Search results

1 – 10 of over 30000
Article
Publication date: 22 September 2023

Weiliang Zhang, Sifeng Liu, Junliang Du, Liangyan Tao and Wenjie Dong

The purpose of this study is to advance a novel evaluation index system and evaluation approach for ability of older adults in China.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to advance a novel evaluation index system and evaluation approach for ability of older adults in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This study constructed a comprehensive older adult ability evaluation index system with 4 primary indicators and 17 secondary indicators. Grey clustering analysis and entropy weight method are combined into a robust evaluation model for the ability of older adults.

Findings

The result demonstrates that the proposed grey clustering model is readily available to calculate the disability level of elderly individuals. The constructed index system more comprehensively considers all aspects of the disability of the elderly.

Originality/value

This study provides a quantitative method and a more reasonable index system for the determination of the disability level of the elderly.

Details

Journal of Modelling in Management, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5664

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 December 2022

Mohammad Rababa, Nahla Al-Ali and Ayat Shaman

This study aims to examine the recent literature on health-promoting behavior, health needs and associated factors among older adults.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the recent literature on health-promoting behavior, health needs and associated factors among older adults.

Design/methodology/approach

An massive search of five databases involving documents in the past decade was commenced.

Findings

This review showed a significant relationship between older adults’ demographic characteristics (marital status, income, chronic disease, education level and smoking status) and health-promoting behaviors. This review showed that older adults with a high level of education, high income, chronic diseases and smoker and married older adults are associated with better health-promoting behaviors.

Originality/value

The result of the current review supports the Pender Health Promotion Model that individual personal characteristics can affect the level of engagement in health-promoting behaviors. Assessing the health-promoting behaviors of older adults can help in identifying their health needs.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 October 2022

Minghuan Shou, Xueqi Bao and Jie Yu

Online reviews are regarded as a source of information for decision-making because of the abundance and ready availability of information. Whereas, the sheer volume of online…

499

Abstract

Purpose

Online reviews are regarded as a source of information for decision-making because of the abundance and ready availability of information. Whereas, the sheer volume of online reviews makes it hard for consumers, especially the older adults who perceive more difficulties in reading reviews and obtaining information compared to younger adults, to locate the useful ones. The main objective of this study is to propose an effective method to locate valuable reviews of mobile phones for older adults. Besides, the authors also want to explore what characteristics of the technology older adults prefer. This will benefit both e-retailers and e-commerce platforms.

Design/methodology/approach

After collecting online reviews related to mobile phones designed for older adults from a popular Chinese e-commerce platform (JD Mall), topic modeling, term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF), and linguistic inquiry and word count (LIWC) methods were applied to extract latent topics and uncover potential dimensions that consumers frequently referred to in their reviews. According to consumers' attitudes towards different popular topics, seven machine learning models were employed to predict the usefulness and popularity of online reviews due to their excellent performance in prediction. To improve the performance, a weighted model based on the two best-performing models was built and evaluated.

Findings

Based on the TF-IDF, topic modeling, and LIWC methods, the authors find that older adults are more interested in the exterior, sound, and communication functions of mobile phones. Besides, the weighted model (Random Forest: Decision Tree = 2:1) is the best model for predicting the online review popularity, while random forest performs best in predicting the perceived usefulness of online reviews.

Practical implications

This study’s findings can help e-commerce platforms and merchants identify the needs of the targeted consumers, predict reviews that will get more attention, and provide some early responses to some questions.

Originality/value

The results propose that older adults pay more attention to the mobile phones' exterior, sound, and communication function, guiding future research. Besides, this paper also enriches the current studies related to making predictions based on the information contained in the online reviews.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 36 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 March 2020

Sertan Kabadayi, Kejia Hu, Yuna Lee, Lydia Hanks, Matthew Walsman and David Dobrzykowski

Caring for older adults is an increasingly complex and multi-dimensional global concern. This article provides a comprehensive definition of the older adult care experience and…

1154

Abstract

Purpose

Caring for older adults is an increasingly complex and multi-dimensional global concern. This article provides a comprehensive definition of the older adult care experience and discusses its key components to help practitioners deliver older adult-centered care to maximize well-being outcomes for older adults.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on prior research on service operations, service experience, person-centered care and the unique, evolving needs of older adults regarding their care, this paper develops a conceptual framework in which the older adult care experience is the central construct, and key dimensions of well-being are the outcomes.

Findings

The older adult care experience is shaped by older adults' perceptions and evaluations of the care that they receive. Older adult-centered care has autonomy, dignity, unique needs and social environment as its core dimensions and results in those older adults feel empowered, respected, engaged and connected as part of their experience. The article also discusses how such experience can be evaluated by using quality dimensions from service operations, hospitality and healthcare contexts, and challenges that service firms may face in creating older adult care experience.

Research limitations/implications

Given the changing demographics and unique needs of older adults, it is an imperative for academics and practitioners to have an understanding of what determines older adult care experience to better serve them. Such understanding is important as by creating and fostering older adult care experience, service organizations can contribute to individual and societal well-being.

Originality/value

To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first paper to provide a comprehensive conceptualization of the older adult care experience.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 31 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 December 2021

Stephanie Grace Prost and Meghan A. Novisky

The purpose of this paper aims to examine differences in measures of and relationships between visitation and quality of life (QOL) among older and younger jailed adults. The…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper aims to examine differences in measures of and relationships between visitation and quality of life (QOL) among older and younger jailed adults. The authors also explored the contribution of visitation to QOL among adults in this setting. The authors anticipated fewer visits and lower QOL among older adults. Framed by psychosocial developmental theory, the authors also anticipated a larger effect in the relationship between visitation and QOL among older rather than younger adults and that visitation would contribute most readily to psychological QOL.

Design/methodology/approach

Cross-sectional data from a large US jail were used (n = 264). The authors described the sample regarding visitation and QOL measures among older (≥45) and younger adults (≤44) and examined differences in measures of and relationships between visitation and QOL using independent sample t-tests and bivariate analyses. The authors explored the contribution of visitation to psychological, social relationships, physical and environmental QOL among jailed adults using hierarchical multiple linear regression.

Findings

Older adults had fewer family visits and lower physical QOL than younger adults, disparities were moderate in effect (d range = 0.33–0.35). A significant difference also emerged between groups regarding the visitation and environmental QOL relationship (z = 1.66, p <0.05). Visitation contributed to variation in physical and social relationships QOL among jailed adults (Beta range = 0.19–0.24).

Originality/value

Limited research exists among jailed older adults and scholars have yet to examine the relationship between visitation and QOL among persons in these settings.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 March 2014

XinQi Dong, Ruijia Chen, E-Shien Chang and Melissa A. Simon

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of suicide attempts and explore the suicide methods among community-dwelling Chinese older adults.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of suicide attempts and explore the suicide methods among community-dwelling Chinese older adults.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were drawn from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE) study, a population-based epidemiological study of Chinese older adults aged 60 years and above in the greater Chicago area. Guided by the community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, the study enrolled 3,159 community-dwelling Chinese older adults from 2011 to 2013.

Findings

The lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts is 791 per 100,000 and the past 12-month prevalence of suicide attempts is 285 per 100,000. Medication overdose is the most common suicide method both in the group of lifetime suicide attempts and 12-month suicide attempts. Lower income is positively correlated with lifetime suicide attempts and 12-month suicide attempts. Living with fewer household members is positively correlated with lifetime suicide attempts but not with 12-month suicide attempts.

Research limitations/implications

The findings emphasize the needs for improved understanding of suicidal behavior among minority older adults and to develop culturally and linguistically sensitive prevention and intervention strategies.

Practical implications

Community stakeholders should improve the accessibility and availability of culturally sensitive mental health services and extend timely and effective suicide interventions in the Chinese community.

Originality/value

This study represents the first and largest population-based epidemiological study to investigate the suicide attempts and methods among US Chinese older adults. In addition, the implementation of the CBPR approach allows us to minimize the cultural barriers associated with suicide investigation. The study emphasizes the need for improved understanding on suicidal behavior among minority older adults to inform culturally and linguistically sensitive prevention and intervention strategies.

Details

Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-0980

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 September 2017

Zeenat Kotval-K

With the growing preference of the generation of ageing baby boomers to age in place, mobility has played an increasingly important role in their continued physical and mental…

Abstract

Purpose

With the growing preference of the generation of ageing baby boomers to age in place, mobility has played an increasingly important role in their continued physical and mental well-being. As older adults drive less, their ability to travel freely where and when they desire becomes increasingly limited. Consequences of this include the cessation of various activities and services that are necessary for daily living. Transportation immobility is known to negatively impact the quality of life through physical, mental, and social isolation. For any initiative or policy to be put in place, an assessment of the current state of transportation services, specifically for older adults, needs to be carried out. The purpose of this paper is to assess the access to public transit in the Greater Lansing, Michigan region, which has a population density of about 2,042 people per square kilometre, available to ageing adults, especially when they have to stop driving.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a spatial approach through the use of geographical information systems to assess the transit infrastructure available for use by older adults in the Greater Lansing region.

Findings

This paper finds a considerable gap in available options and that some of these can be addressed by quite simple actions and initiatives.

Research limitations/implications

Because the data were drawn from the US Census, the spatial analysis is limited to block-level data. The US Census (2011) defines blocks as “statistical areas bounded by visible features such as roads, streams, and railroad tracks, and by nonvisible boundaries such as property lines, city, township, school district, county limits and short line-of-sight extensions of roads”. More detailed geographical data would have enabled a more comprehensive analysis.

Practical implications

This study area is typical of many small towns in the USA and underlines the need for more policy- and community-led transit initiatives to address this critical barrier to optimal ageing.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to study the transit infrastructure of a range of urban areas and ascertain whether it currently fulfils mobility needs of older adults who do not drive.

Details

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, vol. 18 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-7794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 November 2013

Ty Abernathy, Carolyn Adams-Price and Tracy Henley

Prescription drug advertisements are commonly seen in magazines and on television. Many drug ads are targeted toward older adults, who tend to use more medications and suffer from…

Abstract

Purpose

Prescription drug advertisements are commonly seen in magazines and on television. Many drug ads are targeted toward older adults, who tend to use more medications and suffer from more chronic conditions. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of such advertising remains uncertain. The aim of this paper is to compare implicit and explicit memory for drug ads in older and younger adults.

Design/methodology/approach

Older adults typically perform more poorly than young adults on explicit memory tasks, but not on implicit memory tasks. The current study measured implicit memory with an incidental ratings exercise and an indirect test of preference; explicit memory was also measured with intentional studying and a direct test of recognition. The study was a 2 x 2 mixed experimental design with one between-participants variable and one within-participants variable. The between-participants variable was age group (older vs younger adults) and the within-participants variable was implicit and explicit memory. The memory test measures were the outcome variables of the study.

Findings

The results showed no age difference for implicit memory for drug ads, but an age difference was found for explicit memory for the ads. The implicit memory manipulation succeeded in demonstrating that drug ads are persuasive, suggesting that a complete assessment of advertising effectiveness should include a test of implicit memory.

Research limitations/implications

The fact that age differences were not found for implicit memory, but were found for explicit memory, is not surprising.

Practical implications

The study is of theoretical significance because it contributes to cognitive aging research and examines memory within an everyday context. The study is of practical significance because pharmaceutical companies spend vast amounts of money on prescription drug advertisements that may or may not be effective with older adults. The component of this study that may be most important is that the results expanded everyday memory research to another applied context using an implicit memory measure, and the indirect test of memory demonstrated that the prescription drug advertising was effective.

Originality/value

Although the findings were consistent with previous research, the study focuses on the real-world context of direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs. Given that older adults have poorer explicit memory than younger adults, but not poorer implicit memory, it is particularly important for advertisers to use implicit memory measures when assessing advertisements aimed at older adult consumers. Marketers of pharmaceutical drug companies must remain aware that the memory abilities of their potential customers are extremely variable, and in some cases, limited.

Details

International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6123

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 December 2020

Punkanit Harirugsakul, Issarapong Kaewkamnerdpong, Sudaduang Krisdapong, Piyada Prasertsom, Kornkamol Niyomsilp and Warangkana Vejvithee

The number of older adults in Thailand is currently increasing. To create the appropriate oral health service for this age group requires an understanding of the factors that are…

1141

Abstract

Purpose

The number of older adults in Thailand is currently increasing. To create the appropriate oral health service for this age group requires an understanding of the factors that are associated with their dental service utilization. This study aimed to determine the associations between social backgrounds, oral behaviors and dental service utilization among Thai older adults.

Design/methodology/approach

This was a cross-sectional study on a representative sample of older adults in the 8th Thai National Oral Health Survey (TNOHS). Data of 4,130 Thai older adults were collected through interviews. The association between social backgrounds, oral behaviors and dental service utilization were investigated using chi-square and logistic regression models.

Findings

Of the older adults aged 60–74 years old, 38.4% had used dental services in the last 12 months. Smokers used dental services the least (32.1%). Location, income, education and social welfare were significantly associated with dental service utilization. Among the oral behaviors evaluated, smoking was significantly associated with low dental service utilization.

Originality/value

Thai older adults with a poor social background including location, income, education, entitlement to the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) and smoking made less use of dental services.

Details

Journal of Health Research, vol. 35 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0857-4421

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2012

Nancy Kelley‐Gillespie, Frances Wilby and O. William Farley

The purpose of this study is to examine the satisfaction of older adults in the services they receive from the Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN) program – a program designed to…

146

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the satisfaction of older adults in the services they receive from the Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN) program – a program designed to assist older adults to remain independent in their homes and communities.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire examining various domains of service was developed and administered to 49 older adults who had been receiving assistance from NHN for at least six months.

Findings

Findings revealed that 87 percent (41) of the participants were satisfied with services and believed that NHN helped them remain independent in the community.

Research limitations/implications

The study was a cross‐sectional design and did not look at change over time based on a pre/post test research design. Therefore, no causation can be implied. Another limitation is that the study was conducted internally by NHN; program participants may have responded in a socially desirable way in order not to reflect negatively on the program.

Practical implications

Findings from this study may have implications for developing sustainable home‐ and community‐based support programs for older adults.

Social implications

With the aging of societies and cutbacks in government social services, it is important to examine how the needs of aging citizens can be met.

Originality/value

The paper shows that the NHN model is innovative in its use of students, community‐building approaches, and volunteers in meeting the needs of older adults. The NHN program provides an innovative model that can be replicated by other universities or other community‐based organizations around the country.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 30000