Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 12
Reciprocal relationship between pain and depression in elderly Chinese primary care patients
- Authors:
- CHOU Kee-Lee, CHI Iris
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(10), October 2005, pp.945-952.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study examines the reciprocal relationship between pain and depression and to identify whether social support, functional disability or social functioning mediated the link between pain and depression among Hong Kong Chinese elderly primary care patients. Three hundred and eighteen patients were assessed by a trained assessor with MDS-HC at baseline and these subjects were randomly selected from attendants of three randomly selected elderly health centers in Hong Kong. These patients were re-assessed one year after baseline evaluation. Multiple regression analyses revealed that pain at baseline significantly predicted depression at 12-month follow-up assessment when age, gender, martial status, education, and depression at baseline were adjusted for, but depression at baseline was not associated with pain at 12-months after baseline measure while controlling for age, gender, martial status, education, and pain at baseline. However, depression did predict the onset of pain. Moreover, social support, physical disability or social functioning did not mediate the impact of pain on depression. These data suggest that pain is an important predictor of depression in elderly primary care patients. Therefore, aged care service practitioners must take this risk factor into consideration in their preventive intervention and treatment for psychological well-being.
Improving older adults' functional ability through service use in a home care program in Hong Kong
- Authors:
- CHEUNG Chau-kui, NGAN Raymond Man-Hung
- Journal article citation:
- Research on Social Work Practice, 15(3), May 2005, pp.154-164.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Despite past findings about the contribution of home care services to older users’ functional ability, the effective processes and components of the services are not transparent. Such processes appear to rely on the actual use of component services of the home care programme. The study gathered 116 observations during 2 years concerning 49 home care service users in Hong Kong. The study shows that an older user maintained better functional ability with a longer time of using a home care program in Hong Kong using the service. The time effect, in turn, was primarily due to the increased use of seven services provided by the programme. Among the service components, the home-nursing services generated a unique contribution to the user's functional ability, with its prior score controlled. Multidisciplinary services under case management underpin an effective home care programme.
Comparative performance of long and short forms of the Geriatric Depression Scale in mildly demented Chinese
- Authors:
- CHENG Sheung-Tak, CHAN Alfred C.M.
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(12), December 2005, pp.1131-1137.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study aims to investigate if a brief version (four items) of the Geriatric Depression Scale works equally well with mildly demented as with nondemented patients in young-old and old-old persons, and to compare its diagnostic performances with those of the 15- and the 30-item version of the scale. Four hundred and forty-two older persons were given a GDS interview and received an independent psychiatric evaluation. Receiver operating characteristic curves were separately plotted for the young-old demented, old-old demented, young-old nondemented, and old-old nondemented. The four-item version yielded comparable performance to the 15- and the 30-item version of the GDS, regardless of age and dementia status. It is reasonably robust to the effects of age and mild dementia, whether alone or in combination. Nonetheless, among the old-old demented, only a third of those tested positive were actually positive, but this problem was not specific to the four-item version.
Fear of falling and depressive symptoms in Chinese elderly living in nursing homes: fall efficacy and activity level as mediator or moderator?
- Authors:
- CHOU K.-L., YEUNG F. K. C., WONG E. C. H.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 9(3), May 2005, pp.255-261.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study examines the relationship between fear of falling and depressive symptoms as well as the role of participation in physical activity and fall efficacy in the linkage between the fear of falling and depression. A sample of 100 residents living in nursing homes in Hong Kong were interviewed. Using multiple regression models, it was found that elderly persons who had greater fear of falling tended to report depressive symptoms more frequently after controlling socio-demographic and physical health status variables. In addition, activity involvement and fall efficacy acted as mediators and moderators in the link between the fear of falling and depression.
Prevalence of depression among elderly Chinese with diabetes
- Author:
- CHOU Kee-Lee
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(6), June 2005, pp.570-575.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study aimed to examine the association between diabetes and depression among older Chinese and to determine the extent to which depression is mediated by physical disability and diabetes-related comorbid conditions. The study used a cross-sectional analysis of data from a population-based study composed of a representative sample of 2003 non-institutionalized older adults aged 60 and older living in Hong Kong who agreed to participate in the study. The relation between diabetes and depression (measured with the Geriatric Depression Scale) was examined. Results found 12 percent of the older adults reported physician-diagnosed diabetes and amongst these older persons with diabetes, 26 precent of them reported elated level of depressive symptoms. Logistic regression analyses revealed that diabetes was significantly related to depression even when controlling for age, gender, marital status, and education. More importantly, adjusted for self-reported disability in three domains including self-care, mobility, and higher functioning did not attenuate this association but the association disappeared after adjustment for four diabetes-related complications including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and vision problems had been made.
Differences in expectation and patterns of informal support for older persons in Hong Kong: modification to filial piety
- Authors:
- HONG-KIN Kwok, KENG-MUN LEE William
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 30(2), 2005, pp.188-206.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
Informal care provided by family has been the cornerstone for older persons in Hong Kong. Changes in the structure of Hong Kong family alter this supportive function, and changes in traditional filial piety values affect the nature of the care and support provided. This proposition was investigated by a quantitative study involving structural survey interviews of 390 older persons in Hong Kong. The findings show that there are discrepancies between expected and actual caring functions. Living arrangements and geographical proximity affect the needs for and provision of informal support. Financial support has compensated for inadequate personal care by adult children. There is evidence to show that informal support for the older persons is changing. Traditional Confucian filial piety is undergoing modification, perhaps erosion, implying ongoing changes in intergenerational relations in this modernized Asian society.
Assessing tradition in Chinese elders living in a changing social environment: implications for social work practice
- Authors:
- MJELDE-MOSSEY Lee, CHI Iris, LOU Vivian W.Q.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 11(3/4), 2005, pp.41-57.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Social workers are increasingly challenged to provide culturally sensitive services to older immigrants from diverse backgrounds. Assessment tools developed in the elder's own cultural context can maximize appropriate assessment and planning. This article describes the development of a tool for measuring adherence to tradition in Chinese elders. In Chinese tradition, an elder's purpose, meaning, and self-worth are derived, in large part, from their contribution to family, relatives, and the community. Existing measures of filial piety and acculturation do not capture this dimension. Filial piety involves being on the receiving end of care, honour, and obedience from younger generations. Acculturation is the opposite of adherence to tradition. One thousand five-hundred and two Chinese elders in China were asked questions on mutual aid and intergenerational exchange. Factor analysis extracted nine items loading into two factors reflective of traditional exchange. The authors conclude that this measure could prove useful in understanding the effect of traditional beliefs upon various psychosocial outcomes. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Comparison of the prevalence and risk factors for depressive symptoms among elderly nursing home residents in Taiwan and Hong Kong
- Authors:
- TSAI Yung-Fang, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(4), April 2005, pp.315-321.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Depression in the elderly has become a serious health care issue worldwide. However, no studies have compared the prevalence and risk factors for depressive symptoms among institutionalized Chinese elders living in different regions. The aim was to explore and compare the prevalence and risk factors for depressive symptoms among elderly residents of nursing homes in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Random sampling was used to recruit participants from eight nursing homes in each region. A total of 150 elders from Taiwan and 214 elders from Hong Kong participated. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was significantly higher in participants from Hong Kong (65.4%) than in Taiwan (43.3%). Logistic regression analysis indicated that gender, satisfaction with living situation, perceived health condition, and perceived income adequacy significantly predicted depressive symptoms in elderly nursing home residents in Taiwan. Significant predictors of depressive symptoms in the Hong Kong sample were satisfaction with living situation, cognitive status, and functional status. It is important to consider risk factors specific to a target population when developing depression intervention programmes.
Everyday competence and depressive symptoms: social support and sense of control as mediators or moderators?
- Author:
- CHOU K.-L.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 9(2), March 2005, pp.177-183.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Depression is common among the elderly members of Hong Kong Chinese society. The objectives of the present study are to assess the relationship between everyday competence and depressive symptoms and to test whether sense of control and social support mediate and moderate the impact of deterioration in everyday competence on depressive symptoms. The respondents were 393 people aged 60 years and older from a cross-sectional study of a representative community sample of the elderly population in Hong Kong and they were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. In multiple regression analyses, we found that everyday competence was significantly and negatively related to depressive symptoms (ß?=?-0.26, p?<?0.01) after we had adjusted age, gender, marital status, years of education, self-rated health status, and number of chronic illnesses. Moreover, both sense of control and social support were mediators in the linkage between everyday competence and depression. However, neither sense of control nor social support moderated the effect of everyday competence on depression. Findings suggest that both sense of control and social support play important roles in the relationship between everyday competence and depression.
To retire or not to retire: is there an option for older workers in Hong Kong?
- Authors:
- CHOU Kee-Lee, CHOW Nelson W.S.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 39(3), June 2005, pp.233-246.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Over the next thirty years, Hong Kong will have a rapidly ageing population. One possible consequence of this will be a labour shortage, which means that it will be essential to strike a proper balance between the amount of time spent in work and the amount spent in retirement in old age. The balance is determined by the interaction between the aspiration of workers, employers’ attitudes to older workers, as well as the productivity of the labour force. This article examines the issue based on life-course theory and argues that the compartmentalization of education, work and retirement must be broken by changes in social policy. Three groups are identified as future older adults in the coming three decades: those who may be forced to retire early in their fifties, those who plan to retire in their sixties, and those who will continue to work until they can no longer work. The current situations of these groups are described, and social policies that are related to retirement pension scheme, age discrimination, life-long education, and flexible work arrangements are suggested to weaken the age structuring of education and employment institutions. The ultimate objective is to create a societal environment in which older workers have a real option either to work or to retire in the coming decades.