PURPOSE To investigate the characteristics and change in use among very old Swedish users and non-users of assistive devices (ADs) for mobility and personal care, over a six-year period, and to investigate factors predicting AD use over a six-year period. METHOD Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to analyse quantitative data from a subsample from the Swedish part of the ...

OBJECTIVES Personal and equipment assistance are often used to reduce disability. This study predicts use of assistance, type of assistance, and its efficacy (improvement with assistance) for disabilities in personal care and household management tasks. METHODS U.S. community-dwellers aged 55+ are studied using the 1994-1995 National Health Interview Survey Disability Supplement. Three types ...

Two studies assessed the role of self-compassion as a moderator of the relationship between physical health and subjective well-being in the elderly. In Study 1, 132 participants, ranging in age from 67-90 years, completed a questionnaire that assessed their perceptions of their physical health, self-compassion, and subjective well-being. Participants who were in good physical health had high s...

Increasingly, commissioners and providers of services for people with intellectual disabilities are turning to assistive technology and telecare as a potential solution to the problem of the increased demand for services, brought about by an expanding population of people with intellectual disabilities in the context of relatively static or diminishing resources. While there are numerous potent...

The purposes of this study were to 1) present a standardized approach for describing gait when assistive devices are used, 2) report reference data for unassisted and assisted gait patterns for normal adults, and 3) discuss clinical implications for selected variables of gait. Using an automated gait system, measurements for temporal and distance factors and accelerometry were obtained for 25 n...

BACKGROUND Adaptations and assistive technology (AT) have an important role in enabling older people to remain in their own homes. OBJECTIVE To measure the feasibility and cost of adaptations and AT, and the scope for these to substitute and supplement formal care. DESIGN Detailed design studies to benchmark the adaptability of 82 properties against the needs of seven notional users. SETT...

BACKGROUND Older Indigenous adults encounter multiple challenges as their age intersects with health inequities. Research suggests that a majority of older Indigenous adults prefer to age in place, and they will need culturally safe assistive technologies to do so. OBJECTIVE The aim of this critical review was to examine literature concerning use, adaptation, and development of assistive tech...