Background: Examining ways to support persons with dementia and their caregivers to help minimize the disease's impact on individuals, families, and society is critical. One emerging avenue for support is technology (eg, smartphones and smart homes).
Objective: Given the increasing presence of technology in caregiving, it is pertinent to appreciate whether and how technology can be most useful to a care partner's everyday life.
Introduction: Social support can play an important role in the care of older adults living with cancer. However, different patterns of social support, such as emotional, instrumental, informational, appraisal, and giving support need to be considered to facilitate adjustments to cancer. This study aimed to explore the distinct patterns of social support among older adults with cancer and examine the socio-demographic variables and patient-reported outcomes that may be associated with patterns of social support.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer self-management interventions improve symptom management and confidence, but few interventions target the complex needs of older adults with cancer and multi-morbidities. Despite growing evidence of digital health tools in cancer care, many such tools have not been co-designed with older adults to ensure that they are tailored to their specific needs. The objective of the study was to design a self-and symptom-management app to support older adults with cancer and multi-morbidities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe pandemic caused a rapid shift to reliance on technology to meet basic daily needs related to both health and social interaction. As social isolation is known to be a major contributing factor to physiologic decline and psychological morbidity amongst older adults, we sought to study this shift, and conducted a multi-method study including; (1) a cross-sectional telephone survey and in-depth interviews with community dwelling older adults; and (2) interviews with community organizations supporting technology use for older adults. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive, inferential statistics; qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis scoping review assesses evidence regarding nurse involvement in health information technology (health IT) design, focusing on the method(s), frequency, capacity, and levels of involvement. The JBI methodology for scoping reviews was used to search seven multidisciplinary databases, yielding 2948 articles. After screening, 98 articles were included for data abstraction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on socialization across all age groups but older adults experienced additional challenges. The purpose of this study was to explore older adults' perceptions and experiences of using technology to support social interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a qualitative interpretive descriptive approach to understand community dwelling older adults' perceptions of their experiences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Physical activity is important for individuals with cancer. Older adults with cancer (OACA) have been disproportionally vulnerable to both COVID-19 infection and its outcomes. This study investigated how the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions affected physical activity in OACA in one Canadian province.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Globally, cancer predominates in adults aged older than 60 years, and 70% of older adults have ≥1 chronic condition. Cancer self-management interventions can improve symptom management and confidence, but few interventions target the complex needs of older adults with cancer and multimorbidity. Despite growing evidence of digital health tools in cancer care, there is a paucity of theoretically grounded digital self-management supports for older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Geriatric assessment (GA) is currently not a standard of cancer care across Canada. In the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, there are no known formal geriatric teams in outpatient oncology settings. Therefore, it is not known whether, how, and to what extent GA is performed in oncology clinics, or what supports are needed to carry out a GA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cancer is common and disproportionately impacts older adults. Moreover, cancer care of older adults is complex, and the current Canadian cancer care system struggles to address all of the dimensions. In this project, our goal was to understand the barriers and facilitators to caring for older adults with cancer from perspectives of healthcare professionals and cancer care allies, which included community groups, seniors' centers, and other community-based supports.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Opin Support Palliat Care
March 2024
Purpose Of Review: Frailty is prevalent in older adults with cancer and can lead to complications during cancer treatment and poor health outcomes. Exercise has been shown to be a promising strategy to mitigate frailty and slow the accumulation of functional impairment in the general geriatric population. In this review, we present a discussion on the state of the science of exercise interventions for frail older adults with cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Countries with large economies are observing a growing number of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) older adults, many of whom will be affected by cancer. Little is known about the experiences and factors that influence cancer treatment decision-making in this population. The purposes of this scoping review are: (1) to summarize the published literature on cancer treatment-related decision-making with this population; and (2) to identify potential differences in how cancer treatment decisions are made compared to non-CALD older adults with cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Patient and public involvement (PPI) in research emphasizes the importance of doing research with, rather than for people with lived health/illness experience(s). The purpose of this scoping review is to investigate the breadth and depth of scientific literature on PPI in cancer research and to identify how is PPI applied and reported in cancer research.
Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycInfo up to March 2022.
Background: Older adults living with cancer can experience significant challenges in managing their cancer treatment[s], care, and health. Cancer self-management is much discussed in the research literature, but less is known about the perceptions and experiences of older adults', including their self-management capacities and challenges. This study explored the factors that supported and hindered cancer self-management for older Canadian adults living with cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Ageism towards older adults with cancer may impact treatment decisions, healthcare interactions, and shape health/psychosocial outcomes. The purpose of this review is twofold: (1) To synthesize the literature on ageism towards older adults with cancer in oncology and (2) To identify interventions that address ageism in the healthcare context applicable to oncology.
Materials And Methods: We conducted a scoping review following Arksey and O'Malley and Levac methods and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
The objective of this study is to longitudinally examine the coping strategies used by older cancer survivors (≥60 years of age) during COVID-19. An interpretive descriptive approach was used to collect and analyse qualitative data collected via 1:1 telephone interviews at three timepoints: June/July 2020, January 2021, and March 2021. Coping strategies used by older adults reflected the resources available to them, and their agency in self-triaging and deciding on resources to support their coping.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFalls are a major issue in older adults with cancer due to the effects of cancer and its treatments. Ample evidence in the general population of older adults has demonstrated the effectiveness of strength and balance training in reducing fall rates in older adults. However, data on effective fall prevention interventions in the oncology setting are lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic radically shifted healthcare delivery to patients with cancer. Virtual cancer care, or the remote delivery of health care, has become an important resource for patients in Canada to maintain access to cancer care during the pandemic. With an increased number of people regularly accessing the internet and smartphones being ubiquitous for nearly all ages, technology in health care has grown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Older adults with cancer are amongst the most vulnerable population to be negatively impacted by COVID-19 due to their likelihood of comorbidities and compromised immune status. Considering the longevity of the pandemic, understanding the subjective perceptions and psychosocial concerns of this population may help ameliorate the psychological aftermath. In this review, we systematically analyze the literature surrounding the psychosocial impact and coping strategies among older adults with cancer within the context of COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Opin Support Palliat Care
March 2022
Purpose Of Review: The aim of this study was to summarize the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on older adults with cancer, including both the impacts of COVID-19 diagnosis on older adults with cancer and the implications of the pandemic on cancer care via a synthesis of reviews, guidelines and other relevant literature.
Recent Findings: Our synthesis of systematic reviews demonstrates that older adults with cancer are prone to greater morbidity and mortality when experiencing concurrent COVID-19 infection. Current evidence related to the association between anticancer treatment and COVID-19 prognosis for older adults with cancer is conflicting.
Introduction: Over 90% of people living with cancer access information online to inform healthcare decisions. Older adults with cancer are also increasingly adopting electronic healthcare services, or eHealth, particularly with the rapid transition to virtual care amidst the pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to understand the level of eHealth literacy among older adults with cancer and their caregivers, as well as any barriers and facilitators in terms of accessing, comprehending, and implementing eHealth information.
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