Fatigue, impaired physical function and mental health in cancer survivors: the role of social isolation.

Purpose: Cancer survivors experience an array of physical, psychological, and social problems after treatment has ended. Perceived social isolation may exacerbate the effects of physical problems on mental health. We examined the association between physical health (cancer-related fatigue and physical function) and mental health (depression and anxiety symptoms) in cancer survivors in the first year of survivorship (i.

Can the Short-Form UCLA Loneliness Scale Be Used to Measure Loneliness Among Chinese Older Adults? From Classical Test Theory to Rasch Analysis.

Background: Loneliness among older adults, is a subjective experience and a public health issue in aging societies. Psychometrically sound and culturally sensitive measures are needed for developing precisely targeted interventions in culturally distinct groups. This study tested the Short-Form UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-8) among Chinese older adults.

Telemedicine Utilization Among Residents With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementia: Association With Nursing Home Characteristics.

Objective: To examine telemedicine use among nursing home (NH) residents with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) and the associations with NH characteristics.

Design: Observational study.

Setting And Participants: 2020-2021 Minimum Data Set 3.

Challenges in Deprescribing among Older Adults in Post-Acute Care Transitions to Home.

Objectives: Medications with a higher risk of harm or that are unlikely to be beneficial are used by nearly all older patients in home health care (HHC). The objective of this study was to understand stakeholders' perspectives on challenges in deprescribing these medications for post-acute HHC patients.

Design: Qualitative individual interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved with post-acute deprescribing.

Antipsychotic use among older patients with dementia receiving home health care services: Prevalence, predictors, and outcomes.

Background: Antipsychotic use is a safety concern among older patients in home health care (HHC), particularly for those with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and predictors of antipsychotic use among older adults with and without ADRD who received HHC, and the association of antipsychotic use with outcomes among patients living with ADRD.

Methods: In this secondary analysis of adults ≥65 years receiving care from an HHC agency in New York in 2019 (N = 6684), we used data from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set, Medicare HHC claims, and home medication review results in the electronic HHC records during a 60-day HHC episode.

How to Deprescribe Potentially Inappropriate Medications During the Hospital-to-Home Transition: Stakeholder Perspectives on Essential Tasks.

Purpose: Nearly all older patients receiving postacute home health care (HHC) use potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) that carry a risk of harm. Deprescribing can reduce and optimize the use of PIMs, yet it is often not conducted among HHC patients. The objective of this study was to gather perspectives from patient, practitioner, and HHC clinician stakeholders on tasks that are essential to postacute deprescribing in HHC.

New horizons in emotional well-being and brain aging: Potential lessons from cross-species research.

Emotional wellbeing (EWB) is a multi-faceted concept of immediate relevance to human health. NIH recently initiated a series of research networks to advance understanding of EWB. Our network (NEW Brain Aging) focuses on mechanistic understanding of EWB in relation to brain aging.

A Perfect Storm to Set the Stage for Ontological Exploration: Response to Commentaries on "Emotional Well-Being: What It Is and Why It Matters".

Our target article (Park et al., this issue) described the process of developing a provisional conceptualization of emotional well-being (EWB). In that article, we considered strengths and gaps in current perspectives on a variety of related concepts and ways that the proposed conceptualization of EWB informs our evaluation of measures and methods of assessment and identification of its causes and consequences.

Emotional Well-Being: What It Is and Why It Matters.

Unlabelled: Psychological aspects of well-being are increasingly recognized and studied as fundamental components of healthy human functioning. However, this body of work is fragmented, with many different conceptualizations and terms being used (e.g.

Influence of affective states on informant impression of neuropsychiatric symptoms in people living with MCI.

: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are often accompanied by neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS; e.g. depression/apathy/irritability) causing challenges for people living with dementia/caregivers and predicting worse disease progression.

Mental health outcomes and correlates in cancer patients entering survivorship after curative treatment.

Objective: Cancer survivors face numerous physical and mental health challenges after treatment completion. However, few studies have examined mental health in cancer survivors who received curative treatment during the transition out of active treatment and into survivorship. The current study describes the mental health outcomes and their correlates in cancer survivors treated with curative intent during the first year of survivorship.

Implementation considerations of deprescribing interventions: A scoping review.

Over half of older adults experience polypharmacy, including medications that may be inappropriate or unnecessary. Deprescribing, which is the process of discontinuing or reducing inappropriate and/or unnecessary medications, is an effective way to reduce polypharmacy. This review summarizes (1) the process of deprescribing and conceptual models and tools that have been developed to facilitate deprescribing, (2) barriers, enablers, and factors associated with deprescribing, and (3) characteristics of deprescribing interventions in completed trials, as well as (4) implementation considerations for deprescribing in routine practice.

The helping older people engage (HOPE) study: Protocol & COVID modifications for a randomized trial.

Objectives: Evidence-based strategies to reduce loneliness in later life are needed because loneliness impacts all domains of health, functioning, and quality of life. Volunteering is a promising strategy, as a large literature of observational studies documents associations between volunteering and better health and well-being. However, relatively few studies have used randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to examine benefits of volunteering, and none have examined loneliness.

Effectiveness of integrated care for older adults with depression and hypertension in rural China: A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Effectiveness of integrated care management for common, comorbid physical and mental disorders has been insufficiently examined in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We tested hypotheses that older adults treated in rural Chinese primary care clinics with integrated care management of comorbid depression and hypertension (HTN) would show greater improvements in depression symptom severity and HTN control than those who received usual care.

Methods And Findings: The study, registered with ClinicalTrials.

How "age-friendly" are deprescribing interventions? A scoping review of deprescribing trials.

Objective: To assess how age-friendly deprescribing trials are regarding intervention design and outcome assessment. Reduced use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) can be addressed by deprescribing-a systematic process of discontinuing and/or reducing the use of PIMs. The 4Ms-"Medication", "Mentation", "Mobility", and "What Matters Most" to the person-can be used to guide assessment of age-friendliness of deprescribing trials.