Elderly Family Members Research Articles

Self-Efficacy Mediates Acculturation and Respite Care Knowledge of Immigrant Caregivers.

Past studies have shown that acculturation and self-efficacy can affect respite care knowledge, which are notable issues among immigrant caregivers due to the rapid increasing aging family members. The aim of this study was to investigate relationships among acculturation, self-efficacy, and respite care knowledge in immigrant caregivers, and to determine the mediating effects of self-efficacy on the relationship between acculturation and respite care knowledge. A cross-sectional design was used. We enrolled 134 female immigrant caregivers who had married Taiwanese men and lived with care recipients who used LTC services. Based on Baron and Kenny’ mediating analytic framework, multiple regression and Sobel tests were used to examine whether self-efficacy mediated the relationship between acculturation and respite care knowledge. The findings showed that after controlling for confounding factors, acculturation and self-efficacy separately affected respite care knowledge (B = 0.229, standard error (SE) = 0.084; B = 0.123, SE = 0.049, respectively). Acculturation had a positive impact on respite care knowledge through self-efficacy (B = 0.181, SE = 0.084). Therefore, self-efficacy partially mediated the effect of acculturation on respite care knowledge, and accounted for 20.9% of the total mediating effect in this study. Acculturation predicted immigrant caregiver’ respite care knowledge partially through self-efficacy. The association between acculturation and respite care knowledge was partially mediated by immigrant caregivers’ self-efficacy. As a result, it was proposed that boosting self-efficacy could increase and drive immigrant caregivers’ respite care knowledge. To assist this population in obtaining enough resources, targeted educational programs to promote immigrant caregivers’ self-efficacy should be designed and implemented. Furthermore, health care practitioners should be aware of the relevance of immigrant caregivers’ acculturation.

Age structure of the population and the choice of household financial assets

China is undergoing changes in its demographic structure, and the burden of raising children and caring for the elderly is negatively affecting the welfare of Chinese families. Optimising the financial structure of households may be an effective solution. Using data from the 2017 Chinese Household Finance Survey, in this study, we empirically analyse how the age structure of the population affects a household’s finances by applying probit and tobit models. It was found that an increase in the proportion of infants in a family has a crowding-out effect on its investment in risky and deposit assets, and an increase in the proportion of elderly family members encourages the replacement of risky assets with savings. Further mechanism tests showed that the presence of infants affects the choice of financial assets by crowding a family’s labour or leisure time, increasing expenditures, and changing a family’s cash demand, while the presence of the elderly changes household finances because a family’s risk preferences are altered by the weakened cognitive abilities of the elderly. Finally, in this article, we advance some policy suggestions, such as regulating capital market management, increasing birth subsidies, and improving the financial literacy of the elderly, to ensure future pension security.

The Relationship between Size of Core Network and Frequency of Contacts with Agitation and Positive Affect in Older Adults with Dementia

Background: Few studies have explored the associations of agitation symptoms among older adults with core network size and with frequency of contact with core network care providers. The present study aimed to investigate the associations of agitation and affect among older adult people with dementia (PWD) with core network size and frequency of contact with core network care providers. Methods: A convenience sample of 98 Omani older adult PWD residing in their homes was recruited. Most of the participants (63.3%) were female, and the mean age of the participants was 80 years (standard deviation = 9.0). A total of 77 participants suffered from severe dementia, while the remaining 21 had mild to moderate dementia levels. Valid and reliable instruments completed by either the participating PWD or their caregivers were used to measure the study variables. Results: The main hypothesis of the study was not supported, whereby core network size and frequency of contact with the core network were not found to be significantly associated with activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL) core networks or agitation and affect. Further, the findings indicated no significant associations between core network size or closeness between PWD and their IADL and ADL caregivers and the amount of ADL and IADL care provided. The level of care provided by the caregivers and the participants’ frequency of contact with the core network remained consistent throughout the progress of the dementia patients’ conditions. Discussion/Conclusion: The findings of this study are incongruent with the findings of studies conducted in Western countries, which have reported that older adults prefer to have meaningful interactions with small, close social networks as opposed to large networks. Our findings may be explained by the strong cultural values in Oman which place great emphasis on caring for elderly family members. It is essential to understand these relationships in order to develop effective home care interventions for older adult PWD in Oman.

Faktor Kecemasan Tenaga Kesehatan dalam Memberikan Perawatan pada Pasien Covid-19: A Literatur Review

Covid-19 as a global pandemic has overwhelmed the global health care system, and medical personnel experience a large workload due to long service shifts, which impact psychological disorders, one of which is anxiety; the anxiety experienced varies from mild, moderate to severe. To find out and display the causes of anxiety that arise in health workers while dealing with COVID-19 patients through searching literature articles. This research method is a literature review, with article searches starting from 2019-2020, using the ProQuest, PubMed, sciencedirect.com, google scholar, and crossref databases with the keywords health workers anxiety, OR Nurse anxiety, OR covid-19 patients. The identification of articles found as many as 620 articles and included in the selection criteria for 101 articles. 101 articles were included in the inclusion criteria selection, 11 articles were found that met the inclusion criteria. 11 articles were extracted and found several factors including gender, age, education, marital status, availability of APD, fear of infection, presence of comorbidities, having elderly family members, working conditions and environment, direct contact, type of hospital, profession, history of anxiety, patient honesty. The factors that cause anxiety in health workers when treating COVID-19 patients occur from individual internal and external factors. It occurs from individual internal factors including gender, age, education, marital status, fear of being infected, the presence of comorbidities, having a history of anxiety. External factors include the availability of APD, having elderly family members, working conditions and environment, direct contact, type of hospital, profession, patient honesty.

Effect of older adults in the family on the sandwich generation's pursuit of entrepreneurship: evidence from China

AbstractHousehold entrepreneurship is a basic unit of entrepreneurial activity, and a crucial aspect of connecting personal and social wellbeing. This study examines the relationship between the proportion of elderly family members and household entrepreneurship. This study also assesses the mediating effect of the middle-aged generation's support to their parents and the moderating effect of the parents’ support with respect to the proportion of elderly family members and entrepreneurship. We use data from the China Family Panel Studies. We adopt the instrumental variable method to deal with endogeneity, robustness and credibility of the estimation results. The results show that a higher proportion of elderly family members impedes household entrepreneurship. Moreover, the financial and instrumental support provided by the middle-aged generation to their parents significantly mediates the relationship between the proportion of elderly family members and household entrepreneurship. In turn, parents’ financial support to the middle-aged generation moderates the focal relationship; however, parents’ instrumental support does not moderate the focal relationship. These findings emphasise the need to develop a comprehensive social security network for older adults that will indirectly promote household entrepreneurship, and improve personal and social wellbeing.

When the Physician Becomes the Caregiver: A Review for Physicians Caring for Their Elder Relatives.

When the Physician Becomes the Caregiver: A Review for Physicians Caring for Their Elder Relatives.

Family Caregiving Burden in Romantic Relationships: A Relational Turbulence Theory Analysis

ABSTRACT In addition to health and financial burdens, family caregivers can experience stress in their romantic relationships. Relational turbulence theory (RTT) is used to understand how family caregivers and caregivers’ romantic partners navigate relational transitions and caregiver burden when one partner is providing informal care to another aging family member. Three hundred and nineteen participants, who were either the romantic partner providing care or the romantic partner of a family caregiver, completed an online survey. Tests of RTT and caregiver burden revealed that relational uncertainty, partner facilitation, and relational turbulence were related to caregiver burden as predicted for family caregivers; relational uncertainty was unrelated to caregiver burden for romantic partners. Partner interference was unrelated to caregiver burden. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Family Responsibilities and Silence of Rural Migrant Workers in China: The Role of Town-Fellow Organizations

Employee voice in China remains an under-researched topic from an industrial relations perspective. We investigated the relationship between family dependents (children and elderly) and migrant worker silence, with town-fellow organizations as a moderator, based on the data of the 2014 Guangdong Migrant Workers Survey. The findings reveal that migrant workers with dependent children are more likely to keep silent when their labour rights and interests are violated at the workplace, while family responsibilities for dependent elderly family members do not have significant impacts on migrant workers’ silence. In addition, town-fellow organizations weaken the association between family responsibilities for elderly dependents and silence. Our study contributes to the existing literature on employee voice and provides evidence on the role of town-fellow organizations in China as an informal, emerging institutional actor that regulates labour relations through their involvement in dispute resolution.

Identifying root causes of conflicts at farm level and conflicts resolution strategies in Punjab, Pakistan

The present study was conducted in three districts of the Punjab province. Muzaffargarh district from southern Punjab, Gujranwala district from center, and Attock district from North were selected randomly from three different zones (South, North, and Central Punjab) of Punjab, Pakistan. In each district, 200 farm families (100 male and 100 female) were selected purposively (involved in the conflict) for data collection rationally with help of key informants hence the total sample size was 600 in three selected districts. A well-planned and well-structured interview schedule was prepared for the collection of data. Two focus group discussions were planned for an in-depth discussion in each district. Each focus group consisted of 8 to10 members. Results indicate that passageway among agricultural land (x̄= 3.73), water distribution at farm level (x̄= 3.64), crop destroyed by the animals (x̄= 3.47), and burning of crops (x̄= 3.34) were the major causes of conflicts at the farm level as perceived by the respondents. Wastage of money and time (x̄= 3.74), affects daily routine life (x̄= 3.72), affects child education (x̄= 3.63), affects the marriage of the family members (x̄= 3.52) and less farm production (x̄= 3.32) and family break up (x̄= 3.27) were the consequences of farm-level conflicts. Participation of elder family member (x̄=3.69/5.00), negotiation among the conflicted parties (x̄=3.49/5.00), use of local politicians (x̄=3.41/5.00), social relationship (x̄=3.35/5.00), involvement of informal judiciary (panchayat) (x̄=3.20/5.00) were the modalities used by the local communities for conflicts resolution as perceived by the respondents. It was recommended that local panchayat and local administrative bodies should be promoted in the conflict management process.

Facilitating Undergraduate Research Using a Case Study Approach ‐ A Race to Normalcy During the COVID‐19

The COVID‐19 pandemic has changed things in ways unimaginable – including disruption of in‐person scientific research. To facilitate undergraduate student research remotely, due to COVID‐19, our lab switched from a traditional to a pedagogical approach of research. Case studies are excellent tools to introduce undergraduate students to a normal scientific process and allow us to capture reality, highlight various research methodologies, and improve critical thinking skills through process‐oriented inquiries.Our case study is focused on the most relevant topic in the news, COVID‐19 vaccine types and their efficacy. To‐date, this has been the largest vaccination campaign with over 15.9 million doses administered in 37 countries thus far, of which 5.48 million vaccinations were given in the United States alone (Jan 6, 2021). With the arrival of the vaccine in the new year, health professionals are now confident in the world's ability to curb the virus. However, there is a growing concern on the differences between the various vaccines that are being offered around the world and their efficacies. The goal of this pedagogical research is to use an inquiry‐based approach while developing a case study that sheds light on these concerns.Our approach involved a comprehensive literature search, spanning the past year, using the PubMed Central search engine with “COVID AND SARS‐CoV‐2 AND vaccine” as descriptors. The search initially yielded 2,127 journal articles which was narrowed to identify articles on vaccine efficacy (1,122). We then examined the statistics of potential vaccines in the pipeline in various countries. Of the ~200 publications thus identified, 5 were clinical trials, 4 randomized controlled trials, 151 reviews with 9 systematic reviews. These articles were screened for the most accurate, peer‐reviewed information regarding each vaccine which was then used to construct this case study.Our case study follows a group of fictitious characters ‐ 3 friends living in the United States with family members abroad. One of the subjects who is living in Illinois is immunocompromised; the other has elderly family members living in India and the third with family members living in the United Kingdom, where there is a new variant of SARS‐CoV2. The case study discusses a) types of COVID‐19 vaccines available globally, b) efficacy, c) distribution, and d) vaccine campaign. This case study is geared towards undergraduate students in immunology, and allied health programs, graduate students in physiology, nursing and public health, and other professional programs using case‐based collaborative learning.With this case, we offer a novel strategy to circumvent COVID‐related barriers and move undergraduate research forward, with the caveat that students are not working on their original research hypotheses. The case study research model provides an alternate way to train students in the scientific process to evaluate and identify high‐quality research. Further, by addressing the science behind the COVID vaccines, we hope to provide timely information to assist with critical analysis, interpretation and to help navigate the quagmire of information available to the community.

Psychological Consequences of the Delay in the Silent Mentor Programme During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives From Family Members of Silent Mentors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a hold on the Silent Mentor Programme (SMP); this pause has not only caused unprecedented challenges for the delivery of medical education but has forced changes in the programme ceremony sessions. We aimed to describe the psychological impact and experiences of family members of silent mentors during the COVID-19 pandemic using qualitative interviews. Many expressed feelings of remorse and unrest about the unprecedented delay of the SMP. The delay increased negative emotions particularly among some elderly family members; however, there was no prominent negative effect on their functional health and well-being. Several participants relayed the belief that the soul cannot rest until the body receives a proper burial while some worried about the deterioration of the physical condition of the mentors. In conclusion, findings provide insights into the importance of not overlooking the mental health implications of delaying the SMP in future outbreaks or crises.

The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on otolaryngologists: Should we be concerned?

ObjectivePhysicians on the frontline of the COVID‐19 pandemic are at increased risk of contracting the disease. Otolaryngologists are amongst the high‐risk practitioners, as they are in close proximity to patient's upper airway, which may induce their psychological stress.MethodsA cross‐sectional survey study, conducted among otolaryngologists in Saudi Arabia from June 11 to June 22. Survey consisted of sociodemographic questionnaire, Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Obsession with COVID‐19 Scale (OCS) and Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9). Available otolaryngologists with no history of mental health problems were included. A P‐value lower than .05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThe study included 129 participants; 63.6% men and 36.4% women. 81.4% of participants were living with family, 57.4% living with either a child or an elderly family member. Nearly 7.8% of participants had dysfunctional COVID‐19 anxiety and 75.2% had COVID‐19‐related depression symptoms ranging from minimal to severe. Obsession and dysfunctional thinking regarding COVID‐19 were found in 26.4% of participants. Single otolaryngologists had significantly higher CAS (P = .025), OCS (P = .048), and PHQ‐9 (P < .001) scores. Participants who lived with children or elderly individuals had significantly higher OCS scores (P = .005). When comparing job ranks, residents had significantly higher scores for the CAS (P = .016) and PHQ‐9 (P < .001).ConclusionCOVID‐19 has a considerable psychological impact on otolaryngologists. Specifically, the young and single who have less social support. This indicates the importance of psychological support to this group. Additional thorough studies should explore the psychological impact of COVID‐19 in this field as it may carry devastating long‐term consequences if left unattended.Level of evidenceLevel 4.

Women’s perceived support of parents and parents-in-law in China: Socioeconomic resources, reciprocity, and family context

Filial support has been recognized as a main source of social support for China’s aging population. While traditional Chinese families generally adhere to patrilineal, patriarchal, and patrilocal principles, there have been signs of an emerging trend of a complex, bilateral family system that has influenced the ways in which married women support elderly family members, both natal kin and in-laws, in contemporary China. However, little research exists focusing on the perspectives of married women in China on intergenerational support. Drawing on nationally representative data from the Chinese General Social Survey, this study investigates the patterns and determinants of women’s financial and instrumental support of their parents and parents-in-law in China. The main results show that, while education and income separately affect women’s support patterns, their husband’s income level is the crucial factor determining women’s financial support for parents and parents-in-law. In terms of instrumental support, norms of reciprocity are evident between women and parents/parents-in-law. Despite a positive association between financial support that women give to parents-in-law and that which they receive from parents-in-law, women’s financial support tends to be less frequent when their own parents have financially supported them. The implications of these findings for our understanding of intergenerational support mechanisms and for future research are discussed.

The Role of Indian Post-Partum Care Followed by Specific Diet in Women Psychological Functioningâl

“The Role of Indian Post-partum Care followed by specific diet in Women’s Psychological Functioning and mental health” • The postpartum period starts from 1hr after delivery to 42 days and is a critical period for the mothers’ health • Women experience various physical, mental, and emotional changes during this period, which may interfere with their daily routine. • A wide range of complications have been reported during this period such as physical, mental, and emotional problems including fatigue, concerns with regard to sexual intercourse, haemorrhoids, constipation, breastfeeding problem, anxiety, acidity, stress, depression, sleep disorders, bleeding, urinary incontinence, and posttraumatic stress disorder. • Women’s health after delivery is the most important factor affecting the health of her new born. • Close knit Indian family system structure and community helps new mother’s faster recovery. • Mother’s food intake, appropriate resting pattern, massage &amp;bathing pattern are the three key steps closely observed and offered to mother by elderly female family member along with community woman in India. • Study also shows mother digestion and increase in the milk supply are interrelated and is the main focus of her post partum diet. In the olden days this used to be closely watched and taken care by grandmoms or the elders female member of the family. Grandmas home remedy was the main source of information for new mom’s recovery path rituals. • Until 42 days new mom and baby used to be kept in separate room called ‘balantroom’ where only caretaker woman used to be allowed to stay with her. She used to be completely detached from everyone so she could concentrate on her recovery and her little one

Experiences of Reciprocal Caring Among Adults With an Intellectual Disability Caring for an Older Family Member

AbstractBackgroundInternationally, many children and adults with intellectual disabilities are continually being supported by their family members to live within their family home. However, as a consequence of the ageing process some family members can struggle to continue to care because of their failing physical and/or mental ill‐health. This has resulted in a shift in the parameters of the relationship for some adults with intellectual disabilities with their formerly dependent role evolving into a caregiving one. This had become known as “reciprocity” or “mutual support.” Limited information exists about these “hidden carers” and what services are available to support them.AimThis article explored the lived experiences of nine adults with intellectual disabilities who provided emotional and tangible support to an ageing family member.MethodA qualitative methodology was employed using semi‐structured interviews. Nine participants with mild‐to‐moderate intellectual disabilities were interviewed within one region of the United Kingdom. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.FindingsFive themes emerged within these narrative accounts: natural transition to caring; the health needs of the ageing family member; support; impact of caregiving and future planning.DiscussionThe needs of these unknown hidden carers, and also ageing family members, are immediate and urgent. Policy makers, commissioners and service providers need to examine the type of “in‐house” support provided to these new carers if they are to continue living within their family home with their ageing family member, who will also need additional support. Neglecting both cohorts will lead to greater costs to services in the longer term and seriously threaten the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities and their family carers.

EXPERIENCES AND SUPPORT NEEDS OF CHILDREN WITH BROTHER OR SISTER WITH DISABILITY

There are many children with special needs whose siblings play an important role in their lives for a longer time than other family members. Longer life expectancy and the deepening of disabilities bring along a higher need of being taken care of. When the parents grow older it is often the siblings who become the caretakers. Meyer &amp; Vadasy (2007) found that if siblings of children with SEN get proper support and information while growing up, the well-being of siblings with special needs also increases. Relationship with a sibling with special needs influences development of adaptability and self-esteem, this influence can be positive or negative (Burke, 2008). The parents of the children with SEN have many ways to receive information or help from the family – doctors, therapists, consultants, teachers, books, etc. The siblings in their turn usually get their information from the parents. (Conway &amp; Meyer, 2008) Family members of different ages need different information. Therefore, there should be research on what kind of experiences do the siblings of the disabled child need, how their needs and well-being are guaranteed, and what kind of support they need. The aim of this study is to describe the experiences of brothers and sisters with siblings with special needs, try to understand their need for support, and find out the need for support groups and camps.

Women’s careers hurt more by COVID-19 pandemic than men’s

Women in academia have suffered from increased workloads, decreased productivity, and other issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine . Many women already faced problems of work-life balance, the report says. But preliminary data, including results from a survey of 900 US women faculty, show that lack of access to childcare, in-home schooling, increased needs of elderly family members, and other physical and personal needs affected women more than men during the pandemic. In addition, many women in academia can’t take advantage of increased online access to conferences and collaborations because of their caregiving duties. As a result, women in some disciplines reported decreased productivity. It wasn’t universal, though: publication rates among women in some scientific fields remained steady. “The representation of women has slowly increased in STEMM [science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine] fields, but such

Elder care and paid work: gender differences in the relationship between unpaid elder care work and employment in Bulgaria

Care of elderly family members affects the welfare of the elderly and caregivers and has macroeconomic implications. In Eastern Europe, aging populations combined with under-developed care policy increase family care burdens, but the impact of care on labour force participation is understudied in this context. Using two waves of the Generations and Gender survey, we estimate the impact of care demand on paid employment in Bulgaria. We find that living with an elderly or disabled parent has a negative impact on employment for women and that this impact cannot be explained by reverse causality or unobserved individual characteristics. More developed care policy would benefit caregivers and would be likely to generate broader fiscal benefits.

Modified ALNS Algorithm for a Processing Application of Family Tourist Route Planning: A Case Study of Buriram in Thailand

This research presents a solution to the family tourism route problem by considering daily time windows. To find the best solution for travel routing, the modified adaptive large neighborhood search (MALNS) method, using the four destructions and the four reconstructions approach, is applied here. The solution finding performance of the MALNS method is compared with an exact method running on the Lingo program. As shown by various solutions, the MALNS method can balance travel routing designs, including when many tourist attractions are present in each path. Furthermore, the results of the MALNS method are not significantly different from the results of the exact method for small problem sizes. For medium and large problem sizes, the MALNS method shows a higher performance and a smaller processing time for finding solutions. The values for the average total travel cost and average travel satisfaction rating derived by the MALNS method are approximately 0.18% for a medium problem and 0.05% for a large problem, 0.24% for a medium problem, and 0.21% for a large problem, respectively. The values derived from the exact method are slightly different. Moreover, the MALNS method calculation requires less processing time than the exact method, amounting to approximately 99.95% of the time required for the exact method. In this case study, the MALNS algorithm result shows a suitable balance of satisfaction and number of tourism places in relation to the differences between family members of different ages and genders in terms of satisfaction in tour route planning. The proposed solution methodology presents an effective high-quality solution, suggesting that the MALNS method has the potential to be a great competitive algorithm. According to the empirical results shown here, the MALNS method would be useful for creating route plans for tourism organizations that support travel route selection for family tours in Thailand.

Care Life Expectancy: Gender and Unpaid Work in the Context of Population Aging.

Amid growing concern regarding the potential added burden of care due to population aging, we have very little understanding of what is the burden of care in aging populations. To answer this question, we introduce a novel metric that encompasses demographic complexity and social context to summarize unpaid family care work provided to children, elderly, and other family members across the life cycle at a population level. The measure (Care Life Expectancy), an application of the Sullivan method, estimates the number of years and proportion of adult life that people spend in an unpaid caregiving role. We demonstrate the value of the metric by using it to describe gender differences in unpaid care work in 23 European aging countries. We find that at age 15, women and men are expected to be in an unpaid caregiving role for over half of their remaining life. For women in most of the countries, over half of those years will involve high-level caregiving for a family member. We also find that men lag in caregiving across most countries, even when using the lowest threshold of caregiving. As we show here, demographic techniques can be used to enhance our understanding of the gendered implications of population aging, particularly as they relate to policy research and public debate.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11113-021-09640-z.