Unemployed, Immigrant, and Older Asian Workers in a U.S.-Based Job-Training Program: Their Experiences and Well-Being, and Strategies for Reaching This Important Population.

The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) is a U.S.-based job-training program that serves unemployed workers aged 55 and older with incomes at or below 125% of the federal poverty level. While federal funds are set aside to serve Asian workers in SCSEP, little is known about their characteristics and experiences. In response, this pilot study aimed to document the health, well-being, and experiences of older Asian SCSEP participants in Massachusetts through the completion of a survey. Respondents (N = 39) ranged in age from 58 to 73 and identified as either Chinese (72%) or Vietnamese (28%). All were immigrants, and almost all spoke a language other than English at home. Most reported "good" health as well as financial difficulties. They also stated that their supervisors in their placements were supportive. On average, respondents noted moderate interest in searching for a paid job after exiting SCSEP, although more reported interest in searching for a volunteer role. Key to the success of this study was a robust collaboration with a local human services organization with strong ties to the Chinese and Vietnamese communities. The findings highlight the importance of this growing group of older workers.

Debunking the myth of low behavioral risk among Asian Americans: The case of alcohol use.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Asian Americans (AAs) are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States. There is a paucity of research on alcohol-related problems among AAs. However, alcohol use and misuse are a growing concern within this population and are associated with adverse health and mental health consequences. METHODS: Using data from the 2015-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), we examined the prevalence, psycho-social-behavioral correlates, and gender differences in drinking, binge drinking, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) among AA adolescents and adults. We also estimated the prevalence of binge drinking and AUD by country of origin and nativity. RESULTS: Older adolescents (15-17) had the highest prevalence of past-month drinking (8.00%), binge drinking (4.3%), and AUD (1.8%). Among AA adults, the highest rates of binge drinking (23.0%) and AUD (7.2%) were observed among young adults ages 18-25. The highest rates of binge drinking and AUD were observed among US-born Korean Americans (binge drinking: 26.9%, AUD: 13.1%) and US-born Filipino Americans (binge drinking: 25.9%, AUD: 6.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to the common perception that AA is a low-risk group for alcohol problems, we found that AA young adults, US-born Korean, Filipino, and Indian Americans have a high risk for drinking, binge drinking, and/or AUD. We also identified risk and protective factors against alcohol use/misuse among AAs. Preventions and interventions that incorporate the important risk/protective factors for AAs using a culturally sensitive approach are needed.

Dual Trajectories of Social Isolation and Dementia in Older Adults: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study.

Objectives: To identify the interrelations between the trajectories of social isolation and dementia in older adults. Methods: Data came from the National Health and Aging Trends Study 2011-2018 surveys. Group-based dual trajectory modeling was used to examine trajectories and their interrelations. Results: Four trajectories of social isolation-rarely isolated (62.2%), steady increase (13.5%), steady decrease (7.4%), and persistently isolated (16.9%) and dementia risk-persistently low risk (80.4%), increasing with early onset (3.9%), increasing with late onset (4.5%), and persistently high risk (11.2%) emerged. Two-thirds of the low-risk dementia group were in the rarely isolated group. The high-risk dementia group had the most overlap with the decreasing social isolation group (47%), followed by the persistently isolated group (28%). Conclusions: Social isolation and dementia mostly evolved in the same direction. However, the pattern of associations between these trajectories is intricate and may be reversed among long-term dementia survivors.

Modern Senicide in the Face of a Pandemic: An Examination of Public Discourse and Sentiment About Older Adults and COVID-19 Using Machine Learning.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined public discourse and sentiment regarding older adults and COVID-19 on social media and assessed the extent of ageism in public discourse. METHODS: Twitter data (N = 82,893) related to both older adults and COVID-19 and dated from January 23 to May 20, 2020, were analyzed. We used a combination of data science methods (including supervised machine learning, topic modeling, and sentiment analysis), qualitative thematic analysis, and conventional statistics. RESULTS: The most common category in the coded tweets was "personal opinions" (66.2%), followed by "informative" (24.7%), "jokes/ridicule" (4.8%), and "personal experiences" (4.3%). The daily average of ageist content was 18%, with the highest of 52.8% on March 11, 2020. Specifically, more than 1 in 10 (11.5%) tweets implied that the life of older adults is less valuable or downplayed the pandemic because it mostly harms older adults. A small proportion (4.6%) explicitly supported the idea of just isolating older adults. Almost three-quarters (72.9%) within "jokes/ridicule" targeted older adults, half of which were "death jokes." Also, 14 themes were extracted, such as perceptions of lockdown and risk. A bivariate Granger causality test suggested that informative tweets regarding at-risk populations increased the prevalence of tweets that downplayed the pandemic. DISCUSSION: Ageist content in the context of COVID-19 was prevalent on Twitter. Information about COVID-19 on Twitter influenced public perceptions of risk and acceptable ways of controlling the pandemic. Public education on the risk of severe illness is needed to correct misperceptions.