How to Promote Gerotranscendence in Older Adults? A Scoping Review of Interventions.

Gerotranscendence is a psychosocial theory that proposes older adults experience a mindset shift in multiple dimensions (cosmic, coherence, solitude), associated with different constructs, such as life satisfaction and well-being. Increasing studies are employing gerotranscendence, but the practical aspects of how gerotranscendence can be developed are still underexplored. This review involved an assessment of the size and scope of the existing literature on interventions related to gerotranscendence and their effect on participants' well-being.

Positive aspects of care in informal caregivers of community-dwelling dementia patients.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Positive aspects of care are considered an essential part of caregiving research. They have been related to a wide range of dimensions of the caregiving circumstances, but there are few valid, reliable and brief measures to assess them. One of the most frequently used internationally is the Positive Aspects of Caregiving (PAC) scale, whose psychometric properties have received little attention.

Perceived risk of institutionalization, hospitalization, and death in oldest old primary care patients.

Objectives: This study aims to analyze the accuracy and predictive ability of the Risk Instrument for Screening in the Community (RISC) scored by general practitioners (GPs) in a sample of primary care patients aged 80+ with perceived mental health concerns.

Method: GPs ranked the perceived risk of the three adverse outcomes (hospitalization, institutionalization and death) at 1 year in a five Likert scale (RISC score), where 1 is the lowest risk and 5 is the highest. Follow up contacts were conducted after 1 year of assessment in order to collect data on the three outcomes.

The Modified Caregiver Strain Index: Portuguese version.

The Modified Caregiver Strain Index is a widely used tool to screen for caregiver strain in family caregivers. This study presents the Portuguese version of the Modified Caregiver Strain Index and explores its psychometric properties in a sample of 347 informal caregivers of older dependent individuals. Factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure and indicated satisfactory internal consistency.

Regional differences in morbidity profiles and health care use in the oldest old: Findings from two Centenarian Studies in Portugal.

Background: The worldwide increase of human life expectancy and the rapid aging of the population will contribute to an increasing prevalence of chronic illness. Even so, individuals who reach very advanced ages often postpone or escape age-related diseases that are common causes of death.

Objective: This article aims to examine health-related characteristics of two distinct samples of Portuguese centenarians (one predominantly rural - PR vs.

Assessing the social dimension of frailty in old age: A systematic review.

Introduction: Different concepts of frailty have resulted in different assessment tools covering distinct dimensions. Despite the growing recognition that there is an association between frailty and social factors, there's a lack of clarity on what is being assessed in terms of "social aspects" of frailty.

Objective: This paper provides a review of frailty assessment instruments (screening tools and severity measures) with a special focus on their social components.