Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. E. Jane Burkhead, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Services. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 15, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Wake Forest University. Dept. of Health and Exercise Science, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-71).

Not available / text

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on November 6, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Alexa Stuifbergen. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 58 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-50).

Communication forms the foundation of social interaction. For older adults, however, there is known to be an increased risk of developing conditions that interfere with the ability to communicate. These conditions may occur for a variety of reasons, including age-related changes in physical or sensory functioning, injury, and disease. It is estimated that 55% of all Medicare beneficiaries have a communication impairment of some kind. Social contact is known to be vital for older adults' mental and physical health but, because communication impairments often co-occur with other types of disability, it is difficult to generalize about the relative impact of a communication impairment on the social relationships of older adults. Specific aims of the study were to examine whether the severity of a communication impairment is associated with social measures, whether there is an interaction between communication impairments and physical disability, and to examine the role of relationship-control strategies in maintaining access to a larger or more supportive social network. A mixed-methods study design was employed. Community-dwelling older adults were surveyed about the size and diversity of their social networks, frequency of social interactions, and physical and mental health (n = 240) and qualitative data were collected from a smaller subsample. Findings demonstrated that communication impairment was a significant independent predictor for key characteristics of social relationships, including the composition of the social network, certain types of social support, the frequency of social participation, and social self-efficacy. Communication impairment was a significant predictor for higher levels of loneliness and depression. In addition two distinct pathways between communication impairment and psychological well-being were identified, with social self-efficacy and reassurance of worth as mediators. Additional insights were provided by the qualitative results. These findings may guide future clinical practice and research by providing a better understanding of the role of communication in health, disability, and the risk of social isolation.

In six experiments, the relationships between history of falls, reinvestment, fear of falling, perception, balance ability and walking ability of community-dwelling older adults was investigated. In addition, the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS) (Masters, Polman, & Hammond, 1993; Masters, Eves, & Maxwell, 2005) was further validated, using a Chinese version (MSRS-C). In the first experiment (Chapter 2), it was shown that elder fallers scored significantly higher than non-fallers on both the movement self-consciousness and the conscious motor processing components of the MSRS-C. The conscious motor processing component of the MSRS-C was found to discriminate previous faller from non-faller status. In the second experiment (Chapter 3), findings demonstrated that internal focus of attention was greater in elder repeat fallers and increased as task demands increased. However, external focus of attention increased in both elder repeat fallers and elder non-fallers as task demands increased. Elder repeat fallers scored significantly higher than elder non-fallers on the MSRS-C. In the third and fourth experiments (Chapter 4), it was revealed that elder fallers demonstrated greater fear of falling and a higher propensity for movement specific reinvestment than non-fallers. Elderly people perceived stairs as steeper than they were and judged stairs as steeper when making visual-matching and verbal-report estimates that required conscious involvement compared to haptic estimates that are thought to require little conscious involvement. Overestimations when making explicit, conscious judgments were reduced by carrying out a concurrent secondary task during estimation, but there was little effect of the secondary task on implicit, non-conscious judgments of steepness. In Chapter 5, focus group work was conducted to investigate whether (1) elderly people respond differently when asked to complete the MSRS-C in respect of contexts that are not directly related to balance or locomotion and (2) elderly people are better able to differentiate a 4-point Likert response format when completing the MSRS-C than the original 6-point format. Experiment five (Chapter 6) further validated the MSRS-C based on the findings from Chapter 5. Results revealed that both the MSRS-C (general) and MSRS-C (walking) can be used with a six-point or a four-point response format to differentiate elderly Chinese fallers from non-fallers. The overall findings were discussed in the context of theories of motor learning and reinvestment. Implications for rehabilitation training were elucidated. / published_or_final_version / Human Performance / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2002. / Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 23, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Behavioural and Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences. Degree awarded 2002; thesis submitted 2001. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

Legislation mandates that older adults, who receive Title III-C assistance should be provided with nutrition education, nutrition counseling, and other nutrition services, as appropriate, based on the needs of individuals. The amount and content of nutrition education, however, is subject to variation of state guidelines. The purpose of this study is to measure the type and amount of nutrition education being provided to congregate meal site and home delivered meal participants and to identify if special accommodations are being made for those participants with visual and hearing impairments in the states of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota (Region V). The nutrition representatives for congregate meal site and home delivered meal programs within the six states were sent an e-mail questionnaire. Results showed that while majority of the states are meeting their own state guidelines, having uniformity amongst the states could strengthen the nutrition education program for older adults receiving congregate or home delivered nutrition services within Region V. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences