Cross-Generational Understandings of Ageism and Its Perceived Impacts on Personal-Public Health.

In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global campaign to combat ageism, emphasizing its potential harm to personal and public health. This qualitative focus group study explored generational differences in understanding the WHO's definition and impact of ageism among baby boomers (ages 60-72; n = 17) and silent generation members (ages 78-85; n = 10). Verbatim transcripts were analyzed via a grounded theory approach, and representative themes and quotations were extracted by consensus. Members of both age groups initially downplayed personal impacts of ageism in favor of a broader discussion of age-related discrimination on a societal level. As each discussion progressed, however, participants acknowledged economic, social, and health impacts linked with ageism, but primarily for others. Both groups noted ageist actors in places of employment, healthcare settings, restaurants, retirement communities, and within family networks. Interestingly, each group rated risk of harm by ageism as greater for the other group. Our findings highlight challenges associated with the translation of a broad public health campaign to engage specific stakeholder subgroups. We discuss future research, education, and training initiatives across all ages to address the detrimental impacts of ageism.

Behavioral Interventions in Six Dimensions of Wellness That Protect the Cognitive Health of Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVES: To systematically identify, appraise, and summarize research on the effects of behavioral interventions to prevent cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults using a holistic wellness framework. DESIGN: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials that tested the effectiveness of behavioral interventions within each of the six dimensions of wellness: occupational, social, intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual. Databases searched included PubMed MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ALOIS, and The Grey Literature Report through July 1, 2014. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged 60 and older (N = 6,254). MEASUREMENTS: Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials Checklist. RESULTS: Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Interventions in the physical dimension of wellness were most common (11 studies); interventions in the spiritual dimension were least common (0 studies). Fifty-nine different measures were used to measure multiple cognitive domains, with memory being the most commonly measured (17 studies) and language being the least commonly measured (5 studies). Fifty percent of the interventions examined in the 18 studies demonstrated statistically significant outcomes on at least one cognitive measure. Interventions in the intellectual dimension that examined cognitively stimulating activities using pen and paper or a computer represented the greatest percentage of statistically significant outcomes. CONCLUSION: Intellectual and physical interventions were most studied, with varied results. Future research is needed using more-consistent methods to measure cognition. Researchers should include the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognition Battery among measurement tools to facilitate effective data harmonization, pooling, and comparison.

Validation of the Safe at Home Screening with Adults Who Have Acquired Brain Injury.

The Safe at Home Screening (SAH) is an occupational therapy assessment tool designed to quickly assess home safety awareness and skills through the use of mock hazardous situations in a kitchen setting. The SAH has been standardized on community-dwelling adults. This research project involves psychometric analyses using the SAH on a sample of adults with acquired brain injuries (ABI; N = 31), and compares their SAH outcome scores with those of the Kohlman Evaluation of Living Skills (KELS). The scores on the two tests were found to be moderately correlated. An aspect of content validity was explored by asking the clients' occupational therapists to make predictions about their clients' functioning in the realm of home safety. Correlations between the expert opinions of potential client scores and actual SAH test scores were moderate.