Learning from experience: does providing end-of-life care support for relatives boost personal end-of-life health literacy?

Background: Despite the critical role of health literacy in utilizing palliative care and engaging in advance care planning, limited research exists on the determinants of end-of-life health literacy. This study investigates the association between individuals' experiences with end-of-life care support to relatives and their end-of-life health literacy among a population-based sample of adults aged 58 and older.

Method: We used data from 1,548 respondents in Switzerland to Wave 8 (2019/2020) of the Survey on Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe.

Physical activity partially mediates the association between health literacy and mild cognitive impairment in older adults: cross-sectional evidence from Switzerland.

Individuals' health literacy (HL) is positively associated with healthy behaviors and global cognitive functioning. Current evidence also suggests that physical activity may prevent or delay cognitive decline and dementia. This study examines the potential mediating role of physical activity in the association between HL and cognition in a population-based sample of adults aged 58+ in Switzerland.

Healthcare inequity arising from unequal response to need in the older (45+ years) population of India: Analysis of nationally representative data.

Given the large and growing number of older (45+ years) people in India, inequitable access to healthcare in this population would slow global progress toward universal health coverage. We used a 2017-18 nationally representative sample of this population (n = 53,687) to estimate healthcare inequality and inequity by economic status. We used an extensive battery of indicators in nine health domains, plus age and sex, to adjust for need.

Inadequate health literacy and higher healthcare utilisation among older adults in Switzerland: cross-sectional evidence from a population-based study.

Background And Aim: Population ageing in Switzerland poses significant challenges, including for the healthcare system. Inadequate health literacy can hinder individuals' ability to seek appropriate treatments and navigate the healthcare system efficiently. This study explores the associations between health literacy and the number of consultations with general practitioners and healthcare specialists in a population-based sample of adults aged 58+ in Switzerland.

Can ChatGPT Provide Useful Guidance to Assess the Current State of and Future Priorities for Aging Research in the Social Sciences?

The multifaceted implications of global population aging require regular assessments of the current state of aging-related social science research and the identification of potential future research priorities in this important area. Given the multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary nature of this field, such assessments typically require the involvement of experts from diverse backgrounds to ensure a comprehensive picture and to synthesize understudied and newly emerging topics into a future research agenda. We explored to what extent ChatGPT (version GPT-4, OpenAI) might be a useful tool for synthesizing the current state of research and identifying promising future research areas, which could feed into expert panel discussions for priority setting.

Cognitive functioning and sustained internet use amid the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal evidence from older adults in Switzerland.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between pre-pandemic objective and subjective cognitive functioning and sustained Internet use during the pandemic among older adults in Switzerland. Data from 1299 respondents of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 2019/2020 and a supplementary technology use questionnaire during the pandemic in 2021 were used. Cognitive functioning was assessed in 2019/2020 through objective measures (delayed and immediate memory, verbal fluency) and self-rated memory.

Pain and subjective well-being among older adults in the developing world : A comprehensive assessment based on the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health.

This paper studies the association of pain with subjective well-being (SWB) and time use among older adults in five low- and middle-income countries using data from the first wave of the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health. We suggest a novel use of anchoring vignettes as direct control functions to account for potentially correlated reporting behaviors such as correlated response scales when analyzing the relationship between subjective variables such as self-reported pain and SWB. Exploiting detailed data on individual time use and several complementary measures of SWB, including fine-grained activity-specific affective experiences derived from an abbreviated version of the Day Reconstruction Method, we find that both evaluative and experienced well-being are markedly lower for people living with pain compared to those without pain.

Cognitive abilities and engagement in advance care planning among older adults: Results of a Swiss populational study.

Individuals often wait until the last moment to plan their end-of-life (EOL) care. Yet, decision-making capacity decreases with age, which could compromise engagement in and the effectiveness of advance care planning (ACP). Little is known about the association between cognitive abilities and the steps involved in the multifaceted process of ACP in older adults.

Overestimation of Survival Rates of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Is Associated with Higher Preferences to Be Resuscitated: Evidence from a National Survey of Older Adults in Switzerland.

Background: Many widely used advance directives templates include direct questions on individuals' preferences for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in case of decision-making incapacity during medical emergencies. However, as knowledge of the survival rates of CPR is often limited, individuals' advance decisions on CPR may be poorly aligned with their preferences if false beliefs about the survival rates of CPR shape stated preferences for CPR.

Methods: We analyzed nationally representative data from 1,469 adults aged 58+ y who responded to wave 8 (2019/2020) of the Swiss version of the Survey on Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to assess the partial association between knowledge of CPR survival rates and stated preferences for CPR using multivariable probit regression models that adjust for social, health, and regional characteristics.

Advance Care Planning: A Story of Trust Within the Family.

As the family usually plays a central role at the end of life, the quality of family relationships may influence how individuals approach advance care planning (ACP). Our study investigates the associations of trust in relatives with regard to end-of-life (EOL) issues-used as a proxy measure of family relationship quality-with individuals' engagement in EOL discussions, advance directive (AD) awareness, approval and completion, and designation of a healthcare proxy. Using nationally representative data of adults aged 55 years and over from wave 6 (2015) of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in Switzerland ( = 1911), we show that complete trust in relatives is related to higher engagement in ACP.

Barker's Hypothesis Among the Global Poor: Positive Long-Term Cardiovascular Effects of in Utero Famine Exposure.

An influential literature on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) has documented that poor conditions in utero lead to higher risk of cardiovascular disease at older ages. Evidence from low-income countries (LICs) has hitherto been missing, despite the fact that adverse in utero conditions are far more common in LICs. We find that Malawians exposed in utero to the 1949 Nyasaland famine have better cardiovascular health 70 years later.

Relationship Between Health Literacy and Unhealthy Lifestyle Behaviours in Older Adults Living in Switzerland: Does Social Connectedness Matter?

To investigate the association between health literacy (HL) and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours and to explore the moderating role of social connectedness in this relationship in older adults in Switzerland. We used data from 1,455 respondents to Wave 8 of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Associations between the number of unhealthy lifestyle behaviours (smoking, risky alcohol consumption, suboptimal daily consumption of fruits/vegetables, lack of vigorous physical activity) and HL were examined using multivariable Poisson regression models, which allowed for interactions between HL and social connectedness to test the moderation hypothesis.

Development and validation of a subjective end-of-life health literacy scale.

Personal health literacy is the ability of an individual to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for oneself and others. The end of life is commonly characterized by the occurrence of one or several diseases, the use of many different types of healthcare services, and a need to make complex medical decisions that may involve challenging tradeoffs, such as choices between quality and length of life. Although end-of-life care issues concern most people at some point in life, individuals' competencies to deal with those questions have rarely been explored.

Public health insurance coverage in India before and after PM-JAY: repeated cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative survey data.

Introduction: The provision of non-contributory public health insurance (NPHI) to marginalised populations is a critical step along the path to universal health coverage. We aimed to assess the extent to which Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)-potentially, the world's largest NPHI programme-has succeeded in raising health insurance coverage of the poorest two-fifths of the population of India.

Methods: We used nationally representative data from the National Family Health Survey on 633 699 and 601 509 households in 2015-2016 (pre-PM-JAY) and 2019-2021 (mostly, post PM-JAY), respectively.

Older adults' medical preferences for the end of life: a cross-sectional population-based survey in Switzerland.

Objectives: Medical decision-making at the end of life is common and should be as patient-centred as possible. Our study investigates older adults' preferences towards three medical treatments that are frequently included in advance directive forms and their association with social, regional and health characteristics.

Setting: A cross-sectional study using population-based data of wave 8 (2019/2020) of the Swiss component of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.

Health literacy across personality traits among older adults: cross-sectional evidence from Switzerland.

This research aims to better understand the association of personality traits (PT)-Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism-with health literacy (HL) skills of adults aged 58 years and older in a nationally representative sample from Switzerland. Analyses were conducted on a subsample (n = 1546) of respondents living in Switzerland from wave 8 (2019/2020) of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). PT were assessed with the Big-Five inventory ten (BFI-10).

A Retrospective Analysis of the Association Between Male Facial Hair and the Incidence of Peri-Prosthetic Infections.

The wearing of male facial hair has been undergoing something of a renaissance for a number of years, with medical colleagues in the surgical disciplines being no exception. Meanwhile, there are a few reports in the literature that beards might have an increased bacterial colonization. This study aims to determine if wearing a beard leads to an increased rate of infection in total hip or knee arthroplasty.

Sociodemographic and geographic inequalities in diagnosis and treatment of older adults' chronic conditions in India: a nationally representative population-based study.

Context: Expeditious diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions are critical to control the burden of non-communicable disease in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to estimate sociodemographic and geographic inequalities in diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions among adults aged 45 + in India.

Methods: We used 2017-18 nationally representative data to estimate prevalence of chronic conditions (hypertension, diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, cholesterol, and neurological) reported as diagnosed and percentages of diagnosed conditions that were untreated by sociodemographic characteristics and state.

Association between multiple chronic conditions and insufficient health literacy: cross-sectional evidence from a population-based sample of older adults living in Switzerland.

Background: Health literacy is the ability to find, understand, assess, and apply health information. Individuals suffering from multiple chronic conditions have complex healthcare needs that may challenge their health literacy skills. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between multimorbidity, the number of chronic conditions, and health literacy levels in a sample of adults aged 58+ in Switzerland.

Prevalence of pain and its treatment among older adults in India: a nationally representative population-based study.

There were no estimates of the prevalence of pain and its treatment in the older population of India obtained from face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample. We addressed this evidence gap by using data on 63,931 individuals aged 45 years and older from the 2017/2018 Longitudinal Ageing Study in India. We identified pain from an affirmative response to the question: Are you often troubled by pain? We also identified those who reported pain that limited usual activities and who received treatment for pain.

Cost-Effectiveness and Distributional Impact of Opportunistic Screening for People at High-Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Sri Lanka: A Modelling Study.

Background: While hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and high-risk of cardiovascular disease can be easily diagnosed and treated with cost-effective medicines, a large proportion of people remain undiagnosed. We assessed the potential effectiveness, cost, and distributional impact of opportunistically screening for these chronic conditions at outpatient patient departments in Sri Lanka.

Methods: We used nationally representative data on biomarkers and healthcare utilization in 2019 to model the screening of people aged 40+ without preexisting CVD and without a reported diagnosis of hypertension, diabetes, or hypercholesterolemia.

Buddy or burden? Patterns, perceptions, and experiences of pet ownership among older adults in Switzerland.

While interactions with pets may yield significant emotional, social, and physical benefits, taking care of them can also be demanding and experienced as a burden, especially among persons with physical restrictions or economically disadvantaged individuals. This study investigates pet ownership and corresponding perceptions and experiences in a nationally representative sample of adults aged 55 years and older in Switzerland. We use data from a questionnaire on human-animal interactions from 1832 respondents administered during wave 7 (2017) in the Swiss country study of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe.

Residential trajectories across the life course and their association with cognitive functioning in later life.

Previous work has found that later life urban-rural differences in cognitive health can be largely explained by indicators of cognitive reserve such as education or occupation. However, previous research concentrated on residence in limited, specific, periods. This study offers a detailed investigation on the association between urban (vs.

Knowledge Gaps in End-of-Life Care and Planning Options Among Older Adults in Switzerland.

Good knowledge about end-of-life (EOL) care options helps in discussing and planning important aspects of the end of life in advance and contributes to improved well-being among dying patients and their families. Our study explores knowledge levels of EOL care and planning options and its sociodemographic and regional patterning using nationally representative data from respondents aged 55+ of wave 6 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe in Switzerland ( = 2,199). Respondents answered correctly on average to just under four out of eight questions regarding EOL care options.

Dimensions of end-of-life preferences in the Swiss general population aged 55+.

Background: understanding end-of-life preferences in the general population and how they are structured in people's minds is essential to inform how to better shape healthcare services in accordance with population expectations for their end of life and optimise communication on end-of-life care issues.

Objective: explore key dimensions underlying end-of-life preferences in a nationally representative sample of adults aged 55 and over in Switzerland.

Methods: respondents (n = 2,514) to the Swiss version of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe assessed the importance of 23 end-of-life items on a 4-point Likert scale.