Lived experiences of self-care among older physically active urban-living individuals

Self-Care Practice and Its Associated Factors Among Podoconiosis Patients in East Gojjam Zone, North West Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION

Podoconiosis is endemic non-filarial elephantiasis of the lower legs swelling caused by barefoot exposure to red clay soil. The burden of disability occurs among the poorest populations. Self-care practice is the most cost-effective prevention strategy practiced at home to improve lymphedema, working functionality, and quality of life. Despite this, there is a scarce of knowledge about self-care practices and associated factors among podoconiosis patients in Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVE

To determine self-care practice and its associated factors among podoconiosis patients in East Gojjam zone North West, Ethiopia.

METHODS

Community-based cross-sectional study design was used among 633 podoconiosis patients. Computer-generated simple random sampling technique was used to recruit participants. All patients who started podoconiosis treatment were the source population. Data were entered using Epidata version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for cleaning and analysis. Variables with 95% CI corresponding AOR were used to identify statistically significant factors for self-care practice.

RESULTS

In this study, the self-care practice of podoconiosis patient was 64%. Females [AOR: 0.38 (95% CI: 0.22, 0.65)], 55-65 years age [AOR: 0.41 (95% CI: 0.22, 0.74)], above 65 years age [AOR: 0.22 (95% CI: 0.11, 0.450)], 4-6 km distance from water source [AOR: 0.06 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.12)], above 6 km distance from water source [AOR: 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.09)], educational level [AOR: 0.05 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.40)], marital status [AOR: 5.40 (95% CI: 2.30, 12.90)], and distance from health institution [AOR: 0.35 (95% CI: 0.23, 0.54)] were statistically identified associated factors for self-care practice of podoconiosis patient.

CONCLUSION

In this study, the self-care practice of podoconiosis patients was not well practiced. Socio-demographic factors are identified as associated factors for self-care practice. Strengthening health education and behavioral changes are required to improve self-care practice.

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.

Self-care appraisal in nursing assistant students: Adaptation, validation and psychometric properties of the Spanish ASAS

The core implication of nursing professionals’ labor is promoting self-care and foster well-being among healthcare service users. The beginning of the healing process starts with the provider, and self-care habits are needed to positively impact on patients’ care outcomes at different spheres. Overall, current literature supports the idea that nurses’ personal self-care should be a necessary skill to be expected in their professional role. In this regard, the Appraisal of Self-care Agency Scale (ASAS) is a worldwide known instrument aimed at assessing the ability to engage in self-care. However, it has never been tested in the Spanish context before, and much less in nursing practitioners or apprentices. The aim of this study was to translate, adapt and validate the ASAS for Spanish nursing apprentices, assessing its dimensionality, psychometric properties and convergent validity by means of the Sense of Coherence (SOC-13) questionnaire. Methods: Data were collected from a random sample of 921 Certificated Nursing Assistant (CNA) Spanish students and was analyzed trough confirmatory factor analyses via structural equation models. The core ASAS construct and its subscales were correlated with the SOC-13 scores. Results: Fair psychometric properties for the questionnaire were set. Also, SEM models endorse the validity and reliability of the four-factor dimensionality of the Spanish adaptation of the ASAS, whose associations to SOC scores were coherent and significant. Conclusion: This study allowed to establish that the Spanish version of the ASAS might be a useful tool for addressing self-care-related issues among nursing apprentices, a key population for promoting both their own and patients’ health and welfare through healthy and care-related behaviors.

The relationship of existential well - being to identity, religious coping, mental and general health among Norwegian aging women

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of existential spirituality to identity processing, religious coping and mental and general health among younger and older aged women in Norway. Participant's included 120 women aged 31-91 who took part in a postal survey. Results showed that both accommodative and balancing identity processes were associated with existential well -being among both the younger and older aged. Among the younger - aged, mental health was also significantly associated with existential well-being, Moreover, among the older aged, religious coping in the form of discontent, was found to be associated with existential well-being.

Seven A's of Active Aging: Older Men's Suggestions for Physical Activity Programs

In an attempt to offset the widespread anticipated impact of aging populations, active aging programs have become nearly ubiquitous in Western society. Nonetheless, older adults tend to remain relatively inactive. The perspectives of older adults constitute a key resource to help guide active aging efforts. Moreover, gender-sensitized and ecological approaches to physical activity programming may contribute markedly to the efficacy and inclusiveness of such initiatives. Considering the paucity of research regarding older men's suggestions for physical activity programs, this study involved semistructured interviews to ascertain the perceptions among 19 older men (aged 75-90 years). Through a thematic analysis, seven key attributes emerged that participants believed physical activity programs should possess: affordable, available, accessible, adapted, alternative, accompanied, and awareness. The complexities and implications pertaining to these attributes are discussed in the context of ecological theory and ideals of masculinity.

Effectiveness of self-management program on arthritis symptoms among older women: A randomized controlled trial study

We aimed to determine the effectiveness of a self-management program amongst older women with rheumatoid arthritis. The intervention group (n = 40) received a six-week arthritis self-management program. Assessments were recorded prior to and after the program using a demographic questionnaire, Visual Analogue Scale, Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale, and self- reported questions regarding mobility. Significant improvements in self-efficacy for functional ability and pain management were found in the intervention group compared to those before the intervention and the control group. Our trial indicates that the program used in conjunction with exercise interventions for aged patients may lead to benefits perceived self-efficacy.

The Appraisal of Self-Care Agency Scale - Revised (ASA-R): Adaptation and Validation in a Sample of Spanish Older Adults

Self-care agency is an important determinant of healthy aging. The Appraisal of Self-care Agency Scale (ASA-R) (Sousa et al., 2010) is one of the main instrument to assess self-care capacity. The objectives of the study were: 1) to adapt and validate ASA-R scale for use in Spanish population; 2) to examine the dimensionality, validity and reliability; 3) and to establish the convergent validity of ASA-R using a self-reported health measure. The ASA-R Scale and the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) were administered to 488 Spanish seniors aged 65 and over. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to analyze the dimensionality, validity and reliability. Convergent validity was tested by correlating the ASA-R factors with the SF-12 subscales; correlations were significant (p 0.05 (0.436), RMSEA closer to 0 (0.006), SRMR 0.95 (0.996 and 0.995). The results also demonstrated that ASA-R is a reliable and valid instrument. The ASA-R has demonstrated to be a reliable (CR indices > 0.7) and valid (AVE > 0.5) instrument in measuring self-care agency among Spanish older population.

Identity Processes Among Older Norwegians Living in Urban and Rural Areas

Guided by the Identity Process Theory, we examined whether 424 Norwegians 60+ years of age would attribute their physical and mental functioning to their health (identity assimilation), to aging itself (identity accommodation), or to both (identity balance). We were also interested in the effect of these attribution styles upon depressive symptoms. Secondary data from the 2004 World Health Organization Quality of Life OLD Group Norwegian Field Study were analyzed using General Linear Model Regression and subsequent Path Analyses. Attributing physical functioning to health as opposed to aging had a negligible effect on depressive symptoms among both study groups. Attributing mental functioning to aging worsened depressive symptoms among rural participants. Attributing mental functioning to health was associated with more positive perceptions of psychosocial loss among urban participants. Positivity toward psychosocial loss lessened depressive symptoms and factors affecting those perceptions differed among rural versus urban participants. Adapting to functional changes in older age is a complex process affecting depressive symptoms.

Being old and living alone in urban areas: the meaning of self-care and health on the perception of life situation and identity

BACKGROUND

Living alone in urban areas when getting old is an important and necessary field for research as the growth of the urban population worldwide increases, and due to the fact that people live longer. How older people manage their self-care and health, and how this might influence their identity and life situation may be very important to understand when planning for a new, upcoming older generation. The aim of this study was to elucidate the meaning of self-care and health for the perception of life situation and identity among single-living older individuals in urban areas in southern Norway.

METHODS

A phenomenological-hermeneutic approach inspired by Ricoeur was applied. Nine single-living older persons in urban areas, 70-82 years of age, and identified to be in good health were interviewed. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method.

RESULTS

Strength and a time dimension characterized the meaning of self-care and health for the perception of life situation and identity as narrated by the group of single-living older individuals in urban areas in southern Norway. The informants were, as older individuals, caring, autonomous, and robust characters, who had gone through difficult times in life, and in a resilient way moved towards a new future. They valued and were grateful for what they had learned in their lives and could go forward and still experience and explore.

CONCLUSION

Self-care is significant in the perception of life situation and identity among single urban older people in this study, and characterized by strength, temporality, gratitude, autonomy, and natality. Society needs to acknowledge the strengths and capabilities of older people to a greater extent.

The meaning of actualization of self-care resources among a group of older home-dwelling people--a hermeneutic study

Self-care is an activity of mature persons who have developed their abilities to take care of themselves. Individuals can choose to actualize their self-care abilities into self-care activities to maintain, restore, or improve health and well-being. It is of importance to understand the meaning of the actualization of self-care resources among older people. The aim of this study was to investigate the meaning of the actualization of self-care resources, i.e., actions taken to improve, maintain, or restore health and well-being, among a group of older home-dwelling individuals with a high sense of coherence. The design of this study was to reanalyse narratives revealing self-care activities from 11 (five females and six males) Norwegian older home-dwelling people (65 years or older) identified as having a high sense of coherence. In order to reveal the meaning and get an understanding of why these self-care resources were realized or actualized, a Gadamerian-based research method was chosen. The analysis revealed four themes that showed the meaning of actualization of self-care resources in the study group: "Desire to carry on", "Be of use to others", "Self-realization", and "Confidence to manage in the future". The findings showed what older people found meaningful to strive for, and this information can be used as a guide for health professionals when supporting older people in their self-care. Older people with self-care resources can also be an important resource for others in need of social contact and practical help. These resources have to be asked for in voluntary work among older people in need of help and, thereby, can be a valuable supplement to the community health care system.