Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Projects in partnership
- Author:
- SCHWEITZER Pam
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Dementia Care, 12(5), September 2004, p.18.
- Publisher:
- Hawker
Describes recent and forthcoming projects from the European Reminiscence Network, an association of practitioners from 14 countries. Making Memories Matter, involving 6 countries, creates Life Portrait Boxes making a statement for and by an older person. A Spanish project, Remembering Yesterday, Caring Today, is aimed at families coping with dementia, focusing on intact memory and remaining skills rather than deficits and the downward trajectory of skills. The PHARE project trains psychologists, nurses and home care organisers from 5 Romanian cities in reminiscence work.
Are loneliness and social isolation associated with cognitive decline?
- Authors:
- LARA Elvira, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 34(11), 2019, pp.1613-1622.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: This study aimed to examine the association of loneliness and social isolation on cognition over a 3‐year follow‐up period in middle‐ and older‐aged adults. Methods: Data from a Spanish nationally representative sample were analyzed (n = 1691; aged 50 years or older). Loneliness, social isolation, and cognition (immediate recall, delayed recall, verbal fluency, forward digit span, backward digit span, and a composite cognitive score) were assessed both at baseline and at follow‐up. Adjusted generalized estimating equations models were performed. Results: Loneliness was significantly associated with lower scores in the composite cognitive score, immediate and delayed recall, verbal fluency, and backward digit span (B = −0.14 to B = −3.16; P < .05) and with a more rapid decline from baseline to follow‐up in two out of six cognitive tests. Higher social isolation was associated with lower scores in the composite cognitive score, verbal fluency, and forward digit span (B = −0.06 to B = −0.85; P < .05). The effect of loneliness and social isolation on cognition remained significant after the exclusion of individuals with depression. Conclusions: Both loneliness and social isolation are associated with decreased cognitive function over a 3‐year follow‐up period. The development of interventions that include the enhancement of social participation and the maintenance of emotionally supportive relationships might contribute to cognitive decline prevention and risk reduction. (Publisher abstract)
Effect of anxiety on memory for emotional information in older adults
- Authors:
- HERRERA Sara, MONTORIO Ignacio, CABRERA Isabel
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 21(4), 2017, pp.362-368.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Background: Several studies have shown that anxiety is associated with a better memory of negative events. However, this anxiety-related memory bias has not been studied in the elderly, in which there is a preferential processing of positive information. Objectives: To study the effect of anxiety in a recognition task and an autobiographical memory task in 102 older adults with high and low levels of trait anxiety. Method: Negative, positive and neutral pictures were used in the recognition task. In the autobiographical memory task, memories of the participants’ lives were recorded, how they felt when thinking about them, and the personal relevance of these memories. Results: In the recognition task, no anxiety-related bias was found toward negative information. Individuals with high trait anxiety were found to remember less positive pictures than those with low trait anxiety. In the autobiographical memory task, both groups remembered negative and positive events equally. However, people with high trait anxiety remembered life experiences with more negative emotions, especially when remembering negative events. Individuals with low trait anxiety tended to feel more positive emotions when remembering their life experiences and most of these referred to feeling positive emotions when remembering negative events. Conclusions: Older adults with anxiety tend to recognise less positive information and to present more negative emotions when remembering life events; while individuals without anxiety have a more positive experience of negative memories. (Edited publisher abstract)
A program of positive intervention in the elderly: memories, gratitude and forgiveness
- Authors:
- RAMIREZ Encarncion, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 18,(4) 2014, pp.463-470.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objective: The main goal of this study has been to increase the quality of life in people of over 60 years through a positive psychology intervention.Method: The employed a programme which consists of training based on autobiographical memory, forgiveness and gratitude. The sample consisted of 46 participants aged 60–93 years. State and trait anxiety, depression, general memory, specific memories, life satisfaction and subjective happiness were measured.Results: The results revealed that participants who followed the programme (experimental group) showed a significant decrease in state anxiety and depression as well as an increase in specific memories, life satisfaction and subjective happiness, compared with the placebo group.Conclusion: The programme offers promising results and provides new evidence for the effectiveness of positive interventions in the field of psychogerontology, helping increase subjective well-being and quality of life in older adults by focusing interventions on the enhancement of personal and social resources for being happy. (Edited publisher abstract)
Screening for amnestic mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's disease with M@T (Memory Alteration Test) in the primary care population
- Authors:
- RAMI L., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(4), April 2007, pp.294-304.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This Spanish study aimed to design and validate a new screening test for amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (A-MCI) and early stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). The authors develop a verbal episodic and semantic memory test: the Memory Alteration Test. Discriminative validity was assessed in a population sample of 400 aged individuals from primary care population centres in Barcelona, Spain, 50 patients with A-MCI according to Petersen et al. criteria, and 66 with early AD (Global Deterioration Scale - 4 stage) according to the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. The Memory Alteration Test is a quick, 5-minute, and easy to administer and to score. The results found that the Memory Alteration Test provides efficient and valid screening for A-MCI and early stage AD, and discriminates between A-MCI and early AD patients.