Posters (Asynchronous - Online Only): Room 2
A Web-based Inter-professional Training in Geriatric Depression Screening for Future Health and Allied Health Professionals View Digital Media
Poster Session Anna Azulai, Jill Vihos, Hongmei Tong
Geriatric depression is a common and serious mental health condition that often goes unrecognized. When undetected, depression worsens one's health prognosis, increases mortality and medical costs. With the rapidly growing aging population in Canada, students in health professions, defined in the Health Professions Act of Alberta, will be increasingly working with older adults with depression. Evidence suggests that web-based education improves the accuracy with which various members of health professions recognize signs of geriatric depression. Conceived by the collaborative effort of the School of Social Work, the Department of Nursing Science and the Department of Interprofessional Education and Simulation Learning at MacEwan University, Canada, this study aims to enhance knowledge and skills about geriatric depression among social work and psychiatric nursing students through the cost-effective web-based learning module with simulated case studies. There are three research questions: 1) Does the web-based screening training for geriatric depression improve the knowledge of social work and psychiatric nursing students about geriatric depression symptoms, assessment methods, and treatment options? 2) Does the web-based training improve students' confidence in recognizing signs of geriatric depression? 3) Are there significant differences in knowledge and confidence levels among students from different disciplines before and after taking the web-based module? Currently at the end of the data collection process, the study will be concluded in summer 2021. Findings and implications for practice, research, and education are shared with the conference audience.
Risk and Protective Factors of Loneliness among Older Adults: The Significance of Social Isolation and Quality and Type of Contact View Digital Media
Poster Session Barbra Teater, Jill Chonody
Loneliness has a significant impact on the health and well-being of older people, including an increased risk of mortality. This cross-sectional study explores possible risk and protective factors that can help explain loneliness and emotional and social loneliness in a sample of community-dwelling older adults (N = 477) in the United States. The survey incorporated a standardized scale of loneliness and items to assess type and quality of contact with others, community support, social isolation, physical health, cognitive health, and functional ability. Bivariate and multivariate analyses explored the factors that contributed to loneliness, emotional loneliness, and social loneliness. Results indicated overall quality of contact with others, use of phone contact, and social isolation was significant in all three regressions; other significant variables were different for each analysis. The findings support social work and public health recommendations for addressing loneliness, particularly within the current climate of “social distancing” under the COVID-19 pandemic.
What Makes Elderly People View Themselves Negatively? View Digital Media
Poster Session Yuho Shimizu, Takaaki Hashimoto, Kaori Karasawa
The world’s population is ageing rapidly because of longevity and declining fertility rates. This has given rise to a phenomenon among older adults, namely a negative attitude toward themselves, which is adversely affecting their own health and performance. This study focuses on factors that trigger discriminatory attitudes, like germ aversion (i.e., dislike of infection) and youth identity (i.e., the degree to which one feels that one belongs to the group of “youth” as opposed to the elderly) (cf. disease avoidance mechanisms and social identity theory). We conducted an online survey of 237 elderly Japanese people between the ages of 60–88. We measured the three aspects of discriminatory attitudes: antilocution (indirect slander), aversion/discrimination, and avoidance. These three aspects were regressed on the dependent variables of germ aversion, youth identity, their interaction, and participants’ gender and age. The results showed associations of (a) germ aversion with strengthened the three aspects of discriminatory attitudes and (b) youth identity with marginally strengthened aversion/discrimination. We also found the effect of gender and age on aversion/discrimination. The results suggest there is a need for an effective strategy to decrease germ aversion, for example through educational intervention about various diseases. However, the study had some limitations: (a) the data were gathered only via an online survey and (b) the female participants (N = 44) were far fewer than male. We acknowledge that a larger survey is required; however, our findings will be useful for future research to investigate attitudes among older adults.
Involuntary Retirement: From Concept to Reality View Digital Media
Poster Session Mary Beth MacLean
The aging population in Canada, and elsewhere, has resulted in a lower labour market participation rate which presents challenges including shortages of workers in some industries, and threats to the sustainability of private and public pension plans. As many workers retire involuntarily, there are opportunities to extend working lives. However, neither the concept of involuntary retirement nor its antecedents are well understood. We, therefore examined the concept of involuntary retirement, and its antecedents through a systematic literature review. We then explore the concept of involuntary retirement using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). We found that involuntary retirement can be defined as: limited human agency in the timing (early, on-time or late) or conditions of retirement. Further, while involuntary retirement is essentially a matter of self-perception and voluntariness has been conceptualized as continuous scale, many studies measured it as dichotomously and as reported reasons for retirement such as disability or job loss. Moreover, factors restrict control over the retirement decision, in particular disability and poor health, and retirement timing of retirement, i.e., younger age at retirement and retiring earlier than planned, were the most common and often strongest factors explaining self-perceived involuntary retirement. Examination of recent retirees who participated in the CLSA confirmed our conceptualization of involuntary retirement. The aim of this study is to discuss our concept of involuntary retirement, factors to be included in a future study of antecedents using CLSA data and the implications for policy, practice, and research.
