published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing in Advanced Practice

The purpose of this study was to test one theoretical explanation for elders' perceived current adequacy of everyday remembering, and the antecedent perceptions, values and beliefs, and consequent feelings related to this perception. Fourteen hypotheses, deduced from the theory of subjective forgetfulness in elders (Cromwell, 1991), tested one theoretical explanation for the relationships among: Personal Importance of Remembering, Perceived Seriousness of Forgetting, Perceived Frequency of Forgetting, Belief in a Relationship between Aging and Memory Decline, Belief in a Personal Health Risk for Memory Decline, Perceived Current Adequacy of Everyday Remembering, Distress about Current Forgetting, Concern about Future Forgetting and Self Esteem in elders. Multiple regression analysis of the data obtained from 202 community based elders, age 65 to 97, supported the assertions that perceiving self to forget frequently negatively influenced elders' judgments of their current memory adequacy and increased their distress about current forgetting. Believing that one had risk factors for memory decline influenced the current distress experienced about forgetting, and the level of concern about future memory. Present concerns about forgetting, in response to perceived frequency of forgetting and perceived risks, influenced in part the degree to which the present situation was viewed as a warning sign of potential progressive future decline. Concerns about memory and forgetting influenced elders' level of self esteem. Intriguing differences in the relationships among antecedent perceptions, values and beliefs, and consequent feelings about self were discovered between older and younger elders, and between elders who highly valued remembering and those for whom remembering was of lesser importance. Future research to expand our understanding of the subjective experience of forgetfulness in elders and potential future intervention research to increase perceived memory adequacy and decrease present and future concerns were proposed.

No description available.

This study investigated quantitative and qualitative aspects of memory in three age-and-education-matched groups (1) 38 normal elderly, (2) 15 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT), and (3) 26 depressed elderly. Three clusters of dependent variables were used to examine group differences: (1) standard psychometric (Wechsler Memory Scale logical memory and visual reproduction subtests), (2) verbal recall measures (free recall measures of primary memory, secondary memory, prior item intrusions and extra list intrusions), and (3) verbal recognition memory measures (true positive, false positive, true negative, and false negative responses). Analyses of variance, with specified contrasts, found the DAT patients to demonstrate a pervasive memory impairment affecting both the qualitative and quantitative memory indices compared to depressed and normal elderly. The depressed elderly demonstrated impairment, compared to normal elderly, on tasks requiring effortful processing. Findings support pervasive memory loss in DAT patients and do not support clear memory impairment in the present depressed sample.

Increasing parts of the world are facing ageing societies with growing figures of morbidity and disability. Focus of attention for European countries is directed towards prevention of old age impairment. As considerable time is spent at work, preventative psychosocial work environment measures could be entry points for a healthier ageing. The aims of this study are to i) explore the impact of mid-life work strain on old age disability ii) to examine the independent effects of the work strain components on disability, iii) to analyse the relation between education and disability and whether work strain mediates parts of this association. Work strain and baseline data will be collected from Level of Living Survey (LNU) 1981 and disability data from Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD) 2004 (n=626). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that persons in high strain work had the lowest odds of being IADL disabled compared to the passive group. Low demand was not associated to disability, low control group had more than twice the odds of being ADL disabled. Further results indicated that work strain may mediate the association between education and disability. Finally the results support that psychosocial work environment plays a part in the health of individuals at old age.

Circumstances of an increasing proportion of elderly persons in the population of the United States and the incidence of pain among elderly persons established the need for this research project. Significant to nurses was the lack of information regarding responses to the pain experience and evidence of inadequate pain control. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between pain and coping strategies used by a group of elderly persons experiencing pain and living in long-term-care facilities. The population included individuals residing in long-termcare facilities in Indiana. A convenience sample of 36 persons from six facilities in central Indiana participated in the study.Gate Control Theory of pain and Lazarus' theory of stress and coping were the theoretical frameworks of the study. The independent variable, pain, was measured by two Parts of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, pain rating index andpain intensity. Coping, the dependent variable, was measured by the Ways of coping checklist; scoring methods yielded coping, problemfocused coping, emotion-focused coping, and eight subscales. Data was collected by the researcher through use of these two instruments and interviews. Pearson product moment correlations were used for statistical analysis.There were no significant correlations between pain intensity and coping measures. There were no significant correlations between pain rating and coping and emotionfocused coping. Additional findings were based on the data analysis with coping subscales. There was a significant positve correlation between pain rating and the coping subscale escape-avoidance. There was a significant negative correlation between pain rating and the coping subscale distancing.Results of the study indicated elderly individuals experiencing pain used several coping strategies. This finding is consistent with research involving elderly persons living in the community. / School of Nursing

The need for the study arose with the discovery that many older adults make significant contributions in volunteer work. However some do not feel as though these contributions are worthwhile (Morrow-Howell & Mui, 1989; Chambre, 1987). They may feel that the work they are doing is meaningless (Morrow-Howell & Mui, 1989; Chambre, 1987; Flynn & Webb, 1975). The study was conducted to determine the relationship of individuals who perceived they were making a significant contribution in volunteer work and their level of subjective morale. The number of hours, length of time, number of various jobs, and the use of a volunteer's skills, knowledge, and talents devoted to volunteer service are specifically identified as they relate to subjective morale.A pilot study was conducted on the telephone using 10-12 volunteers from a random sample of retired Ball State employees. These individuals were asked open-ended questions concerning several aspects of volunteering. Once the data was collected a Liekert questionnaire was developed using the common patterns noted in the volunteer's answers. The Liekert questionnaire was distributed to 50 volunteers, recruited from the Muncie, Indiana andthe New Castle, Indiana RSVP (The Retired Senior Volunteer Program) branches. The volunteers completed the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale: A Revision (PGC) and the Volunteer Attitude Questionnaire (VAQ).The results indicated no statistically significant relationship between volunteers who perceived they were making a significant contribution and their level of subjective morale. Likewise, the data indicated no statistically significant relationship between subjective morale and number of hours, length time, number of various jobs, and use of skills, knowledge, and talents devoted to volunteer services. The volunteers in the study reported a wide variety of subjective morale levels regardless of the factors examined in the study. It is apparent that older volunteers who perceived they were significantly contributing do not all develop increased morale. Morale appears to be a very complex factor which is individually determined depending upon the lifestyle of the older adult. / Institute of Gerontology