Opinions of Older Individuals on Advance Care Planning and Factors Affecting Their Views: A Systematic Review.

The objective of this systematic review is to present older individuals' views on the advance care planning (ACP) process and the factors affecting those opinions. The review contains search terms predetermined in the databases of CINAHL, MEDLINE (via PubMed), Academic Search Ultimate, Web of Science, Master FILE, and TR Dizin over the last 10 years (1 January 2012-31 December 2021) in English and Turkish. The studies were included in the research using inclusion (sample age ≥ 50, focusing on individuals' opinions on ACP) and exclusion (articles whose samples consisted of individuals with a specific disease, non-research articles) criteria. Quality assessment was conducted using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. A narrative synthesis was used to collate findings. The most striking results are the positive perspectives increasing in parallel with the individuals' level of knowledge and experience about ACP. Variables affecting their views are advanced age, marital status, socioeconomic status, perception of remaining life expectancy, self-perceived health, number and stage of chronic diseases, religion, and cultural characteristics. This study offers guidance on the application and dissemination of ACP, empowering the use of this practice given the perspectives of older adults on ACP and the factors that affect them that the data show.

Experienced barriers in the use of ICT for social interaction in older adults ageing in place: a qualitative systematic review protocol (SYSR-D-22-00848).

BACKGROUND: Several information and communication technologies (ICT) have been developed to enhance social connectedness of older adults aging in place, although they are not accessible for all. Barriers in using ICT might for example relate to health issues, sensory loss, lack of technical skills, or reluctance to use technologies. Though knowledge on these barriers is crucial for the development and implementation of ICT for older adults, no systematic review was found on this subject. The proposed qualitative systematic review aims to explore barriers experienced by older adults aging in place in using ICT for social interaction. METHODS: The review will be conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology. Databases for search will include MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL (via EBSCO), and Web of Science (ISI), among others. Included studies focus on older adults ageing in place 60 years or older. Pairs of authors will independently, by following agreed guidelines, assess the eligibility of studies, and extract data. The testing of eligibility criteria and screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts will be performed. The findings will describe for example populations, context, culture, and the phenomena of interest. Qualitative research findings will, where possible, be pooled by using JBI SUMARI for the meta-aggregation approach. DISCUSSION: The mapping of published studies has the potential to identify research gaps in the existing literature, which again may inform developers and stakeholders in designing more user-friendly and adaptive ICT solutions for older people ageing in place. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: CRD42022370044.

Trends in Telecare Use among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Scoping Review.

A scoping review was conducted to map and analyze the concept of telecare services and the trends in telecare use. This scoping review was conducted according to Arksey and O'Malley's framework. A search was conducted in CINAHL (via EBSCO), ERIC, Academic Search Ultimate, and MEDLINE/PubMed databases. This scoping review considered quantitative (e.g., analytical observational studies, including prospective and retrospective cohort studies, case-control, analytical cross-sectional, and descriptive-observational studies), qualitative (e.g., phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and action research), and mixed-method primary studies. Forty research articles published from 1 January 2012, to 1 January 2022 were included in this review, these studies met the eligibility criteria as all were focused on telecare and targeting older adults over 65 living at home. The reviewers coded the data in an Excel spreadsheet, including the articles' title, year, author, journal information and subject, research methods, sample size, location, and summary. Then, the researchers analyzed the conceptual definitions, measurement techniques, and findings in detail and the findings were grouped into categories. The trends around the concept of telecare are independent living, remote care, aging in place, and safety. Telecare research focuses mainly on service use, chronic illness, ethics, and cost-effectiveness. Technology acceptance among older individuals is a critical factor for telecare use. The results found in the literature about the cost-effectiveness of telecare are inconsistent.

Determination of Workload, Work Stress and Related Factors in Nursing Home Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey.

COVID-19 has caused a major crisis all over the world. To manage this crisis, a fixed shift system was applied to nursing home staff in Turkey to protect nursing home residents from the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff were not allowed to leave the institution during fixed shifts. It is thought that this practice for the COVID-19 outbreak, while protecting nursing home residents on the one hand, increased the workload and related stress of nursing home staff on the other hand. To the best of our knowledge, there is no study examining the workload and stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic for nursing home staff in Turkey. The aim of this study was to examine the level of workload and work stress experienced by staff working in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. METHODS: A cross-sectional research design was used in the study. The sample of the study consisted of nursing home personnel working in nursing homes in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya between October 2021 and January 2022. A personal information form and a workload and stress scale were used for collecting the data. Cluster analysis was performed with SPSS software. RESULTS: In total, 154 nursing home personnel participated in the study. A statistically significant difference was found between the mean age of the two clusters. The first cluster was described as "old" and the second as "young". Statistically significant and high values were found in the quantitative workload, qualitative workload, job organization, social work area and fatigue factors in the nursing home staff in the older participant cluster. CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide new information about the concepts of workload and work stress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, which will serve as a guide for the management of future pandemics. Therefore, this study will contribute to the strategies to be followed in future pandemics in Turkey.

Assessment Tools of Biopsychosocial Frailty Dimensions in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Narrative Review.

Frailty is a complex interplay between several factors, including physiological changes in ageing, multimorbidities, malnutrition, living environment, genetics, and lifestyle. Early screening for frailty risk factors in community-dwelling older people allows for preventive interventions on the clinical and social determinants of frailty, which allows adverse events to be avoided. By conducting a narrative review of the literature employing the International Narrative Systematic Assessment tool, the authors aimed to develop an updated framework for the main measurement tools to assess frailty risks in older adults, paying attention to use in the community and primary care settings. This search focused on the biopsychosocial domains of frailty that are covered in the SUNFRAIL tool. The study selected 178 reviews (polypharmacy: 20; nutrition: 13; physical activity: 74; medical visits: 0; falls: 39; cognitive decline: 12; loneliness: 15; social support: 5; economic constraints: 0) published between January 2010 and December 2021. Within the selected reviews, 123 assessment tools were identified (polypharmacy: 15; nutrition: 15; physical activity: 25; medical visits: 0; falls: 26; cognitive decline: 18; loneliness: 9; social support: 15; economic constraints: 0). The narrative review allowed us to evaluate assessment tools of frailty domains to be adopted for multidimensional health promotion and prevention interventions in community and primary care.