Objetivo: identificar los factores asociados a la vulnerabilidad cognitiva de los adultos mayores en tres ciudades de Colombia en el año 2016. Materiales y método: se condujo un estudio cuantitativo, ...transversal analítico, con fuente de información primaria, encuestando a 1514 adultos mayores residentes en la zona urbana de Barranquilla, Medellín y Pasto, empleando muestreo probabilístico bietápico. La condición cognitiva se evaluó con el Mini Examen Cognoscitivo modificado. Se realizaron análisis univariados, bivariados y multivariados, cálculos estadísticos y epidemiológicos, intervalos de confianza y pruebas estadísticas menores del 5%. Resultados: el riesgo de deterioro cognitivo se presentó en un 5,1% en Medellín, un 2,7% en Pasto y un 1,7% en Barranquilla, predominantemente en hombres, con edades entre los 75 y 89 años, sin pareja y con bajos niveles de escolaridad. El 100% de quienes tenían deterioro cognitivo refieren no realizar actividad física, el 13% reportaron depresión y el 7,7% soporte social escaso. Conclusiones: los factores asociados a la vulnerabilidad cognitiva de los adultos mayores incluyen características demográficas, sociales y de estilos de vida. Es importante considerar estos resultados en las políticas de salud para la población de adultos mayores con el fin de reorientar la atención en la prevención de la vulnerabilidad cognitiva.
Passive dynamic walking is one of the walking modes for a biped robot. In this mode, each leg is driven by gravitational force and the walk continues as a series of inverted pendulums. Although it is ...an energy efficient walk mode, it is known as a highly conditionsensitive method. For this, we proposed a sole shape design that achieves stability of walking over a wide range of conditions such as inclination and surface of a road. This sole shape is designed to provide a recovery force by pressing onto a floor in cases where the body inclines too much. The stabilization effect is easily applicable to human shoes by simple attachments onto soles. By using this stabilization effect shoes, walking support, especially for elder persons not to turn over, is expected to be achieved naturally without any external power. We conducted preliminary experiments with elder persons using the shoes. As the result, it was shown that the most users felt ease to walk on flat floor and slight slopes.
Our previous study suggested that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) during the maximum voluntary muscle contraction (MVC) has a potential to facilitate motor neuron function in humans. ...Objective: To evaluate the effects of TMS with MVC for serial 4 days to facilitate motor neuron function in elder persons, motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and the maximum pinching muscle force were recorded sequentially. Methods: Four MEPs in the first digital interossei (FDI) muscle elicited by TMS during MVC for pinching a strain-gauge transducer with MVC for 2 seconds were recorded before and at an each 15 minutes interval until 1 hour after 4 MVC (test condition). In a control condition, sham TMS was employed except that real TMS was delivered to record MEPs before and 1 hour after the onset of TMS with MVC. Results: MEP amplitudes or areas in FDI muscle and pinching muscle force were significantly increased by TMS with MVC. Pinching muscle force tended to be significantly larger before starting TMS with MVC from the day 2 to the day 4 in the test condition in comparison with the control condition. Changes of MEP sizes did not significantly difer between the groups. Conclusion: Although TMS with MVC for serial days may raise muscle power of the bottom, we need further studies to confirm this effect of TMS with MVC.
The issue of care workers working for elder persons is becoming increasing important. Since their working conditions and environments have been uncomfortable and sometimes poor, many soon quit, ...leading to a shortage of care workers. The purpose of this article is to examine the causal process of turnover intention, focusing on factors leading to care worker burnout, and thereby to suggest remedial policies. We issue a challenge to build a new analytical model to investigate care worker intentions and behavior. In this study we conduct research covering 203 care workers in Fukuoka Prefecture and analyze the structure of burnout and the background of turnover behavior by personal credo/value, characters (Big Five), organizational commitment, the gap between expectations and reality, and role conflict with superiors, clients, and coworkers.
This article describes the evaluation of an innovative nursing education curriculum project, preventive home visiting practice, which began full implementation in 2015, in terms of students' learning ...outcomes. For the purpose of learning how elder persons live in community, all the 327 undergraduate nursing students, from freshmen to seniors, provided monthly or bi‐monthly visits to home‐dwelling elderly persons aged 75 or above in their home over 1 year period, in order to provide support for their independent living and to learn from them. The students' reports submitted at the end of the first academic year were qualitatively analyzed to evaluate what they learned. They acquired multiple perspectives for understanding elder persons, including a variety of individual and environmental aspects of wellness, prevention, and community life. They also acknowledged the importance of team practice through working and collaborating with different grade levels and generations. Overall, the observed learning contents were useful for future nursing education with elder persons and facilitating critical changes in nursing education systems to address the problems of aged society.
This paper presents an application of computer technology for music recreation in a nursing home using automatic music accompaniment system "Eurydice" and score of vertical line notation. It is ...considered that music recreation can help prevent or improve dementia. We implemented two types of tapping processing for music progression used any key on Eurydice. Moreover we have asked elder person who is a piano beginner to play the piano using VLN score. We report on our activities of applying our system for 10 months.
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