wait-list control. Participants were assessed for quality of life, stress, affect, cognitive performance and adverse effects. The feasibility of the study was also evaluated. Results Seventeen caregivers were recruited and randomised. Improvements in WebNeuro response speed scores over time were significantly (p = 0.03) greater in the TM group relative to control. Changes between groups over time in all other primary and secondary outcome measures did not reach statistical significance. However, there was a trend toward greater improvement in WebNeuro stress, depression and negativity bias scores in the TM group. Adverse events were reported amongst 63 % of TM-treated subjects; however, events were generally transient, of mild-moderate intensity and only ‘possibly’ related to TM. Conclusions Dementia caregivers exposed to TM demonstrated varying degrees of improvement in several measures of cognitive function, mood, quality of life and stress following exposure to TM. However, as the pilot study was underpowered, no firm conclusions can be made about the effectiveness of TM in this caregiver population. Findings from full-scale trials are now warranted

(In Press) Improving the health and wellbeing of community-dwelling carers of dementia sufferers: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial of structured meditation training

Background: Caring for a person with dementia can be an unrelenting and burdensome task, one that is often detrimental to the caregiver's health, well-being, and functionality. The enduring stress and frustration of the caregiver role can also contribute to poorer outcomes for dementia sufferers. Building on growing clinical interest in the capacity for Transcendental Meditation® (TM; a relaxation technique) to reduce stress and anxiety in healthy workers, this study examines whether similar improvements could be experienced by dementia caregivers. Objective: The study objective was to ascertain whether a TM program can improve psychological stress, quality of life, affect, and cognitive performance of dementia caregivers

Refugee students' psychological wellbeing and experiences in the Australian education system: a mixed-methods investigation

Accepted for publication 28 May 2017Objectives: Refugee children and adolescents are widely acknowledged to experience multiple disadvantages that place them at increased risk of poor education and employment outcomes, which in turn affect their mental health and well-being. The aim of this study is to explore the interconnection between their educational and schooling experiences, and mental health outcomes. Method: We used a mixed methods approach. Participants included a multiethnic sample of 495 South Australian refugee children (4–12 years) and adolescents (13–17 years) from Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and former Yugoslavia. Mental health outcomes were assessed using the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Thirteen focus groups with 85 refugee adolescents aged 13–17 years explored their educational experiences and well-being. Results: Quantitative analysis revealed differences between teacher, parent, and adolescent self-ratings, with teachers identifying a higher proportion of refugee students with mental health problems than parents or adolescents. The focus groups identified inadequate educational support, parental pressure to excel, heavy family and household responsibilities, supporting psychologically distressed parents, and school based discrimination and racism as barriers to their educational progress. Qualitative results also afforded plausible explanations for the discrepancy between teacher-ratings with parent- and adolescent self-ratings of the mental health. Conclusion: Analysis of both quantitative and qualitative findings provides insight into the interconnection between educational and schooling experiences of young refugees and their mental health. Avenues for further research include developing and evaluating more holistic models of education to address the interrelated education and mental health needs of refugee youth.Tahereh Ziaian, Helena de Anstiss, Teresa Puvimanasinghe, and Emily Mille