Vw Lou

Relationship between adherence to tradition and depression in Chinese elders in China.

This study examined the relationship between adherence to tradition and depression in a large sample (N = 1502) of Chinese elders living in the Peoples Republic of China. In Chinese traditional culture, an elders purpose, meaning and self-worth are derived, in large, from their social roles within the family and community. As the traditional culture declines so do these familiar roles, supports, and ways of coping. This constitutes a major loss which can have a variety of psychosocial consequences, one of which could be depression. The elders in our study responded to a nine-item measure of traditional mutual aid and intergenerational exchange. Depression was measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Regression analysis found a significant and negative relationship between tradition and depression which suggests that adherence to tradition may have protective benefits. These findings have application with elders in China as well as with those who are immigrants to other societies.

Trajectories of social engagement and depressive symptoms among long-term care facility residents in Hong Kong

BACKGROUND although social engagement and depressive symptoms are important concerns for long-term care facility residents, the dynamic relationship between them has not been adequately studied. OBJECTIVE this study examines the relationship between social engagement and depressive symptoms and changes in social engagement and depressive symptoms among Chinese residents of long-term care facilities over 6 years. DESIGN AND METHODS a latent growth model was used to analyse six waves of data collected using the Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set 2.0 in the Hong Kong Longitudinal Study on Long-Term Care Facility Residents. Ten residential facilities with a total of 1,184 eligible older adults at baseline were included in the study. RESULTS after controlling for demographic variables at baseline, a higher level of social engagement was associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Trajectories of social engagement were significantly related to trajectories of depressive symptoms. Participants who recorded positive social engagement growth reported reduction in depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION the findings of our study extend previous research by showing that increased social engagement is associated with decreased depressive symptoms over time. In long-term residential care settings, it is important for services to engage residents in meaningful social activities in order to reduce depressive symptoms.

Chinese older adults’ resilience to the loneliness of living alone: A qualitative study

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate resilience factors that help Chinese older adults living alone cope with senses of loneliness. Method: Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted on 13 older adults living alone in the community who did not show severe loneliness. Trained research assistants conducted interviews guided by semi-structured interview guidelines. The analysis followed a five-step interpretive approach. Results: The primary theme of resilience was found in cognitive competence, self and personality, and social relations. The secondary theme of resilience showed a family-oriented, relationship-focused resilience coping, which is in line with Chinese culture. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that family-oriented and relationship-focused resilience at the cognitive, self and personality, and social relations levels played significant roles in helping the Chinese older adults overcome their high risk of loneliness. Developing and maintaining dynamic daily rhythms that can integrate family-oriented and relationship-focused coping strategies at the cognitive and social levels are recommended.

Psychosocial risk factors associated with falls among Chinese community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong.

This study examined the relationship between psychosocial factors and falls among community-dwelling older adults in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China. The study included 1573 adults aged 60 or above who lived at home and who were applying for long-term care services. These participants were part of a large cross-sectional survey carried out between 2003 and 2004 in which they completed the Hong Kong Chinese version of the Resident Assessment Instrument-Home Care (RAI-HC) assessment. Of those persons who were surveyed, 516 (32.8%, 95% CI 30.5% to 35.2%) had fallen in the previous 90 days. Bivariate analyses showed that five psychosocial factors (depressive symptoms, fear of falling, a decline in social activities, the number of hours of informal care support during weekdays and living alone) were significantly associated with falls (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed living alone (odds ratio (OR) = 0.62; 95% CI 0.44 to 0.86) was the only psychosocial factor significantly associated with falls, after adjusting for the known significant factors related to falls. It was also found that more elders who lived with others had environmental hazards than those who lived alone (71.0% vs 29.0%, chi2 = 4.80, P = 0.028). These findings suggested that living with others may not be as safe as we assume. Interventions to increase awareness of home safety and to seek co-operation with family members in falls prevention are recommended. Fall preventive strategies should be educated to family members who are living with frail older adults. On the other hand, Chinese older adults who live alone often receive support from relatives or friends. Social support seems to be crucial to prevent them from falls and this measure is recommended to be continued in the community.

Assessing tradition in Chinese elders living in a changing social environment : Implications for social work practice

SUMMARY Social workers are increasingly challenged to provide culturally sensitive services to older immigrants from diverse backgrounds. Assessment tools developed in the elders own cultural context can maximize appropriate assessment and planning. This article describes the development of a tool for measuring adherence to tradition in Chinese elders. In Chinese tradition, an elders purpose, meaning, and self-worth are derived, in large part, from their contribution to family, relatives, and the community. Existing measures of filial piety and acculturation do not capture this dimension. Filial piety involves being on the receiving end of care, honor, and obedience from younger generations. Acculturation is the opposite of adherence to tradition. One thousand five-hundred and two Chinese elders in China were asked questions on mutual aid and intergenerational exchange. Factor analysis extracted nine items loading into two factors reflective of traditional exchange. This measure could prove useful in understanding the effect of traditional beliefs upon various psychosocial outcomes.

Multicomponent intervention on enhancing dementia caregiver well‐being and reducing behavioral problems among Hong Kong Chinese: a translational study based on REACH II

This study examined the effectiveness of a translated version of Resources for Enhancing Alzheimers Caregiver Health (REACH) II in Hong Kongs service delivery context.

Career Preferences of Social Work Students in Beijing and Shanghai

Professional social work is a recent development in China. This article reports the results of a survey of social work students (n = 1331) in Beijing and Shanghai concerning their career preferences, the work they intend to be doing in five years time and their views about the training that they were receiving. The sample included students from sub-degree, Bachelor and Masters degree levels in all years. Results indicated that social work is strongly linked with individual counselling and psychotherapy which is preferred over work with families and groups. Community work and resource mobilization were relatively less popular despite being the most appropriate modality for the social problems that Beijing and Shanghai face. Students show a marked preference for working in government or other large organizations. After graduation, those in degree programmes hoped to move into administration and management. Fewer students were interested in grassroots work. Many of those studying at Masters level intended to become university based social work teachers. Limitations of the research included the cross-sectional nature of the design, lack of information about the levels of motivation of social work students, and limitations to the generalizability of the findings as Shanghai and Beijing are not necessarily representative of China.

Positive aspects of caregiving (PAC): Scale validation among Chinese dementia caregivers (CG)

OBJECTIVES This study validates the psychometric properties of the PAC scale among Hong Kong Chinese informal dementia caregivers. METHODS Three hundred and seventy-four caregivers responded to questionnaires including the Chinese version of the PAC scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), occurrence of problem behaviors, caregiver bother, caregiver confidence, and self-rated health (SRH). Translation and back translation were conducted in translating the PAC scale. RESULTS Results of an exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) suggest two components in the 11-item Chinese PAC (C-PAC) scale, namely enriching life and affirming self. C-PAC demonstrates satisfactory reliability. Criteria-related validity of C-PAC is suggested by significant correlations with CES-D, SRH, occurrence of problem behaviors, caregiver bother, and caregiver confidence. CONCLUSION Our results support the psychometric properties of C-PAC among Hong Kong Chinese caregivers. This brief measure may help interventionists identify psychological resources of caregivers and capitalize these resources during strength-based interventions.

Neighborhood support network, perceived proximity to community facilities and depressive symptoms among low socioeconomic status Chinese elders.

Objectives: Depressive symptoms are common in older people; most previous research on elderly depression focused on individual-level characteristics or neighborhood socioeconomic status. Modifiable neighborhood characteristics of older people dwelling in low-income communities are under-studied. This study aims to identify potentially modifiable social and physical neighborhood characteristics that influence depressive symptoms independent of individual-level characteristics among older Chinese. Method: Data came from a cross-sectional survey conducted in four low-income public rental housing estates in Hong Kong in 2012. We interviewed a total of 400 elderly residents. The structured questionnaire covered demographics, activities of daily living, recent fall history, neighborhood support networks, and perceived proximity by walk to community facilities. Multiple regression was used to test whether inclusion of neighborhood factors in addition to individual characteristics increases model fit in explaining depressive symptoms in elders with low socioeconomic status. Results: At individual level, activities of daily living and income significantly predicted depressive symptoms. Receiving support from friends or neighbors is associated with fewer depressive symptoms. However, participants who received organizational support had a 1.17 points of increase on the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). At-ease walkable proximity to medical facilities was positively associated with a better GDS score. Conclusion: Neighborhood support networks and perceived proximity by walk to community facilities contribute significantly to depressive symptoms among low-income elders. Programs and policies that facilitate neighborhood support and commuting or promote facility accessibility may help ameliorate depressive symptoms common among low-income elders.

Development and validation of the Chinese Health Literacy Scale for Chronic Care.

This study aims to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Chinese Health Literacy Scale for Chronic Care (CHLCC). This is a methodological study with a sample of 262 patients 65 years of age and older who had chronic illnesses. Pearsons correlation, independent sample t tests, and analyses of variance were used. The CHLCC showed a significant positive correlation with Chinese literacy levels (r = 0.80; p < .001) but was negatively correlated with age (r =−0.31; p <.001). Respondents who were male (t =4.34; p <.001) and who had reached Grade 12 or higher in school (F = 51.80; p <.001) had higher CHLCC scores than did their counterparts. Individuals with high levels of health literacy had fewer hospitalizations than did their counterparts (β =−0.31; incidence rate ratio = 0.73; p <.05). The CHLCC also displayed good internal reliability (Cronbachsα =0.91) and good test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.77; p <.01). The CHLCC is a valid and reliable measure for assessing health literacy among Chinese patients with chronic illness. The scale could be used by practitioners before implementing health promotion and education.