The findings suggest that ICT use can potentially enhance the PWB of older adults aged 75+ through facilitating their contact with family members. These benefits might be particularly salient for those who were frail. Improving ICT access and literacy among older adults may be promising.

ObjectiveThis paper used data from a study of pediatric primary care provider (PCP) screening practices to examine barriers to and facilitators of adolescent alcohol and other drug (AOD) screening in pediatric primary care.MethodsA web-based survey (N = 437) was used to examine the influence of PCP factors (attitudes and knowledge, training, self-efficacy, comfort with alcohol and drug issues); patient characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, comorbidities and risk factors); and organizational factors (screening barriers, staffing resources, confidentiality issues) on AOD screening practices. Self-reported and electronic medical record (EMR)-recorded screening rates were also assessed.ResultsMore PCPs felt unprepared to diagnose alcohol abuse (42%) and other drug abuse (56%) than depression (29%) (p < 0.001). Overall, PCPs were more likely to screen boys than girls, and male PCPs were even more likely than female PCPs to screen boys (23% versus 6%, p < 0.0001). Having more time and having other staff screen and review results were identified as potential screening facilitators. Self-reported screening rates were significantly higher than actual (EMR-recorded) rates for all substances. Feeling prepared to diagnose AOD problems predicted higher self-reported screening rates (OR = 1.02, p <0.001), and identifying time constraints as a barrier to screening predicted lower self-reported screening rates (OR = 0.91, p < 0.001). Higher average panel age was a significant predictor of increased EMR-recorded screening rates (OR = 1.11, p < 0.001).ConclusionsOrganizational factors, lack of training, and discomfort with AOD screening may impact adolescent substance-abuse screening and intervention, but organizational approaches (e.g., EMR tools and workflow) may matter more than PCP or patient factors in determining screening.

Fifteen male primary school children, aged 10 years, were selected to carry school bags of 10, 15 and 20% of their own body weights, where 0% body weight was used as a control. Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) tests were conducted on a motorized treadmill using a continuous incremental protocol. During the load carrying test, subjects walked on a treadmill at 1.1 m s(-1) for 20 min at each load condition. Blood pressures were measured before, immediately following, and at 3 and 5 min after every trial. Heart rate and expired VO2 were recorded before, during and 5 min after walking using a cardiopulmonary function system. The results showed a significant difference in oxygen uptake, energy expenditure and the recovery of blood pressure rise for between 10 and 20% body weight load conditions. The carrying weight of a school bag for children could be recommended as 10% of body weight because it was not significantly different from 0% load in the metabolic cost.

Abstract:Loneliness is a common experience among older people that is associated with health risks and negative well-being. As a psychological phenomenon, it has typically been defined in Western research literature as the discrepancy between desired and actual interpersonal relations. In our qualitative study in Hong Kong, we offer insight into ageing and loneliness in an urban environment of the non-Western world and propose to reconceptualise loneliness by exploring older people's experience of alienation at the societal level as an important but often neglected dimension of their loneliness. Thirty-seven community-dwelling, Chinese adults aged 65 and above were interviewed in focus groups and their accounts analysed and interpreted using a phenomenological approach. Findings revealed that focus group participants perceived insufficient care for older people, a growing distance between themselves and society, and their disintegrating identity in society to be primary sources of societal alienation. In response, older people adopted a more passive lifestyle, attributed marginalisation and inequality to old age, and developed negative feelings including unease towards ageing, vulnerability and helplessness, and anger. The emergence of these key components and underlying themes of societal alienation illuminated neglected facets of the psychological phenomenon of loneliness and highlighted new implications for policy, practice, and research from a societal perspective to address older people's loneliness in urban settings.