The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences
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J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci · Mar 2017
ReviewExpanding the Circle of Knowledge: Reconceptualizing Successful Aging Among North American Older Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenous older peoples' voices and experiences remain largely absent in the dominant models and critical scholarship on aging and late life. This article examines the relevance of the model of successful aging for Indigenous peoples in North America. ⋯ Our review suggests that Indigenous peoples' voices and experiences are beginning to be included in academic literature on successful aging. However, we suggest that understandings of successful aging be broadened based on our summative findings and a process of community involvement. Such processes can lead to the development of models that are more inclusive to a wide range of older people, including Indigenous older peoples.
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J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci · Jan 2017
Loneliness and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: Findings From the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey.
To examine the relationship between loneliness and cognitive function and to explore the mediating role of physical health on the loneliness-cognition relationship in Chinese older adults (OAs). ⋯ Loneliness may predict subsequent cognitive decline, and vice versa. This loneliness-cognition relationship is partially explained by their impact on physical health. Multidisciplinary interventions aimed at reducing loneliness and cognitive decline per se and their associated risk factors as well as improving chronic illness management would be beneficial for emotional well-being and cognitive health in OAs.
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J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci · May 2016
Hospice Use, Hospitalization, and Medicare Spending at the End of Life.
Prior studies associate hospice use with reduced hospitalization and spending at the end of life based on all Medicare hospice beneficiaries. In this study, we examine the impact of different lengths of hospice care and nursing home residency on hospital use and spending prior to death across 5 disease groups. ⋯ The Medicare hospice benefit is associated with reduced hospital care at the end of life and reduced Medicare expenditures for most enrollees. Policies that encourage timely initiation of hospice and discourage extremely short stays could increase these successes while maintaining program goals.
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J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci · Sep 2015
Race/Ethnic Differentials in the Health Consequences of Caring for Grandchildren for Grandparents.
The phenomenon of grandparents caring for grandchildren is disproportionately observed among different racial/ethnic groups in the United States. This study examines the influence of childcare provision on older adults' health trajectories in the United States with a particular focus on racial/ethnic differentials. ⋯ Our findings suggest that the health consequences of grandchild care are mixed across different racial/ethnic groups and are further shaped by individual characteristics as well as perhaps cultural context.
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Although empathy is a well-established motivation in younger adults for helping others, it is not known whether this extends to aging. Prioritization of socioemotional goals with age may increase the salience of helping others (i.e., prosocial behavior), but older adults also experience decreased cognitive empathy. Thus, we investigated age-related differences in relationships among empathy and prosocial behavior. ⋯ This suggests that in contexts relevant to socioemotional goals, older adults may be more motivated than younger adults to help others and state emotional empathy may be a potential mechanism for greater prosocial behavior in aging.