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Objectives: This study aimed to determine disease severity, clinical features, clinical outcome in hospitalized patients with the Omicron variant and evaluate the effectiveness of one-dose, two-dose, and three-dose inactivated vaccines in reducing viral loads, disease course, ICU admissions and severe diseases. Method(s): Retrospective cohort analysis was performed on 5,170 adult patients (>=18 years) identified as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 positive with Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction admitted at Shanghai Medical Center for Gerontology between March 2022 and June 2022. COVID-19 vaccination effectiveness was assessed using logistic regression models evaluating the association between the risk of vaccination and clinical outcomes, adjusting for confounders. Result(s): Among 5,170 enrolled patients, the median age was 53 years, and 2,861 (55.3%) were male. 71.0% were mild COVID-19 cases, and cough (1,137 [22.0%]), fever (592 [11.5%]), sore throat (510 [9.9%]), and fatigue (334 [6.5%]) were the most common symptoms on the patient's first admission. Ct values increased generally over time and 27.1% patients experienced a high viral load (Ct value< 20) during their stay. 105(2.0%) of these patients were transferred to the intensive care unit after admission. 97.1% patients were cured or showed an improvement in symptoms and 0.9% died in hospital. The median length of hospital stay was 8.7+/-4.5 days. In multivariate logistic analysis, booster vaccination can significantly reduce ICU admissions and decrease the severity of COVID-19 outcome when compared with less doses of vaccine (OR=0.75, 95%CI, 0.62-0.91, P<=0.005;OR=0.99, 95%CI, 0.99-1.00, p<0.001). Conclusion(s): In summary, the most of patients who contracted SARSCoV-2 omicron variant had mild clinical features and patients with vaccination took less time to lower viral loads. As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, an older and less vaccinated population was associated with higher risk for ICU admission and severe disease.Copyright © 2023
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the concept of frailty back to the centre of debate, particularly for its relevance as a determinant of health outcomes. Frailty is concept that has long been a used gerontology. Today, several theoretical models of frailty are proposed in the literature, with as many tools to operationalize it. This article provides a brief outline of the three main models of frailty and the corresponding measurement instruments. The choice of the model as well as the choice of the assessment tool are discussed in the light of the clinical objectives pursued by health professionals. More generally, this article highlights the value of assessing frailty in routine practice to determine health outcomes and adapt care to individual needs.Copyright © 2020 Editions Medecine et Hygiene. All rights reserved.
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The new coronavirus infection COVID-19 causes damage to many organs and systems, is a multi-organ disease. Many researchers are studying the relationship of the new coronavirus infection with polymorbid pathology, frailty, sarcopenia. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has the property of neurotropism, therefore, olfactory, taste disorders, as well as cognitive impairments can join the spectrum of clinical manifestations and consequences of the disease. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in the world. It is of interest that there is a link between the coronavirus infection and the development of cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer's disease.
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Populations are ageing at varying rates of development. Countries with developed economies have experienced such changes to their population structures. Examinations have been conducted with regard to how respective societies can accommodate the said changes in their health and social systems, but this research mostly focuses on more developed regions rather than lower-income countries. This paper discussed the experience of ageing populations in developing economies, which comprise the majority of the global older population. They display a vastly different experience from high-income countries, especially when viewed within the level of world regions. The cases presented here were from Southeast Asian countries in order to have a wide range of examples in terms of differences in country-income categories. In lower and middle-income countries, there are older adults who: continue working as their primary income source, are non-members of pension systems, and provide intergenerational support rather than only receiving it. The COVID-19 pandemic situation was also included here, as policies were reformed to address current needs that highlighted the challenging situation of older adults. The populations of countries that have yet to age substantially, especially those in the least-developed regions, can utilise this paper's recommendations in order to prepare for changes in the age structures of their societies.
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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.
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The Australian government has recently received the report of a Royal Commission into the nation's management of aged care. This followed media scandals about physical and sexual abuse, neglect and inadequate controls during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though all discussion occurred within a national context, this chapter shows that the aged-care ‘industry' is a space of transnational flows, both in the export of business and models and in the internal movements of staff who are frequently unskilled immigrant labour. The chapter notes some Australian-Indian links and looks at how ‘the old folks' home' as heterotopic space has been represented in Australian literature. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2022.
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[...]rates of depression and anxiety have remained lower for older adults compared with younger adults (File & Marlay, 2021), perhaps demonstrating adaptability and the ability to draw on past experiences to survive current challenges. [...]the consideration of alternate therapies has the potential to enhance the process of wise decision-making. Mary "Molly" Camp Mary "Molly" Camp is a Geriatric Psychiatrist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Metonymy in medical student reflective writing (Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 2020), and Current educational practices for major neurocognitive disorders in psychiatry: A scoping review (Academic Psychiatry, 2021).
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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.
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Coronavirus symptoms have more severe physical and psychological clinical manifestations in the elderly. Accordingly, the elderly seem to be one of the main groups at risk for Coronavirus disease. The aim of this study was to predict Coronavirus anxiety based on coping styles with stress and meta-worry. The research design was correlational. The statistical population included all the elderly living in Ahvaz, among whom 300 were selected as the study sample using online convenience sampling method. The research instruments included Alizadeh et al.'s Corona Anxiety, Lazarus and Falkman's Coping Styles, and Wells's meta-worry Inventory. Used to analyze the data was a multiple regression method. The results indicated that problem-oriented coping style (r = -0.401) had a negative and significant relationship with corona anxiety in the elderly and emotion-centered coping style (r = 0.281) and meta-worry (r = 0.429) have a positive and significant relationship with corona anxiety (P < 0.01). Besides, the variables of problem-oriented coping style, emotion-centered coping style and meta-worry were able to predict 31.5% of the changes in corona anxiety in the elderly, which the share of meta-worry was more than other variables (P < 0.01). Considering the capability of coping style and meta-worry in predicting Coronavirus anxiety in the elderly, training programs can be designed and represented through virtual workshops to increase problem-oriented coping style and to decrease emotion-centered coping style and meta-worry, in order to reduce Coronavirus anxiety. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)