Burden in caregivers of cognitively impaired older adults living in the community: methodological issues and determinants.

Considerable burden is reported by informal caregivers of older individuals with cognitive impairment. Significant progress in the understanding of determinants of this burden has been achieved. However, further progress could be attained if we considered important methodological issues that may have limited our understanding of caregiver burden.

Measuring accumulated health-related benefits of exercise participation for older adults: the Vitality Plus Scale.

Background: Existing measures fail to capture the perceived benefits attributed to exercise participation by older adults themselves. Noticeable improvements in sleep, energy level, bodily aches and pains, constipation, and other psychophysical aspects of "feeling good" may represent ongoing sources of motivation for continued participation. The Vitality Plus Scale (VPS) was developed to measure these potential health-related benefits of exercising.