The benefits of being a senior mentor: Cultivating resilience through the mentorship of health professions students.

Senior Mentor Programs (SMPs) pair community-dwelling older adults with health professions students to facilitate knowledge, improve communication skills, and promote positive attitudes regarding the aging process. Although evidence exists that SMPs meet these goals, the programs' psychosocial impact on the senior mentors remains unexplored. The current study assessed 101 mostly female (64.4%) senior mentors (M age = 77.6) pre- and postprogram. Although mentors had no change in the amount of perceived ageism experienced or expectation of experiencing ageism, their concern/anxiety over ageism significantly decreased from pre- (M = 21.58) to posttest (M = 20.19). Qualitative thematic analysis indicated meaningfulness of program and scheduling difficulties as prevalent themes. Mentors who reported less concern about ageism following the program were more likely to have experienced ageism in the year prior to the program and to attend religious services more often, another potential intergenerational contact. These results highlight possible benefits of mentor service for older adults.

A Formative Qualitative Evaluation to Inform Implementation of a Research Participation Enhancement and Advocacy Training Program for Diverse Seniors: The DREAMS Program.

This article reports on a formative qualitative evaluation conducted to identify potential barriers and facilitators prior to implementation of a two-part educational intervention designed to increase older adults' participation in clinical research. We conducted focus groups with 35 older adults from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds (Mean age = 74.5 ± 7.4 years), and six clinical researchers involved in aging research. Two older adult patient stakeholder advisors participated as members of the research team. Findings from thematic analysis showed that common barriers to research participation included older adults' fear and mistrust of researchers and the medical community as well as misperceptions and negative attitudes about clinical research. A commonly held belief was that most clinical research is conducted by "greedy" pharmaceutical companies who are more interested in profits than finding cures for disease. Results provide useful insights regarding enrolling members of hard-to-reach older adult populations in clinical research.

Research Advocacy Training Program Benefits Diverse Older Adults in Participation, Self-Efficacy and Attitudes toward Research.

BACKGROUND: Developing a Research Participation Enhancement and Advocacy Training Program for Diverse Seniors (DREAMS) is a two-part health education (part 1 [DP1]) and research advocacy training (part 2 [DP2]) program grounded in CBPR principles designed to address underrepresentation of socioeconomically disadvantaged and/or minority older adults in research. OBJECTIVES: We examine the effects of DREAMS on health literacy, psychosocial function, beliefs/attitudes toward research, and self-efficacy in diverse older adults age 65 and older who completed only part 1 of DREAMS (n = 51) versus those who completed both parts 1 and 2 (DREAMS Team [DT]; n = 24). We hypothesized that benefits would be observed in both groups, with greater benefits seen among DT completers versus those who completed only part 1. METHODS: Participants completed pre- and post-course questionnaires, including a satisfaction survey. DREAMS versus DT data were analyzed and compared using t tests, χ2 tests, analyses of variance/repeated measures analyses of variance, and Mann-Whitney U tests as appropriate. Themes were identified from open-ended survey questions and provide context for quantitative data. RESULTS: Findings showed significant group × time interaction in depression, participation/autonomy, and physical composite scores as well as trends toward improved attitudes toward research participation (P = .07), decreased depression (P < .001), and increased participation (P = .03) of the DT group. Results from the satisfaction questionnaire indicated that both programs were well-received. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide strong evidence of DREAMS and particularly the DT's success in achieving our key objectives.

Socio-Emotional Adaptation Theory: Charting the Emotional Process of Alzheimer's Disease.

Purpose of the Study: The emotional reactions to the progression of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's disease (MCI/AD) oftentimes present as cognitive or behavioral changes, leading to misguided interventions by Formal Support (paid health care providers). Despite a rich body of literature identifying cognitive and behavioral staging of MCI/AD, the emotional changes that accompany these diagnoses have been largely ignored. The objective of this study was to develop a model of the emotional aspects of MCI/AD. Design and Methods: One hour, semistructured interviews, with 14 patient-Informal Support Partner dyads (N = 28) interviewed concurrently; patients were in various stages of MCI/AD. An interdisciplinary team employed a grounded theory coding process to detect emotional characteristics of the participants with MCI/AD. Results: Emotional reactions were categorized into depression/sadness, apathy, concern/fear, anger/frustration, and acceptance. The emotions did not present linearly along the course of the disease and were instead entwined within a set of complex (positive/negative) interactions including: relationship with the Informal Support Partner (i.e., teamwork vs infantilization), relationship with the Formal Support (i.e., patient vs disengaged), coping (i.e., adaptive vs nonadaptive), and perceived control (i.e., internal vs external locus-of-control). For example, a person with poor formal and informal support and external locus-of-control may become depressed, a condition that is known to negatively affect cognitive status. Implications: Understanding the emotional reactions of individuals diagnosed with MCI/AD will provide clinicians with information needed to develop treatments suited to current needs of the patient and provide Informal Support Partners insight into cognitive and physical changes associated with MCI/AD.

Elder financial exploitation: implications for future policy and research in elder mistreatment.

Recent advances in the understanding of elder mistreatment have demonstrated that financial exploitation tends to be one of the most common forms of mistreatment affecting older populations. Agencies such as the World Bank and World Health Organization show significant concern regarding financial exploitation and its connection to physical and emotional injury to victims. The World Bank uses the term "financial violence" as a means of generally describing the harm caused to an individual as a result of financial exploitation or abuse. The proportion of financial exploitation in relation to other forms of elder mistreatment is defined in our research. We discuss the potential impact of elder financial exploitation on victims as well as explore the implications for future research and policy development focused on financial aspects of elder mistreatment and call for further study in the concept of financial exploitation as a violent act.