Communication Modalities, Personality Traits, and Change in Perceived Control Over Social Life Following Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Older Americans.

We examined associations between change in social contact communication modalities and change in perceived control over social life (PCOSL) following onset of the COVID-19 pandemic among older Americans and evaluated the extent to which associations were moderated by personality. Data were from the 2016 and 2020 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Multivariate ordinary least squares regression analyses were computed adjusting for baseline PCOSL, sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial factors.

Localized Multi-Site Knee Bioimpedance as a Predictor for Knee Osteoarthritis Associated Pain Within Older Adults During Free-Living.

The drastic increase in the aging population has increased the prevalence of osteoarthritis in the United States. The ability to monitor symptoms of osteoarthritis (such as pain) within a free-living environment could improve understanding of each person's experiences with this disease and provide opportunities to personalize treatments specific to each person and their experience. In this work, localized knee tissue bioimpedance and self-reports of knee pain were collected from older adults ([Formula: see text]) with and without knee osteoarthritis over 7 days of free-living to evaluate if knee tissue bioimpedance is associated with persons' knee pain experience.

Momentary Associations of Osteoarthritis Pain and Affect: Depression as Moderator.

Objectives: This research examined main and moderating effects of global depressive symptoms upon in-the-moment associations of pain and affect among individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Effects of depression on short-term change in pain and affect were also examined.

Method: Older adults with physician-confirmed OA (N = 325) completed a baseline interview tapping global depressive symptoms, followed by an experience sampling protocol that captured momentary pain and affect 4 times daily for 7 days.

Ethnoracial disparities in cognition are associated with multiple socioeconomic status-stress pathways.

Systemic racism can have broad impacts on health in ethnoracial minorities. One way is by suppressing socioeconomic status (SES) levels through barriers to achieve higher income, wealth, and educational attainment. Additionally, the weathering hypothesis proposes that the various stressful adversities faced by ethnoracial minorities lead to greater wear and tear on the body, known as allostatic load.

The Role of Purpose in Life in the Relationship Between Widowhood and Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults in the U.S.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the role of purpose in life in the relationship between widowhood and cognitive decline.

Methods: This study used a sample of 12,856 respondents (20,408 observations) collected from a national panel survey, the 2006-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), that sampled older adults aged 50 or older. The study estimated growth-curve models with years since spousal death, purpose in life, and interaction between the two to predict cognition using three measures-total cognition, fluid, and crystallized intelligence scores.

Sources of nonreplicability in aging ethnoracial health disparities research.

The older adult population in the U.S. is becoming increasingly diverse across a constellation of factors including ethnoracial group, socioeconomic status, and immigration status.

Enhancing sleep quality for nursing home residents with dementia: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of an evidence-based frontline huddling program.

Background: Disturbed sleep places older adults at higher risk for frailty, morbidity, and even mortality. Yet, nursing home routines frequently disturb residents' sleep through use of noise, light, or efforts to reduce incontinence. Nursing home residents with Alzheimer's disease and or related dementias-almost two-thirds of long-stay nursing home residents-are likely to be particularly affected by sleep disturbance.

Pain in persons with dementia and the direct and indirect impacts on caregiver burden.

Objectives: Unresolved pain is related to neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in persons living with dementia (PLWD), and an increase in NPS is distressing for PLWD and their caregivers. Hence, we examined whether pain in PLWD was related to caregiver burden and whether caregiver upset with NPS mediated this relationship.

Method: We examined, cross-sectionally, the relationships among pain in PLWD, caregiver burden, and upset with NPS.

Perceived Decisional Control as a Mediator between Moving to Assisted Living Due to Caregiver Burden and Relocation Adjustment.

Objectives: The rapid growth of the older population in the United States has led to increased utilization of assisted living facilities (ALFs), and it is important to understand what factors may facilitate better adjustment. This study examined the mediating role of perceived decisional control in the relationship between moving to assisted living (AL) to prevent/alleviate caregiver burden and post-relocation adjustment.

Methods: Participants were 91 newly-transitioned residents of ALFs in Alabama and Maryland.

Selective optimization with compensation strategies utilized by older adults newly-transitioned to assisted living.

Admission to assisted living (AL) is on the rise in the United States, and adjustment to this new environment can be challenging for older adults. To date, few studies have explored the ways in which older adults may be able to ease the transition to AL by minimizing relocation-related losses. Consequently, we explored the potential for the components of the framework Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) to facilitate successful adjustment to AL.

Measuring Risk of Wandering and Symptoms of Dementia Via Caregiver Report.

Wandering is a potentially dangerous event for individuals living with dementia and is equally as stressful for their caregivers. The purpose of the current study was to examine the validity of the Risk of Wandering (RoW) scale in terms of predicting wandering. We compared the RoW scale's validity against two widely used scales that assessed dementia as reported by caregivers: Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE; Jorm) and Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (RMBPC; Roth et al.

Examining emotional intelligence in older adults with chronic pain: a factor analysis approach.

Objective: The current study explored whether the three-factor structure of an emotional intelligence measure (attention to emotions, clarity in understanding emotions, and emotion regulation) developed in a sample of college students would replicate in a sample of older adults with chronic pain.

Method: Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were conducted to examine the factor structure of the 30-item Trait Meta-Mood Scale among 340 older adults with knee osteoarthritis.

Results: Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the original three-factor model of emotional intelligence did not fit well with the data for older adults.

The impact of relocation stress on cognitively impaired and cognitively unimpaired long-term care residents.

The current aims were to explore the effects of relocation stress on depression and anxiety in long-term care residents and to investigate the moderating effect of cognitive status. The study used existing data from nursing home and congregate apartment residents. Self-reported measures of relocation stress, cognitive status, depression, and anxiety were examined.

Momentary Reports of Fatigue Predict Physical Activity Level: Wrist, Waist, and Combined Accelerometry.

Fatigue is commonly reported by persons with osteoarthritis (OA) and predicts worse functioning and decreased activity. The current research used a combination of wrist and waist accelerometry along with experience sampling methodology to examine the relationship between reports of fatigue and subsequent physical activity among older adults with knee OA. Two hundred one participants completed an interview followed by a 1-week period during which their activity was monitored and they reported symptoms of pain and fatigue.

Purpose in Life Protects Against Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults.

Objective: This study examined whether having a sense of purpose in life protects against cognitive decline among older adults and whether purpose in life moderates the relationship between selected risk factors (age, sex, and race/ethnicity) and cognitive abilities.

Methods: This was a longitudinal analysis of existing secondary data of adults (N = 11,557) aged 50 or older using the 2006-2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. The study measured purpose in life, cognitive functioning score, and various covariates.

The impact of social interactions and pain on daily positive and negative affect in adults with osteoarthritis of the knee.

This study utilized experience sampling methodology (ESM) to examine the relationship of social interactions with daily pain and mood symptoms in people with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Two hundred sixty-eight adults with physician-diagnosed OA of the knee underwent a baseline in-person interview and subsequent week-long ESM protocol to assess their daily activity patterns, pain, and mood via phone interview four times a day. A coding system was developed to assess presence and type of social interactions based on subject self-report of activity patterns.

Supporting autonomy in long-term care: Lessons from nursing assistants.

Maximizing nursing home (NH) resident autonomy is a person-centered care (PCC) best practice. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe specific autonomy-supportive techniques used by nursing assistants (NAs) in three NH neighborhoods at one Veterans Affairs medical center. Thirteen interviews and approximately 80 h of behavioral observation of NAs were conducted across the three NH neighborhoods.

Global Versus Momentary Osteoarthritis Pain and Emotional Distress: Emotional Intelligence as Moderator.

Background: Pain and emotional well-being are complexly associated both globally and in the moment. Emotional regulation strategies may contribute to that complexity by shaping the pain-well-being association.

Purpose: Using emotional intelligence (EI) as an integrative conceptual framework, this study probed the role of emotional regulation in the associations of osteoarthritis pain with emotional well-being in varying time frames.

The Relation Between Multiple Informal Caregiving Roles and Subjective Physical and Mental Health Status Among Older Adults: Do Racial/Ethnic Differences Exist?

Purpose Of The Study: The present study examined whether race/ethnicity moderated the relation between type of caregiving role (none, one, or multiple care recipients) and subjective physical and mental health among older adults.

Design And Methods: The sample was drawn from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey. Racially/ethnically diverse adults aged 55 and older (n = 24,241) were categorized into 3 groups by caregiving roles: noncaregivers (n = 18,626; referent), caregivers with a single caregiving role (n = 4,023), and caregivers with multiple caregiving roles (n = 1,772).

Immediate and Lagged Effects of Daily Stress and Affect on Caregivers' Daily Pain Experience.

Purpose Of The Study: We examined the effect of daily stress, affect, and adult day service (ADS) use on the daily pain experience among caregivers of individuals with dementia (IWD). Participants were interviewed for 8 consecutive days. Caregivers utilized an ADS program on some days and provided care at home on other days.

Geographic variation in mental health care disparities among racially/ethnically diverse adults with psychiatric disorders.

Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to examine geographic variation in unmet need for mental health care among racially/ethnically diverse adults with psychiatric disorders in the US.

Methods: Drawn from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES; 2001-2003), adults with any past year psychiatric disorder diagnosis (n = 3211) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds were selected for analyses. Using weighted data, descriptive analyses and logistic regression analyses were conducted.

Racial/ethnic differences in sleep quality among older adults with osteoarthritis.

Objective: To examine racial/ethnic differences in sleep quality and the pain-sleep association among older adults with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Design: Baseline interview followed by a 7-day microlongitudinal study using accelerometry and self-reports.

Setting: Participants were community residents in western Alabama and Long Island, NY.

Development of a New Tool for Systematic Observation of Nursing Home Resident and Staff Engagement and Relationship.

Purpose Of Study: To develop a structured observational tool, the Resident-centered Assessment of Interactions with Staff and Engagement tool (RAISE), to measure 2 critical, multi-faceted, organizational-level aspects of person-centered care (PCC) in nursing homes: (a) resident engagement and (b) the quality and frequency of staff-resident interactions.

Design And Methods: In this multi-method psychometric development study, we conducted (a) 120 hr of ethnographic observations in one nursing home and (b) a targeted literature review to enable construct development. Two constructs for which no current structured observation measures existed emerged from this phase: nursing home resident-staff engagement and interaction.

Geographic Region Matters in the Relation Between Perceived Racial Discrimination and Psychiatric Disorders Among Black Older Adults.

Purpose Of The Study: This study examined whether the relation between perceived racial discrimination and psychiatric disorders varied by large geographic region among Black older adults in the United States.

Design And Methods: Black adults aged 55 or older who had experienced racial/ethnic-specific discrimination were drawn from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine main and interaction effects.

Feelings of Usefulness to Others Predict Active Coping With Osteoarthritis Knee Pain.

Objective: To investigate associations of perceived usefulness to other people with active versus passive coping strategies among adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Additional aims explored contributions of personality variables to this dynamic.

Method: 199 persons (70.