Introdução: A humanidade passa por uma transformação notável, com profundas implicações para a organização social e para as políticas de Saúde Pública: o envelhecimento da população. Ao contrário dos países desenvolvidos, no Brasil e na maioria dos países em desenvolvimento a população idosa vem aumentando em um cenário de pobreza e despreparo. Nesse quadro, os idosos com idade igual ou superior a 80 anos – que, segundo o Censo de 2000, já eram 1.787.607 - representam um segmento da população pouco estudado e que possui demandas e características singulares e notavelmente diferentes das dos idosos mais jovens. Objetivo: Este estudo, parte do projeto SABE, tem como objetivo descrever as características sócio-demográficas e de saúde da população com idade igual ou maior que 80 anos residente no Município de São Paulo e que participou do estudo SABE no ano de 2000. Metodologia: Essa pesquisa é parte do Estudo SABE – Saúde, Bem-estar e Envelhecimento -, estudo multicêntrico que busca traçar o perfil dos idosos na América Latina e Caribe. A população de estudo foi composta pelos 2136 idosos residentes, no ano de 2000, na área urbana do município de São Paulo, e os dados coletados por meio de questionário padronizado. Resultados: observou-se uma alta prevalência de doenças crônicas não-transmissíveis nessa população, com destaque para a hipertensão e doenças reumáticas. A dentição, a audição e a visão foram mal avaliadas pelos muito idosos entrevistados, e as quedas, realidade para 40,7% dessa população, foram sérias o suficiente para demandarem atendimento médico em 40,2% dos casos. Apesar da fragilidade funcional, uma alarmante proporção de indivíduos não obtinha tratamento adequado e acesso a medicamentos, mesmo para enfermidades graves, como diabetes, doenças cardíacas e cerebrovasculares. Além disso, esses idosos careciam de adequada assistência de cuidadores, mesmo em atividades básicas, como ir ao banheiro ou locomoção. Esse quadro é agravado pelo fato de 14% dos homens e ¼ das mulheres viverem sozinhos, sendo esse o arranjo domiciliar no qual os níveis de ajuda foram os menores encontrados. Os muito idosos brasileiros encontraram-se marginalizados por órgãos públicos e assistenciais despreparados para atender às necessidades especiais desse segmento. Descritores: envelhecimento, muito idosos / Introduction: The world has suffered a remarkable change over the last years with profound implications for Public Health policies: the ageing of its population. Differently from what has happened in developed countries, population ageing in Brazil - and in most developing countries – has taken place in an extremely challenging environment, in which wealth inequalities and inefficient health care systems are the rule. The oldest old are at grater risk because it is an age group that demands very specialized care. Objective: to describe the population aged 80 or over in the Municipality of São Paulo, Brazil, in the year 2000. Methods: this research is part of the SABE study (Helth, Well Being and Ageing), which aims to describe the elderly population in Latin America and the Caribbean. Subjects were 2136 elderly people in São Paulo, Brazil. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: there was a high prevalence of chronic diseases, especially hypertension and rheumatic diseases. Hearing and dental health were badly assessed; 42% had suffered at least one fall and 40,2% of these falls were serious enough to demand medical assistance. Despite the high prevalence of morbidities, a high proportion of the population – sometimes greater than 50% - did not have medicines or appropriate treatment for these diseases, being many of them as serious as heart diseases or diabetes. They also lacked assistance from caregivers, even for basic activities of daily living, such as moving around in the house or using the bathroom. 14% of the elderly men and 25% of the elderly women aged 80 or over lived alone, and this was the worst living arrangement when it comes to receiving help from caregivers. The future for the oldest old living in the Municipality of São Paulo looks bleak, and urgent measures have to be taken in order to prevent the health care system from collapsing.

Introdução: A humanidade passa por uma transformação notável, com profundas implicações para a organização social e para as políticas de Saúde Pública: o envelhecimento da população. Ao contrário dos países desenvolvidos, no Brasil e na maioria dos países em desenvolvimento a população idosa vem aumentando em um cenário de pobreza e despreparo. Nesse quadro, os idosos com idade igual ou superior a 80 anos – que, segundo o Censo de 2000, já eram 1.787.607 - representam um segmento da população pouco estudado e que possui demandas e características singulares e notavelmente diferentes das dos idosos mais jovens. Objetivo: Este estudo, parte do projeto SABE, tem como objetivo descrever as características sócio-demográficas e de saúde da população com idade igual ou maior que 80 anos residente no Município de São Paulo e que participou do estudo SABE no ano de 2000. Metodologia: Essa pesquisa é parte do Estudo SABE – Saúde, Bem-estar e Envelhecimento -, estudo multicêntrico que busca traçar o perfil dos idosos na América Latina e Caribe. A população de estudo foi composta pelos 2136 idosos residentes, no ano de 2000, na área urbana do município de São Paulo, e os dados coletados por meio de questionário padronizado. Resultados: observou-se uma alta prevalência de doenças crônicas não-transmissíveis nessa população, com destaque para a hipertensão e doenças reumáticas. A dentição, a audição e a visão foram mal avaliadas pelos muito idosos entrevistados, e as quedas, realidade para 40,7% dessa população, foram sérias o suficiente para demandarem atendimento médico em 40,2% dos casos. Apesar da fragilidade funcional, uma alarmante proporção de indivíduos não obtinha tratamento adequado e acesso a medicamentos, mesmo para enfermidades graves, como diabetes, doenças cardíacas e cerebrovasculares. Além disso, esses idosos careciam de adequada assistência de cuidadores, mesmo em atividades básicas, como ir ao banheiro ou locomoção. Esse quadro é agravado pelo fato de 14% dos homens e ¼ das mulheres viverem sozinhos, sendo esse o arranjo domiciliar no qual os níveis de ajuda foram os menores encontrados. Os muito idosos brasileiros encontraram-se marginalizados por órgãos públicos e assistenciais despreparados para atender às necessidades especiais desse segmento. Descritores: envelhecimento, muito idosos / Introduction: The world has suffered a remarkable change over the last years with profound implications for Public Health policies: the ageing of its population. Differently from what has happened in developed countries, population ageing in Brazil - and in most developing countries – has taken place in an extremely challenging environment, in which wealth inequalities and inefficient health care systems are the rule. The oldest old are at grater risk because it is an age group that demands very specialized care. Objective: to describe the population aged 80 or over in the Municipality of São Paulo, Brazil, in the year 2000. Methods: this research is part of the SABE study (Helth, Well Being and Ageing), which aims to describe the elderly population in Latin America and the Caribbean. Subjects were 2136 elderly people in São Paulo, Brazil. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: there was a high prevalence of chronic diseases, especially hypertension and rheumatic diseases. Hearing and dental health were badly assessed; 42% had suffered at least one fall and 40,2% of these falls were serious enough to demand medical assistance. Despite the high prevalence of morbidities, a high proportion of the population – sometimes greater than 50% - did not have medicines or appropriate treatment for these diseases, being many of them as serious as heart diseases or diabetes. They also lacked assistance from caregivers, even for basic activities of daily living, such as moving around in the house or using the bathroom. 14% of the elderly men and 25% of the elderly women aged 80 or over lived alone, and this was the worst living arrangement when it comes to receiving help from caregivers. The future for the oldest old living in the Municipality of São Paulo looks bleak, and urgent measures have to be taken in order to prevent the health care system from collapsing.

One challenge in the Western world is the risk of functional impairmentand chronic disease accompanying older age. In Norway it is expected thatmost chronically ill older persons will continue to live at home and receivehelp from home nursing care. The inner strength of the oldest old, as seenin relation to the help that is given, and whether the help has contributed tostrengthen the will to live has been explored only to a limited extent.Meaning in life and daily routines can be related to the will to live,understood as enjoying life and having the courage to live. The aim of thisstudy is to develop knowledge in regard to chronically ill oldest olderpersons and the possibilities and limitations in their will to live when theyreceive help from home nursing care.This study uses the quantitative method (n=120, Article 1 and Article 2) todescribe the characteristics of inner strength using the questionnairesResilience Scale, Sense of Coherence Scale, Purpose in Life Test, and Self-Transcendence Scale. Inner strength was seen in relation to mental andphysical health using the questionnaire SF-36. The qualitative method wasused to illuminate how the oldest older persons experienced living at homewith chronic illness (n=13, Article 3) and receiving help from home nursingcare (n=11, Article 4). The participants in this study were 80 years old orolder, living at home with chronic illnesses, and receiving help from homenursing care. All participants were determined to have the mental capacityto take part in this study.The analysis showed in Article 1 that the oldest old had an inner strengthexpressed as ”sense of coherence” and ”purpose in life.” Their innerstrength was accompanied by the ability for self-transcendence. Mentalhealth was predicted by self-transcendence (p < 0.001) for the total sampleand for women. Physical health was predicted by self-transcendence (p <0.01) for the total sample. Low resilience contributed to vulnerability for theparticipants. They were vulnerable in terms of limited perseverance, selfreliance,and existential aloneness (Article 2). On the contrary, theyexperienced equanimity and meaning. Meaning in daily life (Article 3)sometimes meant feelings of insufficiency and dependency. In contrast,they also experienced joy in life, gratitude for living at home, and aneagerness to participate in activities that made them feel alive. Theyexperienced both good and bad days, which depended on their illness butwas also based on how their needs for help and support were met. InviiArticle 4, receiving help indicated different experiences. Being ill anddependent on help led to days with illness, treatment, and receiving care. Italso indicated they were in need of professional help. Receiving help couldmean being at the mercy of helpers, which could imply unworthy help, asthey had no influence on the help they got from incompetent nurses whofocused only on tasks, with limited flexibility in their work, using theirhomes as a working place. This situation of receiving help from busynurses caused the old person to feel inferior as a human being. Other timesit meant receiving help from nurses who took care with respect to the oldperson and confirmed him or her as a human being. The older personswanted to be seen, met, and supported to strengthen their courage to meetthe challenges of being old and ill.According to the ethics of caring, human beings are vulnerable andmutually dependent on each other. This influences the possibilities andlimitations of ”the other” in experiencing a will to live. ”Receiving theother” can contribute to the will to live, influenced by the help received inan asymmetric dependency in which the nurses are caught in the tensionbetween suffering and the will to live for the oldest older person in need ofhelp. In this tension, the will to live is dependent on help that is given in arelationship characterized by caring and responsibility for the other.

No description available.

This study examined links of cumulative and present depressive symptoms with present cortisol diurnal profiles in oldest-old adults. Five waves of data from 50 older adults (M age = 89.05 years; 64% women) who participated in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing were used to combine 15 years of longitudinal data with seven cortisol samples per day over a one-week period. Findings revealed that individuals with more past depressive symptoms showed a lower cortisol awakening response (CAR). Interestingly, present depressive symptoms were not associated with the CAR. These findings inform our understanding of distal health factors in very old age.

The overall purpose of this thesis is to describe, explore and illuminate inner strength among the oldest old. The thesis has a salutogenic perspective where strengths and health are in the foreground instead of weakness and ill health. The thesis is part of The Umeå 85+ study and comprises four studies with both quantitative and qualitative data. The aim of Study I was to test reliability and validity of the Swedish language version of the Resilience Scale (RS) in regard to its stability, internal consistency and validity. A convenience sample of 142 participants aged 19 to 85 years answered the questionnaires the first time and 126 on the retest. In Study II scales aimed to measure phenomena related to inner strength, health and development were used. The aim was to describe resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life, and self-transcendence in relation to perceived physical and mental health in a sample of 125 participants aged 85 to 103 years. Study III aimed to give a more extensive knowledge of resilience among the oldest old. The relationship between resilience and physical health factors, psychological health factors, diseases and social relations were examined among a sample of 192 persons aged 85 to 103 years. In order to deepen the knowledge about inner strength from a life world perspective the aim of study IV was to illuminate the meaning of inner strength as narrated by women and men 85 and 90 years old. The sample consisted of those 18 participants that scored the highest on the scales aimed at measure phenomena related to inner strength. The findings in study I showed that the Swedish version of the RS was both valid and reliable. Construct validity was established by satisfactory correlations coefficient values between the RS and the Sense of Coherence Scale and the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale. A principal component analysis corresponded well to the original version of the RS. Reliability was assured with both satisfactory internal consistency as well as test-retest reliability. The findings in study II showed significant correlations between the scales aimed to measure resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life and self-transcendence which indicates that the scales reflect some kind of common core, which was interpreted as inner strength. The oldest old scored high on all scales, this indicating that strength can be preserved or perhaps even increased in old age. The finding also showed lack of significant correlations between the scales and perceived physical health but significant correlations between these scales and perceived mental health among the women but not for the men. No significant correlation was found between physical and mental health. In study III a regression analysis showed that a strong resilience among the oldest old was found to be associated with health, mainly represented by absence of depressed mood but also by not being on medication and by the absence of psychological symptoms, but also that raising children in the past gave a meaning to the present by having a family and this produced feelings of feeling safe and secure in facing the inevitable future; that is, being resilient means living in connectedness with one’s past, present, and future. In study IV a phenomenological hermeneutic approach to the interview text disclosed a meaning of inner strength as Life goes on –living it all, meaning that inner strength still makes it possible to live, handle and being open to ones life in many of its potentials. Inner strength means that one can chose to stand up and fight as well as living in reconciliation, a possibility to work hard as well as feeling relaxed, inner strength means having tasks to accomplish as well as feeling content and proud over ones life as well as life itself, it means relying in oneself as well as having faith in others and God (for some), knowing that you as a person is the same as well as accepting and adjusting to changes. It means that one can chose aloneness and still be connected, it is to be living in the present as well as in one’s past and in the future. That is, living in wholeness. The findings of the studies are discussed in relation to personal strengths and a good aging.

Background: Although there is significant scholarly interest in defining the concept of successful aging, there are very few small-scale, in-depth qualitative studies examining the lived experience of women over 80 who self-identify as aging successfully. Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the lived experience of a small group of community-dwelling Jewish women over 80 in a single county in Northwestern Vermont who self-identify as aging successfully. Approach: This study has a phenomenological approach. Method: Phenomenological interviews were conducted with five women over 80 years of age. Interview content was analyzed, and shared themes were synthesized. Findings: Findings revealed the following shared themes: acknowledgement of extraordinary quality of life events and/or circumstances, extensive and ongoing social involvement with communities and/or individuals, and strong sense of self. Conclusions: The lived experiences of participants who self-identified as aging successfully were characterized by gratitude for the lives they led and continue to lead, extensive and ongoing communal and interpersonal social engagement, and high levels of self-esteem and self-knowledge. Implications for practice: Interventions focused on promoting gratitude, ongoing social engagement, and self-esteem/efficacy may improve individuals' chances of aging successfully; women over 80 respond positively given the opportunity to tell their story, and may benefit from affiliation with a religious community.

Background: Fall risk increases with age and visual impairment, yet the oldest-old adults (>85 years) are rarely studied. Partnered dance improves mobility, balance, and quality of life in older individuals with movement impairment. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the feasibility and participant satisfaction of an adapted tango program amongst these oldest-old adults with visual impairment. Exploratory analyses were conducted to determine efficacy of the program in improving balance and gait. Methods: In a repeated-measures, one-group experimental design, 13 older adults (7 women; age: M = 86.9 years, SD = 5.9 years, range = 77–95 years) with visual impairment (best eye acuity: M = 0.63, SD = 0.6 logMAR) participated in an adapted tango program of twenty 1.5-hour lessons, within 11 weeks. Feasibility included evaluation of facility access, safety, volunteer assistant retention, and participant retention and satisfaction. Participants were evaluated for balance, lower body strength, and quality of life in two baseline observations, immediately after the program and 1 month later. Results: Twelve participants completed the program. The facility was adequate, no injuries were sustained, and participants and volunteers were retained throughout. Participants reported enjoyment and improvements in physical well-being. Exploratory measures of dynamic postural control (p < .001), lower body strength (p = .056), and general vision-related quality of life (p = .032) scores showed improvements following training. Discussion: These older individuals with visual impairment benefitted from 30 hours of tango instruction adapted for their capabilities.

Alors que les personnes âgées de 80 ans et plus (oldest old dans la littérature anglophone) constituent un segment de la population de plus en plus important dans le monde et que l’âge est le principal facteur de risque de démence, peu d’études se sont intéressées à la cognition et à la démence dans cette population. Le premier objectif de cette thèse a été de synthétiser les données épidémiologiques et neuropsychologiques relatives aux oldest old dans le cadre du vieillissement normal et de la démence. Le manque de connaissances, d’outils et de normes adaptées pour les oldest old font de l’évaluation neuropsychologique un véritable challenge. Ainsi, dans un deuxième travail, nous avons développé des normes pour sept tests neuropsychologiques communément utilisés en clinique, administrés auprès d’une population de sujets très âgés. Néanmoins, les outils habituellement utilisés présentent des contraintes pour les très âgés qui peuvent remettre en cause leur fiabilité. Le Test des Neuf Images du 93 (TNI-93) - test évaluant la mémoire épisodique initialement développé pour les sujets de bas niveau d’étude - comporte de nombreux avantages eu égard aux spécificités cliniques des oldest old. Dans un troisième travail, nous avons cherché à étudier l’utilité du TNI-93 chez les oldest old en établissant des normes puis en étudiant ses propriétés de détection de la démence dans cette population. L’ensemble de ces travaux pourrait contribuer à améliorer la prise de décision diagnostique dans cette population, même s’il convient de souligner l’importance de promouvoir la recherche dans ce domaine pour comprendre les enjeux cliniques et neuropsychologiques du très grand âge. / While persons aged 80 years and over, the so-called “oldest old”, constitute the fastest growing segment of the population worldwide and age is the major risk factor for developing dementia, only few studies have addressed cognition and dementia in this population. The first objective of this thesis was to review the epidemiological and neuropsychological data relating to oldest old in the context of normal aging and dementia. The lack of knowledge, tools and normative data for oldest old make neuropsychological assessment a real challenge for clinicians. For this reason, the second step consisted in computing normative data for seven neuropsychological tests commonly used in clinical practice collected in an oldest old population. Likewise, the tools generally used in older adults testing involve constraints that question the reliability of the measurement. The “Test des Neuf Images of the 93” (TNI-93), (meaning Nine Images test of the district of Seine-Saint-Denis in the suburb of Paris) - test evaluating episodic memory initially developed for low-educational level subjects - could deal with the testing difficulties due to clinical specificities of oldest old. Thus, in a third work, we assessed the relevance of TNI-93 in oldest old by providing normative data, and also by studying its dementia detection properties in this specific population. Taken together, these works may contribute to improve decision-making diagnosis in oldest old population even though it is necessary to underline the importance of promoting research in this domain to deal with the clinical and neuropsychological challenges of the very old age.

The fast growth of the Chinese oldest old population indicates higher demand for long-term care. In China, families assume the primary responsibility of caring for older adults. Since the oldest elders are more likely to be widowed, their adult children usually become their caregivers. Focusing on the Chinese adult children who provide care for their oldest-old parents, this study documented and helped to explain Chinese adult children's caregiving strain. A conceptual framework was developed based on Pearlin's stress process theory, Higgins' framework of self-concept discrepancy, and previous studies on family caregivers of elders. Using an existing dataset from the 2005 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey of 895 caregivers and their care recipients, the researcher tested whether and how caregiving context (caregiver's structured context and care recipients' needs for care), caregiving performance, and sibling support were related to five types of caregiving strain including sacrifice strain, exhaustion strain, capability strain, expectation strain, and dependency strain. The results indicate that caregiving context and caregiving performance are statistically related to different types of caregiver strain. Three independent variables in the set of caregiving context, self-evaluation of living standard, education, and cultural identity, were related to two types of caregiver strain in different directions. The caregivers who were the eldest sons, who were females caring for female elders, who had a close relationship with their care recipients, who lived with the care recipients, who provided care for the elders with more needs for care in ADL (Activities of Daily Living), or whose care recipients had health insurance reported higher levels of at least one type of caregiver strain. Care recipients' cognitive status and entitlement to pension were negatively related to at least one type of caregiver strain. Caregivers' rural residence, having a job outside the family, having a child under age 16, and care recipient's needs for care in IADL (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living) were not found to be related to any type of caregiver strain. Monetary assistance, which was indicated by the proportion of their annual household per capita income that the caregivers provided to care recipients, was found to be positively related to caregivers' capability strain. The amount of time spent in caregiving (time assistance) was positively related to three types of caregiver strain: exhaustion, expectation, and dependency strain. Time assistance was also found to mediate the relationship between care recipients' needs for care in ADL and caregivers' exhaustion strain and the relationship between dependency strain and three caregiving context variables: closeness between caregivers and care recipients, co-residence with care recipients, and care recipients' needs for care in ADL. The results revealed the importance of caregiving context and caregiving performance in explaining Chinese adult-child caregivers' experience and the necessity of investigating caregiver strain in different dimensions. This study contributes to understanding caregiver strain from a filial perspective. The results imply directions for future research, social work practice and education, and policy legislation in addressing Chinese adult children's strain in caring for their oldest-old parents.