Objective: To construct a needs assessment instrument for older people using a standardized terminology (International classification of functioning, disability, and health [ICF]) and assess its psychometrical properties. Method: An instrument was developed comprising questions to older people regarding their perceived care needs. The instrument's…

Introduction: The literature indicates that few studies have been conducted with persons with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) concerning mobile application or "app" usage. The current study explores the use of mobile apps with this population globally. Methods: A total of 259 participants with visual…

Background: Despite awareness of the age related health needs of people with intellectual disabilities little is known regarding how residential social care staff are prepared to meet such needs. Methods: Data were gathered via semi-structured interviews from 14 managers of supported living settings. Transcripts were thematically analysed.…

The aging process makes older adults vulnerable to the detrimental health effects of environmental contaminants. Our study assessed older adults' perceptions regarding diet as protective against environmental contaminants, levels of concern about exposure to environmental contaminants, and interest in learning about protective food-related…

In this article, the discussion of loss and its relationship to learning is based on the analysis of interview data from 39 older adults in Hong Kong and 40 in Australia. The focus of the research was on ageing and learning. The phenomenon of life changes, specifically losses, and their relationship to learning was frequently mentioned, and this…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to assess speech processing for listeners with simulated age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and to investigate whether the observed performance can be replicated using an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system. The long-term goal of this research is to develop a system that will assist…

Apart from a handful of studies (e.g., Kinney 1956), linguists know little about what variation exists in Hawaiian and what factors constrain the variation. In this paper, we present an analysis of phonetic variation in the word "keia," meaning "this," examining the social, linguistic, and probabilistic factors that constrain…

This study aimed at investigating the ability to learn regularities across the life span and examine whether this learning process can be supported or hampered by verbalizations. For this purpose, children (aged 8-10 years) and younger (aged 19-30 years) and older (aged 70-80 years) adults took part in a sequence learning experiment. We found that…

Skeletal muscle contraction is associated with the production of ROS due to altered O[subscript 2] distribution and flux in the cell. Despite a highly efficient antioxidant defense, a small surplus of ROS, such as hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide, may serve as signaling molecules to stimulate cellular adaptation to reach new homeostasis largely…

Purpose: We tested whether using hearing aids can improve unaided performance in speech perception tasks in older adults with hearing impairment. Method: Unaided performance was evaluated in dichotic listening and speech-­in-­noise tests in 47 older adults with hearing impairment; 36 participants in 3 study groups were tested before hearing aid…

Efficient memory is one of the necessary cognitive potentials required for virtually every form of lifelong learning. In this contribution we first briefly review and summarize state of the art of knowledge on memory and related cognitive functions in normal aging. Then we critically discuss a relatively short inventory of clinical, psychometric,…

Background: There are a significant number of adults with a learning disability who live with and are cared for by their parents. There is a pressing need for interventions to support older parent carers with their role and to plan for a time when they can no longer continue caring. This article reports on the experiences of older parent carers…

People aging with severe disabilities face many age- and disability-related challenges that are shared with a range of family members and other caregivers. Although these challenges are often exacerbated by substantial physical, cognitive, communication, health, and other impairments associated with severe disabilities, thematically, they are…

General practitioners (GPs) play a pivotal role in dementia recognition, yet research suggests that dementia often remains undetected in primary care. Lack of knowledge might be a major contributing factor to low recognition rates. Our objective was to address a gap in the scientific literature by exploring GPs' knowledge on dementia and mild…

It is forecast that ageing baby boomers will have a substantial impact on future health expenditure. The primary aim of this study is to explore the perceived health benefits of later life university study for baby boomers. An online survey of Australian baby boomers examined their beliefs regarding the health benefits of studying at university in…