Exploring parental risk perception regarding childhood unintentional home injuries: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: While previous studies on childhood injury focused mainly on the relationship between parents' preventive behavior and its determinants, knowledge about parental risk perception that can help to develop, implement, and evaluate successful interventions to prevent childhood unintentional home injuries is still limited. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of parental risk perception regarding unintentional home injuries of children under six years of age. METHOD: A convenience sample of 469 parents, residing in Germany, completed a web-based questionnaire assessing factors potentially associated with parental risk perception on the child, parental, and environmental level. Descriptive statistics, p for trend, and Spearman's Rho correlation coefficients were calculated. RESULTS: Key factors influencing parental risk perception included children's sex, age, migrant status, emotionality, and injury risk as well as parents' parenting style and external locus of control. While parental risk perception was positively associated with children's injury risk, the analyses showed no associations between parental risk perception and parents' preventive behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings add to a better understanding of parental risk perception, provide practical implications for injury prevention, and indicate that the relationship between parental risk perception and parents' preventive behavior is based on a complex mechanism which is possibly moderated by parents' locus of control. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The identified key factors help to assess parental risk perception more accurately. Therefore, they should be considered in the development of tailored interventions to prevent unintentional home injuries of children, for instance, by targeting specific groups of parental risk perception.

Associations between older adults' physical fitness level and their engagement in different types of physical activity: cross-sectional results from the OUTDOOR ACTIVE study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the prevalence of different types of physical activities and to explore the association between engagement in these physical activities and performance in the physical fitness dimensions among older adults living in Bremen, Germany. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Twelve subdistricts in Bremen, Germany. PARTICIPANTS: 1583 non-institutionalised adults aged 65-75 years residing in one of the 12 subdistricts in Bremen, Germany (53.1% female). PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Level of physical fitness in five dimensions: handgrip strength (hand dynamometry), lower muscle strength (30 s-chair stand test), aerobic endurance (2 min-step test), lower body flexibility (sit-and-reach test), and upper body flexibility (back scratch test); classified using normative values. RESULTS: In this study population, home-based activities (housework, gardening) and activities for transport (walking, cycling) were performed by nearly all the participants, while leisure activities were less prevalent. Logistic regression revealed a positive association between being in or over norm in handgrip strength with cycling (OR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.13 to 2.15), hiking/running (OR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.05 to 2.16) and other sports (OR: 3.22, 95% CI: 1.37 to 7.56). Lower muscle strength was positively related to cycling (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.37 to 2.65), gym training (OR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.16 to 2.26) and dancing (OR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.00 to 4.61). Aerobic endurance was positively associated with cycling (OR: 1.90, 95% CI: 1.37 to 2.65), gym training (OR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.20 to 2.36), aerobics (OR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.19 to 2.26), dancing (OR: 2.62, 95% CI: 1.10 to 6.22) and ball sports (OR: 2.07, 95% CI: 1.30 to 3.29). Apart from housework and upper body flexibility (OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.19 to 0.78), flexibility dimensions did not show any significant associations. CONCLUSIONS: While muscle strength dimensions and aerobic endurance were associated with several physical activities, flexibility dimensions were associated with none of the investigated activities apart from housework. Especially cycling and leisure activities (eg, hiking/ running, gym training, aerobics, dancing) showed great potential for sustaining and increasing physical fitness in older age.

Risk factors and parental risk perception of unintentional home injuries of children under 6 years in Germany: A secondary data analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Unintentional home injuries are a major health risk for children. To develop and implement appropriate interventions, both theoretical guidance and empirical evidence are required. While theoretical models informing injury prevention are available, detailed information on unintentional home injuries of children and parental risk perception is still missing. The objective of this study was to identify relevant determinants of unintentional home injuries of children under 6 years of age and parental risk perception from an empirical perspective. METHOD: The secondary data analysis is based on data from two nationally representative surveys from Germany conducted in 2014-2017 (n = 4,009) and 2019 (n = 411). Both bivariate analyses and multivariate binary logistic regression models were conducted to determine the associations between various factors with unintentional home injuries and parental risk perception. RESULTS: Key determinants of unintentional home injuries included the age and personality of the child, migrant status, and housing tenure. Parental risk perception was significantly associated with children's sex. The number of children living in the household and household net income were identified as determinants for both unintentional home injuries and parent's risk perception. Furthermore, a discrepancy between parent's risk perception and actual risk factors of unintentional home injuries was found. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study strengthen the evidence base by demonstrating relevant determinants of unintentional home injuries of children and parent's risk perception. Since this study provides first evidence of a distorted parental risk perception, future research should focus on parental risk perception to assess it more accurately in interventions to prevent unintentional home injuries of children. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The present findings may inform health practitioners about which points they should address when interacting with parents. For instance, they should focus on raising parent's awareness of actual risk factors and discuss concrete behavioral or environmental safety precautions.

Domain-specific life satisfaction among older adults with and without children: The role of intergenerational contact.

BACKGROUND: Life satisfaction is associated with many important health outcomes among older adults and is an indicator of successful ageing. The present study aims to replicate earlier findings regarding relationships between satisfaction with various life domains and life satisfaction in older adults. The study furthermore explores how parental status is associated with satisfaction with different life domains and how two types of intergenerational contact (contact with own children; post-retirement work in childcare) relate to life satisfaction. METHODS: Participants were 1978 older adults, aged 65-75 year (51.7% female), who live in Bremen and took part in the OUTDOOR ACTIVE study. 82.6% of the participants had one or more children. All participants completed a questionnaire, which among others comprised items assessing life satisfaction as well as satisfaction with six different life domains (satisfaction with living situation, financial situation, leisure time, health, family, neighbors and friends). RESULTS: LS is significantly related to all of the investigated life domains, independent of sex and age. For the participants with children, life satisfaction had the highest association with satisfaction with family (ß: 0.202; 95%CI: 0.170-0.235), followed by satisfaction with neighbors and friends (ß: 0.151; 95%CI: 0.111-0.191), and health satisfaction (ß: 0.148; 95%CI: 0.120-0.176). In comparison to that, participants without children had the highest association between life satisfaction and satisfaction with health (ß: 0.193; 95%CI: 0.135-0.252), followed by satisfaction with family (ß: 0.175; 95%CI: 0.114-0.236) and satisfaction with neighbors and friends (ß: 0.154; 95%CI: 0.077-0.232). In participants with children, there was a non-significant negative association between life satisfaction and work in childcare (ß: -0.031; 95%CI: -0.178-0.116), while life satisfaction was statistically significantly positively associated to work in childcare in participants without own children (ß: 0.681; 95%CI: 0.075-1.288). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the domain-specific approach to life satisfaction can elucidate differences in the correlates of life satisfaction and well-being between older adults with and without children. They further suggest that the benefits of working with children for life satisfaction may be more pronounced in older adults without children than older adults with children.

Promoting Physical Activity Among Older Adults Using Community-Based Participatory Research With an Adapted PRECEDE-PROCEED Model Approach: The AEQUIPA/OUTDOOR ACTIVE Project.

PURPOSE: The PRECEDE-PROCEED model (PPM) is a community-based participatory research (CBPR) framework for health promotion, yet the direct application of the PPM into practice is unclear. This paper describes how the PPM was adapted for the development and application of a pilot intervention study to promote outdoor physical activity (PA) in older adults (OUTDOOR ACTIVE). We illustrate the steps and adaptations we applied to put the PPM into practice and present the developed interventions. DESIGN: The PPM was adapted by incorporating a socio-ecological model. This ensured the design of any resultant intervention would explicitly address multi-level determinants of physical activity. The list of possible program components to select from for the design of an intervention was also extended. SETTING: Bremen, Germany. PARTICIPANTS: Participants in the intervention development were 924 noninstitutionalized older adults, aged 65-75 years (response: 25.2%), living in Bremen-Hemelingen, Germany. For implementation of the intervention and to ensure sustainability, several groups of stakeholders were involved throughout the process. METHODS: A mixed method design was employed (e.g., focus groups, quantitative survey) to identify determinants. A round table and participatory workshops were held to involve the target group and community stakeholders in the design of an intervention using the adapted PPM model. RESULTS: A conceptual model was developed illustrating the integration of a socio-ecological model into the PPM. The model received ecological validity, as it was affirmed by community stakeholders as an appropriate method for designing a community-level PA intervention. Target goals to address PA determinants were selected by target group members. An intervention to meet the goals was developed and implemented with target group input. CONCLUSION: The adapted PPM is a promising starting point for developing multi-level interventions. Steps should be taken to ensure all social groups are participating in the process and all levels of determinants are addressed.

Time allocation to active domains, physical activity, and health indicators in older adults: cross-sectional results from the OUTDOOR ACTIVE study.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) is one of the key determinants of healthy ageing. Research showed that time allocation plays an important role in PA. Therefore, an understanding of the time use of older adults is crucial for developing PA programs. The aim of this study was to examine the associations of time allocation and objectively measured PA, and several health indicators in older adults. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study all 915 participants of the OUTDOOR ACTIVE study were included. The participants were 65 to 75 years old and resided in a subdistrict of Bremen, Germany (50.9% female). The active domains were derived from the SLOTH model (leisure activities, occupation, active transport, home-based activities). PA was objectively measured with accelerometers over seven consecutive days. Binary logistic regressions were used to test the associations of total PA and time spent in the domains with several health indicators (self-rated health, overweight, obesity, activities of daily living (ADL)). RESULTS: Participants over the age of 70 years were significantly less physically active than those under 70 years and women were significantly more physically active than men. Regardless of age and sex, most time was spent on home-based activities (women: 118.5 ± 87.8 min/day; men: 80.2 ± 69.4 min/day). Both PA and time spent on leisure activities were associated with a lower risk of bad self-rated health (0.36; 95%-CL: 0.20, 0.65 for PA; 0.93; 95%-CL: 0.87, 0.99 for leisure activities) and less limitations in ADL. PA and active transport seemed to lower the risk of overweight (0.39; 95%-CL: 0.25, 0.62 for PA; 0.80; 95%-CL: 0.69, 0.93 for active transport) and obesity (0.36; 95%-CL: 0.21, 0.60 for PA; 0.77; 95%-CL: 0.64, 0.92 for active transport). Having an occupation was associated with a lower risk of bad self-rated health (0.60; 95%-CL: 0.40, 0.92). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide insights in the time allocation to active domains and total PA of older adults, as well as the associations with health indicators. These findings have important implications for the development of PA programs and guidelines. Future research should examine the associations further in longitudinal studies.

Age-related differences in levels and dynamics of workplace affect.

Affective experiences at work are a key contributing factor to long-term job-related well-being and effectiveness, yet may systematically change as workers get older. Given the central role of affect in work settings, it is important to obtain a thorough understanding of older workers' strengths and vulnerabilities in affective functioning. This paper's goal was to comprehensively study age differences in mean levels and dynamics of affect (affect stability, occurrence of positive and negative daily work events, and affective reactivity) and to link these with perceptions of global occupational well-being and effectiveness. In three diary studies, employees of different occupational and cultural backgrounds (Hong Kong Chinese managerial employees, German hospital employees, German office workers) reported daily affective work events and affect across multiple workdays. Higher age was associated with more positive and less negative affect (Study 1), more frequent positive daily work events (Study 2 and 3), and lower variability of negative affect (Study 1 and 2). Age was unrelated to frequency of negative work events and positive event reactivity (all studies). There were mixed age differences in negative event reactivity (lower reactivity in Study 1 and on subtypes of affect in Study 2, but higher worry in Study 3). Several of the indicators of affective experience emerged as mediators of positive age differences in work engagement and self-rated task performance. Overall, with one exception, results point at maintenance or improvement of workers' affective functioning with age. Through improved affective functioning, older workers likely contribute to organizational effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Positive messages enhance older adults' motivation and recognition memory for physical activity programmes.

Although physical activity is an effective way to cope with ageing-related impairments, few older people are motivated to turn their sedentary lifestyle into an active one. Recent evidence suggests that walking can be more effectively promoted in older adults with positive messages about the benefits of walking than with negative messages about the risks of inactivity. This study examined motivation and memory as the supposed mechanisms underlying the greater effectiveness of positively framed compared to negatively framed messages for promoting activity. Older adults (N = 53, age 60-87 years) were introduced to six physical activity programmes that were randomly paired with either positively framed or negatively framed messages. Participants indicated how motivated they were to participate in each programme by providing ratings on attractiveness, suitability, capability and intention. They also completed surprise free recall and recognition tests. Respondents felt more motivated to participate in physical activity programmes paired with positively framed messages than in those with negatively framed ones. They also had better recognition memory for positively framed than negatively framed messages, and misremembered negatively framed messages to be positively framed. Findings support the notion that socioemotional selectivity theory-a theory of age-related changes in motivation-is a useful basis for health intervention design.