Social networking sites: a new source of child feeding information for parents in Thailand.

Social networking sites (SNSs) provide opportunities for health and nutrition communication. Data are lacking on whether these SNSs influence Thai parent's food provisioning to young children. In the current study, we examined the prevalence and characteristics of Thai parents who reported participating in child food and nutrition-SNSs and investigated the association between participation in these sites and parents' perceptions and feeding practices.

Advance care directive prevalence among older Australians and associations with person-level predictors and quality indicators.

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) conversations may result in preferences for medical care being documented.

Objective: To explore the uptake and quality of advance care directives (ACDs) among older Australians accessing health and aged care services, by overall ACP documentation prevalence, person-level predictors and ACD quality indicators.

Design And Setting: National multi-centre health record audit in general practices (GP), hospitals and residential aged care facilities (RACF).

Perceived availability of future care and depressive symptoms among older adults in China: evidence from CHARLS.

Background: Major concerns have arisen about the challenges facing China in providing sufficient care to its older population in light of rapid population ageing, changing family structure, and considerable rates of internal migration. At the family level, these societal changes may produce care uncertainty which may adversely influence the psychological wellbeing of older individuals. This paper applies social support and control theories to examine the relationship between perceived availability of future care and psychological wellbeing of older adults in China, and how this relationship is moderated by economic insufficiency, health vulnerability, and urban/rural context.

Older Women in Australia: Facing the Challenges of Dual Sensory Loss.

With the increase in longevity, the number of women living into old age is rising and higher than that of men. Data was derived from the Melbourne Longitudinal Studies on Healthy Ageing Program, which included 533 women and 467 men aged 65 years and older, in Australia, over 10 years. Logistic regression modeling was used to investigate the prevalence of dual sensory loss and the unmet needs for vision and hearing devices in older women (compared to men) over time, as well as its impacts on self-reported general health, depression, perceived social activities, community service use and ageing in place.

Non-communicable Diseases and Cognitive Impairment: Pathways and Shared Behavioral Risk Factors Among Older Chinese.

Population aging has brought about a number of challenges to public health and primary health care systems due to increases in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). As a country with one of the largest populations globally, China is confronting a rising number of chronic NCDs including cardiometabolic related conditions. This mini-review investigates the link between NCDs and cognitive impairment through common risk factors.

Factors Predicting Voluntary and Involuntary Workforce Transitions at Mature Ages: Evidence from HILDA in Australia.

The fast population ageing has generated and will continue to generate large social, economic and health challenges in the 21th century in Australia, and many other developed and developing countries. Population ageing is projected to lead to workforce shortages, welfare dependency, fiscal unsustainability, and a higher burden of chronic diseases on health care system. Promoting health and sustainable work capacity among mature age and older workers hence becomes the most important and critical way to address all these challenges.

Utilization of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners in Later Life in Mainland China.

Mainland China is one of the world's most rapidly aging countries, and yet there is very limited literature on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) use in older individuals. This study aimed to determine the national and provincial prevalence of TCM practitioner utilization in later life and associated factors. We used World Health Organization China Study on Global Aging and Adult Health Wave 1 data to determine descriptive statistics of the study population of participants aged 50 years and over.

Functional limitations and life satisfaction dynamics among Asian-born migrants and Australian-born participants in the HILDA study.

Objective: To investigate functional limitations and life satisfaction among Asian-born migrants and Australian-born participants in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) study.

Methods: Information on 10 167 Australian-born participants and 650 Asian-born migrants from Waves 6 to 16 (2006-2016) of HILDA was analysed using multivariate linear regressions, adjusting for baseline covariates.

Results: Middle-aged and older Asian-born migrants had a lower decline in functional limitations compared to the Australian-born participants (-1.

MIND not Mediterranean diet related to 12-year incidence of cognitive impairment in an Australian longitudinal cohort study.

Introduction: Associations between the Mediterranean-DASH diet Intervention for Neurological Delay (MIND) diet and incidence of cognitive impairment have not been evaluated outside the United States.

Methods: We investigated MIND and Mediterranean diet relations with 12-year incidence of Alzheimer's disease/Vascular dementia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders criteria) and mild cognitive impairment (Winbald criteria) in the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life cohort (n = 1220) set in Canberra, Australia: wave-1 2001-2002; wave-2 2005-2006; wave-3 2009-2010; and wave-4 2013-2014. MIND diet and two alternate Mediterranean diet scores were calculated from the baseline food frequency questionnaire responses.

Factors associated with length of stay in hospital for men and women aged 85 and over: A quantile regression approach.

Objectives: Explore characteristics of hospital use for adults aged 85 and over in their last year of life and examine factors associated with cumulative overnight length of stay (LOS).

Data Source/study Setting: NSW 45 and Up Study linked with hospital data.

Study Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Sensory Loss in China: Prevalence, Use of Aids, and Impacts on Social Participation.

The number of older adults with vision and/or hearing loss is growing world-wide, including in China, whose population is aging rapidly. Sensory loss impacts on older people's ability to participate in their communities and their quality of life. This study investigates the prevalence of vision loss, hearing loss, and dual sensory loss (combined vision and hearing loss) in an older adult Chinese population and describes the relationships between these sensory losses and demographic factors, use of glasses and hearing aids, unmet needs, and impacts on social participation.

Carer Characteristics and Health, Wellbeing and Employment Outcomes of Older Australian Baby Boomers.

Supporting caregivers and enabling continued workforce participation are central strategies in Australia's response to an ageing population, however these strategies have potential disadvantages for carers, particularly women, including reduced workforce participation and retirement income, and poorer health status. This paper explores the nexus between paid work and caregiving for Australia's baby boomer cohort as this group faces unprecedented pressures to manage paid work alongside caring longer and more intensively for family members, including grandchildren. A sample of 1261 men and women aged 60 to 64 completed the 2011-12 Life Histories and Health survey, a sub-study of the New South Wales 45 and Up Study.

Living well with chronic disease for those older adults living in the community.

Background: Definitions of successful aging that incorporate dimensions of physical capacity and medical conditions are limited owing to the normative nature of experiencing medical conditions with age. We examine the capacity for older adults living in the community to live well with or without chronic disease as they age.

Method: Participants (n = 1,001) were from the Melbourne Longitudinal Studies on Healthy Ageing (MELSHA) study who were aged 65+ years at baseline, were living in the community and followed for 16 years.

End of life hospitalisations differ for older Australian women according to death trajectory: a longitudinal data linkage study.

Background: Hospitalisations are the prime contributor to healthcare expenditure, with older adults often identified as high hospital users. Despite the apparent high use of hospitals at the end of life, limited evidence currently exists regarding reasons for hospitalisation. Understanding complex end of life care needs is required for future health care planning as the global population ages.

Patterns of Hospitalization Risk for Women Surviving Into Very Old Age: Findings From the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Background: By 2050, adults aged 80 years and over will represent around 20% of the global population. Little is known about how adults surviving into very old age use hospital services over time.

Objective: The objective of the study was to examine patterns of hospital usage over a 10-year period for women who were aged 84 to 89 in 2010 and examine factors associated with increased use.

Pathways to Well-Being in Later Life: Socioeconomic and Health Determinants Across the Life Course of Australian Baby Boomers.

In many countries like Australia and the United States, baby boomers are referred to as the 'lucky cohort', yet there has been little research on the origins and extent of inequalities within this cohort. This study uses path analysis to investigate direct and indirect effects of childhood and adult socioeconomic status and health on two subjective well-being measures: quality of life and life satisfaction. Retrospective life course data were obtained for 1,261 people aged 60 to 64 in the 2011-12 Life Histories and Health survey, a sub-study of the Australian 45 and Up Study.

First incident hospitalisation for Australian women aged 70 and beyond: A 10 year examination using competing risks.

There are increasing concerns regarding high hospital use among older adults and the capacity to manage the economic impact of the ageing population trend on healthcare systems. First hospitalisation in old age may act as a catalyst for ongoing intensification of health problems and acute care use. This study examined factors associated with first incident hospitalisation in women aged over 70, accounting for the health inequalities associated with geographic location.

Factors predicting health services use among older people in China: An analysis of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2013.

Background: Rapid population ageing in China is increasing the numbers of older people who are likely to require health services in response to higher levels of poor perceived health and chronic diseases. Understanding factors influencing health services use at late life will help to plan for increasing needs for health care, reducing inequalities in health services use and releasing severe pressures on a highly variable health care system that has constrained public resources and increasing reliance on health insurance and user payments.

Methods: Drawing on the nationally representative China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2013 data, we apply the Andersen healthcare utilization conceptual model to binary logistic regression multivariate analyses to examine the joint predictors of physical examinations, outpatient and inpatient care among the middle-aged and elderly in China.

Developing age-friendly cities and communities in Australia.

Objective: The aim of the study is to present case studies and assess the impact of political, policy, consultative, and research processes used to implement Age Friendly Cities (AFC) initiatives in Australia.

Method: A review and interpretation was conducted based on public documents, community consultations, survey analyses, and participant observation.

Results: Governments in Australia have drawn on World Health Organization (WHO) concepts to establish AFC initiatives.