Assessment of a digital intervention program with Holocaust survivors.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated a digital intervention program with aging Holocaust survivors. Participants received a tablet device and were coupled with a volunteer who assisted them to use the tablet. The study aimed to assess which characteristics of the Holocaust survivors are linked with more frequent use of digital communication at the end of the program. METHODS: Information was collected by telephone interviews with 91 survivors before and 54 after participating in the program. We combined this data with digital usage data from the tablets. Regression models examined the characteristics of Holocaust survivors that were related to higher frequency of using digital communication technologies during the intervention. RESULTS: The Holocaust survivors expressed high satisfaction with the program. They increased their frequency of using digital communication technologies-text correspondence and video chats with friends and family. Regressions showed that Holocaust survivors who reported increased digital communication were characterized at the start of the intervention by having fewer post-traumatic stress symptoms, higher levels of flourishing (reflecting a more meaningful life and higher well-being), being lonelier, and were also more satisfied with the program at follow-up. CONCLUSION: The pilot program benefited the aging Holocaust survivors. Further programs should be developed to increase the digital communication of vulnerable older populations, such as trauma survivors.

An Individually Tailored Program to Increase Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors among the Elderly.

A healthy lifestyle among the elderly is associated with improved health. However, many older adults are not engaging in such behavior. The purpose of the study was to develop an individually tailored online/telephone program to increase healthy lifestyle behaviors among community-dwelling elderly people. The program includes individually tailored healthy lifestyle recommendations based on participants' functional level. Community-dwelling elderly people aged 60+ years (n = 77; mean age: 72.98 ± 6.49) participated in the study. Significant associations were observed between health promotion activities and health status (r = 0.23, p = 0.04) and physical functional level (r = 0.44, p < 0.001). Twenty-seven percent of participants claimed that they learned "a lot" of new things about themselves, and 31% claimed that the recommendations received were new to them. Most participants engaged in the recommendations at least 1-2 times a week. Regression analyses showed that barriers significantly predicted reduced compliance with the health-related recommendations received (adjusted R2 = 0.18). The main barrier for compliance was inaccessible information about services (32.46% of the participants). The most prevalent facilitator for compliance with the recommendation was health behavior motivation (59.74% of the participants). In conclusion, this study provided evidence on the effectiveness of a multicomponent tailored intervention program among the elderly in increasing health-related knowledge and behavior about the recommendations.