Elderly Health Journal
Volume:9 Issue: 2, Dec 2023

Various reports have documented the psychological issues that affect the elderly. According to estimates, approximately 20% of the geriatric population experiences at least one psychological symptom or disorder. The aim of this study is to establish the frequency of psychological symptoms in the elderly population in İstanbul, Turkey.

This cross-sectional study was conducted with 350 participants aged 65 and over, between 01.02.2019 and 19.07.2019. The psychiatric symptoms of the participants were evaluated with the Symptom Check List-90 Revised (SCL-90-R) test.

Psychological symptoms are present in 32.9% of the elderly population. The prevalence of depressive symptoms is 32.9% and the rate of obsessions is 26.6%. Somatization is present in 13.4% of cases, while interpersonal sensitivity is observed in 8.9% of cases. The paranoid symptom rate is 10.6%. While 6.9% of the participants have possible anger disorder symptoms, the rate of participants with anxiety symptoms is 6.6%. The rate of participants with probable phobic symptoms is 5.4%, and the rate of those with psychotic symptoms is 4.0%.

Psychiatric problems encountered in old age negatively affect the quality of life. Because the most common psychological symptoms were depression, obsession, and somatization, family physicians should conduct screenings for possible mental problems in elderly individuals registered with them, regardless of the reason.

Given the increasing elderly population and the decreasing role of families in elderly care, the use of up-to-date technologies by older adults will become increasingly important in helping them live healthier and better lives. This study aimed to determine the acceptance of information and communication technology (ICT) by older adults and related factors in Yazd city, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 with the participation of 360 older adults aged over 60 years from comprehensive health care centers in Yazd city, Iran. Participants were selected using a multi-stage random sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic information questionnaire and an Information and Communication Technology Acceptance Questionnaire completed by interview. Data were analyzed using descriptive indices, independent two-sample t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and regression by SPSS.

The ICT acceptance rate among older adults was 22.5%. The highest mean score was related to the dimension of perceived usefulness (15.37). The most significant barriers to ICT acceptance were lack of interest (48.6%), lack of sufficient skills (46.4%), and lack of perceived need (45.3%). The regression results showed that age, level of education, smartphone use, and time spent on technology tools were predictors of ICT acceptance by older adults, accounting for 82% of the variance in ICT acceptance.

Given the low level of technology acceptance among older adults in Yazd city and the need to learn and use ICT to meet their individual, social, health, and medical needs, as well as to live a more independent life and save time and costs, providing older adults with the opportunity to become familiar with technology is essential.

Sensory loss and depressive symptoms (DS) may be an increasing concern in ageing adults. Some previous studies in China found bidirectional associations between sensory loss and DS, but we lack information on this relationship in Southeast Asia. The purpose of this study was to assess the bidirectional association between sensory loss and DS in a longitudinal study in Thailand.

The responses of participants (≥ 45 years) of two consecutive waves (2015 and 2017) of the Health, Aging and Retirement in Thailand (HART) study were analysed. Sensory loss was assessed with self-reported questions and DS with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale.

The analytic baseline sample included 3708 participants (median = 66 years) who responded to the 2015 and 2017 survey. The prevalence of vision, hearing and dual sensory loss were 25.4%, 13.3% and 7.9%, respectively, and the prevalence of DS was 12.3%. In the final model, adjusted for relevant confounders, vision, hearing, and sensory loss at baseline were positively associated with incident DS (AOR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.74; AOR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.23 to 2.38; and AOR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.20 to 2.69, respectively). DS at baseline was not significantly associated with incident vision, hearing or dual sensory loss.

Baseline vision, hearing, and dual sensory loss increase the odds of incident DS, but baseline DS did not significantly increase the odds of incident vision, hearing, or dual sensory loss among ageing adults in Thailand.

When aging starts, the human being becomes prone and vulnerable to a variety of diseases and disorders, specifically Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is the main reason for about 80% of the cases of dementia in older adults. AD is associated with a range of challenging disorders, such as aggression and anxiety, which make the lives of patients more difficult. This study aimed at investigating the impact of English language teaching on aggression and anxiety among older people with AD.

The design of this study was quasi-experimental pre-test post-test with the control group. The participants of the study included 40 Iranian (20 males and 20 females) older adults (≥ 65 years) who were suffering from AD in Kerman province, Iran, and also they were selected through convenience sampling. The exercise group participated in 20 sessions of English language teaching three times a week in 40 minutes. Then, the effect of English language teaching on both aggression and anxiety was analyzed. The required data were collected through the Persian version of the Bass-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and the Persian version of the Spielberger State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory. Data analysis was conducted by running descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test, Leven test, and one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA).

English language teaching significantly affected aggression among older people with AD (F= 9.112 p < 0.05, w2 = 0.178) similarly; it significantly affected anxiety (F = 9.147 p < 0.05, w2 = 0.130).

English language teaching significantly improves aggression and anxiety among older people with AD. The findings have implications for the elderly with AD and their families, psychiatrists, and English language teaching policymakers.

COVID-19 has changed all the routine works of human beings around the globe. The food habits of the elderly are changing due to various reasons. The purpose of this study was to find out the factors influencing food habit changes due to the pandemic.

A non-experimental research design, a survey, was executed at Sachibunia, Nijkhamr, Krishnonagar, and Raingamari villages under Batiaghata Upazila in the Khulna District of Bangladesh. Following a simple random sampling technique, data were collected through a field survey using an interview schedule. To show the relations between/among the variables, the chi-square/Fisher exact test was performed.  For measuring the degree of relations of those variables, Binary Logistic Regression  was used to find out the factors of food habit changes with a 95% confidence interval. For the model, p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The study reveals that 39% of the elderly changed their food habits during COVID-19. Except for the sex and employment status of the elderly, all the sociodemographic factors of this study were associated with food habit changes. Among these sociodemographic factors, age (OR = 2.51, 95% CI, 1.22-5.18), religion (OR = 2.07, 95% CI, 1.13-3.78), spouses' occupation (OR = 3.73, 95% CI, 1.90-7.32), and family head (OR = 3.74, 95% CI, 1.43-9.75) of the elderly influenced their food habits changes.

The socio-demographic and economic situations were responsible for the elderly’s food habits changes.

The main capital of any organization is its human resources (HR). Organizations invest substantial costs in attracting, retaining, and training individuals. Therefore, it is essential to identify and implement appropriate practices to preserve and enhance HR. Aging of employees is an inevitable phenomenon that poses challenges to all organizations, irrespective of specific geographical locations, because the employees will get old and leave the organization. This research aims to identify HR management practices for aging employees in public organizations in Jahrom City, Fars Province, Iran, in the year 2022.

This study utilizes meta-synthesis and Delphi methods to extract and identify management practices for aging HR. In the meta-synthesis section, the library method was used and community under study in the Delphi section included 28 academic (university professors with doctorate degrees in HR or organizational behavior) and organizational (senior managers and HR managers of public organizations in Jahrom) experts. The research tool used in the Delphi section was a questionnaire conducted in 3 rounds.

Through the study of the sources using meta-synthesis method, a total of 79 organizational practices were identified, categorized into 11 main dimensions. After three rounds, a consensus was reached on 60 practices, organized into 9 main dimensions, and the Delphi rounds were concluded. In the final round, no new practices were suggested or removed. Due to the minimal differences in the Kendall coefficient among the different rounds, the Delphi rounds were concluded.

It is necessary to plan and implement all these practices in parallel and simultaneously. However, as the most crucial management measure is planning, there is a need for planning, coordination, and harmonization at the legislative, administrative, and recruitment levels. Implementing the proposed practices through organizational experts, HR managers, and the active participation of aging employees in implementing practical practices will lead to better execution.