bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
FAMILY STRUCTURE AND DEMENTIA CAREGIVER NETWORK COMPOSITION
Authors: McConnell William , Haggar Katherine , Hinson Justin , Linares Jackeline , Bamdas Jo Ann , Hernández María Ortega 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Ongoing shifts in family structure, including a growing number of adults aging without spouses or children, raise questions about who will step into a caregiving role for persons living with dementia (PLWD). Furthermore, research and interventions targeting caregivers typically limit their focus to one primary caregiver, but PLWD often rely on many interconnected informal and professional supporters. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a valuable tool for identifying potential and actual caregivers for PLWD, including nontraditional and secondary caregivers who are often overlooked. In this presentation, we report results from an ongoing quantitative study of 250 dementia caregiver networks in the southeastern United States. Detailed SNA data were obtained from survey-based interviews with self-identified caregivers for PLWD utilizing outpatient services at a Memory Disorder Clinic or living in the community. Results indicate that PLWD in this sample are supported by 7.7 caregivers, on average. While traditional caregivers such as spouses and adult children remain common, other relatives including siblings, nieces/nephews, and grandchildren comprise nearly 20% of all informal caregivers. Non-kin friends comprise an additional 20% of informal caregivers on their own. We describe how family, extended family, and non-kin caregivers in the networks differ in terms of their participation rates and task-specific roles. We also present multivariate analyses examining how caregiver network composition changes based on disease severity and the availability of potential caregivers within families/households. We conclude by discussing implications of SNA for understanding caregiving in the context of shifting family norms.
NIECE AND NEPHEW DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS: FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND CARE DYNAMICS
Authors: Roberto Karen , Savla Jyoti 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Changing demographics and a host of social trends have created variations in dementia family care, including older adults’ reliance on extended kin. To advance understanding of the heterogeneity of dementia family care structures, we focused on nieces and nephews who serve as primary caregivers for their aunts and uncles living with dementia. Guided by a life course perspective and grounded in a stress-coping framework, we used a mixed-method study design to explore how past and present family relationships and dynamics shape caregiving responsibilities, practices, and outcomes. Mixed-method interviews with 20 niece and 5 nephew dementia caregivers (Mage = 55 yrs; R = 38-67) revealed diverse pathways to care provision. Close relationships were established in childhood for 21 respondents, even among those who lived at a distance from their aunt/uncle. Two-thirds of the nieces/nephews never expected to be their relative’s caregiver, but rather either gradually “fell into it” or abruptly assumed the role because of “family circumstances.” Rarely were nieces/nephews the sole caregiver; some coordinated care with their aunts’/uncles’ family members, their own family members, and formal service providers whereas others looked to another family member only for occasional assistance. Nieces/nephews who relied on family support to care for their relative living with dementia experienced more caregiver burden (rs = 0.49, p&lt;0.03) and faced greater family strain (rs = 0.61, p&lt;0.01). Notably, niece caregivers reported more difficulties with other family members than nephews (rpb =0.50, p&lt;0.02). Discussion elaborates on the complexity of extended family relationships and realities of dementia care today.
DO STEPCHILDREN PROVIDE DEMENTIA CARE TO AGING BIOLOGICAL PARENTS COMMENSURATE WITH THEIR LEVEL OF NEED?
Authors: Silverstein Merril , Lee Seonhwa , Lakomy Martin 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
The research in this presentation addresses the critical issue of whether divorce, remarriage/repartnering, and stepfamily formation have weakened adult intergenerational bonds due to stepchildren’s weaker commitment to the care of their vulnerable stepparents. A life-course approach is taken to link early relationship characteristics to later care trajectories. We use data from the Longitudinal Study of Generations to examine whether earlier kinship strength with stepmothers and stepfathers increases the amount of care stepchildren provide to meet the needs of their aging stepparents between1997-2022. We use latent growth curve analysis to examine whether the rate of increase in care to stepparents with advancing dementia and functional impairment is stronger when stepchildren in earlier adulthood evaluated their relationship with stepparents as more “kin-like” and “family-like.” In comparison, we also examine rate of change in care for biological mothers and fathers by their levels of functional impairment. We also consider structural characteristics of step-relationships, including the child’s age when the relationship was formed and the number of years the child lived with the stepparent. We expect that earlier reported kinship strength with stepparents will moderate the care response to stepparents’ impairment such that it will approach the care response to biological parents. We expect the severely impaired stepmothers to elicit more care from stepchildren when compared to severely impaired stepfathers. Analyses reveal the conditions under which stepchildren serve as a vital resource to their vulnerable older stepmothers and stepfathers with dementia in complex aging families, which have become increasingly prevalent but remain under-investigated.
STARTING A GSA STUDENT CHAPTER WITH POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE UK: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
Authors: Tsimpida Dialechti 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
As the global aging population continues to expand, there is a growing demand for professionals skilled in gerontology. To meet this need, the creation of Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Student Chapters within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has emerged as a pioneering initiative to support and cultivate emerging gerontology professionals. The University of Southampton, home to the UK’s sole Department of Gerontology, was invited to establish a GSA Student Chapter in the 2023-24 academic year. While enthusiastic about the opportunity to deepen student engagement with the GSA, initiating a GSA Student Chapter within a postgraduate-focused program posed challenges. This endeavor involved strategic engagement efforts to recruit postgraduate students specializing in aging studies, and to organize activities to establish and formally affiliate the new Student Chapter with the University of Southampton. The initiative aimed to foster professional development in education, research, advocacy, policy, and sciences related to aging. Affiliation with GSA undoubtedly enriches the careers of postgraduate students by providing access to a global network of experts, mentorship opportunities, international connections, and a comprehensive toolkit for aging studies. In this session, Dr Dalia Tsimpida, Faculty Advisor of the newly established GSA Student Chapter at the University of Southampton, will discuss the rewarding experiences and challenges encountered in launching and establishing the Student Chapter. Attendees will be prompted to consider why and how a GSA Student Chapter can effectively engage postgraduate students specializing in aging studies, and how such chapters can be integrated into their respective Institutions.
INCLUSIVE NEIGHBORHOODS TO SUPPORT OUTDOOR MOBILITY AND PARTICIPATION OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA
Authors: Chaudhury Habib , Charness Neil 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
The creation of a supportive and inclusive neighborhood is instrumental to maintaining mobility and social participation of people living with dementia in the community. Achieving this objective requires a clear understanding of how the condition of dementia shapes people’s use of streets and outdoor spaces, and how neighborhood built environmental features influence movement and activity of people living with dementia. This understanding is fairly limited in current research and practice, owing to the paucity of empirical evidence, as well as evidence-based resources that can guide decision-making and planning. These research gaps are addressed in a multi-site, mixed-methods study in British Columbia, Canada, titled “Dementia-inclusive Spaces for Community Access, Participation, and Engagement (DemSCAPE)”. The aims of this study are to 1) explore the outdoor mobility patterns and experiences of people living with dementia in the community, and the role of the neighborhood built environment in shaping their mobility and participation In outdoor activities, and 2) develop evidence-based resources that can guide dementia-friendly and inclusive planning and design. This symposium will also present findings from the knowledge generation and knowledge mobilization phases of the DemSCAPE study. Knowledge generated in the study is based on qualitative and quantitative analyses of data collected with participants living with dementia and care partners in British Columbia. Knowledge mobilization activities involve three key resources developed in our project: documentary video, photo exhibit, and dementia-inclusive planning and design guide. Together, these five presentations offer insights that can guide stakeholders in creating dementia-friendly and inclusive outdoor spaces.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MAXIMIZING INDEPENDENCE AT HOME (MIND AT HOME) PROGRAM
Authors: Samus Quincy 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
People living with dementia (PLWD) represent some of the highest-need and highest-cost individuals living in the community. The complexity and range of needs (including medical, behavioral, and social needs) make dementia one of the most expensive chronic conditions in the U.S., and a strong candidate for improving care and reducing costs through care management support. The Maximizing Independence at Home (MIND at Home) dementia care program, developed and implemented in a variety of settings and contexts over the last 15 years, is a care coordination program for community-living persons with dementia and cognitive impairment and their informal caregiver. The MIND program consists of a comprehensive set of assessments, tools and staff trainings designed to increase the ability to stay at home in the community; reduce unmet care needs and improve quality of care; reduce caregiver burden and avoid high health care costs. The MIND at Home program model builds on three prior trials (two RCTs, one quasi-experimental design) of the MIND at Home dementia care coordination model and five practice-based implementations in real world practice settings to date. This session will review key components of the MIND at Home dementia care model, the characteristics of the care team, core training elements, and summarize research findings to date across the developmental pipeline.
EXPERIENCES EMBEDDING MIND AT HOME DEMENTIA CARE COORDINATION PROGRAM IN PRIMARY CARE
Authors: Ciemins Elizabeth , Samus Quincy , Shields Stephen , Yang Mia , Herrig Shelby , Breyfogle Rachel , Rooney Alicia , McKinnon Monette 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
The prevalence of people living with dementia (PLWD) is growing and dementia is one of the highest burden, and highest cost chronic conditions in the US. Care management support within primary care practices is one solution to provide patient- and care partner (CP)-centered care, improve patient care outcomes, e.g., hospitalizations, ED visits, polypharmacy, high care partner strain, and reduce healthcare costs. This session describes a collaborative adaptation and implementation of the MIND at Home Dementia Care Coordination Program into two large primary care clinics in two states (e.g., Iowa and North Carolina). The program pilot expanded the skills of existing primary care staff members to the level of Memory Care Coordinators (MCCs), who worked with larger primary care teams on combining the benefits of clinic-based with home-based services that support PLWD, their families, and CPs. 106 primary care patients and their CPs were recruited for a 3-month intervention period and process measures, including identified and addressed needs of the PLWD and CP, were ascertained. This session will discuss the feasibility of program implementation in a racially, economically, and geographically diverse population of PLWD and provide qualitative and quantitative outcomes on patient, provider and MCC program acceptability, program impact, and barriers and facilitators to implementation from the primary care practice perspective. The presentation will reflect on specific issues important to consider in primary care including underdiagnosis of dementia, patient recruitment and outreach, incorporation of home visits, interdisciplinary collaboration and consultation, and outcomes ascertainment.
RESILIENCY AMONG WHI’S WOMEN AGED 80 AND OLDER BY RACE, ETHNICITY, AND NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
Authors: Krok-Schoen Jessica 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
A comprehensive examination of resilience by race, ethnicity, and neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) among women aged ≥80 is needed, given the aging U.S. population, increasing longevity, and growing racial and ethnic diversity. Participants (n=29,367, median age=84.3) were women aged ≥80 enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative. There were no significant differences by race and ethnicity in resiliency. Mean resiliency scores differed between those with low NSES (3.94±0.83) and high NSES (4.00±0.81). Older age, higher education, higher self-rated health, lower stress, and living alone were correlates of resilience. Social support correlated with resilience among White, Black, and Asian women, but not for Hispanic women. Living alone, smoking, and spirituality were significantly associated with higher resilience among women with moderate NSES. Despite some differing correlates of resilience by race, ethnicity, and NSES, there were many similarities. These results may aid in designing resilience interventions for the increasingly diverse population of older women.
DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS OF “HONOR YOUR PARENTS”: IMPLICATIONS FOR OBLIGATION OF PARENTAL CAREGIVING
Authors: Esiaka Darlingtina , Luth Elizabeth 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Although the concept of “honor your parents” is [universally] important, its understanding and manifestation vary by cultural context and community. This variation potentially has important implications for how parental caregiving obligations are perceived and performed. The current study explored the diverse conceptualizations of “honoring your parents” in the United States, Ghana, and Nigeria. It also assessed how the interpretations influence individuals’ perceptions of caregiving obligations to older parents. Through semi-structured interviews with 153 participants, we found that in the United States, “honoring your parents” is predominantly viewed through the lens of emotional care rather than material care and instrumental support. In contrast, individuals in Nigeria and Ghana strongly associate the concept with providing tangible assistance and hands-on care to parents. Our findings shed light on cultural nuances and expectations regarding parental caregiving, offering insights into potential strategies to address the diverse caregiving needs of aging populations.
ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN LONGITUDINAL LONELINESS, DNA METHYLATION AGE ACCELERATION, AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING
Authors: Lynch Morgan , Beam Christopher , Arpawong Thalida Em 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Loneliness may influence aging biomarkers related to cognitive functioning, for example, through accelerated DNA methylation (DNAm) aging. In a study involving 1,814 participants from the Health and Retirement Study, we investigated the role of six DNAm age acceleration measures (DNAmAA) in mediating the effects of baseline loneliness and latent longitudinal loneliness trajectories on cognitive abilities. Higher baseline loneliness and a moderate-intercept loneliness trajectory predicted poorer general cognitive ability and memory scores. Second-generation DNAmAA measures (specifically, PhenoAge, GrimAge, and DunedinPoAm38) mediated the effect of loneliness on overall cognitive ability and memory. Additionally, immediate and delayed memory scores were mediated by GrimAge Accel in the lowest and two highest latent loneliness trajectories. Notably, self-rated health, depressive symptoms, social isolation, and body mass index contributed significantly to total and mediated effects. The study suggests that DNAmAA, especially GrimAge, have promise for explaining the prospective association between loneliness and poorer cognitive functioning.
IMPACT OF HIGH SCHOOL BACKGROUND ON OLD AGE COGNITION: EVIDENCE FROM A WISCONSIN COHORT
Authors: Topping Michael , Engelman Michal 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Individuals with higher academic performance in high school, those who participated in enriching activities, and those with higher socioeconomic status are known to have cognitive advantages in later life. Yet, less is known about whether and how these factors constitute unique social typologies of students in high school. Such background typologies may confer differing cognitive benefits and may have different consequences for later life cognition. Using unique longitudinal survey and cognitive assessment data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study and latent class analysis, we identify five different typologies of high school students in 1957: high disadvantage, moderate disadvantage, low advantage, moderate advantage and high advantage. We then estimated regression models examining differences in immediate recall, delayed recall, and letter fluency across different timepoints (2004, 2011, and 2020). We find that compared to the most disadvantaged, those from other class backgrounds see higher average scores for immediate recall and letter fluency as they enter old age in 2004, and maintain these advantages through to 2011. This effect dissipates for some classes in 2020 when WLS participants were nearing the oldest-old ages (80+). Class differences in delayed recall were more clearly apparent in 2011 than either before or after. In addition to socioeconomic mobility and changes in cognition over the life course, these results also reflect health and mortality-related changes to the composition of the cohort at successively older ages.
MID-LIFE AND LATE-LIFE ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES ON DEMENTIA RISK: THE MODIFYING EFFECTS OF APOE
Authors: Williams Victoria , Trane Ralph , Sicinski Kamil , Herd Pamela , Engleman Michal , Asthana Sanjay 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Increasing evidence supports a deleterious effect of late-life air pollution exposure on dementia risk that is exacerbated among older ApolipoproteinE-4 (ApoE-4) carriers. However, the protracted effects of mid-life occupational exposures on dementia outcomes, and potential interactions with ApoE, are unknown. Using prospective life course data from 3,814 participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), we evaluated the effects of mid-life occupational exposure to respiratory hazards and late-life air pollution exposures on dementia risk, and whether these associations varied by ApoE-4 status. Mid-life occupational exposure was associated with 1.64 times greater odds of all-cause dementia, but only among ApoE-4 noncarriers. Conversely, late-life air pollution exposure (higher levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) and lower levels of ozone) associated with increased dementia risk only within ApoE-4 carriers. Findings suggest that ApoE-4 differentially impacts the association between environmental exposures and dementia risk based on timing of exposure across the life course – supporting ApoE as a pleiotropic modifying gene. While ApoE-4 appears protective against the adverse effects of hazardous respiratory exposures in mid-life, it increases risk for dementia associated with environmental exposures in late-life.
SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS AND COGNITIVE TRAJECTORIES IN THE WISCONSIN LONGITUDINAL STUDY
Authors: Lee Gina , Engelman Michal , Kong Jooyoung 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Sibling relationships are positively associated with psychological well-being over time. However, no prior studies have examined the impact of sibling relationships in middle and older adulthood on longitudinal patterns in cognitive functioning. Using four waves (spanning 27 years) of sibling data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (N = 19,046), our study explores the relationship between sibling closeness, emotional support, and contact frequency in 1993, 2004, and 2011 (when participants were roughly 54, 65, and 72) and trajectories in cognitive measures including immediate and delayed recall, digit ordering, and letter fluency in later life (2004, 2011, and 2020). In growth curve models, sibling closeness (measured in 2004) and emotional support received from siblings (measured in 1993, 2004, 2011) were positively associated with baseline levels of letter fluency but not change over time. Next, we employed the sibling dyad data with at least one letter fluency data available from each source (n = 3,243 pairs of siblings) to fit a parallel process model to examine whether siblings’ letter fluency scores moved together over time. We found that both the intercepts and slopes of letter fluency trajectories were positively associated for siblings, implying that participants who experienced a steep decline in letter fluency were likely to have siblings who experienced similarly steep declines. Future studies can further explore what aspects of siblings relationship or shared exposures (e.g. shared family characteristics or environments, spending time together, having similar health behaviors, or providing care for each other) influence the shared cognitive patterns.
PREPAREDNESS NEEDS OF THE FAMILY CARE PARTNER OF THE PERSON WITH DEMENTIA DURING TRANSITION FROM THE HOSPITAL
Authors: Boltz Marie 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
In the Fam-FFC approach, nurses purposefully engage family care partners in the assessment, decision-making, care delivery and evaluation of function-focused care during hospitalization and the 60-day post-acute period. The goal is to promote functional recovery and well-being in the patient, and prevent unnecessary long-term care admissions, while improving care partners’ preparation for caregiving and well-being. At hospital discharge, on the Preparation for Caregiving Scale, care partners (N=229, 60% female, 59% White, 39% African American) described the least preparation to care for emotional (M= 2.8, SD=1.2) and physical needs (M= 2.9, SD=1.1), deal with the stress of caregiving (M= 2.7, SD=1.2), provide positive activities (M= 2.9, SD=1.1), followed by get the help they need from the health care system (M= 3.11, SD=1.0). Content analysis of nurses’ transitional care notes during the 60 day post-acute period identified five themes that describe care partner needs to support preparedness; they converge with and help explain the quantitative findings. The themes included: psychosocial support for the patient, managing symptoms, physical and cognitive activity, advocacy, and care partner self-care. Findings suggest the need to attend to the psychological and informational needs of care partners, while considering patient well-being and comfort.