Exploring online health information seeking and sharing among older adults: a mini-review about acceptance, potentials, and barriers.

Online health information seeking (OHIS) is understood by health care, health promotion, and disease prevention experts as a resource for healthy aging. It is particularly relevant for older adults since this population can benefit significantly from the accessibility and convenience of online health platforms and health information. Nevertheless, empirical findings regarding the acceptance, potentials, and barriers of OHIS among older adults are limited. This mini-review aims to explore the level of acceptance of OHIS, including passive reading of information and active interactions with peers, among the older population. Furthermore, it examines the potentials and barriers associated with such practices. The findings ultimately emphasize the evolving landscape of internet health information exploration among older adults and the potential advantages and challenges that may arise, especially in the context of active interactions with peers.

Internet usage, frequency and intensity in old age during the COVID-19 pandemic-a case study for Switzerland.

Introduction: This study examines the digital divide among older adults in Switzerland within the rapidly evolving digital environment. It investigates changes in internet usage among this population, focusing on the proportion of users, frequency, and the intensity of their internet usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Drawing on Swiss data from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement (SHARE), conducted in 2021, the study analyzes a sample of 1,205 older adults. Results: The findings indicate a growing proportion of internet users over time. It also highlights that gender differences persist but are decreasing. Notably, around 9% of individuals in this study had never used the internet, while recent users exhibited high activity levels, spending an average of approximately two and a half hours online daily. The study identified age, education, employment, living arrangements, and attitudes toward technology as influential factors shaping internet usage among older adults. Importantly, the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a significant impact on internet adoption among this demographic. Discussion: These findings shed light on the complex dynamics that shape internet usage among older adults and underscore the need to promote digital inclusion and engagement within this population.

Characterization of antithrombin isoforms and latent forms by ion exchange chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry.

Antithrombin is a key protein of the coagulation system belonging to the serine protease inhibitor family. Antithrombin preparations are used as a therapeutic treatment for patients with decreased antithrombin activity. Elucidating the structural features of this protein is an important part of the control strategy to assure a high quality. This study presents an ion exchange chromatographic method coupled to mass spectrometry capable of characterizing antithrombin post-translational modifications such as N-glycosylation, phosphorylation or deamidation. Furthermore, the method was successfully used to evidence irreversible/inactive conformers of antithrombin which are commonly observed for serine protease inhibitors and referred to as latent forms.

[Subjective feelings of digital exclusion]. / Subjektives Gefühl digitaler Ausgegrenztheit.

BACKGROUND: Digital technologies play an important role in people's everyday lives. This applies not only to younger people but also increasingly more to older people. Nevertheless, older persons in particular use the latest technologies less frequently. For this reason, do older people feel particularly excluded compared to younger people? To answer this question, the perception of digital exclusion was measured based on a population survey of people aged 18 years and older. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data were collected with a survey (n = 1604) of Swiss individuals aged 18-98 years. The survey was conducted as a standardized online survey and was combined with an optional telephone survey. RESULTS: According to the survey results, some people under and over 65 years of age currently feel socially excluded because they cannot always master current everyday technologies. Among the group aged 18-64 years old 3.6% feel a very strong sense of exclusion, and among the older group (65-98 years) 5.5%, which means that older persons tend to belong to the group of persons with very strong feelings of digital exclusion; however, the multivariate correlation analysis showed that the influence of age was levelled out by other variables (income and attitude toward technology). CONCLUSION: Although digital transformation is progressing there are still inequalities in technology use, which can manifest in feelings of exclusion. In addition to the question of which older individuals use or do not use technology, the issue of subjective feelings of exclusion should be given greater consideration in the future.

Digitally Savvy at the Home Office: Computer Skills of Older Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic Across Europe.

Digital skills can be a valuable resource in work life, especially in such times as the current COVID-19 pandemic, during which working from home has become new reality. Although increasing numbers of older employees (aged 50 years and above) are using digital technologies to work remotely, many of these older adults still have generally lower digital skills. Whether the pandemic will be a push factor for the acquisition of computer skills in late working life remains unclear. This study investigated the explanatory factors of the computer skills gained by older workers who were working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, using representative data for 28 countries from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The analysis of the survey responses of 11,042 employed persons aged 50 years and older revealed that, 13% worked only at home due to the pandemic, while 15% said they worked at home and in their usual workplace. The descriptives indicate that full-time homeworking is more of an option among those with tertiary education and who already have some computer skills. Of the older employees who worked only at home, 36% reported an improvement in their computer skills, whereas of the older workers who worked at home and at their usual workplaces, only 29% reported such an improvement. Our results based on logistic regressions suggest that significantly more women, younger employees, respondents with tertiary educational qualifications, and those whose work was not affected by unemployment or even business closure acquired new computer skills, regardless of whether they were working permanently or only partly from home. The study underlines the importance of investigating the possible digital skills gained from the home office situation resulting from the pandemic.

Social media use and well-being among older adults.

While older adults (aged 65 years and older) are increasingly using social media, their usage rates still lag those of younger age groups. Social media use has been observed to have some positive effects on older adults' well-being; however, divergent findings exist depending upon the sample, measures, and methodological approach. This review highlights what is currently known about social media use and well-being among older adults, identifies strengths and weaknesses of current research on this topic, and argues that methodological and content-related research gaps must be closed before researchers can confirm a positive overall effect of social media use in everyday situations for older adults.

Digital transformation of everyday lives of older Swiss adults: use of and attitudes toward current and future digital services.

Digital (consumer) services, such as ticket machines, self-checkout, and online reservations, have become increasingly important in modern society. Studies on adoption of these services and openness to using future public digital services (e.g., online voting, online taxes, electronic patient records) have mostly focused on younger adults or nonrepresentative samples among older adults. Therefore, two important questions remain that can best be addressed with representative sampling: To what extent do older adults use or are willing to use current and future digital services in their everyday lives? How do older adults evaluate the ease of use of these services?. The study included data on use of current and future digital services among a large Swiss sample of 1149 people age 65 years and older (mean age: 74.1 years, SD: 6.69). Descriptive and multivariate analyses showed that (a) established services such as cash machines were used more often than new services, such as self-checkout apps or machines. (b) Perceived ease of use is related to age, socioeconomic status, health, and interest in technology. (c) Only 8.9% had an overall positive attitude toward these digital services, and this attitude was predicted by age, gender, socioeconomic status, and interest in technology. (d) Participants were more often open to filing taxes online than voting online, and openness was predicted by age, income, and interest in technology. Today, mainly older adults with a high interest in technology use digital services. Nevertheless, potential for greater use is evident.

[Perceived restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic by older persons in Switzerland]. / Wahrgenommene Einschränkungen während der COVID-19-Pandemie bei älteren Personen in der Schweiz.

Background: The current coronavirus pandemic has had various effects on older people's everyday lives. Within the framework of pandemic-related protective measures, people over 65 years of age in particular were asked to stay away from public places and avoid direct physical contact. Aim: This paper examines how the pandemic affected the feelings of people over 50 years of age with regard to the limited daily supply of everyday things, outdoor physical activity and social contact. Material and methods: In May and June 2020, telephone interviews were conducted with 1011 people aged 50 years and over living in Switzerland. The average respondent age was 65 years and 53% of the respondents were women. Results: The results show that the respondents hardly felt any negative changes in their supply of everyday things or outdoor activity; however, 43% of those surveyed stated that during the pandemic, with its associated protective measures, they more often felt that they were unable to spend enough time with people they cared about. The multivariate results show that education played a role in the respondents' evaluation of everyday life considered in the interviews. Conclusion: This study identifies older people's feelings about possible everyday restrictions and should stimulate discussion in practical gerontological work to better consider older people's subjective perceptions.

[Digital transformation in the households of older people]. / Digitale Transformation in den Haushalten älterer Menschen.

BACKGROUND: Digital technologies play an important role in people's everyday lives and this applies not just to younger people but increasingly to older people. The study examined how the use of and attitudes towards such technology have changed over the last 10 years through a comparison of 3 cross-sectional population surveys. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data came from three Swiss surveys (2009: n = 1105; 2014: n = 1037; 2019: n = 1130) of people aged 65 years and over, each of which was conducted as a standardized telephone interview and combined with an optional written survey. RESULTS: The use of both the internet and mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) increased from 2009 to 2019: in 2009, 37.8% of the respondents used the internet, rising to 74.2% in 2019; however, people over 80 years old used these technologies less frequently. Although more and different internet resources were being used in 2019 than in 2009, the reasons given for not using the internet were similar and included security concerns, claims that using the internet is too complicated and the belief that learning to use it is too difficult. There has also been little change in the attitudes toward technology and the factors explaining internet use. CONCLUSION: Even though the digital transformation is progressing, inequalities in the use of technology remain. Even when these are levelling out, new technologies will likely create new inequalities.

[Involvement of employees, residents, and relatives in digital transformation at long-term care institutions for older adults - A cross-sectional survey]. / Einbezug von Mitarbeitenden, Bewohnenden und Angehörigen in die digitale Transformation im stationären Altersbereich.

Involvement of employees, residents, and relatives in digital transformation at long-term care institutions for older adults - A cross-sectional survey Abstract. Background: Long-term care institutions for older adults are currently undergoing a digital transformation process. But who are the decision-makers in this transformation process? AIM: The aim of the study was to determine the role of employees, residents, and their relatives in the provision of the technical solutions used in long-term care institutions. METHODS: The standardized online survey was conducted at 466 long-term care institutions throughout Switzerland. The respective managers were surveyed. RESULTS: The majority of the managers surveyed saw more advantages than disadvantages in the use of technical solutions. Nevertheless, the results also show that while 52 % involve their staff in decisions about the acquisition of technology, only 11 % involve their residents, and 8 % involve the residents' relatives. This involvement depends on how much technology has been used so far and what leeway the managers themselves have in making such decisions. CONCLUSIONS: It is apparent that residents and their relatives are involved very little in decision-making processes. This can mean that the organization's digital transformation ultimately depends on just one person, the manager, and that the wishes of the people who are directly affected by these technical innovations are not considered in such decisions.

[Who Feels Excluded? On the Use of the Concept of Social Exclusion to Analyze Current Societal Trends]. / Wer fühlt sich exkludiert? Zur zeitdiagnostischen Verwendung des Konzepts der sozialen Exklusion.

The concept of social exclusion has had an astonishing career in the social sciences. The focus of this paper is an empirical investigation of the use of this concept to analyze current societal trends. From this theoretical perspective we derive four theses, which are empirically tested in this paper with a focus on the perception of exclusion: First, that because of the processes of economic structural change, larger population groups are affected by social exclusion in several dimensions (unemployment, poverty, social isolation), culminating in a subjective sense of exclusion among them. Thus, it is assumed that social exclusion has become the main social cleavage in contemporary society. Second, it is assumed that social exclusion cannot be clearly located in classical sociostructural categories but has diffused into broad segments of society. Third, socioeconomic precariousness and social isolation are thought to play a central role in the emergence of a subjective sense of exclusion. Here, and fourth, it is assumed, however, that this impacts on the sense of exclusion via the subjective perception of the objective life conditions. We test these theses derived from this theoretical perspective on the basis of survey data, using the sense of exclusion as a dependent variable. It becomes clear that, first, social exclusion has not diffused into large parts of society and thus can by no means be regarded as the main social cleavage in society; and second, an increased sense of exclusion can be found in different but clearly identifiable social groups. Moreover, our analyses show that the subjective sense of exclusion is rooted in both social isolation and socioeconomic precariousness, albeit clearly mediated by their subjective perception.

The Dual Targeting of FcRn and FcγRs via Monomeric Fc Fragments Results in Strong Inhibition of IgG-Dependent Autoimmune Pathologies.

Novel molecules that directly target the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) and/or Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs) are emerging as promising treatments for immunoglobulin G (IgG)-dependent autoimmune pathologies. Mutated Fc regions and monoclonal antibodies that target FcRn are currently in clinical development and hold promise for reducing the levels of circulating IgG. Additionally, engineered structures containing multimeric Fc regions allow the dual targeting of FcRn and FcγRs; however, their tolerance needs to first be validated in phase I clinical studies. Here, for the first time, we have developed a modified monomeric recombinant Fc optimized for binding to all FcRns and FcγRs without the drawback of possible tolerance associated with FcγR cross-linking. A rational approach using Fc engineering allowed the selection of LFBD192, an Fc with a combination of six mutations that exhibits improved binding to human FcRn and FcγR as well as mouse FcRn and FcγRIV. The potency of LFBD192 was compared with that of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), an FcRn blocker (Fc-MST-HN), and a trimeric Fc that blocks FcRn and/or immune complex-mediated cell activation through FcγR without triggering an immune reaction in several in vitro tests and validated in three mouse models of autoimmune disease.

Considering Situational Variety in Contextualized Aging Research - Opinion About Methodological Perspectives.

Due to the increasingly heterogeneous trajectories of aging, gerontology requires theoretical models and empirical methods that can meaningfully, reliably, and precisely describe, explain, and predict causes and effects within the aging process, considering particular contexts and situations. Human behavior occurs in contexts; nevertheless, situational changes are often neglected in context-based behavior research. This article follows the tradition of environmental gerontology research based on Lawton's Person-Environment-Interaction model (P-E model) and the theoretical developments of recent years. The authors discuss that, despite an explicit time component, current P-E models could be strengthened by focusing on detecting P-E interactions in various everyday situations. Enhancing Lawton's original formula via a situationally based component not only changes the theoretical perspectives on the interplay between person and environment but also demands new data collection approaches in empirical environmental research. Those approaches are discussed through the example of collecting mobile data with smartphones. Future research should include the situational dimension to investigate the complex nature of person environment interactions.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-Perception of Aging Among Older Adults.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a pattern of physical distancing worldwide, particularly for adults aged 65+. Such distancing can evoke subjective feelings of negative self-perception of aging (SPA) among older adults, but how this pandemic has influenced such SPA is not yet known. This study, therefore, explored SPA at different time phases of the COVID-19 pandemic to explain the pandemic's impact on SPA among older adults. The analysis employed a sample of 1,990 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 to 95 (mean age = 72.74 years; 43% female) in Switzerland. Data collection from different older adults within one study occurred both before and after Switzerland's first confirmed COVID-19 case. The descriptive analysis revealed that negative SPA increased, and positive SPA decreased, after the Swiss government recommended physical distancing. After the Federal Council decided to ease these measures, negative SPA slightly decreased and positive SPA increased. According to the multivariate analysis, individuals interviewed after the lockdown were more likely to report greater levels of negative SPA and lower levels of positive SPA. Age, income, and living alone also correlated with SPA. The results suggest that the pandemic has affected older adults' subjective views of their own aging, and these findings help illustrate the pandemic's outcomes.

[Attitudes toward persons with dementia : A population survey from Switzerland]. / Einstellungen gegenüber Menschen mit Demenz : Eine Bevölkerungsbefragung aus der Schweiz.

BACKGROUND: Dementia diseases, primarily Alzheimer's disease, are on the rise worldwide. Adequate management of this development requires the involvement of the general population in appropriate measures; it also requires knowledge of the attitudes of the population with respect to the disease and the people it affects. A survey was thus conducted to discover the Swiss population's attitude towards people with Alzheimer's disease or related forms of dementia (ADRD) and identify the factors that influence this attitude. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A nationwide standardized telephone survey of 862 people aged 18 years and older was conducted in German, French, and Italian between July and September 2018. RESULTS: Age and attitude toward age were found to be significant predictors of attitudes towards people with ADRD. Subdividing this attitude into a cognitive and an affective conative component helped to more precisely assign the influences of independent variables. Regression models showed a positive effect on the affective conative component for contact with people with ADRD, being well informed, experienced pleasures, and a positive attitude toward age, while education, gender, and age had a positive impact on the cognitive component. Nevertheless, the independent variables could explain only part of the variance. CONCLUSION: Despite the overall positive attitude toward people with ADRD in the Swiss population, the results of this study have certain practical implications: in addition to being well informed, experience with people with ADRD has a positive influence on attitudes toward persons with this disease. Therefore, such contact should be encouraged to revise any negative perceptions of people with ADRD.

C-terminal lysine clipping of IgG1: impact on binding to human FcγRIIIa and neonatal Fc receptors.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) display numerous structural attributes, some of them may impact their safety and/or efficacy profiles. C-terminal lysine clipping is a common phenomenon occurring during the bioproduction of mAbs and leads to variable amounts of final process-related charge variants. If Fc-glycosylation has been by far the most documented critical quality attribute (CQA), the potential impacts of mAb C-terminal lysine content is far less reported, particularly on the ability of these basic variants to bind human Fc receptors. To address this question, three charge variant species having zero (K0), one (K1) and two (K2) C-terminal lysine(s) were isolated with high purity from an in-house human IgG1 by preparative strong-cation exchange (SCX) chromatography. A comprehensive biophysical characterization of these three fractions was undertaken, demonstrating their high similarity in terms of structural homogeneity, with a particular attention paid on their respective N-glycosylation profiles. The binding affinity of the fractions to human FcγRIIIa-Val176 was assessed both by affinity chromatography and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and to human neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) by affinity chromatography. Results demonstrate that the three charge variants did not show any significant binding difference for the two tested human Fc receptors, translating certainly to comparable biological properties. As a consequence, C-terminal lysine clipping of the present therapeutic IgG1 should not impact both FcRn-dependent pharmacokinetic profiles and FcγRIIIa-driven cytotoxic activities. The methods used in this study can be widely applied to other IgG1 to define criticality of the C-terminal lysine clipping as a CQA.

[Digital transformation in residential old age institutions]. / Digitale Transformation im stationären Altersbereich.

BACKGROUND: Residential old age institutions are currently undergoing a digital transformation process, which is characterized by an orientation towards increasing digitalization of work processes as well as the institutional infrastructure. But what does the variety of technical solutions used in these old-age institutions look like and how is the digital transformation process assessed by the managers of these institutions? MATERIAL AND METHODS: The survey was carried out as a standardized online survey of residential old age homes throughout Switzerland. The respective managers were interviewed. The sample was made up of 466 institutions. RESULTS: Established technologies, such as television, contact and fall mats as well as software solutions in the administrative area are used almost everywhere, while robots for activating the clientele, gaming consoles or telemedical technologies are rarely used. Among those interviewed there were more people who saw advantages rather than disadvantages in the use of technical tools. The greatest obstacles that were perceived when introducing a new technology were the associated costs, a lack of employee skills and a nonexistent infrastructure. Multivariate analysis showed that the degree of digitalization in a facility depends not only on its size but above all on the technological affinity and rating of the senior staff. CONCLUSION: The degree of technology in old age institutions varies but overall it is rather sobering regarding the use of completely new technologies, such as robotics or telemedicine. Barriers to the increasing digital transformation were worked out from the survey and are discussed.

A Double Burden of Exclusion? Digital and Social Exclusion of Older Adults in Times of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has excluded older adults from a society based on physical social contact. Vulnerable populations like older adults also tend to be excluded from digital services because they opt not to use the internet, lack necessary devices and network connectivity, or inexperience using the technology. Older adults who are frail and are not online, many of whom are in long-term care facilities, struggle with the double burden of social and digital exclusion. This paper discusses the potential outcomes of this exclusion and provides recommendations for rectifying the situation, with a particular focus on older adults in long-term care facilities.