bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
THE RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIAL ISOLATION TO SELF-NEGLECT AMONG OLDER ADULTS: RESULTS OF A NATIONAL SURVEY
Authors: Kotwal Ashwin , Mullen Rebecca , Cenzer Irena , Burnett Jason , Perissinotto Carla , Hawkley Louise 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Self-neglect among older adults is characterized by inattention to hygiene and one’s immediate living conditions, and may reflect unmet needs from social relationships. We therefore determined if social isolation was associated with self-neglect and how the association differed by gender. We used data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) Wave 3 (2015), a nationally-representative survey of 3,677 community-dwelling older adults. Social isolation was determined using a 12-item scale assessing household contacts, social network interaction, and community engagement. Self-neglect was assessed in-person and included 1) body neglect (lowest quintile of bodily self-presentation related to clothes and hygiene) and 2) household neglect (lowest quintile of household building condition, cleanliness, odor and clutter). Logistic regression was used to determine the adjusted probability of self-neglect by social isolation, and interaction terms with gender. Results indicated the association between social isolation and self-neglect differed by gender (p-values for interaction: body neglect: 0.02, household neglect: 0.20). Among women, social isolation was associated with a higher risk of body neglect (social isolation: 26% vs no isolation: 14%, p=0.001) and household neglect (23% vs 17%, p=0.05). For men, social isolation was not associated with body neglect (27% vs 23% p=0.2) or household neglect (23% vs 22%, p=0.8). In summary, social isolation was associated with body and household neglect among women, but was not associated with neglect among men. Future work should investigate mechanisms for gender differences and interventions to address or prevent self-neglect through enhancing social connectedness.
OLDER ADULT VOLUNTEERS AS MENTORS IN GERIATRIC EDUCATION
Authors: Knebl Janice 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Health professions education that involves older adults has been shown to be effective in improving students’ clinical skills and attitudes towards older adults. With the goal of introducing healthcare students to geriatric care through first-hand experiences, the “Seniors Assisting in Geriatrics Education (SAGE)” Program involves older adult volunteers age 65+ in virtual person-centered health promotion visits with teams of three to four students. Through an application process, mentors are selected and receive orientation materials before visits with their assigned team. Students represent eight disciplines: dietetics, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, social work, and speech language pathology. Students practice basic clinical skills and screening techniques while working as a team and receiving feedback and input from their mentor. In 2022, we surveyed older adult volunteers to evaluate their mentor experience using open-ended and Likert style questions on a scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Survey responses (n=99) show that most mentors agreed students collaborated well (94%), health promotion topics for each visit were beneficial (83% to 85%), and they were satisfied with their SAGE experience (96%). Mentors identified opportunities for improvement related to student and mentor preparation, in-person versus online visits, and establishing rapport between mentors and teams. Results were used to enhance mentor training and engagement and to create community partnerships for recruitment and mentor diversity. By prioritizing recruitment of and training for volunteers, older adults can actively and effectively participate in meaningful educational experiences with health professions students.
EVALUATING PROGRAMS WITH OLDER ADULTS AND CAREGIVERS AS PARTNERS IN PATIENT EDUCATION
Authors: Murphy Sara 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
The Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center has several programs where patients, older adults, caregivers and healthcare stakeholders are incorporated directly into the educational experience or provide feedback to inform the design of educational programs. In addition to the program design, there are evaluation considerations related to incorporating these important stakeholders to best capture the impact of this group. The goal of evaluation research has become more and more important in program design, especially with interdisciplinary programs and programs involving multiple stakeholder groups. Evaluation research is the assessment of outcomes and information that will inform future decision making. These stakeholders are important partners and have an important impact on program design and research outcomes, which is something that should be measured along the way. The University of North Texas Health Science Center Community Advisory Council, Infection Control Advocate and Resident Education (ICARE), Dementia Education, and Seniors Assisting in Geriatric Education are programs that will be included in this evaluation discussion. For these projects, we included evaluation components to keep the patient’s voice at the center of education planning, delivery, and improvement. This presentation will discuss the evaluation of impact in these programs, discuss barriers to measurement, and report early results. One key finding is the lack of systematic measurement tools available and the need for additional tools that can be used across settings where patients are part of the education program design.
FRIENDSHIP MATTERS: UNDERSTANDING THE LINK BETWEEN FRIENDSHIP AND HEALTH IN LATER LIFE
Authors: Lim Emily , Fiori Katherine 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Friendship matters in later life, as friends provide social support to older adults. Yet, current social relationships and health literature focuses primarily on family relationships. This symposium aims to highlight studies that explore the associations among friendship, health, and health behaviors, with a focus on individual differences. First, using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), Lim and Burr demonstrate a non-linear relationship between the number of friends and loneliness, with a possible threshold effect for men but a more complex relationship for women. In their investigation of the moderating role of friendship on the association between widowhood and cognition using the HRS, Zhang et al. also find interesting gender differences where greater friendship strain is associated with a faster cognitive decline for widowed men, but not women. Ng and Birditt also uncovers important individual differences, this time in the association between friendship and mental health among Black and White dementia caregivers. They find that emotional support from friends is linked to lower levels of anxiety and depression, but primarily for White caregivers. Mimbs et al. extend these studies to focus on health behaviors, addressing links between interactions with family and friends and hurricane preparedness and evacuation likelihood. Using an online survey of older Floridians, they show that more interactions with friends are associated with greater preparedness and evacuation likelihood. Our discussant, Katherine Fiori, will discuss how these findings can extend the literature on friendship and health in later life, with a focus on the roles of individual differences and context.
THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN NUMBER OF FRIENDS AND LONELINESS FOR OLDER MEN AND WOMEN USING THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY
Authors: Lim Emily , Burr Jeffrey 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Loneliness is a significant health risk. Older adults are susceptible to loneliness and friendship is a source of support, potentially alleviating loneliness in later life. Few studies examined the association between friendship and loneliness among older adults and whether gender moderates this association. We examined the association between friendship and loneliness for older men and women longitudinally with data from the Health and Retirement Study (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018). Our sample included 7,257 community-dwelling adults aged 50 and above (M=68.05, SD=10.38). Using multilevel linear modeling, we examined the effects of number of friends, including quadratic and cubic terms for number of friends. After controlling for covariates, our results showed having more friends is negatively associated with loneliness (β=-0.21, p&lt;.001) and for the quadratic friends term (β=0.01, p&lt;.001), and the cubic friends term (β=-0.00, p&lt;.01) on loneliness. While the number of friends is also negatively associated for both men (β=-0.15, p&lt;.001) and women (β=-0.30, p&lt;.001), there were significant effects of the quadratic (β=0.04, p&lt;.001) and cubic friends terms on loneliness for women (β=-0.00, p&lt;.001). For men, only the quadratic friends term was significant (β=0.02, p&lt;.001) but not the cubic friends term. These results show there is a non-linear relationship between number of friends and loneliness, with a possible threshold effect for men and a more complex relationship for women. Our findings have implications for friendship in later life, indicating that social interventions may need to be tailored differently for older men and women to promote friendships and potentially reduce loneliness.
WHAT ROLE DO SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS PLAY IN HURRICANE SURVIVAL?
Authors: Mimbs Hope , Barrett Anne , Noblitt Jessica , Michael Cherish , Soulie Brianna 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Despite the disproportionately high hurricane mortality rates for older adults, we know little about how hurricane preparedness and evacuation decisions are influenced by social relationships, specifically interaction with family and friends. Using data from an online survey of Floridians aged 50 and older that was conducted between December 2020 and April 2021 (n=3,797), we examine the association between frequency of interaction with family and friends and two hurricane survival measures: hurricane preparedness and likelihood of evacuation. We found that interacting more frequently with friends predicts greater hurricane preparedness, as well as a greater likelihood of evacuation. We also found that interacting more frequently with family members predicts a greater likelihood of evacuation. Our study highlights yet another benefit of social relationships: Interacting more often with friends and family can save lives during emergencies.
MATCHING DYADIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS WITH DYADIC ANALYTIC MODELS
Authors: Novak Joshua 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Examining shared and common experiences between dyads affords opportunities to answer interesting research questions using dyadic data. Emerging dyadic methodology has expanded the types of research questions researchers can ask and answer. This session aims to equip researchers with knowledge and resources for grant writing, when planning new data collection projects, or when conducting secondary data analyses. Reviewing both cross-sectional and longitudinal methods, we will walk attendees through several types of research questions and match them with appropriate dyadic analytic strategies. These include the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), the Common Fate Model, the Dyadic Growth Curve Model (and ALT Model), the Common Fate Growth Curve Model, the Random Intercept Cross-lagged Model, as well as various extensions. We will address accounting for non-independence in dyadic models, along with how to explore substantive dyadic processes. We will review ways that different approaches conceptualize, assess, and examine within and between dyad comparisons. We will also consider ways to address self and other reports of the same construct, such as health congruence/concordance or discordance/difference, as well as perceptions of accuracy or bias, enhancement, and idealization between dyads. Attendees will learn of resources available to learn more about the methods addressed in this session.
CHRONIC CONDITION DISCORDANCE WITHIN OLDER COUPLES: IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Authors: Polenick Courtney , Birditt Kira 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Nearly half of U.S. adults aged 45-64 and over 80% of those 65 and older have two or more potentially debilitating chronic conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease. Chronic condition discordance (i.e., the extent that two or more conditions have non-overlapping self-management requirements) increases care complexity and can make multiple chronic conditions more difficult to manage. Most research on multimorbidity and chronic condition discordance focuses on individuals, however older adults with chronic conditions often have a spouse or partner with chronic health problems that further complicate self-care. Our dyadic concordance model of multimorbidity posits that chronic condition discordance at the individual level (i.e., discordance in two or more chronic conditions within individuals) and the couple level (i.e., discordance in two or more chronic conditions between spouses) has adverse implications for the psychological well-being and self-management behaviors of both partners. We discuss key findings that support this model using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, which include the implications of individual-level and couple-level chronic condition discordance for depressive symptoms, physical activity, alcohol use, and global and health-related perceived control over time. We then describe how these findings inform clinical care and interventions to improve the health and well-being of couples living with multiple chronic conditions. Finally, we propose future directions to build on and expand the dyadic concordance model of multimorbidity and its use in understanding how older adults manage multiple chronic conditions within the context of their close relationships.
A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF EFFECTIVENESS OF TECHNOLOGY INTERVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND INFORMAL CAREGIVERS
Authors: Xu Ling , Zhao Lingya 
Published: December 2023

Abstract

Objectives
Most people with dementia live at home and get care from informal caregivers. To support people with dementia and informal caregivers, a series of technology interventions have been introduced and implemented. The aim of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of recent technology interventions. Method: A systematic literature search was carried out in 14 online databases and Google Scholar, covering articles published during January 2005 and January 2020. Over three hundred articles were identified, of which 23 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Meta-analyses for characteristics of included studies were conducted.

Results
Most studies demonstrated that technology interventions had various benefits for both people with dementia and their informal caregivers living in the community. For informal caregivers, these interventions tend to improve their psychological conditions and provide useful help when caring for people with dementia. For people with dementia, these interventions have potential to improve their performance and mental conditions, and keep them safe at home, which could delay institutionalization and save financial costs.

Conclusion
Technologies can be used independently by people with dementia, to help them in positive psychological condition, and to maintain their basic social interaction should be developed. Technology interventions should be developed and selected according to the progression of dementia. More assessment studies using randomized controlled trails should be conducted, so that we can evaluate extant technology interventions more rigorously.
IMAGINING THE FUTURE OF AGETECH
Authors: Sixsmith Andrew 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
The intersection of global population aging and technological trends in e-health, robotics, artificial intelligence, and mobile technologies has led to the emergence of “AgeTech” as a way to improve the health and well-being of older people. While this might be seen as an almost deterministic process of technological change, the visioning, development and implementation of technology is essentially a creative and socially-situated process. This requires us to understand AgeTech as a socio-technical imaginary, examining the intersecting spheres of social action and technological development. This idea of technological development as a creative process, runs counter to an idea of technology in purely rational and instrumental terms and brings into play cultural, political and behavioural factors. Our symposium examines the socio-technical imaginary of AgeTech in three papers: Paul Higgs and Chris Gilleard discuss Fourth Ageism and the Technological Imaginary of Long-term care and argue that the problematizing of aging present in current thinking needs to be challenged at the conceptual stage of technological development. Andrew Sixsmith et al will present on A Global AgeTech Agenda, with a particular focus on how AgeTech development and innovation should connect with global initiatives such as the UN’s Strategic Development Goals. Mei Lan Fang et al will take an Ethical Perspective on AgeTech to discuss some of the complex challenges around the creation and use of technologies and argue that culture change is needed within the research and innovation communities to develop ethically grounded AgeTech. This is a Technology and Aging Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.
A GLOBAL AGETECH AGENDA
Authors: Sixsmith Andrew , Fowler-Davis Sally , Bhanbhro Sadiq , White Rebecca 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
AgeTech is increasingly seen as a way to support and enhance the health and independence of older people. However, AgeTech research and innovation agendas overwhelmingly focus on the needs of older people in developed countries and have so far failed to recognise that population aging is a global-level trend that intersects with other “megatrends”, such as climate change, urbanisation and international migration. Drawing on an environmental scan of the current and emerging AgeTech sector, this paper argues that technology research, development and innovation needs a global agenda that engages with initiatives such as the UN’s Strategic Development Goals and Decade for Healthy Ageing. It is also important to situate AgeTech in the wider debate on global disparities. The ongoing impact of colonial legacy (afterlife colonization) continues to reduce life chances, leads to poor health, and is present in everyday relationships between people and institutions at global and local levels. This is particularly apparent in the unequal impact of climate change on people and places, but as yet, the discussion of these issues is notably absent in the narratives surrounding AgeTech. This misses significant opportunities for global reciprocity in health, co-development of useful and appropriate technologies, and more sustainable approaches to innovation (e.g opportunities for frugal innovation), The paper highlights the potential role of older people as active participants in technological change, for example for mitigating climate change and its unequal impact on the Global South
FOURTH AGEISM AND THE TECHNOLOGICAL IMAGINARY OF LONG-TERM CARE
Authors: Higgs Paul , Gilleard Chris 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Many high-income countries are pre-occupied with the rising number of older people needing long term care and the consequent demand for a labour force to carry out these tasks. In many other sectors of the economy the problem of labour supply is increasingly being met by the introduction of sophisticated technology. Seeking to extend this strategy to the long-term care sector (LTC) has led to research and development in various care technologies. This paper examines the imaginaries fuelling such efforts, as distinct from the outcomes of such research. One such imaginary is that of a fourth age, a state of frailty and dependency that requires others to carry out instrumental and related activities of daily living to those deemed to have fallen under its shadow. This creates a set of contrasting goals, between on the one hand the desire to deliver LTC in a way that maximises the dignity and integrity of the persons receiving LTC and on the other the desire to reduce demands on the workforce. While the former stresses the maximisation of the humanity of LTC the latter is often motivated by the reduction of the (human) labour inputs involved. These dilemmas will arguably become acute if such various technological imaginaries become realities. This paper argues that forms of implicit fourth ageism present in current thinking need to be challenged at the conceptual stage of this technological imaginary.
TRANSDISCIPLINARY WORKING FOR CULTURE CHANGE IN ETHICAL AGETECH
Authors: Chu Charlene , Sixsmith Judith , Fang Mei Lan , Boger Jennifer 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
This presentation proposes a new way of understanding ethical culture in AgeTech as a dynamic and changing set of ethical research, design, and developmental processes and practices. By focusing on dynamics of ethical performance and the values, beliefs, and expectations that underpin them, this approach emphasizes ongoing ethical negotiation of all stakeholders involved in the research, design, and development of technology, rather than as a checklist at the research outset. Transdisciplinary working (TW) is proposed as an effective means to implement ethical processes and practices. By involving diverse stakeholders in the development of shared aims and objectives, ethical considerations become detached from the domain of researchers and become a more inclusive stakeholder negotiation. TW acknowledges that the development of new technologies cannot be separated from the people who design and use them; and the social practices, social norms, and social meanings in which they are steeped. The co-creation of socio-technical AgeTech systems is a key strategy for creating culture-change in ethical working environments. By involving diverse stakeholders in dynamic ethical processes across the research pathway, meaningful involvement of all stakeholders can be ensured, resulting in the effectiveness and relevance of AgeTech. Subsequently, technologies that are more responsive to the needs and desires of older people, carers, and professionals, and better reflect the complex ethical landscape in which they operate are created. Overall, this presentation offers a new perspective on ethical culture in AgeTech, one that involves diverse stakeholders in the creation of socio-technical systems that are both effective and ethical.