Aromatherapy: Does It Help to Relieve Pain, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Community-Dwelling Older Persons?

2014-2015 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalpublished_fina

The development and psychometric evaluation of the Perception of Play Questionnaire for older adults

The objective was to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Perception of Play Questionnaire among older adults. Item generation, content validation, scale piloting for item validation, and assessment of construct validity were employed to develop the questionnaire. A 17-item Perception of Play Questionnaire was developed. Items described how older adults view play from positive and negative prospective. Satisfactory results were found for content validity. The Cronbach’s alpha was.775. Correlations between perception of play and life satisfaction, happiness, and loneliness were demonstrated with statistical significance (p < 0.05). There were significant difference in multiple linear regression for frailty to Timed Up and Go Test (p < 0.01). The Perception of Play Questionnaire can help to understand how older people view the concept and their acceptance level of play. The data gathered using the questionnaire can aid in planning interventions to improve the health of older people

An exploration of the use of visually appealing contexts in a pain management program

Purpose: Pleasant pictures can help to reduce stress, promote positive feelings, and even facilitate recovery from diseases. Visual stimulation is an approach of distraction that can effectively reduce pain thresholds and increase pain tolerances. The number of older adults who suffer from pain has increased due to age-related diseases. Technology is increasingly being applied to the management of acute pain. The pain situation among older people was explored in this study, and a visually appealing pain management program was designed with the participants’ experiences in mind. Methods: This was a descriptive observational study. Participants were recruited from local nursing homes. Results: A total of 165 older adults joined the study. The mean age of the participants was 85.6. More female than male participants experienced pain and the intensity of their pain was significantly greater. The results showed no significant differences in pain interferences between males and females. The participants stated that photographs of family members, homes, and natural scenery made them feel relaxed and happy, and reminded them of past happy times. They preferred to view those visually appealing pictures using digital devices (iPad/iPhone) to seeing hard copy versions. Conclusion: A digital-based pain management program using visually appealing contexts for older adults can be implemented. The patients’ experiences were collected and will be considered when developing a future program

Use of Information and Communications Technology in Family Services and Its Perceived Benefits amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hong Kong—Jockey Club SMART Family-Link Project

Introduction: We examined information and communications technology (ICT) use in family services and its perceived benefits and barriers amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. Methods: We invited all family service social workers of 12 NGOs to complete an anonymous online questionnaire in May 2020 (Part A) and a management representative from each NGO to provide written feedback on ICT use in January 2021 (Part B). Results: In Part A, of 255 respondents (response rate: 67.3%), perceived ICT use in conducting programmes, groups, casework and preventive family programmes showed net increases of 33.9–54.5%; perceived ICT use in different work processes showed net increases of 18.8–48.6%. The three most common perceived benefits were “providing another option to service users” (74.2%), “more convenient service” (60.2%) and “maintaining normal service” (59.7%). In Part B, 12 management representatives consistently reported positive impacts of ICT use on family services. They shared actionable strategies (e.g., ICT skill-related training) and concerns about data privacy and management. Conclusions: ICT use in family services markedly increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. It helped make the services more accessible especially when the pandemic restricted face-to-face services