Effect of a Social Networking Site Training on Cognitive Performance in Healthy Older People and Role of Personality Traits. Results from the Randomized Controlled Trial Ageing in a Networked Society-Social Experiment (ANS-SE) Study.

Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the short-term efficacy of social network sites (SNSs) training on cognitive performance in cognitively healthy older individuals, and to explore the influence of personality traits on cognitive benefits of SNSs training.

Methods: The Aging in a Networked Society-Social Experiment study was a randomized controlled trial with three arms: intervention group (course on SNSs use), active control group (lifestyle education) and waiting list. Among the 180 eligible participants, 144 participated, 115 completed the study.

Association between care burden, depression and personality traits in Alzheimer's caregiver: A pilot study.

Introduction: In this study correlations between care burden, depression, and personality at intrapsychic level in caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients were evaluated.

Materials And Methods: Caregivers: n.40.

User Requirements Analysis of an Embodied Conversational Agent for Coaching Older Adults to Choose Active and Healthy Ageing Behaviors during the Transition to Retirement: A Cross-National User Centered Design Study.

Background: Retirement is recognized as a factor influencing the ageing process. Today, virtual health coaching systems can play a pivotal role in supporting older adults' active and healthy ageing. This study wants to answer two research questions: (1) What are the user requirements of a virtual coach (VC) based on an Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA) for motivating older adults in transition to retirement to adopt a healthy lifestyle? (2) How could a VC address the active and healthy ageing dimensions, even during COVID-19 times?

Methods: Two-wave focus-groups with 60 end-users aged 55 and over and 27 follow-up telephone interviews were carried out in Austria, Italy and the Netherlands in 2019-2020.

Physical Activity during the Retirement Transition of Men and Women: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study.

The retirement transition is a major life change affecting people's lifestyles and behaviors, including those in relation to physical activity (PA), which is a key component of active ageing. Previous research analyzing the effect of retirement on PA levels has shown mixed results, and few studies investigated this issue in a gender perspective, thus, highlighting a need of knowledge in this respect. Aims of this study focused on the experience of PA during the retirement transition were to understand typologies of PA and possible changes in these typologies, to identify behavioural types relative to PA practice and levels, and to distinguish the main drivers and barriers for practicing PA associated with the different behavioural types.

Microbiome in Blood Samples From the General Population Recruited in the MARK-AGE Project: A Pilot Study.

The presence of circulating microbiome in blood has been reported in both physiological and pathological conditions, although its origins, identities and function remain to be elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the presence of blood microbiome by quantitative real-time PCRs targeting the 16S rRNA gene. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which the circulating microbiome has been analyzed in such a large sample of individuals since the study was carried out on 1285 Randomly recruited Age-Stratified Individuals from the General population (RASIG).

A Qualitative Study toward Technologies for Active and Healthy Aging: A Thematic Analysis of Perspectives among Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary End Users.

It is expected that, by 2050, people aged over 60 in 65 nations will constitute 30% of the total population. Healthy aging is at the top of the world political agenda as a possible means for hindering the collapse of care systems. How can ICT/sensing technology meet older people's needs for active and healthy aging? This qualitative study carried out in Italy and Romania in 2020 involved 30 participants: older adults, caregivers, and stakeholders.

Embodied Conversational Agents for Patients With Dementia: Thematic Literature Analysis.

Background: As the world's population rapidly ages, the number of older adults with cognitive impairment will also increase. Several studies have identified numerous complex needs of people with dementia, which assistive technologies still fail to support. Recent trends have led to an increasing focus on the use of embodied conversational agents (ECAs) as virtual entities able to interact with a person through natural and familiar verbal and nonverbal communication.

Organizational Support Experiences of Care Home and Home Care Staff in Sweden, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected care workers all over the globe, as older and more vulnerable people face a high risk of developing severe symptoms and dying from the virus infection. The aim of this study was to compare staff experiences of stress and anxiety as well as internal and external organizational support in Sweden, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) in order to determine how care staff were affected by the pandemic. A 29-item online questionnaire was used to collect data from care staff respondents: management ( = 136), nurses ( = 132), nursing assistants ( = 195), and other healthcare staff working in these organizations ( = 132).

Usability and Acceptance of the Embodied Conversational Agent Anne by People With Dementia and Their Caregivers: Exploratory Study in Home Environment Settings.

Background: Information and communication technologies are tools that are able to support cognitive functions, monitor health and movements, provide reminders to maintain residual memory abilities, and promote social support, especially among patients with dementia. Among these technologies, embodied conversational agents (ECAs) are seen as screen-based entities designed to stimulate human face-to-face conversation skills, allowing for natural human-machine interaction. Unfortunately, the evidence that such agents deliver care benefits in supporting people affected by dementia and their caregivers has not yet been well studied.

Intergenerational caring: a systematic literature review on young and young adult caregivers of older people.

Background: The theme of young family caregivers of older relatives is still partially uncovered, although the phenomenon is increasing worldwide. This Systematic Literature Review discusses methodological and content issues of ten articles covering this topic, in order to contribute to increase the knowledge and provide suggestions for designing effective support services for adolescent young caregivers. To this purpose, the findings of this review are framed within the caregiving stress appraisal model (renamed CSA model) elaborated by Yates' and collegues, in order to highlight differences between young caregivers and the older ones.

The Impact of Micro and Macro Level Factors on the Working and Living Conditions of Migrant Care Workers in Italy and Israel-A Scoping Review.

: The provision of home-based care for frail older adults in Italy and Israel is predominately provided by live-in migrant care workers (MCWs). However, despite the important role that they play in filling the demand for home care, MCWs often experience labor rights violations. This not only impacts the well-being of MCWs but also leads to lower-quality care being provided to people in need of support.

The Participation of Senior Citizens in Policy-Making: Patterning Initiatives in Europe.

Worldwide, active aging policy calls for greater participation of senior citizens in the social, economic, and political realms. Despite emerging evidence of initiatives engaging senior citizens in social activities, little is known about the use of participatory approaches in the design and/or implementation of policies that matter to older citizens. This article identifies initiatives facilitating the civic participation of older people in policy-making in European Union member and associate states, drawing on a review of the literature, consultation of national policy experts, and exemplary case studies.

Correction: Digital Health Coaching Programs Among Older Employees in Transition to Retirement: Systematic Literature Review.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/17809.].

Digital Health Coaching Programs Among Older Employees in Transition to Retirement: Systematic Literature Review.

Background: The rapid increase of the aging population is pushing many national governments to reshape retirement legislation in order to extend older adults' working life. Once retired, older adults can be invaluable resources for the community as family carers, as volunteers, or by returning to work. Healthy aging is one of the main conditions for being able to work longer and being active after retirement.

Positive and Negative Impacts of Caring among Adolescents Caring for Grandparents. Results from an Online Survey in Six European Countries and Implications for Future Research, Policy and Practice.

Although up to 8% of European youngsters carry out high-intensity care for a family member, adolescent young carers (AYCs), especially those caring for their grandparents (GrPs), remain an under-researched group. This study aimed at addressing the current knowledge gap by carrying out an online survey in Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The analysis included a final sample of 817 AYCs aged 15-17 years old.

Between Migrant Care Work and New Occupational Welfare Tools: Changing Home Care Arrangements in Italy.

Austerity measures on services provision, introduced due to recent economic crises, have stimulated the search for innovative welfare solutions, including options that are not directly or entirely funded by public sources. In Italy, recent legislation has promoted the development of occupational welfare (OW) measures, aimed at strengthening the supply of services to support employees with informal (elder) care responsibilities. This paper aims to describe how the newly introduced OW schemes might innovate existing care arrangements, by identifying their impact on the different actors involved in home care provision (care recipients, family carers, home care service providers and migrant care workers), as well as at a macro level in terms of promoting social innovation.

Assessing the impact of Social Networking Site use on older people's loneliness and social isolation. A randomized controlled trial: The Aging in a Networked Society-Social Experiment Study (ANS-SE).

Introduction: An ageing society poses unprecedented challenges to societies. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), including Social Networking Sites (SNSs), may contribute to contrast loneliness and social isolation in old age. Despite of the potentialities of SNSs, there is only a handful of studies assessing the causal relationship of SNS use and older people's well-being.

Benefits for Older People Engaged in Environmental Volunteering and Socializing Activities in City Parks: Preliminary Results of a Program in Italy.

The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the feasibility of an environmental volunteering program involving park restoration and social activities for older people. Older people face a series of challenges, ranging from social isolation and depression to a lack of exercise, as well as the difficult task of creating new meaning to deal with a decrease in vitality and new social relationships, interests, and commitments. From this perspective, this pilot study aimed to contribute to highlighting if or how these aspects can be positively correlated with organized activities associated with caring for public green spaces.

Active Aging: Social Entrepreneuring in Local Communities of Five European Countries.

Building on the active aging framework, the aim of this study, carried out between 2016 and 2018, is to analyze concrete experiences of older individuals acting as key players of social change in six local communities of five European countries (Bulgaria, Denmark, England, France, Spain). The 19 seniors involved in the study, according to social contexts, individual past experiences, knowledge, and motivations, acted as senior social entrepreneurs, trying to build a pathway towards social solutions for unmet social problems they detected in local communities. Data were collected via templates and questionnaires and analyzed using the thematic analysis.

Social Innovation in Long-Term Care: Lessons from the Italian Case.

The debate on policies addressing the challenges posed by population ageing pays increasing attention to sustainable and innovative ways to tackle the multidimensional impact this phenomenon has on society and individuals. Moving from the findings of two European research projects, a qualitative study based on a rapid review of the literature, expert interviews, focus groups and case studies analysis has been carried out in Italy. This study illustrates which social innovations have been recently implemented in this country's long-term care (LTC) sector, and the areas in which further steps are urgently needed in the future.

Employees' Longer Working Lives in Europe: Drivers and Barriers in Companies.

This paper identifies, within companies' sectors of activity, predictors of Human Resource (HR) policies to extend working life (EWL) in light of increasing policy efforts at the European level to extend working life. Three types of EWL practices are investigated: the prevention of early retirement (i.e.

Can a Green Care Informal Learning Program Foster Active Aging in Older Adults? Results From a Qualitative Pilot Study in Central Italy.

Due to population aging worldwide, it is important for Health Care Systems to design new services fostering Active Aging dimensions (e.g., physical health, psychological well-being, social engagement, and lifelong learning).

Impact of working situation on mental and physical health for informal caregivers of older people with Alzheimer's disease in Italy. Results from the UP-TECH longitudinal study.

Objectives: This longitudinal study explores whether the working situation (no change in working hours despite care, reduction of working hours due to care or not working) moderates mental and physical health of informal caregivers of older people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Italy.

Methods: Data from a sample of 146 caregivers of older people with moderate AD involved in the UP-TECH trial across three waves were analysed. Multivariate analyses were used to study the association between independent variables (caregivers' work situation) and dependent variables (caregivers' psycho-physical health).