The benefits of being a senior mentor: Cultivating resilience through the mentorship of health professions students

ABSTRACT

Senior Mentor Programs (SMPs) pair community-dwelling older adults with health professions students to facilitate knowledge, improve communication skills, and promote positive attitudes regarding the aging process. Although evidence exists that SMPs meet these goals, the programs’ psychosocial impact on the senior mentors remains unexplored. The current study assessed 101 mostly female (64.4%) senior mentors (M age = 77.6) pre- and postprogram. Although mentors had no change in the amount of perceived ageism experienced or expectation of experiencing ageism, their concern/anxiety over ageism significantly decreased from pre- (M = 21.58) to posttest (M = 20.19). Qualitative thematic analysis indicated meaningfulness of program and scheduling difficulties as prevalent themes. Mentors who reported less concern about ageism following the program were more likely to have experienced ageism in the year prior to the program and to attend religious services more often, another potential intergenerational contact. These results highlight possible benefits of mentor service for older adults.     

抗疫精神引领中医药院校学生就业观培养的耦合研究

伟大的抗疫精神是对当代中国实践精神的生动诠释,其丰富的内涵与中医药院校学生就业观的培养具有一致的逻辑起点、同样的精神归宿和向上的价值引领.将伟大抗疫精神作为就业思政的重要着力点,通过"常存仁爱之心、常修奉献之德、常立报效之志、常为登攀之行、常抒家国之情"5个方面的就业观路径培养,促使中医药院校学生形成良好的就业观、成才...     

Population ageing and dental care

Population ageing is a fact in both developed and developing countries. The concern about population ageing largely arises from the combination of a greater number of older people requiring greater amounts of healthcare services and pensions, and relatively fewer people working to pay for them. Oral health and dental care are important aspects of health and health care. Lower rates of edentulism and an ageing population mean that older people will feature more prominently in dental services. Traditionally, economic studies of ageing have focused on the fiscal implications of ageing, projecting the increased burden on health and welfare services that accompanies ageing. It assumed that ageing is the major driver of recent changes and those past trends will simply be amplified by faster population ageing in the future. Less work has been done to understand other past drivers of increased healthcare spending and their implications for the future. The conclusion of these reports is usually that population ageing is unaffordable with current policy settings. They have proposed policies to deal with population ageing which focused on increasing workforce participation and worker productivity to increase the tax base and reducing entitlements. However, the affordability question is as much political as a numerical. There are no clearly articulated criteria for affordability and little opportunity for public discourse about what citizens are willing to pay in taxes to support an ageing population. While the reports do not necessarily reflect public opinion, they will certainly shape it. Predicting the future for oral health is more fraught than for general health, as oral health is in the midst of an epidemiological transition from high rates of edentulism and tooth loss to low rates. Changes in the pattern of dental expenditure in the past do not mirror the experience of rapid increases in per capita expenditure on older age groups as regards general health. Dentistry's marginal status means that less work has been done to understand the future consequences of these changes and how they will interact with population ageing. Further than this though, we need to understand why the future might look as these projections suggest, so that we may look at ways that it can be shaped.     

A 15-yr longitudinal study of xerostomia in a Swedish population of 50-yr-old subjects

The aim of this study was to determine the changes in prevalence of xerostomia in subjects from 50 to 65 yr of age. Questionnaires were sent to all subjects who were born in 1942 and were living in two Swedish counties in 1992, 1997, 2002, and 2007. The analyses focused on those who answered the questionnaires both in 1992 and in 2007. The response rate was 71.4% ( n  = 6,346) in 1992 and 73.1% ( n  =   6,078) in 2007. Of those who answered the questionnaire in 1992, 74.3% ( n  =   4,714) also responded in 2007. There was an almost linear increase in the prevalence of xerostomia at the four study time-points (i.e. when the subjects were 50, 55, 60, and 65 yr of age). Xerostomia was more prevalent at night than during the day. The pooled prevalence of night-time and daytime xerostomia was 6% at 50 yr of age and 15% at 65 yr of age, and it was higher in women than in men on both occasions. Logistic regression analyses showed that impaired health and smoking were significantly associated with daytime xerostomia but not with night-time xerostomia. Despite the increase in prevalence of xerostomia from 50 to 65 yr of age, there was considerable variation during the observation period. The incidence rate was 13% (507/4,015) and the disappearance rate was 42% (104/250) (dichotomized answers).     

Characterization of Solar-Aged Porous Silicon Carbide for Concentrated Solar Power Receivers

Porous silicon carbide is a promising material for ceramic receivers in next-generation concentrated solar power receivers. To investigate its tolerance to thermal shock, accelerated ageing of large coupons (50 × 50 × 5 mm) was conducted in a solar furnace to investigate the effects of thermal cycling up to 1000 °C, with gradients of up to 22 °C/mm. Non-destructive characterization by computed X-ray tomography and ultrasonic inspection could detect cracking from thermal stresses, and this informed the preparation of valid specimens for thermophysical characterization. The effect of thermal ageing on transient thermal properties, as a function of temperature, was investigated by using the light-flash method. The thermophysical properties were affected by increasing the severity of the ageing conditions; thermal diffusivity decreased by up to 10% and specific heat by up to 5%.     

Association of Daily Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour with Protein Intake Patterns in Older Adults: A Multi-Study Analysis across Five Countries

Physical activity and protein intake are associated with ageing-related outcomes, including loss of muscle strength and functional decline, so may contribute to strategies to improve healthy ageing. We investigated the cross-sectional associations between physical activity or sedentary behaviour and protein intake patterns in community-dwelling older adults across five countries. Self-reported physical activity and dietary intake data were obtained from two cohort studies (Newcastle 85+ Study, UK; LiLACS, New Zealand Māori and Non-Māori) and three national food consumption surveys (DNFCS, The Netherlands; FINDIET, Finland; INRAN-SCAI, Italy). Associations between physical activity and total protein intake, number of eating occasions providing protein, number of meals with specified protein thresholds, and protein intake distribution over the day (calculated as a coefficient of variance) were assessed by regression and repeated measures ANOVA models adjusting for covariates. Greater physical activity was associated with higher total protein intake and more eating occasions containing protein, although associations were mostly explained by higher energy intake. Comparable associations were observed for sedentary behaviour in older adults in Italy. Evidence for older people with higher physical activity or less sedentary behaviour achieving more meals with specified protein levels was mixed across the five countries. A skewed protein distribution was observed, with most protein consumed at midday and evening meals without significant differences between physical activity or sedentary behaviour levels. Findings from this multi-study analysis indicate there is little evidence that total protein and protein intake patterns, irrespective of energy intake, differ by physical activity or sedentary behaviour levels in older adults.     

随州市中学生艾滋病相关知识五年纵向调查结果分析

目的 了解2005-2009年随州市中学生艾滋病防制知识、态度和需求,为防治艾滋病的干预措施和干预效果评价提供相关信息和依据.方法 用整群抽样的方法 对随州市高中二年级学生进行自填表式问卷调查,所有资料经Epidata 3.0软件进行录入,用SPSS 16.0软件进行数据统计分析.结果 随着年度的变化,随州市中学生艾滋...     

上海市普陀区职业人群职业病防治相关知识和态度分析

[目的]调查上海市普陀区不同职业人群职业病防治的知识和态度情况,为有效开展全区职业病防治宣传工作提供参考依据。[方法]2010年4—5月份,采用分层随机抽样的方法,抽取普陀区550名不同职业人群进行问卷调查,并分析年龄、性别、在沪生活时间、职业、文化程度等因素对职业病防治知识、态度的影响。[结果]不同年龄、在沪生活时间、职业、文化程度的人群,职业病防治相关知识和态度均存在明显差异。不同年龄组的密闭空间作业危害知晓率和了解防治知识的意愿不完全相同（χ^2=15．80、9．89,P〈0．05）。不同性别职业人群的知识态度无明显差异（P〉0．05）;在沪生活时间半年以上者对职业病防治法、密闭空间作业危害、下水道和清污作业危害的知晓率和纱布口罩无防尘效果的知晓率、喷涂和涂刷作业个人防护用品使用的正确率、了解防治知识的意愿均明显高于在沪生活半年以下者（依次χ^2=21．76、4．07、23．51、5．77、21．77、6．94,P〈0．05）;由于文化程度的不同,密闭空间作业危害知晓率、下水道和清污作业危害知晓率、噪声防护措施正确率、喷涂和涂刷作业个人防护用品使用正确率、了解防治知识的意愿并不完全相同（依次χ^2=38．09、50．04、49．35、16．62、23．65,P〈0．05）。不同职业人群的职业病防治工作负责部门知晓率、电焊作业危害知晓率、下水道和清污作业危害知晓率、噪声防护措施正确率、纱布口罩无防尘效果知晓率、喷涂和涂刷作业个人防护用品使用正确率、了解防治知识的意愿方面不完全相同（依次χ^2=17．41、11．29、32．98、30．78、28．15、13．51、23．82,P〈0．05）。[结论]开展职业病防治知识的宣传工作应针对不同职业人群的特点采用有针对性的措施。     

家长对小学生零食消费相关行为的影响

[目的]了解上海市静安区小学生家长零食消费相关知识和态度及其对小学生零食消费行为的影响。[方法]采用整群抽样的方法,对1446名小学生家长进行自填式问卷调查。数据采用统计描述及单因素和多因素线性回归分析。[结果]分别有57．61％、42．19％、11．00％的家长不反对用零食鼓励（奖励）孩子,饭前（后）半小时吃零食,孩子利用零食代替正餐;多因素线性回归分析结果显示,小学生零食消费相关行为与家长零食消费知识、态度[如零食可否用来鼓励（奖励）孩子、广告宣传的零食可否任意食用、每天吃零食的次数等]有密切联系（P〈0．05）。[结论]家长的零食消费相关知识、态度对小学生零食消费行为有影响,在合理引导小学生进行消费零食过程中,必须加强针对家长上述问题的官传教育。     

社区卫生服务专业人员基本职业卫生服务的知识、态度、行为调查

[目的]了解社区卫生服务中心（community health service,CHS）专业人员对基本职业卫生服务（basic occupational health selwcice,BOHS）的知信行现状,为制订相关政策提供依据。[方法]通过填写调查表,了解上海市浦东新区33家CHS52名职业卫生相关人员的基本构成、对BOHS的概念及原则的知晓情况、工作量及工作方法、对开展BOHS的支持度及目前的主要问题。[结果]调查问卷应答率为89．7％。接受调查者的文化程度较高,以医学相关专业为主,对BOHS的知晓率为86．5％,大多了解BOHS基本原则。90％以上的受调查者支持BOHS政策并乐意积极参与,普遍认为政策支持是最主要的影响因素;职业卫生工作占工作量的比例平均为31．7％,工作内容以督导企业职业健康检查为主,与卫生监督部门合作较多。[结论]该区CHS专业人员对BOHS有较全面的理解,具有参与BOHS的能力和优势。但人员不足、工作量较少、年龄偏大;需要政策和技术支持,同时服务理念尚需进一步调整。