Exploring the physical, psychological, and social benefits of adaptive outdoor cycling in persons with stroke using a mixed methods approach.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of disability world-wide. Community-based adaptive recreation programs may offer a way to enhance quality of life in persons with stroke.

Objective: Explore the association between community-based adaptive outdoor cycling program participation and physical, psychological, and social outcomes in persons with stroke using both quantitative and qualitative data collection.

Evaluating the Efficacy of Time for Living and Caring: An Online Intervention to Support Dementia Caregivers' Use of Respite.

Background And Objectives: Respite, defined as time away from caregiving, is the most requested type of caregiver support. Time for Living and Caring (TLC) is a virtual coaching "app" that helps caregivers schedule and plan their respite time-use. The objectives of this analysis are: (1) to assess the efficacy of the TLC intervention on respite time-use and on caregiver well-being and (2) to identify the key features of the intervention that serve as the likely mechanism of action.

Costs of Forced Retirement: Measuring the Effect of Lost Work Opportunity on Health.

Objective: Unemployment is a known health stressor that also increases early retirements. This study addresses mixed literature on retiree health and underreporting of forced retirement to better identify potential health impacts of lost work opportunity.

Methods: A Lost-work Opportunity Score (LOS) was created using variables from the Health and Retirement Study assessing unemployment, forced retirement, and earlier-than-planned retirement for 2576 respondents.

Comparison of recruitment methodologies for clinical trials: Results from the time for living and caring (TLC) intervention study.

Background: Recruiting participants for research studies is a critical yet challenging task. Community-engaged recruitment strategies have gained prominence as effective means to engage diverse populations and ensure the representativeness of study samples. This case study aims to investigate the cost and effectiveness of various recruitment methods in enhancing research participation.

Using Digital Inequality Framework to Evaluate a Technology-Delivered Intervention for Caregivers: Age, Education, and Computer Proficiency.

Using "digital inequality" as a conceptual framework, this study evaluates the feasibility and usability of a technology-delivered intervention (an "app") for Alzheimer's and related dementia family caregivers. Time for Living and Caring (TLC) is an on-line intervention that provides virtual coaching and self-administered education and resources. A sample of family caregivers ( = 163) used the tool for 16 weeks, which included completing the Computer Proficiency Questionnaire (CPQ-12) at baseline.

A Mixed-Methods Examination of Lost Occupational Choice in Retirement.

Lost work opportunity and forced retirement demonstrate negative health impacts related to occupational deprivation. Measuring occupational loss during the retirement transition can be problematic. The objective of the study is to clarify measurement of involuntary retirement in its relationship to occupational loss and deprivation.

Family caregiver experiences and needs across health conditions, relationships, and the lifespan: a Qualitative analysis.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of family caregivers who provide care to individuals across a broad range of ages, caregiving relationships, and health conditions and/or disabilities. Family caregiver research is typically siloed by health condition or by caregiving relationship, leaving gaps in understanding similarities and differences among caregivers.

Methods: We hosted three virtual focus groups with diverse family caregivers ( = 26) caring for an individual with a long-term disability and/or health condition(s).

Promoting Resilience After Stroke in Dyads (ReStoreD): A Supplemental Analysis.

Objective: To examine preliminary effects of ReStoreD (Resilience after Stroke in Dyads) on resilience in couples coping with stroke-related challenges.

Design: Supplemental analysis of prospective pilot trial with pre-/post-assessments and 3-month follow-up.

Setting: Community.

Positive Psychology Approaches to Interventions for Cancer Dyads: A Scoping Review.

Objective: Positive psychology approaches (PPAs) to interventions focus on developing positive cognitions, emotions, and behavior. Benefits of these interventions may be compounded when delivered to interdependent dyads. However, dyadic interventions involving PPAs are relatively new in the cancer context.

Learning to flourish in a new reality: a thematic analysis of couples' experience of participation in a positive psychology intervention post-stroke.

Purpose: Explore the experiences of couples engaging in a positive psychology intervention post-stroke (ReStoreD: Promoting Resilience after Stroke in Dyads).

Materials And Methods: This is a secondary analysis of qualitative data collected following an 8-week self-administered dyadic positive psychology intervention (Clinical Trial number: NCT03335358). Participants included dyads consisting of one partner who had a stroke at least three months prior and their cohabiting partner.

Piloting GETCare: A Goal-Based Education and Skills Training Program for Caregivers.

Purpose: Many individuals with stroke require informal caregiver support. These caregivers are often unprepared and overwhelmed. This study assesses the feasibility and acceptability of GETCare, a remote Goal-based Education and skills Training program for Caregivers caring for an individual poststroke.

Overvaluation of Shape and Weight (Not BMI) Associated with Depressive Symptoms and Binge Eating Symptoms Pre- and Post-bariatric Surgery.

Purpose: Overvaluation of shape and weight (OSW) involves defining self-worth by body shape/weight. Among persons seeking bariatric surgery, cross-sectional studies have found associations between OSW, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating.

Materials And Methods: Relationships among OSW, depressive symptoms, binge eating symptoms, and BMI were analyzed both cross-sectionally and over time among 145 adults who had bariatric surgery.

Perceptions of function and recovery among persons with stroke and care partners.

Purpose/objective: Perceptions of function can differ between persons with stroke and care partners. The current study described the frequency of discrepancy in ratings of poststroke functioning across romantic partners and examined associations between perceptions of function, depressive symptoms, and caregiver strain.

Research Method/design: A secondary analysis was conducted using data from the baseline visit of an intervention pilot study.

Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy for Infants With or at Risk for Cerebral Palsy: A Scoping Review.

Importance: Although research shows that older children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) benefit from constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), the efficacy of CIMT among the infant population is unknown.

Objective: To explore the existing evidence on CIMT for infants age 24 mo and younger with CP or at risk for CP.

Data Sources: PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, and ProQuest were searched.

Intimate Relationships and Stroke: Piloting a Dyadic Intervention to Improve Depression.

Stroke affects not only the survivor but also their romantic partner. Post-stroke depression is common in both partners and can have significant negative consequences, yet few effective interventions are available. The purpose of this study was to pilot test a novel 8-week remotely administered dyadic intervention (ReStoreD) designed to help couples better cope with stroke-related changes and reduce depressive symptoms.

The Role of Resilience in Psychological Health Among Bariatric Surgery Patients.

Objective: Many individuals who undergo bariatric surgery have experienced repeated unsuccessful diet attempts and negative messages from healthcare providers, family, and others about their weight. Research pre- and post-operatively has taken a pathological or risk-based approach, investigating psychiatric problems and disordered eating. In contrast, the current study explores resilience in this population.

"You Feel Very Isolated": Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Caregiver Social Connections.

One in five individuals in the United States provides care and support to ill, disabled, and aging family members in the home, leading to feelings of burden, stress, and poor health and well-being. Social support represents an important buffer for family caregivers that allows them to feel less isolated and more positive about their caregiving role. This sequential mixed-methods study aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on family caregivers' social connections.

Applying the RISE Model of Resilience in Partners Post-Stroke: A Qualitative Analysis.

Background: Resilience is dynamic and influenced by internal and external factors. In persons with chronic illness and/or disability, resilience is viewed as the ability to adapt to new life circumstances. Existing models of resilience typically focus on the absence of deficit and pathology in the individual, overlooking resources, well-being, and broader social impacts.

A Limited Opportunity: COVID-19 and Promotion of Advance Care Planning.

Little is known about how COVID-19 has influenced the role of family caregivers in advance care planning (ACP). To explore the experiences of family caregivers and ACP in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploratory sequential mixed-methods design of caregiver characteristics and pandemic response to ACP.

Online interventions to support family caregivers: The value of community-engaged research practices.

Family members provide significant amounts of unpaid care to aging, chronically ill, and disabled persons in their homes. They often do this with little education or support and commonly report feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Providing education and support to family caregivers has demonstrated benefit on the health and well-being of the caregiver and care-receiver.

Development of a resilience item bank and short forms.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a publicly available, psychometrically sound item bank and short forms for measuring resilience in any population, but especially resilience in individuals with chronic medical conditions or long-term disability.

Research Methods: A panel of 9 experts including disability researchers, clinical psychologists, and health outcomes researchers developed a definition of resilience that guided item development. The rigorous methodology used focus groups, cognitive interviews, and modern psychometric theory quantitative methods, including item response theory (IRT).