Objective: To investigate physical activity among older people living alone in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, and key factors contributing to their physical activity. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was administered in nine communities in Shanghai, using a stratified random cluster sample: 521 community-dwelling older people…

This report examines how the two global mega-trends of population ageing and rising inequalities have been developing and interacting, both within and across generations. Taking a life-course perspective the report shows how inequalities in education, health, employment and earnings compound, resulting in large differences in lifetime earnings…

Having a pet has been claimed to have beneficial health effects, but methodologically sound empirical studies are scarce. Small sample sizes and a lack of information about the specific type of pets involved make it difficult to draw unambiguous conclusions. We aimed to shed light on the relationship between pet ownership and several health…

With rising longevity, increasing numbers of older people are experiencing changes in their everyday family and social life, changes in their financial status, and a greater number of chronic conditions affecting their health. We took the opportunity to explore these relationships with worry in a group of volunteer community-living elderly (n =…

The purpose of this study was to examine connections between health literacy and social communication skills in older adults, a population that experiences chronic health conditions but is reported to have low health literacy and declines in communication skills. Sixty-three older adults were administered the "Social Communication"…

Due to increasing life expectancy over time, persons who live into their nineties, known as nonagenarians, are an important and growing segment of the Canadian population. In 2001, there were 130,325 nonagenarians (compared to 3,795 centenarians), and it is estimated that they will top 400,000 by 2026. This paper provides a health profile and an…

Purpose: Many older patients with common chronic conditions also experience chronic pain. We examined how chronic pain affects patients' difficulty with recommended self-management activities and the potential intervening role of self-efficacy (the level of confidence in one's own ability to perform a specific task). Design and Methods: We…

Analysis of national medical data identified elderly nursing home residents with an elevated risk of hospitalization and the characteristics of their hospital stays. Findings indicate an elevated risk of hospitalization for residents diagnosed with one of several different primary diagnoses. Infections accounted for over 25% of hospital stays.…

This study aimed at adapting the Questionnaire Quality of Life in Epilepsy (QOLIE-89 version 1.0: Vickrey et al., 1993), Quality of Life in Epilepsy QoLIE-89 RAND (Santa Monica, CA)] so that it may be used to measure quality of life (QoL) of older adults, healthy or suffering from various chronic illnesses. The participants were 202 older adults…