Aging & mental health
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Family carers of people with dementia have higher than average rates of suicidal ideation, but there has been no research on homicidal ideation in this population. The aim of this study was to explore thoughts of homicide in family carers of people with dementia. ⋯ Homicidal ideation is a real and significant phenomenon among family carers of people with dementia. Service providers and health professionals are encouraged to identify and support carers contemplating homicide, but to do so in a way that recognises the broader social context of carer burden.
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Aging & mental health · Sep 2016
Short STAI-Y anxiety scales: validation and normative data for elderly subjects.
The aim of this study was to develop short forms of the STAI-Y trait and state scales and associated norms suitable for the screening of anxiety in elderly populations. ⋯ Both shortened scales have similar factorial structure and internal consistency to the longer scales and classify anxious/non-anxious elderly with acceptable accuracy. The shorter form is likely to be more acceptable to elderly persons through reduction of fatigue effects.
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Aging & mental health · Sep 2016
Resistiveness to care during assistance with activities of daily living in non-institutionalized persons with dementia: associations with informal caregivers' stress and well-being.
Resistiveness to care (RTC) refers to behavior problems that co-occur during assistance with activities of daily living (ADL). RTC are considered challenging, but are mostly studied in institutions with implications for patients and formal caregivers. RTC is associated with agitation, but agitation is considered a separate construct. Detection of RTC may be left out of common assessments of persons with dementia in studies of informal caregiving (e.g. global assessments of dementia behavioral symptoms, standard assessments of ADL function). This study examines how RTC (frequency and caregivers' stress appraisals of RTC) is related to caregivers' well-being. ⋯ RTC is common in persons with dementia residing at home, and RTC has more negative association with informal caregivers' well-being than assistance with ADL. Adding RTC frequency and appraisal items to standard ADL measures may better estimate caregivers' needs and risk, and identify modifiable environmental features by assessing behavioral symptoms in context.
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Aging & mental health · Aug 2016
Validation of the Arabic Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (A-RUDAS) in elderly with mild and moderate dementia.
Validated screening tests for dementia in Arabic are lacking. Given the low levels of education among elderly in the Middle East and North Africa region, the commonly used screening instrument, the Mini Mental State Examination, is not best suited. Alternatively, the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) was especially designed to minimize the effects of cultural learning and education. The aim of this study was to validate the RUDAS in the Arabic language (A-RUDAS), evaluate its ability to screen for mild and moderate dementia, and assess the effect of education, sex, age, depression, and recruitment site on its performance. ⋯ The A-RUDAS is proposed for dementia screening in clinical practice and in research in Arabic-speaking populations with an optimal cutoff of ≤22.
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Aging & mental health · Jan 2016
ReviewA systematic review of physical illness, functional disability, and suicidal behaviour among older adults.
To conduct a systematic review of studies that examined associations between physical illness/functional disability and suicidal behaviour (including ideation, nonfatal and fatal suicidal behaviour) among individuals aged 65 and older. ⋯ Functional disability, as well as a number of specific physical illnesses, was shown to be associated with suicidal behaviour in older adults. We need to learn more about what at-risk, physically ill patients want, and need, to inform prevention efforts for older adults.