This study design was to identify and examine how disaster experience, self-efficacy, and demographic factors influence disaster preparedness in community-dwelling older adults. Current data indicates the United States is rapidly aging. Parallel to this significant increase among the elderly population, natural disasters are more prevalent. Consequently, older adults are affected adversely by these disasters and exposure to social vulnerabilities during the disaster cycle. For the purpose of this study, non-identifiable secondary data were analyzed. Sources of the data were the 2007 and 2008 National Center for Disaster Preparedness surveys. The sample focus of this study was adults 50 and older. Regression analyses identified important predictors of disaster preparedness in the survey respondents. Sample adults with previous disaster experience are two times more likely to be in a higher category for having an emergency plan than those respondents with no observable effects of self-efficacy and no previous disaster experience. The frequency of natural disasters in the United States has generated a renewed interest in disaster management, in particular, disaster preparedness. Nevertheless, the focal point of disaster preparedness is no longer the rudimentary stockpile of water, a first aid kit, and a battery operated radio. To advance the field of disaster management …

HIV/AIDS can affect individuals of any age. Efforts to educate those considered to be most at-risk, based on the age at which the most individuals are infected, are ongoing and public. Less work and mainstream education outreach, however, is being directed at an older population, who can be more likely to contract HIV, is more susceptible to the effects of HIV, and more likely to develop AIDS, than younger persons. Guided by the Health Belief Model theory, research was conducted to determine what, if any, relationship existed between age of an individual and the possibility that an HIV test will be sought. Factors of gender, education, ethnicity and marital status were included in analyses. the research indicated that as age increased, likelihood for getting an HIV test decreased. Overall, most individuals had not been tested for HIV. the implications of an aged and aging population with HIV include a need for coordinated service delivery, increased education and outreach.

The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to examine the correlation between frequency of sexual activity and general happiness among older Americans and (2) to examine the correlation between frequency of sexual activity and marital happiness among older married Americans. This study employed quantitative data drawn from the 2004-2008 General Social Surveys. Two samples were used. The first sample included all respondents 65 years of age and older with valid responses for the dependent, independent, and control variables. The second sample was a subset of the first and included only the married respondents. Both bivariate cross-tabulations and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted. As expected, the data support a positive association between sexual activity and general happiness in both the total elder sample and the married elder sample (p < 0.05). Also, as expected, the data support a positive association between frequency of sexual activity and marital happiness in the married elder sample (p < 0.05). Even with the introduction of control variables, frequency of sexual activity was found to be a significant predictor of both general and marital happiness (p < 0.05). This study suggests that sexual activity does indeed contribute the happiness and well-being of older Americans.

Promoting physical activity in older adults is an important part of healthy aging. With an increasing older foreign-born population in the United States, there is limited information on physical activity participation in this group and even less for those experiencing difficulties in physical functioning and chronic illnesses. The primary objective of the study was to determine how physical factors, psychological issues, chronic illnesses, pain symptoms, perceived health status, and number of years living in the U.S. influence physical activity participation in older foreign-born respondents. The secondary objective was to identify the difference of predictors of physical activity participation between older foreign-born and older native-born respondents. The study is based on data collected from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted from 2002 to 2009 for adults aged 50 or older. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to predict and explain the physical activity participation in older foreign-born respondents. Factors associated with more physical activity participation included a higher level of education, more time living in the U.S., more positively perceived health status, and having at least one chronic illnesses, or pain symptoms. Having more difficulties in physical functioning caused older foreign-born respondents to participate less in physical activity. This study …

The nursing home industry has been saturated for decades with culture change initiatives in an effort to improve resident quality of care. The direct care worker (DCW) is considered a critical position to achieving nursing facility quality improvements. Understanding what leads to job satisfaction for DCWs could result in improved resident care. The relationship DCWs have with their direct supervisor or upper-level manager can impact employee satisfaction. The purpose of this research is to identify factors that are associated with DCWs satisfaction with supervisor and management support. Data was obtained from 307 DCWs who were employed at 11 North Texas nursing homes. It was expected that factors affecting satisfaction with direct supervision and upper-level management would differ. In fact, the study found that the antecedents for employee satisfaction with supervisor support were participative decision-making/empowerment, age, information exchange and feedback. Furthermore, participative decision-making/empowerment, perceived competence, staffing, information exchange and feedback were found to affect direct care workers' satisfaction with manager support. In conclusion, this research provides a starting point towards a more holistic view of employee satisfaction with supervisor support by considering the preceding factors and its subsequent effects.

Although institutional care has started to be outmoded in the developed countries with development of different models of care, it still has a considerable place in the developing countries such as Turkey. This is because, changes in the demographic structure, extended family, and urban development of Turkey has brought about several aging problems leading older adults to end up in institutions. Loneliness was one of the significant reasons given in the Social Inquiry Survey of Applicants of Darulaceze Old-Age Institution and the basis for a micro level analysis in this study. Therefore, the main objective of the study was to determine the predictors of loneliness, including age, the state of living alone, functional independence, education, and gender. Analysis of the results indicated that these predictors have significant effects on the loneliness predominantly defined by social factors rather than medical factors. In addition, the meso and macro level analyses were employed to control the micro level analysis and see a general picture of institutional care. Thus, an academic example of diagnosing the main reasons behind the institutional care was presented to understand the context of aging in Turkey.

Access to healthcare is needed and wanted by people of all ages and especially by those of the older population. The number of people in the 65 years of age and older population is rapidly growing with their needs expected to have a significant impact on the existing healthcare system and healthcare providers. The impact will be critical given the severe shortage of healthcare providers, especially of nurses and the rate of services being more often provided in non-hospital settings. The objectives of the study were to discover the plans of graduating nursing students as they choose their first place of employment, if they have future plans to pursue a nursing advance practice degree, and if they are very happy with their decision to become a nurse. Data for the study were obtained from a questionnaire presented to senior graduating nursing students. The findings were: (a) Most students prefer a hospital setting. (b) Younger students are three times as likely to seek out the hospital, and 1/3 of the students seek out the hospital setting because they were encouraged to become a nurse. (c) About 70% of the students want to work with their friends while 1/3 will seek the …

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between depression and the personal characteristics of Asians who are 50 years or older. The secondary objective was to determine whether Asians 50 years or older living in the United States are more likely to be depressed than other ethnicities. The information for this study was secured from the National Health Interview Survey, spanning the years 2001 to 2010. In this study, I utilized the SAS-Callable SUDAAN statistical system. Multivariate regression was used to predict and determine significant correlations. The results indicated that Asians 50 and older living in the U.S. and who experience functional limitations, poor vision, hypertension, poor health, not married, and unemployed in previous year were in general more prone to depression. Furthermore, the study indicated that Asian elderly living the U.S. showed lower rates of depression than all non- Asian ethnicities. However when controlled for personal characteristics only Whites and Hispanics had higher depression incidences than Asian elderly. Recommendations for future studies include: conducting more micro and macro studies of Asian elders, such as in-depth case studies for each ethnicity, longitudinal studies of various Asian subgroups, and studies of Asian elderly with hypertension who have …

To meet the growing demand for community-based adult services (CBAS) adult day health care (ADHC) programs, it is important these programs make the necessary modifications in their systems of care to embrace a person-centered care (PCC) model. This study was designed to create an assessment to determine a community-based CBAS/ADHC program's readiness to meet the new federal standards as determined by the program's current operational evidence and by center participants', their families' as well as staff's perspectives. This was measured by self-report of access to the community, choice of setting, individual rights, autonomy and independence, choice of services and supports, center accessibility as well as their needs and preferences in the practice. Results will assist similar CBAS/ADHCs in identifying the necessary modifications within their own program to continue as a certified licensed entity and remain a viable agency.

A combination of aging and poverty is becoming dominant in African society today, at a time when African countries are expected to be recovering from poverty, and are projected to house the economic growth of the next century. The emergence of aging in African context and the aging of the world population will expose the weakness of the current mechanisms used for older people around the world. As economies grow around the world, the distribution gap between the affluent and the poor widens, and the constant struggles for wealth, power, and social status, amidst scarce resources, continue to be sustained. To remain in charge of economic resources, the powerful few devise means to disenfranchise the weak, and witchcraft accusation is one of such tools used in Northern Ghana today. A new wave of witchcraft accusation has caught the attention of many in Northern Ghana. These victims with certain socioeconomic characteristics appear helpless and without defense against such accusations. As a result, they suffer untold hardships and are often compelled to leave their homes and to reside in camps reserved for witches. This study was undertaken to identify those sociodemographic characteristics, which are commonly shared by witchcraft accusation victims. These sociodemographic …