Social cohesion and health in old age: a study in southern Taiwan

The relationship between sense of community and general well-being of Chinese older adults: A moderated mediation model

As China becomes an aging society, the impacts of the aging population on the social meso domain, namely, the community level, have received increasing attention in recent years. However, relevant studies are limited. With the assumption that regular community participation positively influences well-being, this study investigated the mediating role of community participation between the sense of community and the general well-being of Chinese older adults and the moderating role of social support. A questionnaire survey was conducted with a valid sample size of 566 participants aged 60 and above in the urban communities of Chongqing, Chengdu, and Zunyi in southwest China. Moderated mediation models were constructed to explore factors related to the well-being of older adults, finding that encouraging community participation can improve the general well-being of older adults and build a better society in Chinese cities. The main findings of this study are as follows: (1) a sense of community significantly and positively relates to community participation and general well-being; (2) community participation partially mediates the relationship between sense of community and general well-being; and (3) each pathway through which sense of community influences older adults' general well-being is moderated by social support.

Relationship between social capital and quality of life among adult stroke patients: a cross-sectional study in Anhui Province, China

Objectives

Few studies have investigated the association between social capital and quality of life (QoL) among stroke patients. To address this research gap, we aimed to explore the association between social capital and QoL among stroke patients in Anhui Province, China.

Study design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted using a multi-stage stratified random sampling method. The following data including demographic characteristics, health-related conditions, five dimensions of social capital status, and quality of life (QoL) were collected using a questionnaire. Generalized linear models were then used to determine the relationship between social capital and QoL after adjusting for confounding factors.

Results

A total of 390 participants were included for the final analysis in this study. Our results indicated that subjects with higher social capital including social connection (coefficient: 28.28, 95% CI: 19.39–37.16), social support (coefficient: 21.17, 95% CI: 10.63–31.71), trust (coefficient: 13.46, 95% CI: 2.73–24.19), reciprocity (coefficient: 25.56, 95% CI: 15.97–35.15), and cohesion (coefficient: 19.30, 95% CI: 9.90–28.70) had increased odds of reporting poor QoL when compared with lower social capital group. We also observed that the association between social capital and QoL varied across cities.

Conclusions

Our findings show that social capital is associated with QoL in adult stroke patients, suggesting that social capital may be significant for enhancing QoL among adults with stroke.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12955-022-01925-x.

Social Cohesion in Health: A Concept Analysis

The concept of social cohesion has been indicated to be a critical social determinant of health in recent literature. Inconsistencies surrounding the conceptualization and operationalization have made utilizing these findings to inform health intervention and policy difficult. The objective of this article is to provide a theoretical clarification of the concept "social cohesion," as it relates to health behaviors and outcomes by using the Rodgers' evolutionary method for concept analyses. This article uncovers the critical attributes, antecedents, and consequences of social cohesion and provides reflection on future use of social cohesion in health literature.

External Factors Associated With Community Cohesion in Women Living With HIV

Although community cohesion has been identified as a protective factor associated with positive health outcomes, less is known about factors that increase community cohesion for women living with HIV (WLWH). We examined risk/protective factors associated with community cohesion in WLWH (N = 56) in the US Mid-South (Mage = 41.2 years, SD = 9.01). Participants completed hour-long interviews. Hierarchical linear regression modeling was used to examine factors associated with community cohesion. The final model was significant, F(5, 50) = 6.42, p < .001, adj. R = 33%; greater social support (b = .38, p < .01) and resilience (b = .27, p < .05) were significantly associated with better community cohesion. Given the protective benefits of community connectedness, findings suggest that nurses and community providers work with WLWH to harness friend- and family-support networks. In addition, strategies to enhance access to resilience resources would enable WLWH to recover from adversity.

Cross-sectional association of residential greenness exposure with activities of daily living disability among urban elderly in Shanghai

AIM

Residential greenness exposure is associated with many health outcomes, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and mental disorders. However, few studies have assessed the effects of greenness exposure on activities of daily living (ADL). This study evaluated the relationship between greenness and ADL among elderly residents with long-term care insurance (LTCI) in Shanghai, China.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional survey using stratified random sampling among elderly residents with LTCI in six districts of Shanghai in August 2018. We quantitatively assessed residential greenness using satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values with 250-, 500-, and 1000-m buffers around each participant's residential address. We calculated the walk score to assess neighborhood walkability. Physical function was assessed using basic ADL (BADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL). We performed binary logistic regression and restricted cubic splines with R software.

RESULTS

The study participants were 1067 adults with a mean age of 82.40 years (standard deviation, 7.68 years). The mean NDVI value was 0.311. In the fully adjusted model, being in the highest-tertile NDVI_500-m had a significant protective effect on BADL mild to none disability (odds ratio, 2.143; 95% confidence interval, 1.489-3.084) compared with participants in the lowest-tertile NDVI_500-m. Restricted cubic spline showed a non-linearity association between NDVI values and BADL and IADL mild to none disability.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate the importance of residential greenness exposure to physical function-especially for BADL disability. Well-designed longitudinal studies are needed to confirm our findings and investigate the underlying mechanisms.

Social cohesion and self-rated health among adults in South Africa: The moderating role of race

In African countries including South Africa, the nexus between social cohesion and health remains under-researched. Using data from the 2012 South African social attitudes survey with a sample of 1988 adults in South Africa aged 18 years or older, we used the collective efficacy theory by Sampson and colleagues to examine the relationship between social cohesion and self-rated health in an African sample. We also examined how this relationship differed by race. Results from the multivariate analysis after adjusting for covariates suggested that adults in the highest tertile of social cohesion were more likely to report moderate or good health compared to those in the lowest tertile. Sub-group analysis provided no evidence that the relationship was moderated by race. These findings corroborate prior evidence that social cohesion is important for improving the health of adults.

Paying patient and caregiver research participants: putting theory into practice

AIM

To review and discuss the ethical and practical considerations about paying patient and caregiver participants in nursing research and, based on this review, to develop a set of guiding principles about payment of participants.

BACKGROUND

To increase recruitment and retention, it is becoming increasingly common in nursing research to provide some form of payment to participants. The risk is that the promise of a payment may influence a patient or caregiver's decision to participate in research. However, research ethics protocols seldom provide explicit guidance about paying participants. Even where formal policies or fee schedules exist, there is little consistency in determining how payments should be calculated or administered. This has resulted in highly variable payment practices between locations, disciplines and institutions.

DESIGN

Discussion paper.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, MEDLINE with Full Text, CINAHL and Health Source (Nursing/Academic Edition) were searched for terms related to paying research participants published between 2000 - August 2016.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING

Nurse researchers must comply with international, national and institutional ethical standards. Important ethical and practical considerations should guide the decision-making process about whether to pay research participants and how to determine the nature or value of the payment. Guiding principles can support researchers by highlighting key factors that may direct their decision-making in this regard.

CONCLUSION

A deeper understanding of the fundamental ethical and practical considerations is needed to support researchers in their deliberations about paying participants in nursing research.

Health-related quality of life in older depressed psychogeriatric patients: one year follow-up

Background

Knowledge about long-term change in health related quality of life (HQoL) among older adults after hospitalization for treatment of depression has clinical relevance. The aim was firstly to describe the change of HQoL one year after admission for treatment of depression, secondly to explore if improved HQoL was associated with remission of depression at follow-up and lastly to study how HQoL in patients with remission from depression were compared to a reference group of older persons without depression.

Method

This study had the one year follow-up information of 108 older patients (≥60 years), all hospitalized for depression at baseline, and a reference sample of 106 community-living older adults (≥60 years) without depression. HQoL was measured using the EuroQol Group’s EQ-5D Index and a visual analog scale (EQ-VAS). Depression and remission were diagnosed according to ICD-10. Socio-demographic variables (age, gender, and education), depressive symptom score (Montgomery-Aasberg Depression Rating Scale), cognitive functioning (Mini Mental State Examination scale), instrumental activities of daily living (the Lawton and Brody’s Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale), and poor general physical health (General Medical Health Rating) were included as covariates.

Results

HQoL had improved at follow-up for the total group of depressed patients, as indicated by better scores on the EQ-5D Index and EQ-VAS. In the multivariate linear regression model, improved EQ-5D Index and EQ-VAS was significantly better in those with remission of depression and those with better baseline physical health. In adjusted analyses, the HQoL in patients with remission from depression at follow-up did not differ from the HQoL in a reference group without depression.

Conclusion

Older hospital patients with depression who experienced remission one year after admission gained HQoL and their HQoL was comparable with the HQoL in a reference group of older adults without depression when adjusting for differences in socio-demographics and health conditions.