Zest for life among 65- and 75-year-olds in Northern Finland and Sweden - a cross-sectional study

Questioning the value of present life: The lived experience of older people who see no future for themselves

OBJECTIVES

To describe the lived experience of older people who see no future for oneself in the context of aging and the possible development of a wish to die.

METHODS

Data were collected from 34 interviews with people of 55-92 years. A phenomenological hermeneutical analysis was performed using crafted stories as an analytical device.

RESULTS

Four intertwined constituents together with the essence of the phenomenon provide a layered description of what it means to see no future for oneself. In all constituents: 1) not sharing everyday life, 2) looking for new commitments, 3) facing present losses and future fears and 4) imagining not waking up in the morning, the essence losing zest for life seeped through their daily experiences.

CONCLUSIONS

As their horizon of future possibilities is shrinking, older people in our study experience a loss of zest for life and start to questioning the value of their present lives. And although a certain languishing mood can be discovered, the phenomenon 'seeing no future for oneself' does not entail a wish to die.

Can adherence to moral standards and ethical behaviors help maintain a sense of purpose in life? Evidence from a longitudinal study of middle-aged and older adults

Personal factors, such as character strengths, have been shown to be favorably associated with concurrent and future well-being. Positive associations have also been reported between purpose in life and concurrent and subsequent health and well-being. Evidence on antecedents of purpose in life is, however, limited. This study examines whether the adherence to moral standards and ethical behaviors (AMSEB) is associated with subsequent purpose in life. Data from the Health and Retirement Study obtained from a sample of 8,788 middle-aged and older adults in the US (mean age = 64.9 years, age range 50–96 years) were used. The prospective associations between AMSEB and purpose in life were examined using generalized linear models. A rich set of covariates and prior outcomes were used as controls to reduce the risk of reverse causation. The robustness analyses included computation of sensitivity measures, E-values, and running a set of secondary analyses conducted on subsamples of respondents and using a limited set of covariates. It was found that middle-aged and older adults who demonstrated higher AMSEB reported a higher sense of purpose in life after the 4-year follow-up period. This association was found to be monotonic, moderately robust to potential unmeasured confounding and independent of demographics, prior socioeconomic status, prior health conditions, and health behaviors as well as prior psychological predispositions such as dispositional optimism and life satisfaction. It was also robust to missing data patterns. Policymakers and health practitioners may consider a predisposition to adherence to moral standards and ethical behaviors as a potential intervention target, as its improvement and/or maintenance has the potential to improve longevity and to help promote healthy and purposeful aging.

Nursing staff's experiences of how weighted blankets influence resident's in nursing homes expressions of health

Purpose

The most common treatment for resident’s health problems is pharmacological. Little research has been done on how an intervention with a non-pharmacological method, such as a weighted blanket, Through the nursing staff view, we can learn how weighted blankets influence resident’s health in nursing homes. The aim of this study was to explore nursing staff’s experiences of how an intervention with weighted blankets influenced resident’s expressions of health.

Methods

The study had a descriptive qualitative design with semi-structured interviews with 20 nursing staff working in nursing homes, and an inductive content analysis was applied.

Results

The nursing staff expressed that the weighted blanket positively influenced resident’s health in the areas of sleep, physical activity, and psychological behaviour. The weighted blanket made them fall asleep faster, sleep was uninterrupted andthey felt more rested in the morning. The nursing staff observed an increased level of activity as the resident became more energetic . The nursing staff also experienced reduced negative psychological behaviours like anxiety and worrying.

Conclusion

This study indicated that the weighted blanket changed the health expression of resident in several crucial areas. Deep pressure treatment indicates an alternative health-improved treatment for resident in nursing homes.

Capturing the Unsaid: Nurses' Experiences of Identifying Mental Ill-Health in Older Men in Primary Care-A Qualitative Study of Narratives

This study describes nurses' experiences in identifying mental ill-health in older men in primary care. The aging population is growing in Sweden and life expectancy is increasing. Age is a risk factor for mental ill-health. Older men are over-represented in deaths from suicide. When older men seek primary care, it is often because of somatic symptoms and rarely for mental health issues. A questionnaire with five open questions was answered by 39 nurses from 10 primary care centres and subjected to inductive qualitative content analysis. The results revealed a main theme-capturing the unsaid-and two categories: (1) feeling secure in the role, with three subcategories (building trust, daring to ask and interpreting signs); and (2) the need for resources, with two subcategories (time and continuity, and finding support in collaboration). The results confirm that nurses in primary care play a key role in identifying mental ill-health in older men. There is a need for resources in the form of time, competence and collaboration with other professionals and patients' relatives. This strategy will establish best practice and provide evidence-based care to facilitate improvements in older men's mental health and prevent suicide.

Depression, everyday technology use and life satisfaction in older adults with cognitive impairments: a cross-sectional exploratory study

RATIONAL

Life satisfaction is strongly associated with participation in everyday life activities. Yet, older adults with cognitive impairments have been found to experience difficulties in accessing and engaging in more complex everyday activities, especially, if these involve everyday technology. Considering the rapidly advancing technological landscape, this may substantially affect individuals' life satisfaction and their participation in meaningful community-based and home-based activities.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to explore the associations between life satisfaction, ability to use everyday technology and number of relevant everyday technologies used in older adults (n = 117) with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). It also aimed to understand the role of depression, activity involvement and diagnosis regarding life satisfaction in this sample.

METHOD

Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests and t-tests were applied to compare those satisfied and those dissatisfied with life regarding ability to use everyday technology and number of relevant everyday technologies used.

FINDINGS

The number of relevant community-based everyday technologies currently not used was significantly associated with being dissatisfied with life (p < 0.05). Further, depression and withdrawal from activities and interests significantly differed across life satisfaction groups, while no group differences were found regarding overall number of everyday technologies in use and ability to use everyday technology.

CONCLUSION

Attention from healthcare professionals and researchers to early withdrawal from activities that rely on community-based everyday technologies is called for, especially in older adults with depression. Preventing everyday technology-related barriers in community life may increase life satisfaction.

Social Interactions among Older Adults Who Wish for Death

Objectives: When the need for relatedness is frustrated, some older adults feel that life is not worth living and wish for death (WD). The aim of this study was to look at the perception of social interactions among older adults who express the WD.Methods: A probabilistic sample of 2787 French-speaking community-dwelling older adults aged 65 to 96 years (M = 73.8) took part in the Seniors Health Survey, a study on the prevalence of mental disorders which also collected information on various demographic and social variables.Results: Results showed that 5% of participants expressed WD. Participants who WD felt significantly more isolated and in conflict with their children than participants without WD. When sociodemographic variables, self-rated physical health, and depression were controlled, three social variables predicted WD in a logistic regression: being distant toward others, dissatisfaction with social life, and a lack of participation in organizations.Conclusions: Results of the present study support the interpersonal theory of suicide, which suggests that self-reported thwarted belongingness can foster WD.Clinical implications: Clinicians should consider social dissatisfaction and withdrawal as risk factors for WD and design interventions that foster social skills or meaningful connections.

Successful Aging as a Predictor of Long-Term Care Among Oldest Old: The Vitality 90+ Study

AIM

The aim of the study was to investigate whether successful aging (SA) predicts entering long-term care (LTC) among nonagenarians.

METHODS

Data originated from the linkage of the Vitality 90+ Study surveys with register data from Finnish Population Register and Care Registers. Altogether 1,966 community-dwelling individuals were followed for 2 years and 1,354 individuals for 5 years. Four models of SA were constructed by varying combinations of physical, psychological, and social components. Competing risk regression analysis was used.

FINDINGS

The incidence rate for entering LTC was lower for successful agers. Three models of SA presented a significantly decreased risk for entering LTC in the whole group and in women. The impact of SA was attenuated when living alone, needing help, and the year of participation were adjusted for, but was still significant for Model 3.

CONCLUSION

Nonagenarians who meet the multidimensional criteria of SA are less likely to enter LTC than those aging less successfully.

Factors connected with positive life orientation at age 70, 80, 85 and 90 - The Turku Elderly Study

BACKGROUND

A positive life orientation (PLO) is important for staying healthy physically, mentally and functionally. However, little is known about the factors connected with PLO in home-dwelling older people, even though it is an important topic.

AIM

The aim of this study was to identify factors connected with positive life orientation among home-dwelling older people.

STUDY DESIGN

An explorative, population-based cross-sectional study of the age cohort of 70-year-olds living at home at the age of 70, 80, 85 and 90.

METHODS

The data were collected in 1991 among all residents of Turku, Finland, born in 1920 (N = 1530). Follow-ups were conducted in 2001 (n = 656), 2006 (n = 304) and 2011 (n = 156). A multiple regression analysis was conducted to estimate a model of factors that connected with PLO.

RESULTS

Several factors were significantly connected with PLO at ages 70, 80, 85 and 90. For example, if 70-year-old respondents perceived themselves as being in better health than others of the same age, it improved their PLO. We also observed that PLO was improved by good self-rated health during the past 12 months at 80, good self-rated health at 85 and good self-rated health compared to others of the same age at 90. The various explanatory models explained between 24 and 36% of the variance in outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Overall, our results showed that the respondents' own subjective views were significant independent factors of PLO in all four analyses (70, 80, 85 and 90 years). These subjective experiences remained significant even when objective indicators such as medication use, the presence of diseases and functional capacity were taken into account.