Search results for "world"

Quality of life (QOL) of older adult community choral singers in Finland.

2013

ABSTRACTBackground: Enhancing quality of life (QOL) of older adults is an international area of focus. Identifying factors and experiences that contribute to QOL of older adults helps promote optimal levels of functioning. This study examines the relationship between perceived benefits associated with choral singing and QOL among community-dwelling older adults.Methods: One hundred seventeen older adults who sing in community choirs in Jyväskylä, Finland, completed self-report measures of QOL (WHOQOL-Bref), depressive symptoms, and a questionnaire about the benefits of singing in choir. Correlational analyses and linear regression models were used to examine the association between the bene…

Nutrition, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors in the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia

2021

Multiple factors combined are currently recognized as contributors to cognitive decline. The main independent risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia is advanced age followed by other determinants such as genetic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors, including nutrition and physical activity. In the next decades, a rise in dementia cases is expected due largely to the aging of the world population. There are no hitherto effective pharmaceutical therapies to treat age-associated cognitive impairment and dementia, which underscores the crucial role of prevention. A relationship among diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors with cognitive function has been intensive…

The lifelong struggle of Finnish World War II veterans.

2014

Objectives: In many countries veterans from World War II are growing old. Research has shown that war experiences continue to impact those who have been involved in war for a long time. The present study targets old injured war veterans from World War II in Finland. The aim of this study was to produce knowledge of the impact of war experiences and injuries on the lifespan of Finnish war veterans.Method: The method used was grounded theory. Data were collected by interviewing 20 aged war veterans in their homes.Results: The analysis resulted in four categories, with also subcategories: (1) lost childhood and youth; (2) war traumas impacting life; (3) starting life from scratch; and (4) find…

Quality of life of abused older women: moderating influence of coping mechanisms

2019

In 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) brought global attention to elder abuse and the need for prevention in issuing the Toronto Declaration. With the rise in the proportion of people aged 60 and over, but also the spectacular demographic projections for people aged 80 years and older (globally the number of persons aged 80 and over is expected to triple by 2050), how we age, and how well we age is of great concern. Furthermore, there will be a growing need to protect the most vulnerable older people from harm. For the development of policies and interventions, more insight into this complex phenomenon is required. Therefore, the current chapter examines the effect of abuse on the qu…

The future of health communication : innovating through partnerships

2015

The Preamble of the Constitution of the World Health Organization reminds us that «Informed opinion and active cooperation on the part of the public are of the utmost importance in the improvement of the health of the people» (Grad, 2002). Nonetheless, nearly seven decades later, the conditions under which people can be informed and actively participate in their health management in a meaningful way are being globally challenged. Drawing from experience in a variety of areas that I will delve into in this article, I remain a believer that we can marshal the necessary forces to advance the communication of health issues and create a base for a health-literate population to make smart(er), he…

The Program of Health Volunteer Promoters for OlderAdults: The Well-Being of the Volunteers at Leisure Time

2018

The study of ageing processes has gained increased attention in recent years, partly due to the growth of this population group (United Nations, World population prospects: The 2015 revision. New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files/key_findings_wpp_2015.pdf. Accessed 25 Sep 2016, 2015). Research into this area has focused on older adult well-being (Au et al, Clinical Gerontologist 38:203–210, 2015) and the identification of factors having an influence on well-being at this stage of the life cycle (Carstensen, Current Directions in Psychological Science 4:151–156, 1995). These lines of research have emphasized the con…

Active Travel and Mild Cognitive Impairment among Older Adults from Low- and Middle-Income Countries

2021

Active travel may be an easily achievable form of physical activity for older people especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), but there are currently no studies on how this form of physical activity is associated with a preclinical state of dementia known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between active travel and MCI among adults aged ≥50 years from six LMICs. Cross-sectional, community-based data from the World Health Organization’s Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health were analyzed. The definition of MCI was based on the National Institute on Ageing-Alzheimer’s Association criteria. Active travel (minutes/week) was as…

2006

The first world wide symposium on the topic of gender-specific medicine provided the latest research on differences in sex and/or gender in medicine and medical care. The presentations ranged beyond the topic of reproduction to encompass the entire human organism. This report critically reviews three issues that emerged during the Conference: gender mainstreaming, the concept of sex/gender differences and the issue of men's health. It suggests that the interdisciplinary concept of gender-specific medicine has to be mirrored by the integration of social and cultural studies into medical research and practice.

The state of stroke services across the globe: Report of World Stroke Organization–World Health Organization surveys

2021

Background Improving stroke services is critical for reducing the global stroke burden. The World Stroke Organization–World Health Organization– Lancet Neurology Commission on Stroke conducted a survey of the status of stroke services in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared to high-income countries. Methods Using a validated World Stroke Organization comprehensive questionnaire, we collected and compared data on stroke services along four pillars of the stroke quadrangle (surveillance, prevention, acute stroke, and rehabilitation) in 84 countries across World Health Organization regions and economic strata. The World Health Organization also conducted a survey of non-communicabl…

Entrepreneurial choices depend on trust : Some global evidence

2022

Interpersonal trust and people’s trust in institutions are important components of social capital, which has been shown to have not only innate social value but also diverse direct and indirect positive social and economic impacts. Using data for an economically and globally diverse group of countries, we examine empirically how changes in interpersonal trust and trust in institutions affect entrepreneurship over time. Our findings suggest that (1) enhancing either type of trust leads to more entrepreneurial activity and (2) an increase in interpersonal trust causes a structural change in the composition of the TEA-type entrepreneurship. Increased trust reduces the share of relatively lower…