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The relationships between social and physical activities in older adulthood deserve further attention. This study explores the relationship of social leisure activity (SLA) and the psychological construct, valuation of life (VOL), to physical activity among the young, middle, and oldest old. Significant differences and relationships were observed. Oldest old showed significant drops in ability and activity, both physical and leisure activity. VOL is connected to SLA and physical activities specific to improving flexibility. The study findings suggest SLA and VOL are important points of leverage for helping older adults forestall decreases in physical activity, especially for the oldest old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only recently has research focused on families and social support systems of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults; to date, this research is limited. This article highlights new findings and insights on the changing American family, with an emphasis on LGBT families and caregiving, and explores the importance of recognizing the diversity in family types and roles-- especially when considering the care provided by and for LGBT individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report extends knowledge about the informal caregiving trajectory in Mexican American (MA) families, constituting the second known empirical study of the emerging phenomenon of personal care by (MA) sons for their aging mothers, previously reported by our research team. It uses life course perspective (LCP) to compare caregiving patterns over time through case-based comparative-historical methods. “Historical” within-case analysis searches for themes, while “comparative” cross-case analysis allows exploration of themes across multiple cases, enabling examination of eight cases of caregiving MA sons who were currently providing personal care or confronting the imminent need to do so. We used the comparative-historical technique of pattern matching to determine the worth of LCP for exploration of MA family caregiving, test data-derived theoretical propositions, and function as a template for combining multiple methods. Qualitative findings were buttressed in this sub-analysis of a parent study by results from a battery of variable-oriented scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family caregiving for people with dementia and grandparents raising grandchildren both remain critical issues for our increasingly diverse and aging society. Very little research has focused on the role of resilience in either of these caregiving literatures, thereby creating opportunities for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to drive future agendas including the development, evaluation, and dissemination of caregiver interventions grounded in resilience frameworks. This chapter reviews key issues related to caregiver resilience and makes several recommendations to help move its study and application forward, including the use of mixed-methods and prospective longitudinal designs, the application and evaluation of relevant theoretical frameworks, and the examination of interventions at different levels that target both mental and physical health outcomes with diverse populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LGBTcaregiving for midlife and older adults facing chronic illness or disability as well as the development and evaluation of interventions targeting LGBT caregivers remains fundamentally unexplored. Caregivers regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity often juggle multiple roles and responsibilities leading to increased stress and distress. However, largely due to discrimination and discriminatory policies, many LGBT caregivers face barriers at multiple levels of service provision that can exacerbate stress and negatively impact caregiver and care recipient quality of life. This article highlights many of these obstacles and provides examples of intervention strategies designed to assist LGBT caregivers ranging from interventions aimed at the individual and interpersonal levels of service provision to changes needed at the social policy level. As an example of an individual or interpersonal level of intervention designed to assist LGBT caregivers, the SURE 2framework is presented and more thoroughly discussed. Given the diversity of the LGBT community, the article ends with ways to extend or adapt SURE 2 as well as suggesting that the time has come to develop and test a variety of interventions for LGBT caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To examine how perceived balance problems are associated with self‐reported falls in the past month after controlling for known correlates of falls among older adults. Background: Approximately 30% of adults age 65 and older fall each year. Most accidental falls are preventable, and older adults' engagement in fall prevention is imperative. Limited research suggest that older adults do not use the term 'fall risk' to describe their risk for falls. Instead, they commonly use the term 'balance problems'. Yet, commonly used fall risk assessment tools in both primary and acute care do not assess older adults' perceived balance. Design and Method: The Health Belief Model and the concept of perceived susceptibility served as the theoretical framework. A retrospective, cross‐sectional secondary analysis using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study from year 2015 was conducted. The outcome variable was self‐reported falls in the last month. Results: A subsample of independently living participants (N = 7499) was selected, and 10.3% of the sample reported a fall. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of reporting a fall in the past month was 3.4 times (p <.001) greater for participants who self‐reported having a balance problem compared to those who did not. In contrast, fear of falling and perceived memory problems were not uniquely associated with falls. Using a mobility device, reporting pain, poor self‐rated health status, depression and anxiety scores were also associated with falling. Conclusion and Implications: Older adults' perceived balance problem is strongly associated with their fall risk. Perceived balance may be important to discuss with older adults to increase identification of fall risk. Older adults' perceived balance should be included in nursing fall risk assessments and fall prevention interventions. A focus on balance may increase older adults' engagement in fall prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To examine the cost-effectiveness of a randomized, clinical trial of a home-based intervention for caregivers of people with dementia. DESIGN: This cost-effectiveness analysis examined Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregivers Health (REACH II), a multisite, randomized, clinical trial, from June 2002 through December 2004, funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Nursing Research, of a behavioral intervention to decrease caregivers' stress and improve management of care recipient behavioral problems. SETTING: Community-dwelling dementia caregiving dyads from the Memphis REACH II site. PARTICIPANTS: Of Memphis' random sample of 55 intervention and 57 control black and white dyads, 46 in each arm completed without death or discontinuation. Family caregivers were aged 21 and older, lived with the care recipient, and had provided 4 or more hours of care per day for 6 months or longer. Care recipients were cognitively and functionally impaired. INTERVENTION(S): Twelve individual sessions (9 home sessions and 3 telephone sessions) supplemented by five telephone support-group sessions. Control caregivers received two “check in” phone calls. MEASUREMENTS: Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), the additional cost to bring about one additional unit of benefit (hours per day of providing care). RESULTS: At 6 months, there was a significant difference between intervention caregivers and control caregivers in hours providing care ( P=.01). The ICER showed that intervention caregivers had 1 extra hour per day not spent in caregiving, at a cost of $5 per day. CONCLUSION: The intervention provided that most scarce of caregiver commodities—time. The emotional and physical costs of dementia caregiving are enormous, and this intervention was able to alleviate some of that cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]