Living with a person with young onset dementia - spousal experience.

PURPOSE: Being of working age while at the same time needing to help a partner with young onset dementia has specific consequences for spouses. Research to date has been sparse concerning this particular group of spouses. The aim of the study was to explore spouses' everyday experiences when living with a person with young onset dementia. METHOD: The study had a descriptive qualitative design with semi-structured interviews with nine spouses. The interviews were analysed using content analysis. RESULT: The interviewed spouses experienced emotions that varied from feelings of loneliness, frustration, and worry to peace of mind. They said that they used coping strategies, which included adopting a positive mindset, adapting to inabilities, adopting an avoidant approach, and finding ways to recharge. Spouses also felt that they could use more support, both formal and informal. CONCLUSION: The spouse of a person with young onset dementia has a range of emotional experiences and has resourceful ways of handling everyday life. Various types of support are offered to spouses, however, they seemed to desire more from health care services.

Children as next of kin's experiences, practices, and voice in everyday life: a systematic review of studies with Norwegian data (2010-2022).

Aims: This systematic review aims to identify and describe how children of parents with mental illness, substance dependence, or severe physical illness/injury, experience and practise their everyday life. Methods: The review followed the four stepwise recommendations of Harden and colleagues when including quantitative and qualitative studies on peoples' experiences and views. In all, 23 studies with data from Norway (2010-2022) have been included. Brown and Clark's thematic analysis was applied. Results: Three themes were constructed from the reviewed articles: (a) Children practice their relational agency by actively doing practical tasks, occasionally jobs to maintain family economy, and organising fun activities with the ill parent. (b) Emotional ambivalence when their own needs were set aside in favour of the parents. They loved their parents but also felt guilt, anger, disappointment, shame, fear of inheriting the illness and longed for a 'normal' everyday life. (c) Supportive contextual factors were, for example, at least one significant adult recognising them, participating in leisure activities, socialising with friends, and talking with other peers who shared similar experiences as next of kin. Obstructive factors were lack of information and recognition as well as silence and lack of dialogue within the family and/or health professional. Conclusions: There is a strong need for more knowledge and competence on the situation and needs of these children when it comes to professionals, parents and the public. Public health initiatives are needed to honour their agency and recognise their contributions in present time to prevent psychosocial problems later in life.

Navigating work and life- a qualitative exploration of managers' and employees' views of return-to-work after sick leave due to common mental disorders.

BACKGROUND: Incorporating multiple perspectives and contexts in knowledge mobilisation for return-to-work after sick leave due to common mental disorders can promote interprofessional and organisational strategies for facilitating the return-to-work process. This study aimed to explore the facilitators of and barriers to return-to-work after common mental disorders. This exploration considered the perspectives of employees and managers and the realms of work and private life. METHODS: A qualitative approach was used with data from 27 semi-structured telephone interviews. The strategic sample consisted of employees who returned to work after sick leave due to common mental disorders (n = 17) and managers responsible for their return-to-work process (n = 10). Thematic analysis conducted in a six-step process was used to generate themes in the interview data. RESULTS: The analysis generated three main themes with subthemes, illustrating experiences of barriers to and facilitators of return-to-work positioned in the employees' private and work contexts: (1) Getting along: managing personal difficulties in everyday life; (2) Belonging: experiencing social connectedness and support in work and private life; and (3) Organisational support: fostering a supportive work environment. The results contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the return-to-work process, including the challenges individuals face at work and in private life. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that return-to-work after sick leave due to CMDs is a dynamic and ongoing process embedded in social, organisational, and societal environments. The results highlight avenues for an interprofessional approach and organisational learning to support employees and managers, including space for the employee to recover during the workday. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study recruited employees from a two-armed cluster-randomised controlled trial evaluating a problem-solving intervention for reducing sick leave among employees sick-listed due to common mental disorders (reg. NCT3346395).

Experiences of the Redesigning Daily Occupation programme - a qualitative study among persons with neurological diseases.

BACKGROUND: The Redesigning Daily Occupations (ReDO) is a programme targeting persons who need to restructure activities and routines to achieve a healthier balance in everyday life. Issues that often is needed for persons with neurological diseases. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: To describe how persons with neurological disease experienced the ReDo-programme and to investigate how their occupational patterns and fatigue changed during the programme. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A mixed method study with a convergent parallel design including ten participants. Questionnaires and individual semi-structured interviews have been used and data analysed by descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. RESULTS: The findings indicated an increased participation in everyday life after the intervention. Furthermore, the main theme showed that the intervention enabled reflections and new insight. Sub-themes included: feeling pressured to perform, being part of a group and changing occupational pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Participants valued being a group; however, they experienced the intensity as being too high. The content of the intervention enabled reflections and new insights regarding their occupational pattern, which was experienced as a starting point towards behavioural changes and re-prioritisation of occupations in everyday life. SIGNIFICANCE: A modified version with lower intensity and careful goal setting might be valuable for persons with neurological diseases.

Experiences of meaningful occupation among diverse populations - A qualitative meta-ethnography.

BACKGROUND: Few studies synthesising knowledge about meaningful occupation are available. Meta-ethnography allows the synthesising of a variety of empirical findings and translational knowledge may be developed. AIM: Investigate how individuals from diverse cultures and contexts experience meaningful occupation as described in qualitative research, applying meta-ethnographic approach. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was based on 44 qualitative articles, selected by following a systematic procedure. Articles published between 2003-2021 were included. Studies on children, intervention and review articles were excluded. All authors conducted the analysis and synthesis, in several steps, and reached a consensus interpretation of the data. RESULTS: Five categories explaining why and how people experienced meaning emerged. They were represented in all contextual settings. The main category was 1) Constructing identity and self-actualising throughout life. The other four categories were 2) Cultivating valued feelings 3) Spiritualising by being energised or disentangled 4) Connecting and belonging 5) Rhythmizing and stabilising by being occupied. CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: The synthesis provided novel insights into how people experience meaning in occupation in various contexts as part of their process of constructing identity and self-actualisation throughout life. This knowledge is valuable as expanding and nuancing the understanding of meaningful occupation.

Management of everyday life after a hand operation-A qualitative study of patients with a weak sense of coherence.

BACKGROUND: A hand-related disorder (HRD) has a more significant impact on participation in everyday life for patients with a weak sense of coherence (SOC) compared to those with a strong SOC. Therefore, understanding how patients with a weak SOC manage the conditions of everyday life after a hand operation is of clinical interest. PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore how patients with a weak SOC experience and manage the conditions of everyday life after an operation for an HRD. STUDY DESIGN: A qualitative design with a hermeneutic approach. METHODS: An in-depth interview was conducted with each of eight adults-five women and three men-with an HRD and a weak SOC (SOC-13 score <52). Participants with varying HRDs were interviewed once between six and 13 weeks after the hand operation. Data were analyzed based on a hermeneutic approach. RESULTS: The analyses resulted in five themes: even more conditions to handle, challenges in everyday life, managing everyday life, different expectations, and the influence of information on everyday life. The lives of most participants were significantly impacted: they experienced a range of difficulties managing their activities and roles after their operation. The participants felt uncertain about managing everyday life and the future and expressed unfulfilled expectations for different reasons. All wanted individualized information about what to expect. CONCLUSIONS: Participants had several conditions in life that challenged their everyday lives, and the HRD made their everyday lives even more challenging. The extent to which they felt affected appeared to relate to their perception of their presurgery activities. They had several strategies to manage everyday life but used these to varying extent. Their expectations about the outcome had both positive and negative effects on their ability to manage everyday life, and individually adapted information was requested about what to expect and how to cope with everyday life after the surgery.

The experience of living with malignant meningioma.

OBJECTIVES: Meningiomas are the most common, primary intracranial tumor and most are benign. Little is known of the rare patient group living with a malignant meningioma, comprising 1-3% of all meningiomas. Our aim was to explore how patients perceived quality of daily life after a malignant meningioma diagnosis. METHODS: This qualitative explorative study was composed of individual semi-structured interviews. Eligible patients (n = 12) were selected based on ability to participate in an interview, from a background population of 23 patients diagnosed with malignant meningioma at Rigshospitalet from 2000 to 2021. We performed an inductive thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke's guidelines. RESULTS: Eight patients were interviewed. The analysis revealed 4 overarching themes: (1) perceived illness and cause of symptoms, (2) identity, roles, and interaction, (3) threat and uncertainty of the future, and (4) belief in authority. The perceived quality of daily life is negatively impacted by the disease. Patients experience a shift in self-concept and close interactions, and some struggle with accepting a new everyday life. Patients have a high risk of discordant prognostic awareness in relation to health-care professionals. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: We provide a much-needed patient-centered perspective of living with malignant meningioma: quality of life was affected by perception of threat and an uncertainty of the future. Perception of illness and the interpretation of the cause of symptoms varied between subjects, but a common trait was that patients' identity, roles, and interactions were affected. Shared decision-making and a strengthened continuity during follow-up could aid this rare patient group.

Social Interactions in Everyday Life of Socially Anxious Adolescents: Effects on Mental State, Anxiety, and Depression.

Unfavorable interpersonal behavior in social anxiety disorder (SAD) contributes to the maintenance of the disorder and may also be related to the development of secondary depression. Since there is limited research on daily life behavior in SAD, this study aimed to describe social interaction behavior and analyze the effect of positive interactions on depression, anxiety, and mental state. Data were obtained from the Behavior and Mind Health study (11/2015-12/2016), an epidemiological cohort study of adolescents and young adults (n = 1,180, aged 14-21 years) from Dresden, Germany. Interpersonal behavior, current mental state, anxiety, and depression were assessed eight times per day over four days using smartphone-based ecological momentary assessments. The analyzed subsample consisted of n = 723 participants, comparing 12-month SAD (n = 60) and healthy controls (HC; n = 663). The interaction behavior of participants with SAD did not differ substantially from that of HC in terms of frequency of social interactions, type of interaction partner, and time spent communicating, although they reported fewer real-life interaction partners (SAD: M = 2.49, SD = 4.78; HC: M = 3.18, SD = 6.43; F(17,044) = 23.92, p < 0.001). When comparing mental state, anxiety, and depression after interactions with familiar people to no interaction, no differences were found between SAD and HC. However, interactions with unfamiliar people negatively affected depressive symptoms in individuals with SAD (b = 0.53; SE = 0.25; 95%CI: 0.04-1.03; p = 0.036). In adolescents with SAD, social situations with unfamiliar people seem to be processed in a dysfunctional way, contributing to increased depressive mood in everyday life. This is particularly interesting given the high rate of secondary depression in SAD.

Experiences of improvement of everyday life following a rehabilitation programme for people with long-term cognitive effects of COVID-19: Qualitative study.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To explore challenges in everyday life for people with long-term cognitive effects of COVID-19 and whether a rehabilitation programme contributed to the remedy thereof. BACKGROUND: Healthcare systems around the world need knowledge about acute COVID-19 treatment, long-term effects exerting an impact on peoples' everyday lives, and how to remedy these. DESIGN: This is a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach. METHODS: Twelve people with long-term cognitive effects of COVID-19 participated in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme. Individual semi-structured interviews were made. Data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Three themes and eight sub-themes emerged with respect to everyday life challenges and experiences of the rehabilitation programme. The themes were (1) Personal insight and knowledge, (2) Changed daily routines at home and (3) Coping with working life. CONCLUSION: Participants experienced long-term effects of COVID-19 as cognitive challenges, fatigue and headaches, which affected their everyday lives, that is inability to overcome daily tasks at home and at work, maintaining family roles and relations with relatives. The rehabilitation programme contributed to a vocabulary and insights related to the long-term effects of COVID-19 and the experience of being a different person. The programme contributed to changes in daily routines, organising breaks in everyday life and explaining challenges to family/relatives and the way in which they affected daily routines and their role in the family. In addition, the programme supported several of the participants in finding the right workload and working hours. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: We recommend multidisciplinary rehabilitation programmes inspired by cognitive remediation of long-term COVID-19 cognitive effects. Municipalities and organisations could collaborate in the development and completion of such programmes, possibly comprising both virtual and physical elements. This could facilitate access and reduce costs. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Patients contributed to the conduct of the study by participating in the data collection via interviews. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Data collection and processing of data are approved by the Region of Southern Denmark (journal number: 20/46585).

Unfolding biographies-a participatory narrative study on how older adults with multiple sclerosis make sense of and manage their everyday lives.

BACKGROUND: Today, public health research on later life, including the literature on aging with multiple sclerosis, is often centered on aging as a biological phenomenon. By applying a participatory narrative approach, this study conveys how studying biographical aging provides important insights into the elements of aging that people find relevant and meaningful. Based on narratives told by older adults living with multiple sclerosis, we explore how sensemaking unfolds and shapes the management of later life with a chronic and progressive disease. METHODS: Twenty-four older adults (aged 65 years or older) living with multiple sclerosis in Denmark were engaged in taking photographs of their everyday lives and unfold the stories framed in their photographs in subsequent narrative interviews. Interview data were analyzed using a thematic narrative analysis. Aligned with the narrative approach, the findings of the analysis are presented using five cases chosen because they provide insight into the general patterns and themes identified across the narratives of the 24 participants. RESULTS: Based on their photographs, the participants narrated stories centered around what they perceived as meaningful activities and social identity when aging with a progressive disease. Three themes emerged from the analysis in relation to how participants made sense of and managed aging with multiple sclerosis: 1) a life woven by non-detachable life experiences, 2) envisioning the future and 3) challenging life circumstances. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study highlight that aging with multiple sclerosis is not only a biological phenomenon but also something nested in people's biographies. How people make sense of and manage their everyday lives is shaped by strategies from all parts of their lives-past, present and future. This understanding of later life with multiple sclerosis may enhance the care offered to older adults living with multiple sclerosis if greater emphasis is placed on the exploration of their narratives and the things they find meaningful.

Between Heteronormativity and Acceptance: Gays and Lesbians in Private and Public Space in a Comparative Perspective.

The article presents selected results from the two studies on the everyday life of lesbians and gays in Slovenia carried out in 2004 and 2014. It focuses on the experiences of homophobia and violence and coming out in different social settings. The findings are presented in a comparative perspective with an attempt to identify the main changes in the ten-year period. Although it was expected that the comparative analysis would show an improvement in the situation in the everyday life of gays and lesbians in Slovenia, the results show about the same level of violence against lesbians and gays in the public sphere and an increase of violence in school settings. However, there are more positive narratives from the private sphere, especially within the family, where there are fewer negative reactions and greater acceptance after coming out. Nevertheless, even here lesbians and gays often experience the "transparent closet," a social situation where after coming out they face silence and indifference from other family members. The situation is discussed considering broader social, political and cultural changes that have happened in Slovenia in the last two decades, including continuous attempts by conservative actors to re-traditionalize Slovenian society.

Comprehensive assessment of executive functioning following childhood severe traumatic brain injury: clinical utility of the child executive functions battery.

Objectives: To perform a detailed description of executive functioning following moderate-to-severe childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI), and to study demographic and severity factors influencing outcome. Methods: A convenience sample of children/adolescents aged 7-16 years, referred to a rehabilitation department after a TBI (n = 43), was compared to normative data using a newly developed neuropsychological test battery (Child Executive Functions Battery-CEF-B) and the BRIEF. Results: Performance in the TBI group was significantly impaired in most of the CEF-B subtests, with moderate to large effect sizes. Regarding everyday life, patients were significantly impaired in most BRIEF clinical scales, either in parent or in teacher reports. Univariate correlations in the TBI group did not yield significant correlations between the CEF-B and socio-economic status, TBI severity, age at injury, or time since injury. Conclusion: Executive functioning is severely altered following moderate-to-severe childhood TBI and is best assessed using a combination of developmentally appropriate neuropsychological tests and behavioral ratings to provide a comprehensive understanding of children's executive functions.

Everyday Activities of Older Adults in Tianjin, China: Coupling Constraints, Gendered Mobilities and Social Context.

Many Western studies have indicated that older women are generally more vulnerable in terms of mobility compared to older men, particularly regarding driving. However, the situation may differ in the context of China. This study, based on activity diaries and semi-structured interviews, focuses on the spatiotemporal behavior of older adults in Tianjin and explores how the constraints posed by activity companions (in terms of type, size, and composition) shape the mobilities of older men and women, including activity locations, travel distances, and transportation modes. The key findings are as follows: First, older women are more engaged with their families due to a higher percentage and longer duration of activities spent with family members. Second, older men tend to have more concentrated travel distances near their homes compared to older women. Third, older women exhibit a broader range of activities in different locations and engage in longer-distance leisure travel with family members when compared to older men. In the context of Western literature, this study discusses older women's enhanced social interactions, their earlier retirement in China, and the impact of COVID-19 as factors that help explain these findings. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of accompanied mobilities among Chinese older adults using geographical theory and methods, emphasizing the importance of flexible work schedules for the workforce and the organization of community-based activities to promote the social interactions and mobilities of older adults.

[A two-year prospective longitudinal study of the dynamics of cognitive functions in different periods of stroke]. / Dvukhletnee prospektivnoe prodol'noe issledovanie dinamiki kognitivnykh funktsii v razlichnye periody insul'ta.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the dynamics of cognitive functions 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after ischemic stroke (IS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 32 patients (women 21.4%), aged 40-71 years (mean age 58.7 years), with IS less than 3 months old and a moderately pronounced decrease in activity in everyday life. At four visits (baseline, after 12, 36, 84 weeks), a neuropsychological examination of cognitive functions was carried out using a 10-point system (1 point - maximum impairment, 10 points - no impairment), testing according to the Barthel scale, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), the modified Rankin scale (mRs). During the study, patients received unified basic therapy and underwent multimodal rehabilitation courses. RESULTS: When assessing cognitive functions in the period 3-6 months after IS, there was a significant (p<0.05) improvement in memory (6.5±0.62 to 8.0±0.74 points), attention (5.7±0.58 to 7.2±0.73 points), praxis (7.9±0.78 to 9.1±0.85 points), speech (6.5±0.67 to 7.5±0.87 points); a significant increase in the average Barthel score (65.8±5.4 to 89.2±8.6) was accompanied by a significant decrease in neurological deficit (7.7±0.51 to 5.3±0.33 NIHSS points and 3.9±0.28 to 2.6±0.15 mRs points). In the period 6-12 months after IS, significant disturbances were detected in the areas of memory, attention and thinking. Cognitive function continued to deteriorate 12-24 months after IS. In the period 6-24 months after IS, no significant changes in the average values on the Barthel, NIHSS, and mRs were detected. CONCLUSION: The most favorable interval for the recovery of cognitive functions in patients after IS is the early recovery period. As the time after a stroke increases, the ability to recovery cognitive functions decreases.

In search of self after stroke: a longitudinal qualitative study in the context of client-centred rehabilitation.

PURPOSE: The aim was to illuminate the experiences of stroke survivors returning to everyday life in the year following stroke, in the context of client-centred rehabilitation. METHODS: Four men who participated in a client-centred rehabilitation program were followed during the first year after stroke. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, allbut the first in the participants' home. The data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. RESULTS: The results revealed a process with the overarching core category; The "new" self becomes reality through challenging everyday experiences, and five main categories driving the process: 1) Striving for structure in a "new" chaotic world, 2) Homecoming an ambiguous experience, 3) Reaching the "new" self through reflections of self-understanding, 4) Socialising in new circumstances, and 5) Realising a new reality. CONCLUSIONS: While in hospital, stroke survivors can have unrealistic expectations. When at home they can begin to realise their actual capacity . To find a "new" self after a stroke can involve time-consuming and taxing processes of reflections of self-understanding. Engagement in self-selected meaningful and valued activities can support stroke survivors' reconstruction of the "new" self but not all stroke survivors may succeed in finding their "new" self during the first year after stroke.

Aesthetics of everyday life and its related factors among older adults in Kashan (2021-2022).

BACKGROUND: Aesthetics of everyday life are associated with the physical, mental, and social health of older adults, leading them to experience a successful old age. This study aimed to examine the aesthetics of everyday life and its related factors among older adults in Kashan from 2021 to 2022. METHODS: This cross-sectional study consisted of 350 older adults who were referred to Urban Comprehensive Health Service Centers (UCHSC) in Kashan. Sampling was done by a two-stage method (cluster, random). The data collection was performed with a background information questionnaire and the Elderly's Perception of Everyday Aesthetics scale (EPEA-S). Data were analyzed using an independent t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression tests in the SPSS software. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 69.56 ± 6.63 years. The mean score of aesthetics of everyday life in older adults was 133.02 ± 14.73, with the family and others subscale receiving the highest score. The univariate test indicated a statistically significant correlation between age, employment status, education, income, smoking, social activities, physical activities, interest in artistic works, and the aesthetics of everyday life in older adults (P < 0.01). Multivariate linear analysis showed that age, employment status, smoking, income, social activities, physical activities, and interest in artistic works predicted and explained 28% of the variance of life aesthetics in older adults (R2 = 0.28). CONCLUSIONS: The aesthetics of everyday life of the Iranian older adults were in a good range. Healthcare providers and families of older adults can use this concept to enhance the elderly's physical, mental, and social health.

The impact of post-stroke fatigue on work and other everyday life activities for the working age population - a registry-based cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Life after stroke is a comprehensive area that involves engagement in meaningful everyday activities, including work, and can be adversely affected by post-stroke fatigue. This study investigates post-stroke fatigue, its development over time, and its impact on return to work and other everyday life activities. In addition, we investigated whether post-stroke fatigue could predict functioning in everyday life activities one year after stroke. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This prospective registry-based study includes 2850 working age (18 - 63 years) patients registered in the Swedish Stroke Register (Riksstroke) during year 2017 and 2018. Post-stroke fatigue and everyday activities were analyzed 3- and 12-months post-stroke. RESULTS: The mean age of the included participants was 54 years and the majority, 65%, were men. Three months post-stroke, 43% self-reported fatigue, at 12-months the proportion increased to 48%. About 90% of the patients were independent in basic ADL at 3-month. Dependence in complex activities one year post-stroke was significantly associated with fatigue. Not experiencing fatigue one year after stroke could predict positive functioning in everyday activities, increasing the chance of returning to work (OR = 3.7) and pre-stroke life and everyday activities (OR = 5.7). CONCLUSION: Post-stroke fatigue is a common persistent disability that negatively impacts complex activities; therefore, fatigue needs to be acknowledged and addressed long term after discharge.

People of working age who experience post-stroke fatigue encounter difficulties with complex rather than basic activities.Post-stroke fatigue may be developed when reclaiming complex activities; thus, long term routine assessments after discharge are recommended.Interventions addressing post-stroke fatigue are warranted, as the absence of post-stroke fatigue increases the chance of returning to everyday life, including work.

Towards a conceptualisation and critique of everyday life in HRI.

This paper focuses on the topic of "everyday life" as it is addressed in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) research. It starts from the argument that while human daily life with social robots has been increasingly discussed and studied in HRI, the concept of everyday life lacks clarity or systematic analysis, and it plays only a secondary role in supporting the study of the key HRI topics. In order to help conceptualise everyday life as a research theme in HRI in its own right, we provide an overview of the Social Science and Humanities (SSH) perspectives on everyday life and lived experiences, particularly in sociology, and identify the key elements that may serve to further develop and empirically study such a concept in HRI. We propose new angles of analysis that may help better explore unique aspects of human engagement with social robots. We look at the everyday not just as a reality as we know it (i.e., the realm of the "ordinary") but also as the future that we need to envision and strive to materialise (i.e., the transformation that will take place through the "extraordinary" that comes with social robots). Finally, we argue that HRI research would benefit not only from engaging with a systematic conceptualisation but also critique of the contemporary everyday life with social robots. This is how HRI studies could play an important role in challenging the current ways of understanding of what makes different aspects of the human world "natural" and ultimately help bringing a social change towards what we consider a "good life."

Ageing, the digital and everyday life during and since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Introduction: During and since the Covid-19 pandemic there has been an intensified integration of digital technologies into the everyday lives of older people. We do, however, know little about the ways in which older people incorporate digital technologies and communications into their daily lives and their own meanings, embodiment and experiences of the digital during and since the Covid-19 pandemic. Method: The aim of our research was to explore the use of digital devices during and since the Covid-19 pandemic and to identify facilitators and barriers to incorporating digital devices into everyday life. The research involved a series of online focus groups with people aged between 63 and 86 years living in the United Kingdom and were conducted in 2022. Each focus group lasted around 90 min and data was audio-recorded and transcribed. The data was analysed thematically. Results: From the analysis, three interconnecting whilst analytically distinct themes around the meaning and experiences of using digital devices in everyday life during and since the pandemic, are thematically presented as: (1) Incorporating the digital into everyday life; (2) Social and digital connectivity; and (3) Challenges and limitations of the digital in everyday life. Discussion: The research has provided insights into the way digital devices were used by older people during and since the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, we highlight the increasing importance of digital connectivity and the ways in which older people actively engage (and resist) technologies of communication in their daily lives; and the significance of embodied co-presence and the immediacy of shared space and/or time is highlighted.

The impact of endometriosis on dietary choices and activities of everyday life: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Endometriosis is characterized by ectopic endometrial tissue and severe pain; frequently, women afflicted by this condition resort to non-medical interventions, such as dietary modifications. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of endometriosis on dietary patterns and quality of life. Methods: An online survey was conducted among Italian women with endometriosis to gather self-reported demographic, clinical, dietary habit, and daily life data post-diagnosis. Results: A total of 4,078 participants were included. Following an endometriosis diagnosis, 66% reported changes in eating habits, and 92% experienced a decline in daily life. Respondents chose dietary interventions: gluten-free (15%), anti-inflammatory (8%), Mediterranean (7.1%), or ketogenic (4%) diets, to improve health and reduce symptoms. The study revealed a shift in eating habits, with increased consumption of vegetables, fruits (10%), cereals, legumes (6.6%), and fish (4.5%), while reducing dairy products (18.4%), soy-containing foods (6.7%), and high saturated fats (8%). Eating habit changes correlated with endometriosis stages and worsened daily life. Educational level, endometriosis stages, years of symptoms, and eating habit changes linked to changes in daily life. Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the importance of monitoring eating behaviors to prevent unhealthy habits and malnutrition in women with endometriosis. Further studies are needed to evaluate how different diets impact symptoms and enhance daily life for these individuals.