Malaria vaccine efficacy, safety, and community perception in Africa: a scoping review of recent empirical studies.

AIM: The review summarizes the recent empirical evidence on the efficacy, safety, and community perception of malaria vaccines in Africa. METHODS: Academic Search Complete, African Journals Online, CINAHL, Medline, PsychInfo, and two gray literature sources were searched in January 2023, and updated in June 2023. Relevant studies published from 2012 were included. Studies were screened, appraised, and synthesized in line with the review aim. Statistical results are presented as 95% Confidence Intervals and proportions/percentages. RESULTS: Sixty-six (N = 66) studies met the inclusion criteria. Of the vaccines identified, overall efficacy at 12 months was highest for the R21 vaccine (N = 3) at 77.0%, compared to the RTS,S vaccine (N = 15) at 55%. The efficacy of other vaccines was BK-SE36 (11.0-50.0%, N = 1), ChAd63/MVA ME-TRAP (- 4.7-19.4%, N = 2), FMP2.1/AS02A (7.6-9.9%, N = 1), GMZ2 (0.6-60.0%, N = 5), PfPZ (20.0-100.0%, N = 5), and PfSPZ-CVac (24.8-33.6%, N = 1). Injection site pain and fever were the most common adverse events (N = 26), while febrile convulsion (N = 8) was the most reported, vaccine-related Serious Adverse Event. Mixed perceptions of malaria vaccines were found in African communities (N = 17); awareness was generally low, ranging from 11% in Tanzania to 60% in Nigeria (N = 9), compared to willingness to accept the vaccines, which varied from 32.3% in Ethiopia to 96% in Sierra Leone (N = 15). Other issues include availability, logistics, and misconceptions. CONCLUSION: Malaria vaccines protect against malaria infection in varying degrees, with severe side effects rarely occurring. Further research is required to improve vaccine efficacy and community involvement is needed to ensure successful widespread use in African communities.

Intergenerational reciprocity and WHO function ability domains predict loneliness in older Chinese adults.

OBJECTIVES: To examine loneliness in old age and whether intergenerational reciprocity and WHO functional ability predicted loneliness. METHODS: Using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study Wave 4 (2018) database (CHARLS), logistic regression models were adopted to investigate the relationships. RESULTS: The prevalence of loneliness was 28% in older people in China. Corresponding to the five domains of functional abilities, providing financial support to adult children (adj. OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.70-0.99), self-perceived health (adj. OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.19-1.41), having a retirement pension (adj. OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.57-0.93), the ability to decide on taking medications (adj. OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.10-1.58), as well as being able to get up from a chair (adj. OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02-1.3), and having paid work (adj. OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.54-0.95) were associated with less loneliness. On the contrary, infrequent contact (once a month) with adult children (adj. OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.01-1.38), troubling body pain (adj. OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.10-1.23) and falling since the last interview (adj. OR .23, 95% CI 1.04-1.45) were positively associated with loneliness. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, functional abilities of meeting basic needs, making decisions, being mobile and contributing to the support of adult children and society were protective factors for experiencing loneliness in late life. We need to rethink interventions for addressing loneliness in the context of healthy ageing and specific cultural values, taking into account not only providing services to older adults but also supporting them to gain values by contributing to society.

Explaining the Urban-Rural Difference in Late-Life Depression in India: Evidence from a Multivariate Decomposition Analysis Based on Longitudinal Aging Study in India, Wave 2017-18.

OBJECTIVES: The study explored the associated factors of depression among older Indian adults and the influences of individual and socio-environmental factors in explaining the rural-urban difference in the prevalence of late-life depression. METHODS: Data come from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India, with a sample of 30,637 older adults aged 60 and above. Multivariable logistic regression and nonlinear multivariate decomposition analyses were conducted to fulfill the objectives. RESULTS: About 6.2% older adults in urban areas and 9.5% in rural areas were depressed. Older adults in rural areas had significantly higher likelihood to be depressed than those in urban areas. Poor self-rated health, multiple chronic conditions, functional difficulty, low life satisfaction, social inactivity, low satisfaction with living arrangement, ill-treatment and being widowed increased the risk of depression. Additionally, work status similar to urban older adults, physical activity, living arrangement satisfaction, self-rated health and ill-treatment would decrease the urban-rural difference in depression. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed significant rural-urban difference in late-life depression, with a rural disadvantage. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggest the need for identifying at-risk populations and developing a framework of targeted policy interventions for mitigating the increased risk of late-life depression among older Indians and in rural areas in particular.

The association between loneliness and life satisfaction: examining spirituality, religiosity, and religious participation as moderators.

BACKGROUND: Future cohort of older adults may have to rely on non-family sources and forms of support, religion being one of them. This may be especially so, considering the recent longitudinal evidence that individuals are inclined to become more religious with increasing age. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to assess the association between loneliness and life satisfaction among older adults in India, and the extent to which the association between loneliness and life satisfaction is moderated by spirituality, religiosity, and religious participation. METHODS: Data come from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, with a sample of 31,464 individuals aged 60 years and above. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to examine the independent association of loneliness and life satisfaction. Further, an interaction analysis was conducted to examine the extent to which the association between perceived loneliness and life satisfaction is moderated by spirituality, religiosity and religious participation among older Indians. RESULTS: The prevalence of low life satisfaction (LLS) was 30.84%; a total of 37.25% of participants reported feeling lonely, 12.54% reported a lack of spiritual experience, 21.24% reported not being religious, and 19.31% reported not participating in religious activities. Older adults who felt lonely had higher odds of LLS relative to peers who were not lonely. Further, the adverse impact of loneliness on LLS among older Indians is moderated by their spirituality, religiosity, and religious participation. Specifically, the adverse impact of loneliness on LLS was less negatively pronounced among older adults who were spiritual, religious, and engaged in religious activities. CONCLUSIONS: The study found an independent association between loneliness and lower life satisfaction among older adults in India. It also revealed that religiosity, spirituality and religious participation moderate the association between loneliness and lower life satisfaction. These findings, which underscore the health promoting benefits of religiosity and religious engagement, may be used to build on the interaction between religious and faith-based groups and public health professionals.

Wealth disparity and frailty among community-dwelling older adults in India.

BACKGROUND: Due to the vast socioeconomic diversity among its residents, studying health inequality in India is of particular interest. This study aimed to investigate the wealth-based inequalities in physical frailty and to quantify the contributions of potential predictors of frailty to this inequality. METHODS: Data were drawn from the first wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) conducted during 2017-18. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between wealth status and frailty. We used the concentration index to measure the magnitude of wealth-related inequality in frailty. A decomposition analysis based on the logit model was used to assess the contribution of each predictor to the total inequality. RESULTS: The prevalence of physical frailty was significantly higher among the older adults in the poor group than in the non-poor group [Difference (poor vs. non-poor): 6.4%; p < 0.001]. Regression results indicated that older adults in the poorest group were 23% more likely to be physically frail than those in the richest category [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.23; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11, 1.38]. The overall concentration index of frailty was 0.058 among the older adults, indicating that frailty is more concentrated among older adults with poor wealth status. Body mass index, wealth index, educational status, and region were the major and significant contributors to the socioeconomic status (SES) related inequalities in frailty. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest the need for formulating effective prevention and intervention strategies to decelerate the development of physical frailty among older adults in India, especially those with poor socioeconomic background.

Cross-sectional associations of personal efforts and beliefs and depressive symptoms among older adults in India.

Whilst there is growing evidence on the increased vulnerability of older adults to depression, there is limited research on potentially mitigative factors against symptoms of depression at a population level. This research examined associations of possible protective factors (personal efforts and beliefs) and depressive symptoms among older adults in India. This cross-sectional study used data from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India with 31,464 respondents aged 60 years and above. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Multivariable linear regression was used while exploring the associated factors of depressive symptoms. The mean score of depressive symptoms was 2.94 (CI 2.92, 2.96). Older adults who engaged in moderate [aCoef: -0.11, CI -0.18, -0.05], vigorous [aCoef: -0.09, CI -0.16, -0.03], or both types of physical activity [aCoef: -0.10, CI -0.19, -0.02] had lower likelihood of depressive symptoms in comparison to those who were physically inactive. Older adults who participated in social activities were less likely to have depressive symptoms [aCoef: -0.44, CI -0.50, -0.39] compared to their socially inactive counterparts. Further, older adults who perceived religion as very important [aCoef: -0.29, CI -0.41, -0.17], who had high life satisfaction [aCoef: -0.78, CI -0.82, -0.73], who had good self-perceived health [aCoef: -0.29, CI -0.33, -0.25] and those who had high self-perceived social standing [aCoef: -0.39, CI -0.47, -0.31] had lower likelihood of depressive symptoms in comparison to their respective counterparts. Physical activity, social participation, voluntary work and financial contribution to family, religiosity, life satisfaction, self-perceived health and self-perceived social standing are associated with lower likelihood of depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults in this study. Future longitudinal studies should explore these factors that can guide interventions against depression in old age.

Association of food insecurity with physical frailty among older adults: study based on LASI, 2017-18.

BACKGROUND: Food security can be directly linked to nutritional status and either directly or indirectly, it has an impact on health status and well-being of the population. Physical frailty is one of the most important phenotypes used to understand the vulnerable nature of older adults. This paper examined the association between food security and physical frailty in older adults. METHODS: We used data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI, 2017-18), wave-1. The sample size was 31,464 older adults aged 60 years and above. Physical frailty was assessed using the modified version of frailty phenotype proposed by Fried and colleagues. Multivariable logistic regression was used to establish the association between food insecurity with physical frailty. RESULTS: A proportion of 30.65% of older adults were frail in this study. Older adults with food insecurity had higher prevalence of exhaustion (12.1% vs 6.5%), unintentional weight loss (65.5% vs 5.1%), and weak grip strength (8.6% vs 7.9%) in comparison to their food secure counterparts. After adjusting for a large number of confounders, older adults who reported food insecurity had significantly higher odds of being frail [AOR: 2.68; CI: 2.26-3.19] in comparison to older adults with no food insecurity. CONCLUSION: The study showed that food insecurity is associated with physical frailty among older adults in India. It is suggested that food security programs in the country may be considered as an effective strategy to prevent physical frailty among older adults.

Older peoples' views on cardiovascular disease medication: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence for the potential benefits and harms of cardiovascular disease (CVD) medications in older people (>75 years) prompting updating of clinical guidelines. We explored the views of older people about CVD medication to inform guideline development. METHODS: Qualitative study using semistructured interviews and focus groups. An ethnically diverse group of community dwelling older people were purposefully recruited from northern New Zealand using flyers in primary care clinics, local libraries, social groups, and places of worship, and by word of mouth. Interviews and focus groups were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using an iterative and inductive approach to thematic analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-nine participants from 4 ethnic groups were recruited (mean 74 years; range 61-91 years; Maori (7), South Asian (8), European (9), and Pasifika (15)). Most participants were taking CVD medication/s. Four main themes emerged: (i) emphasizing the benefits of CVD medication and downplaying the harms; (ii) feeling compelled to take medication; (iii) trusting "my" doctor; and (iv) expecting medication to be continued. CONCLUSION: Findings raise questions about older people's agency in decision-making regarding CVD medication. CVD risk management guidelines for older people could include strategies to support effective communication of the potential benefits and harms of CVD medication in older people, balancing life expectancy, and the expected duration of therapy.

We explored the views of older people about cardiovascular disease (CVD) medication. Qualitative study using semistructured interviews and focus groups. An ethnically diverse group of community dwelling older people were purposefully recruited from northern New Zealand. Interviews and focus groups were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed. Thirty-nine participants from 4 ethnic groups were recruited (mean 74 years; range 61­91 years; Maori (7), South Asian (8), European (9), and Pasifika (15)). Most participants were taking CVD medication/s. Participants emphasized the benefits of medication and downplayed the harms; they did not want to take medication but felt compelled to; they trusted their doctor to know best regarding medication; and they believed their doctor wanted them to keep taking medication. Findings raise questions about older people's agency in decision-making regarding medication. Work is needed to identify strategies to support effective communication of the potential benefits and harms of medication in older people, balancing life expectancy, and the expected duration of therapy.

Existing models of interprofessional collaborative practice in primary healthcare: a scoping review.

Educating students to provide interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) in primary healthcare (PHC) requires a robust rigorous model relevant to future practice. A scoping review was undertaken to identify existing models of IPCP in PHC, the interprofessional or collaborative theories on which the models were based, reported outcomes, and enablers of and barriers to IPCP in PHC. The 35 eligible studies included 27 models, most of which were designed for a specific PHC site or program. Although almost half of the studies cited established interprofessional competencies in support of the models, only 13 included theoretical support, and only two cited interprofessional theory. Outcomes for clients, practitioners, practices, and students were primarily experiential and positive. A few researchers reported negative experiences or no difference between comparison groups. Key enablers of IPCP in PHC were strong supportive, inclusive relationships and practices. The most common barriers were time and resource constraints and poor understanding of IPCP. The review suggests a need for a stronger theoretical basis for IPCP in PHC that can accommodate different settings, and for more observational research that links relationship factors to outcomes at the practice, population, and wider health system levels.