scholarly journals Friends from the Future: A Scoping Review of Research into Robots and Computer Agents to Combat Loneliness in Older People

2021 ◽  
Vol Volume 16 ◽  
pp. 941-971
Author(s):  
Norina Gasteiger ◽  
Kate Loveys ◽  
Mikaela Law ◽  
Elizabeth Broadbent
2021 ◽  
pp. 002218562110022
Author(s):  
Elisa Birch ◽  
Alison Preston

This article provides a review of the Australian labour market in 2020. It outlines the monetary and fiscal responses to COVID-19 (including JobKeeper, JobSeeker and JobMaker policies), describes trends in employment, unemployment and underemployment and summarises the Fair Work Commission’s 2020 minimum wage decision. Data show that in the year to September 2020, total monthly hours worked fell by 5.9% for males and 3.8% for females. Job loss was proportionately larger amongst young people (aged 20–29) and older people. It was also disproportionately higher in female-dominated sectors such as Accommodation and Food Services. Unlike the earlier recession (1991), when more than 90% of jobs lost were previously held by males, a significant share (around 40%) of the job loss in the 2020 recession (year to August 2020) were jobs previously held by females. Notwithstanding a pick-up in employment towards year’s end, the future remains uncertain.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Lachlan Fotheringham ◽  
Stella-Maria Paddick ◽  
Evelyn Barron Millar ◽  
Claire Norman ◽  
Ammu Lukose ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objectives: Common mental disorders (CMDs), particularly depression, are major contributors to the global mental health burden. South Asia, while diverse, has cultural, social, and economic challenges, which are common across the region, not least an aging population. This creates an imperative to better understand how CMD affects older people in this context, which relies on valid and culturally appropriate screening and research tools. This review aims to scope the availability of CMD screening tools for older people in South Asia. As a secondary aim, this review will summarize the use of these tools in epidemiology, and the extent to which they have been validated or adapted for this population. Design: A scoping review was performed, following PRISMA guidelines. The search strategy was developed iteratively in Medline and translated to Embase, PsychInfo, Scopus, and Web of Science. Data were extracted from papers in which a tool was used to identify CMD in a South Asian older population (50+), including validation, adaptation, and use in epidemiology. Validation studies meeting the criteria were critically appraised using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies – version 2 (QUADAS-2) tool. Results: Of the 4694 papers identified, 176 met the selection criteria at full-text screening as relevant examples of diagnostic or screening tool use. There were 15 tool validation studies, which were critically appraised. Of these, 10 were appropriate to evaluate as diagnostic tests. All of these tools assessed for depression. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)-based tools were predominant with variable diagnostic accuracy across different settings. Methodological issues were substantial based on the QUADAS-2 criteria. In the epidemiological studies identified (n = 160), depression alone was assessed for 82% of the studies. Tools lacking cultural validation were commonly used (43%). Conclusions: This review identifies a number of current research gaps including a need for culturally relevant validation studies, and attention to other CMDs such as anxiety.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802098554
Author(s):  
Stephanie Gusler ◽  
Jessy Guler ◽  
Rachel Petrie ◽  
Heather Marshall ◽  
Daryl Cooley ◽  
...  

Although evidence suggests that individuals’ appraisals (i.e., subjective interpretations) of adverse or traumatic life events may serve as a mechanism accounting for differences in adversity exposure and psychological adjustment, understanding this mechanism is contingent on our ability to reliably and consistently measure appraisals. However, measures have varied widely between studies, making conclusions about how best to measure appraisal a challenge for the field. To address this issue, the present study reviewed 88 articles from three research databases, assessing adults’ appraisals of adversity. To be included in the scoping review, articles had to meet the following criteria: (1) published no earlier than 1999, (2) available in English, (3) published as a primary source manuscript, and (4) included a measure assessing for adults’ (over the age of 18) subjective primary and/or secondary interpretations of adversity. Each article was thoroughly reviewed and coded based on the following information: study demographics, appraisal measurement tool(s), category of appraisal, appraisal dimensions (e.g., self-blame, impact, and threat), and the tool’s reliability and validity. Further, information was coded according to the type of adversity appraised, the time in which the appraised event occurred, and which outcomes were assessed in relation to appraisal. Results highlight the importance of continued examination of adversity appraisals and reveal which appraisal tools, categories, and dimensions are most commonly assessed for. These results provide guidance to researchers in how to examine adversity appraisals and what gaps among the measurement of adversity appraisal which need to be addressed in the future research.


Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 232
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Medina ◽  
Carolina M. Rodriguez ◽  
Maria Camila Coronado ◽  
Lina Maria Garcia

The analysis of thermal comfort in buildings, energy consumption, and occupant satisfaction is crucial to influencing the architectural design methodologies of the future. However, research in these fields in developing countries is sectorised. Most times, the standards to study and assess thermal comfort such as ASHRAE Standard 55, EN 15251, and ISO 7730 are insufficient and not appropriate for the geographical areas of application. This article presents a scoping review of published work in Colombia, as a representative case study, to highlight the state-of-the-art, research trends, gaps, and potential areas for further development. It examines the amount, origin, extent, and content of research and peer-reviewed documentation over the last decades. The findings allow new insights regarding the preferred models and the evaluation tools that have been used to date and that are recommended to use in the future. It also includes additional information regarding the most and least studied regions, cities, and climates in the country. This work could be of interest for the academic community and policymakers in the areas related to indoor and urban climate management and energy efficiency.


Author(s):  
Giulio E. Lancioni ◽  
Lorenzo Desideri ◽  
Nirbhay N. Singh ◽  
Mark F. O’Reilly ◽  
Jeff Sigafoos ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Katinka E. Pani-Harreman ◽  
Joop M. A. van Duren ◽  
Gertrudis I. J. M. Kempen ◽  
Gerrie J. J. W. Bours

AbstractOlder people today are more likely to age in their own private living environment. However, many face declining health and/or other issues that affect their ability to live independently and necessitate additional support. Such support can be provided by formal networks, but a considerable part can also be offered by informal networks of older people themselves. Going beyond these networks, older people can additionally and perhaps even more substantially benefit from vital communities. Nevertheless, even though this term is increasingly common in the literature, its meaning remains indistinct. A more thorough understanding of this concept might provide valuable knowledge that health care professionals, researchers and community workers can use to offer meaningful and effective support. The purpose of this paper is to draw on existing empirical research on vital communities to build knowledge of the different descriptions and dimensions of the concept. Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology was adopted. Our search, conducted on 23 March 2020 and updated on 06 January 2021, yielded 4433 articles, of which six articles were included in the scoping review. We deduced that the conceptualisation of a vital community is based on three dimensions: the aim of a vital community, the processes behind a vital community and the typical characteristics of a vital community. None of the selected studies have mapped all three dimensions. Nevertheless, we assume that understanding all three matters when vital communities aim to contribute to the quality of life of people ageing in place.


Author(s):  
Patrick Alexander Wachholz ◽  
Deborah Cristina De Oliveira ◽  
Kathryn Hinsliff-Smith ◽  
Reena Devi ◽  
Paulo José Fortes Villas Boas ◽  
...  

This scoping review aimed to explore the characteristics, strengths, and gaps in research conducted in Brazilian long-term care facilities (LTCFs) for older adults. Electronic searches investigating the residents (≥60 years old), their families, and the LTCF workforce in Brazil were conducted in Medline, EMBASE, LILACS, and Google Scholar, within the timescale of 1999 to 2018, limited to English, Portuguese, or Spanish. The reference lists were hand searched for additional papers. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used for critical appraisal of evidence. Data were reported descriptively considering the study design, using content analysis: 327 studies were included (n = 159 quantitative non-randomized, n = 82 quantitative descriptive, n = 67 qualitative, n = 11 mixed methods, n = 6 randomized controlled trials, and n = 2 translation of assessment tools). Regardless of the study design, most were conducted in a single LTCF (45.8%), in urban locations (84.3%), and in non-profit settings (38.7%). The randomized trials and descriptive studies presented the lowest methodological quality based on the MMAT. This is the first review to provide an overview of research on LTCFs for older people in Brazil. It illustrates an excess of small-scale, predominantly qualitative papers, many of which are reported in ways that do not allow the quality of the work to be assured.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 420-421
Author(s):  
Andrew Banda ◽  
Norah Keating ◽  
Jaco Hoffman ◽  
Jose Parodi ◽  
Nereide Curreri

Abstract In their recent volume, Critical Rural Gerontology, Skinner et al (2021) challenge us to set aside unidimensional notions of rural communities as bypassed vs very supportive; and to identify the elements of rurality that empower or exclude older people and how these differ across cultures and settings. Covid-19 has highlighted the need for safe and inclusive communities. Given that LMIC will be home to the majority of older adults (Gonzales et al. 2015), we undertook a scoping review of features of rural communities that influence wellbeing of older people in countries across Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. The review included literature in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, using search engines MEDLINE, CINAHL Complete, PsycInfo, SocINDEX, SciELO, AJOL (Africa Journals Online), LILACS, Redalyc, LatinIndex and Clacso. Findings illustrate diversity in how community features including remoteness, infrastructure and belonging influence material, social and subjective wellbeing of older residents.


Author(s):  
John R. Beard ◽  
Anne Margriet Pot ◽  
Geeske Peeters

Population ageing presents both opportunities and challenges to societies and governments. While even today, the economic contribution of older people is likely to outweigh the expenditure on them by governments, this balance could be even more positive in the future. Yet, outdated stereotypes of ageing are pervasive and limit the way older people are viewed and the way policy is framed. Moving forward will require a broader understanding of the diversity of older populations, the inequities that underpin it, and of the many and varied opportunities for societal responses that can enable the abilities of older people. What population ageing ultimately implies for societies and governments will therefore depend as much on societal attitudes and response as it will on the intrinsic capacities and needs of older populations.


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