Gerontologist

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: While the vulnerabilities stemming from the intersection of aging and migration are widely recognized, the migration contexts and the factors influencing the mental health of older unforced migrants have received scant attention. This review explores the drivers of unforced migrations in later life and the individual, relational, and structural factors influencing their mental health and well-being. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Following the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of seven databases for English peer-reviewed journal articles was conducted...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Personal care interactions can provide vital opportunities for caregivers to engage with a person living with advanced dementia. However, interactions may also be a contentious experience, what makes this so is not fully understood. We aimed to examine features of personal care interactions between caregivers and people with advanced dementia to understand how care may be improved. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a naturalistic observation study using one-off video-recorded observations of personal care interactions between fourteen people with advanced dementia and twelve caregivers (n=7 care-home staff, n=5 family carers) in the UK (total observation time 03:01:52)...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to critically examine current knowledge on the role of personality in successful aging, considering McAdams' (Hooker & McAdams, 2003; McAdams, 2015) three-level, six-foci model of personality. The aim was also to pinpoint knowledge gaps that research should address in the future. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We carried out a scoping review on the literature on successful aging and personality, following the five-step framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and further expanded by Levac et al...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Persons with dementia and their care partners have known risks for loneliness and social isolation throughout the disease trajectory, yet little is described about social lives in a population heterogeneous for disease stage, syndrome type, and setting. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative interviews from multiple studies to triangulate responses from a cohort of persons with dementia (n = 24), and active (n = 33) or bereaved (n = 15) care partners diverse in setting, dementia type and stage, and life experience...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There have been major changes in military service over the past 50 years. Most research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among combat Veterans comes from help-seeking Vietnam and WWII cohorts; results from more recent cohort comparisons are mixed. The present study addressed these gaps by exploring cohort differences among Vietnam, Persian Gulf, and Post-9/11 combat Veterans from a life course perspective. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We recruited community-dwelling combat and war zone Veterans (N = 167), primarily from Veterans' associations in Oregon from three cohorts: Vietnam, Persian Gulf, and Post-911...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many community dementia services such as home-visiting services and center-based activities were suspended during the coronavirus 2019 pandemic. This study investigated the efficacy of a caregiver-delivered cognitive stimulation therapy (CDCST) on people with dementia during the pandemic. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a 2-arm randomized controlled trial involving 241 patient-caregiver dyads assigned to a 15-week CDCST or control group (usual care)...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Caregivers of persons with dementia are frequently spouses. Caregiver hospitalization causes disruption to caregiving. The goal of this research was to understand the preparedness and stress trajectory peri-caregiver hospitalization. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Mixed methods were used. Caregivers of spouses with dementia (n=1000) were surveyed to determine their perceived preparedness for their own hospitalization. Journey mapping interviews (n=18) were used to map caregivers' experiences during five phases: 1) their spouse with dementia (SWD)'s dementia diagnosis, 2) their SWD's dementia progression, 3) their own health event, 4) their own hospitalization, and 5) their own return home from hospital...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Meals in long term care (LTC) are essential to residents not only for nutrition and their physical well-being, but also for their social interactions supporting resident quality of life. This study aims to understand the mealtime experiences of residents and family care partners during the COVID-19 pandemic when restrictions were put in place in LTC and retirement homes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Interpretive description analysis of qualitative interviews in LTC and retirement homes, with 17 family care partners and 4 residents...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) is a major cause of death in the United States. While effective interventions have been developed to deliver palliative care to nursing home residents with ADRD, little work has identified effective interventions to reach assisted living (AL) residents with dementia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: One hundred and eighteen AL residents with dementia from 10 different ALs in Florida participated...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Emerging evidence suggests music-based interventions can improve well-being for people living with dementia, but little is known about the ways in which music might support dementia caregiving relationships as part of everyday life at home. This study examined music engagement in the context of daily life to identify patterns of music engagement and potential targets for the design of music-based interventions to support well-being. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This ethnographic, in-home study of people living with dementia and their family and professional care partners used methods from ethnomusicology, including semi-structured interviews and in-home participant-observation with a focus on music engagement...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Social disconnection is highly prevalent in older adults and is associated with frailty. It is unclear which aspects of social disconnection are most associated with frailty, which ones are difference-making, and which combination of social factors are directly linked to frailty. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a secondary coincidence analysis (CNA) of 1,071 older adults from the Rush Memory and Aging Project (mean age 79.3 ± 7...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There are a growing number of early-phase (i.e., Stage I, NIH Stage Model) interventions targeted at family care dyads navigating chronic health conditions in older adults. Currently, benefits of these interventions are often evaluated for older adults and their family care partners separately, even when controlling for interdependence. Without understanding benefits (and potential harms) for dyads as a whole, understanding of program impact is incomplete. Moreover, few health behavior interventions involving dyads include relational measures to ensure no unintended consequences for the dyad or account for within-dyad pre-test risk level...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Healthcare services are rarely designed to meet the needs of Indigenous people, resulting in culturally unsafe care and assessment tools. This paper describes a collaboration between North East Behavioural Supports Ontario (NEBSO), university researchers, and Indigenous communities to adapt a biographical assessment tool used by NEBSO to be culturally appropriate and safe for Indigenous older adults (55+) in long-term care facilities in Ontario, Canada. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Over 36 months, this project applied an Indigenized, community-based participatory research (CBPR) and cultural safety framework to the adaptation process...

The complexities surrounding aging, dementia, and care are timely and urgent issues that transcend beyond institutional boundaries, evincing a critical debate on later life across disciplines. In recent decades, there has been a significant rise in literary and cultural representations of dementia and care narratives, which offer valuable insights into the intricate paradigms of living and growing older with this condition. In her memoir I Remain in Darkness (1999), the Nobel Prize winning author Annie Ernaux provides a candid account of her mother's journey through dementia, from its onset to the gradual decline...