Successful Aging: Illness and Social Connections

Abstract

Abstract:The objective of this study was to examine the role of social determinants of health: gender, income, education, housing, and social connections in successful aging in older adults aging with illness. Participants were 50 adults aged 65-90 years, all aging in place in their own home, and reporting at least one illness. This pilot study used non-probability sampling and employed both online and in-person interviews. The majority (82%) were aging "successfully" or "somewhat successfully" as reported on the single item successful aging scale and demonstrated by their scores on the Successful Aging Inventory (SAI). Correlations were not significant between SAI and gender, income, education, or housing. A significant negative correlation was found between SAI and community activity. However, there were significant positive correlations between SAI and religious activity and relationships. The regression model was a linear combination of participants' community and religious activity and relationships. The majority of older adults aging with illness consider themselves to be aging successfully, but their scores are influenced by relationships with others as well as religious and community activity. Frequent community activity had a suppressor effect on successful aging.

An investigation of the relationship between ageing in place and successful ageing in elderly individuals

“…Living in a house owned by them might have effects on the results because it is a factor that affects the frequency of changing the environment they live in, namely the probability of living in the environment longer. Different results reported in another study indicated that the majority of individuals aged between 65 and 90 who had a chronic disease accepted that they were ageing successfully and that no relationships were found between the Successful Ageing Scale and gender, income level, education, and place of residence . This result is considered to have been affected by the differences in the way cultural structure and chronic disease processes are managed by the health system.…”

Konstrukcija i validacija skale samoprocjene uspješnog starenja

“…Pretpostavljamo da taj rezultat nije u potpunosti realan i da je možda posljedica izmijenjenih očekivanja starijih osoba u pogledu vlastitog zdravlja, pri čemu starije osobe neke od kroničnih bolesti koje možda i imaju vjerojatno ne smatraju dovoljno ozbiljnima ili ih smatraju normalnima za stariju dob pa o njima ni ne izvješćuju. No, u ovom kontekstu je potrebno razmotriti i suprotne rezultate istraživanja prema kojem većina starijih osoba s oboljenjima za sebe smatra da su uspješno stareće (Carver, Beamsh i Phillips, 2018), što svakako upućuje na potrebu daljnjeg ispitivanja specifične uloge bolesti i zdravlja u kontekstu ovog konstrukta.…”

Analysis of the influence of the coronavirus pandemic on elderly people

“…Population ageing is one of the most important problems of humanity, and the percentage and absolute increase of the elderly population is one of the essential characteristics of the contemporary era, and successful ageing is one of the basic psychological needs of the population [2]. This concept includes various factors such as psychological, physical and social health, mobility and satisfaction with quality of life, financial stability, physical activity, spirituality, etc., this attitude is relevant to the population.…”