Exploring the Impact of a New Intervention to Increase Participation of Frail Older Adults in Meaningful Leisure Activities

Abstract : Many frail older adults have difficulty maintaining social participation. We developed an innovative, personalized intervention to help frail older adults pursue meaningful leisure activities through the use of compensatory strategies. This pre-experimental pilot study conducted with 10 community-dwelling frail older adults (≥80 years) showed that the intervention improved their knowledge regarding the compensatory strategies learned and their participation in meaningful leisure activities. However, results also showed a decrease in feelings of well-being. This study provides promising results to support the implementation of an innovative intervention tailored to the needs of frail seniors and designed to foster their participation. However, further research is needed to improve our understanding of the impact of the intervention on well-being and explain the results obtained

Impact of perceived healthiness of food on food choices and intake

Healthy eating is an important determinant of health, but adherence to dietary guidelines remains a public health concern. Identifying factors that impact dietary habits is therefore important to facilitate healthy eating. One widely used strategy to help consumers make healthier food choices is nutrition information, such as labeling and claims. Despite the intention of these strategies to improve decision making, they can also be misunderstood or misinterpreted by consumers. The aim of this review is to explore food perceptions by examining how cognitive factors influence perceived healthiness of food, and the impact of perceived healthiness of food on food choices and intake. Overall findings of this review suggest that cognitive factors, such as type of food and branding, significantly contribute to judgmental bias and have an impact on perceived healthiness while not consistently or systematically influencing choice and intake

Influence du milieu d'évaluation sur la réalisation de tâches liées à la préparation de repas auprès de personnes âgées fragiles

Le but général de la thèse consiste à mieux connaître l’influence du milieu d’évaluation (domicile vs clinique) sur la réalisation de tâches liées à la préparation de repas auprès de personnes âgées fragiles. La thèse s'articule autour de trois objectifs spécifiques, dont les résultats sont présentés dans le cadre de cinq articles scientifiques. Le premier objectif vise à faire état des connaissances relatives au concept de fragilité en ergothérapie et à l'influence du milieu d'évaluation auprès des personnes âgées fragiles. Dans un premier temps, une analyse critique d'écrits portant sur la fragilité a été effectuée. Les résultats (article 1) démontrent la pertinence du concept de fragilité en ergothérapie, en suggérant qu'une meilleure compréhension de ce concept puisse aider les ergothérapeutes à offrir aux personnes fragiles des soins et services mieux adaptés à leurs besoins. Dans un deuxième temps, une recension des études ayant comparé la réalisation d'activités de la vie domestique (AVD) entre les milieux d'évaluation a été réalisée. Les résultats (article 2) révèlent que les personnes âgées sans déficit cognitif important tendent à offrir une meilleure performance à domicile, plutôt qu'en milieu clinique, lors de la réalisation d'AVD. Quelques facteurs, tels que la familiarité avec l’environnement, contribueraient à expliquer cette différence entre les milieux d'évaluation. Cette recension critique suggère que des résultats similaires puissent être obtenus auprès de personnes âgées fragiles. Le second objectif cherche à comparer la réalisation de tâches liées à la préparation de repas entre les milieux d’évaluation auprès de personnes âgées fragiles. Pour atteindre cet objectif, trente-sept personnes âgées répondant aux critères de fragilité (Fried et al.,2001) ont été évaluées en milieux clinique et domiciliaire suivant un devis contrebalancé au moyen du Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) et du Performance Assessment of Self-Care Skills (PASS). Les résultats (articles 3, 4 et 5) concourent, dans l'ensemble, à démontrer une meilleure performance des personnes fragiles lorsqu’elles sont évaluées à domicile. Le dernier objectif a pour but d'identifier les facteurs sociodémographiques,physiques, cognitifs, psychologiques et environnementaux susceptibles d'expliquer la différence entre les milieux d'évaluation. Les résultats de la thèse (articles 3, 4 et 5) tendent à démontrer que le déclin de certaines fonctions exécutives constitue un facteur prépondérant pour expliquer une meilleure performance à domicile. Nos analyses révèlent que d'autres facteurs cognitifs, sociodémographiques, psychologiques, physiques et environnementaux contribuent également, mais de façon moins importante, à la différence observée entre les milieux d'évaluation. Les résultats de cette thèse peuvent aider les ergothérapeutes à mieux distinguer les personnes âgées fragiles susceptibles de présenter une performance différente selon le milieu dans lequel elles sont évaluées et conséquemment, pour qui une visite à domicile devrait être préconisée. Les connaissances générées par la thèse pourraient ultimement contribuer à offrir aux personnes âgées fragiles des services mieux adaptés à leurs besoins, tout en favorisant une gestion efficiente des ressources en matière de santé.This thesis aims to advance the state of knowledge about the impact of assessment settings (home versus clinic) on meal preparation task performance in frail older adults. The thesis has three specific objectives and the results are presented in five articles. The first specific objective aims to review current knowledge about the concept of frailty in occupational therapy and the impact of assessment settings in frail older adults. First, a critical review about frailty was conducted. The results (article 1) demonstrate that a better understanding of the concept of frailty may help occupational therapists provide health care and services better tailored to the specific needs of this population. Second, a review of studies comparing performance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) between assessment settings was performed. The results (article 2) reveal that older adults without significant cognitive impairments tend to perform better in IADL tasks when assessed at home. Some factors, such as familiarity with the environment, may explain this difference. Based on this review, similar results might be expected with frail elders. The second specific objective aims to compare meal preparation task performance in home and clinical settings in a population of frail older adults. Thirty-seven frail older adults were thus assessed in home and clinical settings with the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) and the Performance Assessment of Self-Care Skills (PASS), using a counterbalanced design. The results (articles 3, 4, 5) globally demonstrate significantly better performance of participants when assessed at home. The third specific objective aims to identify demographic, physical, cognitive, psychological and environmental factors that may explain differences between assessment settings. The results (articles 3, 4, 5) indicate that a better performance in the home setting was mostly related to a decline in certain executive functions. Other cognitive, demographic, psychological, physical and environmental factors also contribute to explain the differences between assessment settings but to a lesser extent. Our findings may help occupational therapists identify frail older adults likely to present a different performance in the clinical setting and thus for whom home assessments would be advisable. Our findings could ultimately mean that frail clients are provided with services adapted to their needs, while ensuring an efficient allocation of health care resources

A Case Study of Junior Elite Tennis Players\u27 and their Parent’s Self-Talk

Automatic self-talk of elite athletes provides valuable insight into their emotional experience and self-regulation strategies in competition. To date, there is a shortage of research examining elite junior athletes’ automatic self-talk in competition through a qualitative lens. Despite parents’ key role in the well-being and performance of their child, there is no study about junior elite athletes’ and their parents’ self-talk during a competition. Hence, the aim of this study is to examine the content of elite junior tennis players’ automatic self-talk as well as the content of their parents’ self-talk regarding their emotions during important matches. In each of the two cases under investigation, individual in-depth interviews were conducted with a tennis player and his or her most dedicated parent. The results were analyzed using Yin’s (2014) multiple-case study strategy and Polkinghorne’s (1995) narration inquiry strategy. An analysis of automatic self-talk content was conducted individually for each case, followed by an intra-case and cross-case analysis. The results reveal that each player’s and parent’s automatic self-talk is related to their own subjective emotional experience during the matches. The findings highlight similarities in athletes’ and parents’ self-talk patterns, reflecting the potential influence of parents in athletes’ performance pressure and their goal-directed self-talk strategies. The differences observed between the self-talk of players and their parents demonstrate the relevance of examining their profiles to better understand the origin of individual differences in self-talk

Food perceptions among adults and registered dietitians : are they similar?

Purpose: To determine how adults and registered dietitians (RDs) perceived foods according to a frequency continuum, and to assess the differences between them. Methods: A sample of 1002 adults and 566 RDs were recruited. Participants had to associate 51 foods with a frequency continuum (“daily”, “occasional” or “sometimes”). Food groups were created: 1) Canada’s Food Guide’s groups (CFG) (n = 22), 2) High in Fat or High in Sugar foods (HFHS) (n = 16), and 3) Meals (n = 13). Results: CFG were perceived as “daily” foods (adults = 56.8%, RDs = 94.5%), HFHS as “sometimes” foods (adults = 67.2%, RDs = 59.6%) and Meals as “occasional” foods (adults = 75.8%, RDs = 58.2%). Adults (all age groups) perceived that CFG and Meals should be eaten less frequently than RDs (18 to 64 years old). Younger adults perceived these two groups as to be eaten more frequently than older respondents. Adults perceived HFHS as to be consumed less frequently than RDs (no age effect). Conclusions: While adults tend to have more severe perceptions than RDs, results show that their food perceptions are in line with an overall awareness of Canadian nutrition guidelines, suggesting the presence of a relevant popular knowledge about the value of food

An essential role for Ran GTPase in epithelial ovarian cancer cell survival

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We previously identified that Ran protein, a member of the Ras GTPase family, is highly expressed in high grade and high stage serous epithelial ovarian cancers, and that its overexpression is associated with a poor prognosis. Ran is known to contribute to both nucleocytoplasmic transport and cell cycle progression, but its role in ovarian cancer is not well defined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using a lentivirus-based tetracycline-inducible shRNA approach, we show that downregulation of Ran expression in aggressive ovarian cancer cell lines affects cellular proliferation by inducing a caspase-3 associated apoptosis. Using a xenograft tumor assay, we demonstrate that depletion of Ran results in decreased tumorigenesis, and eventual tumor formation is associated with tumor cells that express Ran protein.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest a role for Ran in ovarian cancer cell survival and tumorigenicity and suggest that this critical GTPase may be suitable as a therapeutic target.</p

Acceptability of insect ingredients by innovative student chefs : an exploratory study

Background: In Western societies, the acceptability of entomophagy is low despite the sustainable and nutritional benefits of insects. It is recognized that insect meals incorporated in into familiar foods increases willingness to eat insects. Chefs can offer positive culinary insect-based experiences to their customers which can then contribute to increasing the acceptability of entomophagy by consumers. However, little is known about chefs' perceptions of the use of insect-based ingredients. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the reasons why innovative student chefs are willing (or not) to incorporate mealworms meals into their dishes. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 innovative student chefs at the Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ). Thematic analysis based on a priori Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory was conducted using transcript verbatim. Results: Most participants had a past consumption experience with entomophagy and all of them had a positive attitude toward this practice. The main perceived disadvantages of mealworm meal was the texture (granular and uneven), the odor as well as the low acceptability by consumers. Despite that, student chefs were generally willing to use insect-based ingredients, but they thought that transparency and more opportunities for consumers to try good insect-based dishes are keys to enhancing the acceptability of insect consumption. Conclusion: Understanding perceptions of innovative chefs about the use of insect-based ingredients can help to promote their use in gastronomy and ultimately improve their acceptability by consumers

Characteristics of individuals who report present and past weight loss behaviours: results from a Canadian university community

Purpose: To characterise individuals who reported present and past weight loss behaviours on psycho-behavioural factors known to influence body weight, e.g. overeating, dietary restriction. Methods: An online questionnaire was distributed to a university community. Questions pertaining to present weight loss, previous weight loss, eating behaviour tendencies, perceived stress and sleep quality were answered by 3,069 individuals. Body weight and height were selfreported. Results: Present and past weight loss behaviours were prevalent in the sample, with 33.3 % of the participants who reported trying to lose weight, 33.1 % who reported having previously lost weight ([10 lbs), and 18.8 % who reported repeated weight loss behaviour (i.e. present and past weight loss behaviours). Trying to lose weight and previous weight loss were both independently associated with increased risk for psycho-behavioural characteristics known to be associated with obesity, e.g. overeating tendencies, perceived stress, short sleep duration. This risk was particularly elevated among the underweight/normalweight individuals who reported repeated weight loss behaviours. Indeed, adjusted odds ratios for reporting restrictive and overeating tendencies, perceived stress and short sleep for these individuals were significantly higher compared to their underweight/normal-weight peers who did not report repeated weight loss behaviours (adjusted odds ratios 4.7, 2.7, 1.8, and 1.8, respectively, p\0.01 to \0.0001). Conclusions: Normal-weight individuals reporting weight loss behaviours are characterised by a psycho-behaviour profile which may further increase their risk of weight gain

Facilitators and barriers experienced by federal cross-sector partners during the implementation of a healthy eating campaign

To identify facilitators and barriers that Health Canada’s (HC) cross-sector partners experienced while implementing the Eat Well Campaign: Food Skills (EWC; 2013–2014) and describe how these experiences might differ according to distinct partner types. A qualitative study using hour-long semi-structured telephone interviews conducted with HC partners that were transcribed verbatim. Facilitators and barriers were identified inductively and analysed according partner types. Implementation of a national mass-media health education campaign. Twenty-one of HC’s cross-sector partners (food retailers, media and health organizations) engaged in the EWC. Facilitators and barriers were grouped into seven major themes: operational elements, intervention factors, resources, collaborator traits, developer traits, partnership factors and target population factors. Four of these themes had dual roles as both facilitators and barriers (intervention factors, resources, collaborator traits and developer traits). Sub-themes identified as both facilitators and barriers illustrate the extent to which a facilitator can easily become a barrier. Partnership factors were unique facilitators, while operational and target population factors were unique barriers. Time was a barrier that was common to almost all partners regardless of partnership type. There appeared to be a greater degree of uniformity among facilitators, whereas barriers were more diverse and unique to the realities of specific types of partner. Collaborative planning will help public health organizations anticipate barriers unique to the realities of specific types of organizations. It will also prevent facilitators from becoming barriers. Advanced planning will help organizations manage time constraints and integrate activities, facilitating implementation

Full-time employment, diet quality and food skills of Canadian parents

Purpose : To explore the associations between full-time employment status, food skills, and diet quality of Canadian parents. Methods : A sample of Canadian parents (n = 767) were invited to complete a web-based survey that included sociodemographic variables, questions about food skills, and a validated food frequency questionnaire. Results were analyzed with linear and logistic regression models, controlling for sociodemographic variables and multiple testing. Results : After controlling for covariates and multiple testing, there were no statistically significant differences in foods skills between parents’ employment status. Time was the most reported barrier for meal preparation, regardless of work status, but was significantly greater for full-time compared with other employment status (P < 0.0001). Additionally, parents who worked full-time had lower odds of reporting food preferences or dietary restrictions (P = 0.0001) and health issues or allergies (P = 0.0003) as barriers to food preparation, compared with parents with other employment status. These results remained statistically significant even after controlling for covariates and multiple testing. Conclusions : Overall, food skills did not differ significantly between parents’ employment status. Time, however, was an important barrier for most parents, especially those working full time. To promote home-based food preparation among parents, strategies to manage time scarcity are needed.Objectif : Explorer les associations entre une situation d’emploi à temps plein, les compétences alimentaires et la qualité de l’alimentation des parents canadiens. Méthodes : Un échantillon de parents canadiens (n = 767) a été invité à répondre à un sondage Web comprenant des variables sociodémographiques, des questions sur les compétences alimentaires et un questionnaire de fréquence alimentaire validé. Les résultats ont été analysés au moyen de modèles de régression linéaire et logistique en tenant compte des variables sociodémographiques et des tests multiples. Résultats : Après avoir tenu compte des covariables et des tests multiples, aucune différence statistiquement significative n’a été observée quant aux compétences alimentaires des parents en fonction de leur situation d’emploi. Le temps était l’obstacle à la préparation des repas le plus souvent mentionné, quelle que soit la situation d’emploi, mais il était considérablement plus important chez les personnes travaillant à temps plein comparativement aux personnes ayant une autre situation d’emploi (P < 0,0001). De plus, les parents qui travaillaient à temps plein avaient moins de chances d’indiquer que leurs préférences ou restrictions alimentaires (P = 0,0001) et leurs problèmes de santé ou leurs allergies (P = 0,0003) étaient des obstacles à la préparation des aliments, comparativement aux parents se trouvant dans une autre situation d’emploi. Ces résultats sont demeurés statistiquement significatifs même après avoir tenu compte des covariables et des tests multiples. Conclusions : Dans l’ensemble, les compétences alimentaires des parents ne différaient pas de façon significative en fonction de leur situation d’emploi. Le temps était cependant un obstacle important pour la plupart des parents, surtout pour ceux qui travaillent à temps plein. Afin de favoriser la préparation des aliments à la maison par les parents, des stratégies pour les aider à gérer le manque de temps sont nécessaires