Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-16T15:23:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 6026265 bytes, checksum: 9a24d461a1002313e2add7a9c02059fa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Back scientific scrutiny to a social stratum, and it inserts that do research and seek his understanding is one pillar of fundamental importance for the social sciences. More importantly, when this layer is made up of people shut out from society, separated and isolated from others, such as the institutionalized elderly as a whole. Old age has two strands that daily distance themselves at opposite poles, where on the one hand there are the elderly with economic potential and embedded in a social environment in which they consume and participate actively in social and family decisions. On the other hand, a number of people in forgotten places called asylums. Often, these people do not have the financial resources, nor health, to have activity in the society that surrounds him. With the latter, the work presented here is presented with the purpose of responding to the flux of information, drawn from the information practices may contribute to the inclusion of the institutionalized elderly in the town of Cuité - PB, society and contribute to their full citizenship . For the purpose it was used as a descriptive research methodology in order to serve as a basis for future studies and actions that may be developed. With the data obtained, it is important to realize that indeed there are no conditions for most of the institutionalized elderly, to participate fully in the information flow of asylum, due to factors such as special needs, culture in which it is inserted, way of life limited by structural conditions in which he lived, lack of economic resources and lack of interest in life itself. However, the study was revealing to allow others to, at this point, following trails for the creation of knowledge that can solve the obvious flaws that we, as members of the information society, we do not come back to us also look at social individuals because its physical isolation (asylum) itself does not mean intellectual and information needs. / Voltar o olhar científico para um estrato social, e nele fazer pesquisas e inserções que visam o seu entendimento é um pilar de fundamental importância para as ciências sociais. Mais importante ainda quando este estrato é constituído de pessoas alijadas do convívio social, separadas e isoladas dos demais, como é o caso dos idosos asilados como um todo. A velhice tem duas vertentes que cotidianamente se distanciam em pólos opostos, onde por um lado há os idosos com potencial econômico e inseridos em um meio social no qual consomem e participam ativamente das decisões familiares e sociais. De outro, um contingente de pessoas esquecidas em locais denominados asilos. Muitas das vezes, essas pessoas, não dispõem de recursos financeiros, e nem de saúde, para ter atividade na sociedade que o circunda. Com estes últimos, o trabalho ora apresentado se apresenta com o intuito de responder se o fluxo informacional, oriundo das práticas informacionais, pode contribuir para a inserção dos idosos asilados, na cidade de Cuité PB, na sociedade e contribuir para a sua plena cidadania. Para o intento utilizou-se como metodologia a pesquisa descritiva, a fim de servir de base para estudos e ações futuras que possam vir a ser desenvolvidas. Com os dados obtidos, é fato relevante perceber que não há condições, para a maioria dos idosos asilados, de participar de forma plena do fluxo informacional do asilo, em virtude de fatores como: necessidades especiais, cultura em que está inserido, modo de vida limitado pelas condições estruturais em que viveu, falta de recursos econômicos e desinteresse pela vida, propriamente dito. Todavia, o estudo foi revelador em permitir que outros possam, a partir deste ponto, seguir trilhas para constituição de conhecimento que possam solucionar as evidentes falhas que nós, enquanto membros da sociedade da informação, deixamos ao não voltar nosso olhar também para estes sujeitos sociais, pois seu isolamento físico (asilo) não significa propriamente intelectual e de necessidades de informação.

The thesis is composed of theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part is formed by three main chapters. The first chapter deals with old age, growing old and changes brought by this period. The second chapter attends to the term {\clqq}quality of life`` and its history. The third part describes the present state of the rest homes. The practical part is formed by survey. Results shows what seniors expects from rest homes and their quality of life there.

The main goal of this study is to discover whether there is a significant difference between childless individuals and parents based on their social contact and support received in old age. Firstly, the theoretical background is introduced. The demographical development of childlessness in the Czech Republic is then analyzed while also mentioning the limitations of the data sources that we face. Childlessness is then put into the context of possible social isolation, a lack of support in the household or in receiving personal care in old age. It was proven that with increasing age the frequency of social contact with friends decreases, however, this does not apply to contact with family members. Using data from SHARE research we have proved that the childless elderly are more intensively socially active than parents. However, in financial transfers parents give more and especially to their children, whereas the childless invest in a broader range of family and nonfamily circles. There was no significant difference in receiving personal care or practical help in the household between parents and the childless, although differences were shown based on age, health, gender, education and the marital status of respondents. The most common people who provide personal care or practical help in the household (even...

This diploma thesis deals with the analysis of plans, attitudes and opinions related to the retirement life of people in pre-retirement age. The role of preparing for life in retirement age is of increasing importance in locations with high proportion of people in pre-retirement age. These locations must be given the appropriate attention to minimize potential problem situations. In order to analyze the situation in a locality with a high proportion of older people, a quantitative survey was carried out at the Pokratice district of Litomerice. On the basis of the outputs of the survey, requirements and possible necessary changes in areas of development, transport services, accessibility of free time activities, health and social services are analyzed. In addition to the investigation itself, the work is based on other investigations carried out and other book and magazine sources, examples of good practice and strategical documents. The aim of the thesis is to analyze the current situation and propose necessary changes, which need to be implemented in order to minimize the problematic situations in connection with the retirement of a significant part of the inhabitants of the housing estates. Keywords Preparation for old age, regional planning, residence, active aging, quality of life in old age,...

The longitudinal relationship between loneliness and depression as predictors of chronic health conditions in middle-aged to older adults was investigated utilizing data collected by the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a national representative longitudinal study of health, retirement, and aging, conducted by the Institute for Social Research (ISR) Survey Research Center (SRC) at the University of Michigan, funded by the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration. The correlation between these loneliness and depression was moderate (r = .32 to r = 51). The single-item subjective self-report of loneliness was found to be an adequate measure of loneliness. A cross-lagged panel correlation and regression design was used to examine the longitudinal relationship between loneliness, depression, and chronic health conditions. A temporal precedence was indicated implying a causal relationship with depression leading to subsequent loneliness. The relationship between recurring loneliness and chronic health conditions was weak (r = .13).

This research investigated the coping strategies that elderly caregivers use when caring for a spouse with brain impairment, categorizing their strategies into an external or internal locus of control.

Older gay men and lesbians may be at greater risk for depression than older sexual majority adults due to a lifetime of sexual minority stress. We hypothesize that aggression and being single are positively associated with depression. Resilience is negatively associated with depression. Aggression, being single and resilience account for a significant proportion of variance in depression. Resilience moderates the relationship between aggression and depression. Significant differences between older gay men and older lesbians' aggression, resilience and depression scores exist. For our older gay men and lesbian combined group, a moderation analysis indicated that in addition to aggression and resilience, being single significantly predicted depression accounting for approximately 57% of the variance in depression. Furthermore, resilience significantly moderated the relationship between aggression and depression in our model of older gay men and lesbians. For our older gay men-only group a moderation analysis (indicated that and resilience significantly predicted depression accounting for approximately 57% of the variance in depression. Furthermore, resilience significantly moderated the relationship between aggression and depression in our model, in our sample of older gay men. Four our lesbian-only group a moderation analysis indicated that being single and resilience significantly predicted depression accounting for approximately 54% of the variance in depression.

The presence of cognitive deficits in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is well-documented. Specifically, short- and long-term memory, attention/vigilance, and executive function (e.g. processing speed, mental flexibility, and problem solving) are affected. Cognitive deficits in aging occur in similar areas (i.e., memory and processing speed). Given that a greater percentage of older adults experience sleep-disordered breathing as compared to middle-aged adults, it is possible that OSA may account for some of the deficits typically attributed to aging. This study investigated this hypothesis by comparing middle-aged and older adults with and without OSA on computer-based measures of cognitive performance. No effect of OSA or an interaction between OSA and age on cognitive function was found; an effect of age on processing speed, distinguishing stimuli rapidly, attention, spatial ability/mental flexibility, and both working memory and short-term visual memory was found. This study also explored whether or not cognitive function may be improved in persons with OSA by re-assessing those participants one month after treatment. An effect of treatment on improvements on processing speed, distinguishing stimuli rapidly, mental flexibility, and short term memory was found. Overall, findings reflect the ability of treatment to improve cognitive function among OSA patients, regardless of lack of deficits when compared to those without OSA.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1978 B74 / Master of Arts

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Magister Technologiae: Consumer Science Food and Nutrition, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / The objective of the study was to conduct a situational analysis of elderly people on state pension living in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal South Africa. The research focused on the socioeconomic status, dietary intake, nutritional status, and health status of this community. Methodology The sample comprised 270 (224 women and 46 men) randomly selected elderly people within the 12 wards of Umlazi. The methods used for assessment included a sociodemographic questionnaire which determined the socioeconomic status. A 24-hr recall questionnaire and food frequency questionnaire were used to determine dietary intake, while anthropometric measurements were conducted to determine the nutritional status. A health questionnaire, including a salt administration questionnaire was used to determine the health status of the elderly in this community. Trained field workers and nurses assisted in data collection and food consumption data was captured and analysed by a qualified dietician using Food Finder version 3.0 computer software program. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, means, standard deviations and confidence intervals) were determined with the assistance of a bio-statistician. Socio-demographic and health data were captured onto an Excel(R) spreadsheet by the researcher. These questionnaires were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows version 17, 0 software program. Results The majority of respondents lived in brick houses (84.8%) and the living space generally consisted of more than three rooms (87.4%). However, the majority of respondents who lived with >4 to 10 members were 67.4% whilst only 32.6% of households consisted of less than 4 members. The mean household size was 5.1 (±SD 2.9) people, this further illustrates that the majority of respondents lived with 5 people per household. Grandchildren were present in 70% of the households with a mean of 3 (±SD 5) grandchildren in each household. Results also indicate that 84.6% of the elderly were the bread winners in these households. The vast majority of 87.8% of the population had no other source of income. The majority of vi Pagevi respondents with an income had a total monthly income of R500- R1500 (82.9%) followed by R1501- R2500 (14.1%) and only 3% had more than R2500 total income. Food expenditure for most (80%) households was >R500 of the total income. Food shortages due to limited income were frequent in 54% of households who regularly experienced this problem, whilst 26% sometimes experienced shortages, 15.4% often encounted shortages whereas 2.6% encounted shortages seldomly and 2.2% never. A large majority of respondents owned electrical assets, the most commonly owned included a televison (80.3%) , a radio (75.5%) and a refrigerator (75.1). The majority of food items consumed were carbohydrate based and the portion sizes were relatively big, on average 1348.5g per day. The energy contribution from carbohydrates was 65% which is considered to be on the high side (WHO goals 55-75%). Protein intake was fairly common, with a 15% contribution to energy from total protein (WHO goals 10-15%). The frequency of vegetable and fruit intake was very low, the portion sizes were also small and did not meet the recommended daily intake. The energy contributions showed that 89.2% of the women consumed a diet that supplied <100% of Estimated Energy Requirements (EERs) and all the men consumed <100% of the EERs for energy. Sixty three percent of the women and 91.1% of the men consumed <100% of the EARs for protein. The mean carbohydrate intake in the sample was significantly higher than the EAR but the women consumed <100% of the EARs for carbohydrates (4.1%) and all men consumed >100% of the EARs. The majority of the vitamins for both genders indicated low intakes except for vitamin B12 and B6 in the case of men only. The majority of minerals indicated low scores for micronutrients except for iron (36.6% for men) and potassium (39.0% for men) which was consumed mostly by men than women. The mean Food Variety Score (FVS) (±SD) for all the foods consumed from all the food groups in a period of seven days was 25.8 (±14.6). The results revealed poor dietary diversity scoring. The cereal group had the highest mean variety score 5.3 (±2.5) followed by vegetables 4.5 (±2.6), fruit 3.5 (±3.1), flesh foods 3.2 (±1.6), vitamin A-rich fruit and the vegetable group 3.1 (±1.7). The anthropometric indices indicated that the mean age was 69.7 years (±SD 7.1) and mean weight of 76.5 kg (±SD 17.3). The BMI scores for the total group indicated that 52% of the respondents fell into the obese category (BMI = obese 1 >30, obese 2 >35 and obese 3> 40) and 24% of the respondents were overweight (BMI = 25-29.9). Only 20% were of moderate weight (BMI 18.5- 24.9). Although more men were overweight (34.2%) compared to 21.9% vii Pagevii of women, more women (60.1%) were obese compared to men (18.8%). The majority (83%) of the women were above the cut-off points for waist circumference ( 88cm) and 17% were within the normal values whilst 74% of the men were within recommended cut-off points ( 102cm) and only 26% exceeded the recommended scores. The results indicate that 77% of respondents were at risk of developing metabolic syndrome exceeding >0.5 waist-to-heightratio (WHTR) and 23% were at lower risk. However, the women showed a higher risk of 87.4% and men only 47.9% for metabolic risk. The correlation was significant at the p=0.01 level. There was thus as highly significant relationship between BMI and WHTR ratio for women. The health survey results indicated that 90% of the elderly population were in various stages of hypertension and 6% showed signs of developing hypertension. However, hypertension was more prevelant in women (91%) than in the men (83%). There was a statistical significant correlation (p=0.01) between waist circumference and systolic pressure for both women and men. A high percentage (82%) of the participants reported that they were currently on chronic medication whereas 18% were not using any chronic medication at the time. Although hypertension was prevalent in most respondents, it was followed by self reported diabetes (26.7%) and cancer (1.9%). Results show that elderly experienced problems with following ereas in the body skeletal joints (72.6%) as well as eyes and teeth were problematic in 75.9% of the respondents, followed by skin problems (29.6%) and ears and nose problems (28.6%). Results in the salt administrative questionnaire indicate that sodium intakes were below WHO goals <2000mg. Results also show that a high percentage of respondents (60%) generally never added salt to cooked food as the majority saw it as a health risk. Only 13% added it always to cooked food and 21% added it sometimes. Conclusions The results in the study indicate the high prevelance of poverty, food insecurity and poor nutritional and health status that compromises the quality of life of elderly living in this community. Recommendations Long-term intervention studies must be prioritised to address economic, health, social and demographic factors and future research is needed to cater for the growing needs of this population group.