Looking in the Rearview Mirror and to the Road Ahead on Dementia & Living Well

The number of Americans living with Alzheimer's and all other dementias continues to increase. Most of them will need long-term and community-based services as the disease progresses. While medical research is making advances, there is more work to be done to ensure that every person receives care that is person-centered and allows them to live with dignity and respect.

So, You Want to Build a Program?

This article will help dementia care service organizations develop and evaluate intervention programs in the absence of evidence-based solutions, which is key, given: the limited access family caregivers have to evidence-based intervention programs;and the need for organizations to use limited resources to develop and test new programs to serve families living with dementia. It draws upon two case studies of interventions developed at an academic-service center: KINDER and Ayudando a Quien Ayuda;evaluates lessons learned in assessing the two programs to refine them by applying the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework, and recommends ways organizations can refine interventions prior to efficacy-testing.

Importance of meaningful engagement: how and why older adults volunteer in uncertain times

PurposeMany older adults engage in volunteer activities, drawing meaning and purpose through such efforts. Social distancing restrictions, put in place during Covid-19 surges to reduce the risk of transmission, disrupted older adult volunteers' lives and volunteer experiences. Social distancing measures provide a unique opportunity to explore what happened when the choices around pausing or stopping volunteering were not entirely within the control of older adults. This paper aims to explore the experiences of older adult volunteers as they navigated uncertainties and made difficult decisions around balancing their safety and their desire to continue volunteering.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted interviews with 26 community-dwelling older adults, age 50+, who had engaged in volunteer activities for at least 1 h a week prior to the start of the pandemic. The interviews were conducted on the phone or via Zoom. The authors used thematic analysis to help us analyze the data and identify patterns from participants' experiences.FindingsDespite the risk presented by Covid-19, most participants volunteered during the pandemic. They continued some or all of their previous activities with safety-related adjustments, with some seeking new or different opportunities. Participants' discussions highlight the challenges of volunteering during the pandemic and the importance of engagement to their resiliency and subjective well-being.Originality/valueThis paper provides original contributions to understanding how and why older adults volunteered during the Covid-19 pandemic. The social distancing measures provide a novel opportunity to enrich our understanding of the meaningfulness and value of volunteerism to older adults' lives and subjective well-being.

Older Adults' Perspectives of Physical Distancing and the Community Center

The purpose of this study was to describe older adults' perceptions of loneliness, quality of life and connection to their community center during physical distancing to inform classes and events during COVID-19. A descriptive, mixed methods study using online and telephone surveys was conducted with 265 older adults in a major Canadian city. Older adults reported a lower quality of life and community connection and a greater sense of loneliness, however resilience emerged as a strong theme. Participants identified regular physical exercise, connection to others through technology and a philosophical approach to events and life as ways of coping with physical distancing. Community centers need to actively continue to innovate with technology, classes and events and provide regular, supportive communication with members during COVID-19 and beyond.

The Impacts of Social and Political Upheaval on Older Adults' Sexuality: A Call to Action

Sexuality educator and author Jane Fleishman discusses the need to focus on sexual pleasure instead of sexual dysfunction for older adults. She exhorts her readers to notice the impact of current political and social upheaval, the pandemic, the recent Dobbs decision, and the concomitant racial violence, climate change, political crises, technological divides, as well as the healthcare system's inconsistencies, which have laid bare disparities, particularly for vulnerable older adults. She encourages scholars, researchers, students, and policy makers to embrace the intersections, develop new tools, and focus on marginalized populations.

Estonian Men Over 65 Are More Willing to Use Digital Technology

Digital technology offers older people an excellent opportunity to cope independently, which has become particularly apparent now in times of the COVID-19 crisis. Computers and smart devices provide additional access to a variety of online health-related information and communication with healthcare professionals, as well as digital health-related applications. Research suggests that while men are interested in digital solutions, women are more likely to seek online health information and exhibit better health behavior. The article aims to critically examine gender differences in digital technology acceptance for health purposes, online health information seeking, and COVID-19 vaccine readiness among older adults living in the small Eastern European country of Estonia. Data on the 65+ age group (65 men and 116 women) were derived from a larger survey, which contained a representative sample in terms of gender, age, and nationality and was conducted among Estonian older adults in 2020. In light of the findings of earlier research, it was surprising to learn that 65+ men in Estonia take a slightly greater interest in health information compared to their female peers, which could result from men's poorer health status. Although it was more important for women to have access to a doctor from a distance, men expressed more avid interest in various digital health gadgets and services. As it happens, they were also more willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Thus, this study positively dispels the myth that men are dismissive about their health and information regarding it. The results of the study imply that older people in Estonia, well-educated men in particular, are enthusiastic digital technology users for health purposes which could prove to be valuable insight to those responsible for should be taken into account when developing digital services and health campaigns.

Older Workers in Digitalizing Workplaces: A Systematic Literature Review

Workplace digitalization created a sea change in work practices and it altered the situation of older workers. Digitalization entails the increased use of digital technologies, such as computers and online services. Older workers often possess limited digital skills, which may put their labor market participation at risk. Previous studies began exploring how older workers fare when their workplaces are digitalizing. However, the research field is still emerging and remains fragmented. This article comprises a systematic literature review that takes inventory of what we currently know about older workers in digitalizing workplaces. It demonstrates that older workers experience the digitalization of their workplaces in various areas, reaching from health monitoring to work arrangements. Interestingly, challenges and opportunities emerge in each area affected. This Janus-faced situation underlines the complexity of consequences, and it raises questions about social inequalities in these consequences. The work environment plays a crucial role in shaping how older workers experience workplace digitalization. It shapes which options for adaptation they have, and to which degree they can act on these options. This circumstance makes workplaces an excellent starting point for interventions. Country-characteristics likewise exert an influence. While characteristics such as retirement regulations are purposefully modified for intervention, other characteristics, such as culture, are not. This circumstance limits governmental options for shaping the situation of older workers in digitalizing workplaces. Future research should further explore the situation of older workers in digitalizing workplaces, paying special attention to the theoretical framework and to developments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Landscapes of Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Flanders (Belgium)

Western aging policies prioritize aging-in-place, often emphasizing informal care and support. However, organizing informal care at home gives rise to complicated and multilayered negotiations between people and their home environments. This negotiation involves sociocultural, economic, and spatial dimensions, impacting the so-called landscapes of care. Distance, both geographical and emotional, is a key factor in informal care. As the COVID-19 pandemic plunged us into a health crisis unprepared, governmental measures had to be implemented quickly. Older and at-risk persons especially had to keep distance from non-household members. These measures expectedly impacted the existing landscapes of care, especially regarding caring task divisions. This article discusses how landscapes of care were affected in Flanders (Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) during and shortly after its first lockdown. Sixteen in-depth, qualitative digital interviews were conducted as part of an interdisciplinary research project. They explored how social support and informal care networks of community-dwelling older adults might have changed during the pandemic. The findings indicate that informal care and support became more strictly and unilaterally organized within the families with a contraction of social support networks. Therefore, older people, although cared for, were forced into an organized social isolation at home.

Older Adults' and Carers' Engagement in Democratic Governance

Advisory committees are some of the most prominent ways older adults and carers are represented in democratic governance in contemporary North America. Yet little is known about how older adults and unpaid carers interpret the meaning of their engagement within governmental advisory committees. A thematic, interpretive analysis of qualitative interview data from twenty-four current and former members of advisory committees in Manitoba, Canada, was conducted. Although all participants were motivated to serve by personal experience and/or the common good, interpretive tensions arose at times between their desire for systemic change or advocacy and the mandate and/or function of their committee. Tensions between advocacy and advising appear to be especially pronounced in the context of changes perceived by members as threatening both the quality of public supports and services, and chances for meaningfully engaging older adults and carers in governance. Perhaps in part to reconcile this tension (and in some cases their own ongoing involvement) participants often characterized these committees as at least partially valuable and effective ways to engage older adults/carers, primarily through talking about personal benefits, the quality and efficiency of meetings, and feeling valued. The subsequent emergence of COVID-19 after these data were collected will likely only intensify social changes affecting older adults and carers, highlighting an even more pressing need for their engagement in policy co-design in and beyond continuing care sectors.

‘The care circle consists of me.' Loneliness and social isolation for older male spousal care-givers. A qualitative study

Whilst loneliness and social isolation amongst older care-givers are becoming increasingly recognised, little is known about how these concepts impact on specific sub-groups of care-givers, such as older males. In the current study, we aimed to gain a better understanding of the experiences of loneliness and social isolation amongst older spousal male care-givers. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 24 participants, caring for a spouse/partner with a long-term chronic condition. After thematic analysis of the data, three themes were identified: dwindling social interactions, loneliness in the spousal relationship, and living with loneliness and social isolation. Study findings suggest that opportunities for social interactions gradually ‘dwindled' due to a reluctance by older male care-givers to leave their spouse/partner at home alone, to accept offers of help or respite, or to attend social events without their spouse/partner. Consequently, social isolation increased. Feelings of physical and emotional loneliness were evident, and the loss of spousal companionship (such as loss of conversation and shared interests) increased loneliness. Individualised coping strategies were adopted including focusing on moments of positivity, talking to others and using prescribed medication. Findings provide insight into the experience of loneliness and social isolation for many older male spousal care-givers. This may facilitate a better understanding of older male care-givers' support needs in addressing loneliness and social isolation, and should help to inform the development of targeted support services for this population.

The New Mexico Senior Olympics 400M/800M Estimated Walk/Run Event: A Hybrid Feasibility Study in Older Adult Behavior Change

This research investigated whether consistent practice with a simple, low-cost physical activity intervention could lead to behavior change in older adults and, correspondingly, create a personal acknowledgement of this change. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies in addition to recognized forms of walking activities, the researchers sought to achieve the fullest possible exposure to data collection tools for the participants to ascertain and confirm behavior change at the conclusion of a twelve-week study. Study participants were either already associated with various New Mexico Senior Olympics, Inc. track and field sporting events or casual walkers who were not affiliated with New Mexico Senior Olympics, Inc. Further, the researchers attempted to show an association between the study participants' intervention results and component steps of a new aging concept, which focuses on awareness, desire to participate, willingness to engage, commitment, knowledge, ability, and epiphany. This research was conducted in its entirety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19: Pandemic Risk, Resilience and Possibilities for Aging Research

The COVID-19 global crisis is reshaping Canadian society in unexpected and profound ways. The significantly higher morbidity and mortality risks by age suggest that this is largely a "gero-pandemic,” which has thrust the field of aging onto center stage. This editorial emphasizes that vulnerable older adults are also those most affected by COVID-19 in terms of infection risk, negative health effects, and the potential deleterious outcomes on a range of social, psychological, and economic contexts – from ageism to social isolation. We also contend that the pathogenic analysis of this pandemic needs to be balanced with a salutogenic approach that examines the positive adaptation of people, systems and society, termed COVID-19 resilience. This begs the question: how and why do some older adults and communities adapt and thrive better than others? This examination will lead to the identification and response to research and data gaps, challenges, and innovative opportunities as we plan for a future in which COVID-19 has become another endemic infection in the growing list of emerging and re-emerging pathogens.