Quality of Life Trajectories of Older Adults Living in Senior Housing

Social Participation Considered as Meaningful in old age - the Perceptions of Senior Housing Residents in Finland

As populations across the world age, there is a recognised need for promoting social participation in older adults. Previous studies related to social participation have addressed that interactions perceived as meaningful may improve quality of life in old age. However, what is less clear is the nature of such participation from the perspective of older adults, as the vast majority of studies have been quantitative. The present study aimed to explore what characterises social participation that contributes to a meaningful everyday life, from the viewpoint of independently living Finnish older adults. Thematic analysis was used as an interpretative method drawing on semi-structured in-depth interviews with six residents aged 82 to 97 years from one senior housing facility. The analysis showed that social participation perceived as meaningful involved caring reciprocal interactions with people they connected with; having the freedom to make autonomous decisions and influence matters that affected their own or others' everyday life; and, on a more abstract level, feeling significant as a person. It furthermore fostered independence and companionship as well as reduced loneliness. To describe social participation that is perceived as meaningful from a theoretical perspective, we used Levasseur and colleagues' (2010) taxonomy and found that such involvement creates a sense of connectedness, a sense of belonging and relates to the concepts of social integration, social networking and social engagement. This type of involvement is associated with enhanced quality of life and a more meaningful life, highlighting the importance of creating environments where older adults can socially connect.

Creating a Healthy Environment for Children: GIS Tools for Improving the Quality of the Social Welfare Management System

Childhood is considered to be the most vital period for mental, physical, and social development. Even short-term deprivation of nutrition, health care, education, and affection in childhood can have long-term and irreversible negative consequences. Various social assistance programs are being launched around the world to eliminate or alleviate social problems, including those experienced by children in their immediate environment. Different solutions have been proposed around the world, but welfare systems in all countries share the following common features: social assistance is necessary and underfinanced, and social workers struggle to cope with caseloads. As a result, welfare work is stressful and not highly effective. In this study, modern Geographic Information System (GIS) tools for supporting the employees of social assistance centers (SACs) have been proposed. The data relating to welfare beneficiaries were analyzed by nonparametric kernel density estimation and divided into five datasets. The kernel density tool in ArcGIS Pro software (Esri Polska sp. z o.o., Warsaw, Poland) was used to visualize areas with a relatively high prevalence of social problems, as well as areas where the neighborhood can deliver synergistic effects. A multicriteria analysis (MCA) procedure for mapping social problems was proposed, and an algorithm was developed in the GIS environment. The generated maps deliver helpful information for supporting SAC employees, as well as monitoring, planning, and initiating preventive measures. Above all, the presented method was designed to improve living conditions by facilitating the management of welfare workers' duties. Therefore, the proposed approach had to be effective and easy to use without an advanced knowledge of GIS tools.

Crafting in COVID: Engagement With Textile Arts and Crafts Among Senior Living Residents Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic

When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the elderly were identified as a vulnerable group due to their significantly higher risk of severe or fatal outcome of COVID-19. Senior residential facilities were heavily affected and in an effort to constrain the spread of the virus, many organized enrichment programs were paused. This was a concern to many as clinical literature in the fields of Occupational Therapy and Art Therapy has found that art enrichment courses, including textile arts and crafts activities, are effective in managing excess time and coping with loneliness and other emotional challenges. The purpose of this research is to understand how senior residents engaged with textile arts and crafts independently and through a time of increased stress. Due to socializing restrictions, the pandemic provided a unique opportunity to examine the benefits and challenges seniors face when working with textile crafts. Twelve interviews with senior participants were conducted and analyzed to locate key themes related to their experiences. Results of this analysis have applications for enrichment programming in senior housing facilities, design planning for senior housing, and in shaping further clinical research on the potential benefits of textile crafts.

One slope does not fit all: longitudinal trajectories of quality of life in older adulthood

PURPOSE

Maintaining or improving quality of life (QoL) in later life has become a major policy objective. Yet we currently know little about how QoL develops at older ages. The few studies that have modelled QoL change across time for older adults have used 'averaged' trajectories. However, this ignores the variations in the way QoL develops between groups of older adults.

METHODS

We took a theoretically informed 'capabilities approach' to measuring QoL. We used four waves of data, covering 6 years, from the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement Study (NZHWR) (N = 3223) to explore whether distinct QoL trajectories existed. NZHWR is a nationally representative longitudinal study of community-dwelling adults aged 50 + in New Zealand. Growth mixture modelling was applied to identify trajectories over time and multinomial regressions were calculated to test baseline differences in demographic variables (including age, gender, ethnicity, education and economic living standards).

RESULTS

We found five QoL trajectories: (1) high and stable (51.94%); (2) average and declining (22.74%); (3) low and increasing (9.62%); (4) low and declining (10.61%); (5) low and stable (5.09%). Several differences across profiles in baseline demographic factors were identified, with economic living standards differentiating between all profiles.

CONCLUSIONS

The trajectory profiles demonstrate that both maintaining and even improving QoL in later life is possible. This has implications for our capacity to develop nuanced policies for diverse groups of older adults.

Reliability and Validity of the Resident Satisfaction Index in Assisted Living

Understanding satisfaction with assisted living (AL) from the residents' perspective is essential for creating supportive environments that are targeted toward the needs and desires of residents. Few measures have been tested to evaluate residents' satisfaction with AL. This study tested the reliability and validity of the Resident Satisfaction Index (RSI) in a sample of 501 AL residents. Based on Rasch analysis, there was support for item reliability and construct validity. Differential item functional (DIF) analysis was done to examine differences in item responses by age, gender, and cognition. Significant and substantive differences were identified for five items by gender, one item by cognition, and no differences were found by age group. Findings suggest the RSI is a reliable and valid measure to assess residents' satisfaction with AL and can be used to guide administrators and clinicians in making changes in these settings to increase residents' satisfaction.

Helpful Approaches for Older Adults Living in a Retirement Community to Move Forward After the Death of a Significant Other

The loss of a significant other often creates emotional distress for family members that can hamper the ability to meet everyday challenges and pursue wellness. The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the challenge of losing a significant other for older adult family members and the approaches identified as most helpful to promote their own well-being after this person dies. Story inquiry method guided the interview process with 15 older adult bereaved family members residing in a continuing care retirement community. Theory-guided content analysis was used for data analysis. Two themes described the challenges: uneasiness that permeates everyday living and precious memories and patterns of disconnect that breed discontent. Appreciating the rhythmic flow of everyday connecting and separating and embracing reality as situated in one's lifelong journey are the themes that encompass the helpful approaches used by participants. This study provided insights about the benefits of living in this community such as social networking and a possible drawback such as the frequency of death among residents. Future research should continue to investigate social service resources that older adults find most helpful after a significant other dies and the use of reminiscence groups as a form of bereavement support.

New perspectives from technology adoption in senior cohousing facilities

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the integration of industry 4.0 related technologies of telehealth within innovative housing models addressed to senior population, in order to facing the growing issue of a sustainable management of the population ageing.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative exploratory analysis of four case studies of senior cohousing facilities located in different countries was performed. The cases analysed were selected as pioneering cases in the adoption of innovative and economically sustainable organizational solutions.

Findings

The study made it possible to identify which are the common characters that successful experiences have highlighted. Although each facility needs to adapt to the social, cultural, demographic and economic context in which it is located, there are some recurring aspects, which have proved to be key success factors.

Research limitations/implications

This research analyses only four cases. This suggests that the sample does not provide an exhaustive representation of the models adopted in this field. However, the study is an exploratory research and it can provide a basis for further analyses.

Practical implications

This study provides valuable indications for the design and management of senior cohousing facilities, as regards the services to be offered, the network of services and facilities that can be complementary to the residences, the activities to be conducted and organized, the degree of involvement of the elderly in the planning of activities and services. With regard to the adoption of telehealth-related technologies, the study provides indications on which new technologies resulting from the industry 4.0 revolution are going to be adopted, that is, remote surveillance, remote diagnostics and the use of sensors and video. These technologies, thanks to the artificial intelligence, can detect anomalies and provide predictive analyses on the behaviour and health of the elderly.

Originality/value

The study made it possible to identify the key success factors for senior cohousing facilities regardless of the characteristics of the context in which they are located. In addition, it provides a first analysis of the potential of telehealth-related technological solutions, paving the way for further studies aimed at assessing how, thanks to new technologies, the level of economic sustainability of senior cohousing solutions can be improved.

Do Health-Related Quality of Life and Pain-Coping Strategies Explain the Relationship between Older Women Participants in a Pilates-Aerobic Program and Bodily Pain? A Multiple Mediation Model

This study (1) analyzes the differences between non-participating and participating older women in terms of clinical characteristics, pain coping strategies, health-related quality of life and physical activity (PA); (2) studies the associations between non-participants and participants, clinical characteristics, pain coping strategies, HRQoL and bodily pain and PA; and (3) determines whether catastrophizing, physical role, behavioural coping, social functioning and emotional role are significant mediators in the link between participating in a Pilates-aerobic program (or not) and bodily pain. The sample comprised 340 older women over 60 years old. Participants of the present cross-sectional study completed measures of clinical characteristics: HRQoL using the SF-36 Health Survey, pain-coping strategies using the Vanderbilt Pain Management Inventory (VPMI) and PA using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Significant differences between non-participants and participants, were found in clinical characteristics, pain-coping strategies (both, p < 0.05), HRQoL (p < 0.01), and PA (p < 0.001). Moreover, catastrophizing support mediated the link between non-participants and participants and bodily pain by 95.9% of the total effect; 42.9% was mediated by PA and 39.6% was mediated by behavioural coping. These results contribute to a better understanding of the link between PA and bodily pain.

Social Lives and Cliques Within Senior Housing Communities

A better understanding of social environments will benefit facilitation of social cultures within senior housing communities. Social cliques naturally form among groups of people, particularly those living in close proximity. Research has shown that often older adults experience stigma based upon their health status and are excluded from social groups. This study examined residents' perceptions of life in senior housing, social stigma, and cliques. Forty-eight residents from two types of senior housing communities participated in the study. Qualitative thematic coding was used to analyze responses to open-ended interview questions. Overall, residents reported satisfaction with the community and their privacy and reported difficulties with distance from family, caregiving, and bereavement. The majority were able to identify cliques, defining them based upon common interests, health status, and shared histories. The most salient finding was that while social cliques existed they were not a source of dissatisfaction or stigma.