Ageism in informal care network members of older women

Ageism scale for dental students (ASDS): A focus group review of content validity

PURPOSE/AIM

Improve content validity of the Ageism Scale for Dental Students (ASDS) and identify barriers to using the scale.

METHODS

Thematic analysis of transcripts of three purposively sampled focus groups of 1) geriatric dentistry specialists, 2) older adult dental patients, and 3) dental students.

RESULTS

Twenty-five participants engaged in focus groups. No new concepts to define ageism were identified. Experts found the scale acceptable and appropriate, yet they raised specific potential revisions to scale questions. Commonly reported themes already addressed by ASDS included the importance of tailoring decision-making to patient preference and not making assumptions about older adults' capacity or preferences for dental care. Barriers to identifying ageism or using the scale included experiential differences in interpreting scale items, cultural differences in attitudes towards older adults, and potential overlap with social determinants of health. Secondary findings include recommendations for older-adult focused training for dental students to provide positive, concrete guidance on caring for older adults.

CONCLUSION

There are opportunities to refine the Ageism Scale for Dental Students and to allow tailoring of the scale for specific national or cultural contexts.

Negative Self-Assessment of Health in Women: Association with Sociodemographic Characteristics, Physical Inactivity and Multimorbidity

Introduction: Women present a higher prevalence of negative self-assessment of health (NSAH) when compared to men. However, there is a gap in the literature of factors associated with NSAH in women from developing countries such as Brazil. In addition, few studies have assessed the magnitude of the association between multimorbidity and NSAH in this population. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between NSAH and sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle and multimorbidity in women from the Midwest region of Brazil. Methods: A study based on data from the National Health Survey, a household survey that investigated health situation, lifestyle and risk factors for chronic diseases in the adult population of Brazil, was held. Sampling was performed in multiple stages. The selected women answered a standardized questionnaire on sociodemographic data, self-assessment of health and potential determinants. Poisson regression was used to analyze the association between NSAH and sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle and multimorbidity. A significance level of 0.05% was established. Results: The study included 4233 women. The prevalence of NSAH found was 6.0% (95% Confidence Interval [95% CI]: 5.1–7.0%). There was an association between NSAH and advancing age, low schooling, physical inactivity and multimorbidity. Furthermore, there was an association between NSAH and diseases/disorders such as chronic back pain, systemic arterial hypertension, mental disorders, depression, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cancer, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: The prevalence of NSAH was low. A strong association was found between this variable and multimorbidity. In addition, increased age, low schooling and physical inactivity were predictors of NSAH in women.

Emerging Adult Caregivers: Quality of Contact, Ageism, and Future Caregiving

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

More emerging adults (18-25 years) are performing caregiving tasks for older adults, yet minimal research has examined how the quality of this experience may inform their willingness to provide care again in the future. Based on an intergroup contact theory framework, this study examined whether quality of contact moderated the relationship between ageist attitudes and willingness to be a caregiver at age 50.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A sample of 248 emerging adults (mean age = 23.29) providing informal care to an older adult (aged 65+) completed survey measures online. Regression analysis with interaction terms was utilized to test study hypotheses.

RESULTS

Quality of contact moderated the relationship between ageism and willingness to provide instrumental and nursing care in the future. As quality of contact decreased, overt ageist attitudes became more strongly related to less willingness to provide care, and ambivalent ageist attitudes became more strongly related to greater willingness to provide care.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Caregiving during emerging adulthood may weaken the relationship between overt ageist attitudes on future caregiving intentions, especially when quality of contact is high, which is consistent with intergroup contact theory. Emerging adult caregivers may have a greater willingness to provide care in the future if supports focused on increasing quality of contact and emphasizing the strengths of the older adult population.