Older Adults

This phenomenological qualitative study explored the experience of living with loneliness and multiple chronic conditions for rural older women in Appalachia. The study took place in 2012 in Northern West Virginia. Participants were 14 older women who were chronically ill, community dwelling, and lonely (Score of 40 or higher on the Revised 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale).

In healthcare, we tend to focus on the patient’s disease, rather than symptoms, though symptoms are central to the patient experience. Symptoms have been found in other settings to be poorly recognized and managed, yet drive healthcare utilization, cost, and patient satisfaction. In home healthcare (HHC) symptoms have not been deeply explored. We examined a 5% sample of 2011–2012 Medicare OASIS, MEDPAR, and Carrier file data (N=2,061,168) to better understand how symptoms effect care.

Aging at home and in one's community poses unique challenges for older adults with multiple chronic conditions and functional difficulties. Addressing the needs of this complex group and creating supportive living environments are essential to improving quality of life and reducing the personal and societal expenditures of this growing segment of the aging population.

Although many programs aim to help older adults age in place, few target both the home environment and individual physical function. We present an interprofessional intervention called CAPABLE-Community Aging in Place: Advancing Better Living for Elders. CAPABLE's innovative approach incorporates a nurse, occupational therapist (OT), and handyman to address both individual and environmental factors that contribute to disability.

This phenomenological qualitative study explored the experience of living with loneliness and multiple chronic conditions for rural older women in Appalachia. The study took place in 2012 in Northern West Virginia. Participants were 14 older women who were chronically ill, community dwelling, and lonely (Score of 40 or higher on the Revised 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale).

Background: Physical activity reduces recurrent stroke risk, yet suitable community-based programs are lacking. Tai Chi (TC) and SilverSneakers® (SS) can be easily adapted for persons with disabilities. TC integrates physical movements with mindfulness, while SS focuses on strength and range of movement.

Purpose: To examine the effects of TC and SS interventions on physical functioning compared to Usual Care (UC).

Background and Purpose: This study examines the underlying factor structure of the Self-Efficacy for Functional Abilities (SEFA) scale among older adults in long-term care settings. Methods: A secondary analysis of SEFA data for 568 residents in 16 long-term care facilities was applied. The sample was randomly split into 2 subsamples. A 2-level exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis adjusting for clustering effect of facilities was used to identify and determine the factor structures respectively. Results: There were 1- and 2-factor models that were identified.

BACKGROUND: Review of research to date has been focusing on maintaining weight and nutrition with little attention on optimizing eating performance.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions on eating performance for older adults with dementia in long-term care (LTC).

Older African Americans face substantial barriers to state-of-the-art cancer care. Implementing culturally appropriate support throughout cancer therapy is critical to improving cancer outcomes and quality of life for this vulnerable population. The purpose of this study was to obtain experiential data regarding cancer diagnosis and treatment, and analyze survivors’ recommendations regarding treatment-related needs, psychosocial support, and strategies and resources.

Background: Although cancer outcomes have improved in recent decades, substantial disparities by race, ethnicity, income and education persist. Increasingly, patient navigation services are demonstrating success in improving cancer detection, treatment and care and in reducing cancer health disparities. To advance progress in developing patient navigation programs, extensive descriptions of each component of the program must be made available to researchers and health service providers.