What can we learn from the past about the future of gerontology: Using natural language processing to examine the field of gerontology

The 100 Leading Contributors to English-Language Gerontological Journals: An International Study of Scholarly Impact

The two aims of this study were to: 1) identify the 100 most impactful contributors to English-language gerontological journals, and 2) map their respective disciplinary affiliations to help illuminate the perspectives shaping gerontological discourse. Toward that end, we conducted a secondary data analysis of a publicly available database of the world's leading scientists. After extracting all scientists in the gerontological category, we rank ordered them according to a composite measure of scholarly impact that controls for self-citations and author order while also calculating other bibliometric statistics. Disciplinary affiliations were assigned based upon the Classification of Instructional Programs codes developed by the National Center for Education Statistics at the United States Department of Education. The results reveal the mean contributor to the gerontological literature published 241.15 (SD = 203.95) papers and - after correcting for self-citations - had an h-index of 50.05 (SD = 25.00), and an hm-index 23.67 (SD = 7.50). A diverse array of professional affiliations characterized the contributors with a plurality being located in the health professions category, followed by the biological and biomedical science, and social sciences categories. The results reveal that gerontology is home to some of the world's leading scientists. Leveraging their expertise can help advance the field's collective knowledge development.

Identifying the Leading Global Contributors to Scholarship in Religion Journals: A Bibliometric Study

This study identified the 100 most impactful global contributors to religion journals and mapped their respective disciplinary affiliations. To conduct this investigation, we performed a secondary data analysis of a Scopus-derived database featuring the world's leading scientists. The mean contributor published 51.93 papers, had an h-index of 13.57, and an hm-index 11.50. Most contributors were located in the USA with the most common disciplinary affiliations being religion, non-specialized (n = 22), sociology, non-specialized (n = 21), sociology of religion (n = 20), and theology (n = 11). The results reveal that religion discourse is populated by some of the leading scholars in the world. Leveraging their expertise can help advance the field's knowledge development.

Responding to Covid-19: an analysis of position statements of gerontological societies worldwide

The Covid-19 pandemic, with its adverse implications for older adults, has generated unprecedented public interest in issues around age and ageing globally. We systematically investigated the responses of national gerontological and geriatric societies (NGGS) to emerging challenges during the first wave of the pandemic. Framed within traditional research topics in gerontology, the aim was to identify the spectrum of focal points and positions directed towards governments, policy makers, researchers and society. A comprehensive, two-phased data collection strategy generated N = 22 position statements of NGGS affiliated to the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics. Using Ayalon et al. (J Gerontol Ser B, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa066 ) thematic categorisation of gerontological research, we applied quantitative and qualitative content analysis to analyse "calls for action" within the statements. The content of NGGS' position statements show a high level of agreement on the salient topics during the first wave of the pandemic and reveal shared values such as equality, diversity and inclusion of older adults and the discipline of gerontology to be an applied one with relevance to policy and practice. The results can support future interdisciplinary research in gerontology post Covid-19 based on a vision to contribute to a society of all ages.

Does caring lead to stigmatisation? The perception of older people among healthcare professionals and the general population: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

It is well recognised that healthcare professionals are particularly at risk for developing a negative perception of older people. Indeed, in addition to receiving education centred on a biomedical view of ageing, they are constantly exposed to the most vulnerable and dependent older individuals.

AIM

The purpose of our study is to compare the perception of older people between health professionals, working in a nursing home and the general population.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study. The perception of older people was measured using two different instruments: the image-of-ageing question and the Aging Semantic Differential (ASD) scale. We performed t-test to compare the perception of older individuals between the general population and healthcare professionals.

RESULTS

The image-of-ageing question does not show any difference between the general population (n = 148) and healthcare professionals (n = 107). In these both groups, almost half of the words cited in reference to older individuals were negative. Concerning the ASD, results show that healthcare professionals have significantly more negative perceptions towards older individuals than the general population (with the control of age, gender and educational level).

CONCLUSION

Healthcare professionals seem to have a more negative view of older people than the general population. Their regular contact with the frailest older adults could explain this finding. Another hypothesis could be a non-optimal quality of contact in nursing homes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Such results highlight the importance to promote a more holistic view of ageing in educational programs of healthcare professional. Improving the quality of contact with nursing homes residents should be strongly considered to reduce ageism among healthcare professionals.

An Examination of Intergenerational Contact Experiences Using 10,338 Journal Entries from 2,414 Young Adults

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

With continued negative depictions of older adults and limitations on positive intergenerational contact, ageism is a significant social issue. Using a rich dataset of journal entries, we examined sentiments, emotions, and optimal intergenerational contact conditions among volunteers in an intergenerational program.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

10,338 journal entries were analyzed from 2,414 young adult volunteers from GlamourGals Foundation, Inc., a U.S. non-profit, which aims to reduce isolation by facilitating intergenerational contact. Applying the PEACE (Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences) theoretical model, each sentence was coded using sentiment analysis, emotional analysis, and supervised learning methods across five optimal intergenerational contact conditions.

RESULTS

Out of 74,475 sentences, participants reported predominantly positive sentiments (64.2%, 29% neutral, and 6.8% negative) and more positive emotions (e.g., joy) than negative emotions (e.g., disgust). Nearly all participants (98.2%) wrote at least a sentence that included at least one of the five optimal intergenerational contact conditions. Moreover, positive sentiment was present in higher percentages when more instances of optimal contact conditions were reported (54.4% for none, 71.6% for one category, 81.5% for two, 83% for three, 89.2% for four, 98.4% for five).

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The present investigation applied a theoretical model to assess a long-standing community intergenerational program. Contact that provided one-to-one, cooperative, equal status interactions involving personal disclosure that was sanctioned by the program administrators was associated with positive sentiment. Future directions and implications are discussed.

Scoping Review on Ageism against Younger Populations

Systematic efforts have been carried out to study ageism against older populations. Less is known about ageism against younger populations, including how it is defined, how it manifests, its effects, and how it can be addressed. A scoping review was conducted aimed at identifying available evidence on these topics. A comprehensive search strategy was used across thirteen databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL. Records were screened by two independent reviewers. Data extraction was done by one rater and independently reviewed by a second rater. Of the 9270 records identified, 263 were eligible for inclusion. Most of the evidence focused on the manifestation of ageism (86%), followed by a focus on the determinants of ageism (17%), available interventions to address ageism (9%), and the effects of ageism (5%). This study points to the inconsistent terminology used to describe ageism against younger populations and the relatively limited theoretical rationale that guides existing studies. It also highlights key research gaps and points to the strengths of existing research.