Direct Observations of Intergenerational Visits and Activities at Six Local Recreational Parks in Victoria, Australia.

Unlabelled: Local parks offer outdoor spaces for active play; they provide a common attractive space in which grandparents and grandchildren can interact and engage in physical activity. This study investigated how multigenerational active spaces within local parks were being used by older people, their grandchildren, and other age groups.

Method: This study was an observational design using direct observations of park visitors over three consecutive months and an intercept survey of a subsample of older visitors in six community parks in Victoria, Australia.

The ENJOY Seniors Exercise Park IMP-ACT project: IMProving older people's health through physical ACTivity: a hybrid II implementation design study protocol.

Introduction: The health benefits of physical activity are well established; however, most older people are not sufficiently physically active. Despite the availability of various physical activity interventions and programs, implementation of effective prevention strategies to reduce older people's physical inactivity are lacking. The ENJOY IMP-ACT project is an implementation research project, based on a previous evidence-based physical and social activity program utilising specialised outdoor exercise equipment (the Seniors Exercise Park) for older people.

A Scoping Review of the Measurement of Depression in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment.

Objectives: Depression and cognitive impairment are disabling conditions that commonly occur together in older adults. The interaction is challenging when choosing appropriate measurement scales. This review aimed to summarize the scales to measure depression symptoms in older people with cognitive impairment, investigating how cognitive impairment is related to the choice of measurement, and how the setting may affect the choice of measurement.

BEFRIENding for Depression, Anxiety and Social support in older adults living in Australian residential aged care facilities (BEFRIENDAS): randomised controlled trial protocol.

Background: This protocol describes an ongoing study of the impact of befriending on depression, anxiety and loneliness in older people living in residential aged care facilities in Australia. While systematic reviews of befriending have indicated positive benefits of befriending for people in a range of ages and settings, there have been no randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of befriending for older people living in residential aged care with depression and no studies of the cost effectiveness of befriending in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) in Australia.

Methods And Analysis: We are conducting a single blind pragmatic RCT comparing two groups of older people living in RACFs, one receiving an intervention consisting of weekly befriending for 4 months from a trained volunteer and the other receiving treatment as usual.

Befriending Older Adults in Nursing Homes: Volunteer Perceptions of Switching to Remote Befriending in the COVID-19 Era.

: Residents in nursing homes are being isolated to prevent exposure to COVID-19. Many are prone to depression, anxiety and loneliness, and extra isolation leaves them vulnerable to compromised mental health. In this study, trained volunteers providing befriending for residents with symptoms of depression, anxiety and loneliness switched to remote befriending during COVID-19.

Facilitators and barriers to advance care planning implementation in Australian aged care settings: A systematic review and thematic analysis.

Objectives: There are many studies investigating implementation of advance care planning (ACP) in aged care around the world, but few studies have investigated Australian settings. The objective of this study was to determine facilitators and barriers to implementation of ACP in Australian residential and community aged care.

Methods: Evidence from Australian studies published between 2007 and September 2017 of ACP in residential and community aged care was sourced from electronic databases using predetermined search strategies.

Improving health literacy about dementia among older Chinese and Vietnamese Australians.

The number of older people in the population is increasing faster than for any other age group. This population growth, while positive, is associated with increasing incidence of chronic and progressive diseases such as dementia. This requires older people to navigate services that may not be designed to meet their needs.

The impact of telephone-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy and befriending on mood disorders in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: The main objectives of this pragmatic randomized controlled trial were to investigate the impact of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and an active social control (befriending) on depression and anxiety symptoms in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: Eligible participants were randomly allocated to receive eight weekly telephone interventions of CBT (n = 54) or befriending (n = 56). Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to assess changes in scores and Cohen's d was used to assess effect sizes.

Befriending to Relieve Anxiety and Depression Associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): A Case Report.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic lung disease characterized by airflow obstruction and shortness of breath, which as a result can severely limit activities of daily living. COPD sufferers are 85% more likely to develop anxiety disorders than healthy matched controls. Some of the factors that have been suggested to be associated with high anxiety in people with COPD include dyspnoea, the inability to perform daily activities or fulfil social roles, rehospitalisation and some COPD treatments.

Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of telephone-delivered cognitive behavior therapy compared with befriending for treating depression and anxiety in older adults with COPD.

Background: COPD is an umbrella term to describe chronic lung diseases that cause limitations in lung airflow, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The prevalence of depression and anxiety in people with COPD is high, although these comorbidities are often undiagnosed, untreated, or undertreated. There is a need to identify efficacious treatments for depression and anxiety in people with COPD.

Development and initial testing of the Person-Centred Health Care for Older Adults Survey.

Background: Health services are encouraged to adopt a strong person-centered approach to the provision of care and services for older people. The aim of this project was to establish a user-friendly, psychometrically valid, and reliable measure of healthcare staff's practice, attitudes, and beliefs regarding person-centered healthcare.

Methods: Item reduction (factor analysis) of a previously developed "benchmarking person-centred care" survey, followed by psychometric evaluations of the internal consistency reliability and construct validity, was conducted.

Outcomes from the implementation of a facility-specific evidence-based falls prevention intervention program in residential aged care.

For residents in long-term care facilities, falling is a major concern requiring preventive intervention. A prospective cohort study measured the impact of falls reduction following the implementation of evidence-based fall prevention interventions in 9 Australian residential care facilities. An external project team provided a comprehensive audit of current practice.

Physical and psychological outcomes of a supported physical activity program for older carers.

This study evaluated health benefits of a supported physical activity program for 116 older carers (mean age 64.4 [SD = 7.9], 85% women).

A comparison of a hospital-based and two home-based rehabilitation programmes.

Purpose: This paper compares the service models of three different types of rehabilitation programmes provided in Victoria, Australia: One hospital-based and two types of rehabilitation in the home (RITH).

Method: Nine focus group interviews were conducted with multidisciplinary staff working in rehabilitation teams in one hospital-based and eight RITH programmes. Additional data were collected for 164 clients and 75 carers from eight of these programmes at admission, discharge and three months post discharge.