Browsing by Author "Alves, Sara"
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- Centenarians´ quality of life and the role of health and living contextPublication . Brandão, Daniela; Duarte, Natália; Araújo, Lia; Alves, Sara; Teixeira, Laetitia; Ribeiro, OscarIntroduction: The interest of the scientic community to study the centenarian population has been growing due to the signicant expansion of life expectancy and human longevity. Evidences about their quality of life (QoL) are, nevertheless, still limited. Different conceptualizations of QoL, the overvaluation of the negative aspects of advanced age and the heterogeneity of the oldest old are some issues that could explain the difculties in this assessment. Objectives: This study aims to analyze the perceived QoL in a sample of centenarians and analyze if there are significant life context (community vs institutional) and health (objective and subjective perception) differences. Methods: A subsample of 59 Portuguese centenarians who participated in the PT100_Oporto Centenarian Study, conducted in 2013 was considered. Descriptive and chi-square analysis were conducted. Results: Most centenarians perceived their QoL in a very positive manner (50.8% rated it as “good”, 6.8% as “very good” and 3.4% as “excellent”); 28.8% perceived it as “acceptable” and 10.2% as “bad”. No significant statistical differences were found for the considered variables. Conclusions: Centenarians seem to present high levels of perceived QoL, which can be associated with a great ability to adapt to adverse situations that occur through their lives. Neither contextual and health aspects seem to inuence the perception of QoL in this particular sample study. Nonetheless, more research is needed to understand the specicities of the QoL in the centenarian population, namely the role of psychological and social variables.
- Life satisfaction and positive aspects of caregiving among centenarians proxies: the more dependent the better?Publication . Araújo, Lia; Brandão, Daniela; Duarte, Natália; Teixeira, Laetitia; Alves, Sara; Paul, Constança; Ribeiro, OscarTaking care of a centenarian is becoming a more common situation due to the longevity phenomenon. Nevertheless, there is lack of information on the specific dynamics related to the demands and potentialities of this specific caregiving experience. This study aims to analyze caregivers well-being and positive aspects related to the caregiving experience. Data came from the PT100 Centenarian Study and consid- ers information gathered through face-to-face interviews with centenarians and their proxies. The sample comprises 53 dyads (centenarians: Mage 100.9, SD 1.2, 84.9% female; informal caregivers: Mage 66.0, SD 8.8, 92.5% female). Instruments included the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and selected items from the Positive Aspects of Caregiving (PAC). Results demon- strated that 71.7% (n=38) of the caregivers were satisfied with their life. Life satisfaction was higher when the cen- tenarian presented higher cognitive constrains (GDS=5-7; p ≤0.05). Additionally, 63.6% (n=7) of the dissatisfied car- egivers were taking care of a centenarian without cogni- tive deficits (GDS=1-2). Caregivers life satisfaction was also associated with positive aspects of the caregiving experience: of those satisfied with their life, 81.8% (n=27) reported to appreciate life more due the caregiving experience (p ≤ 0.05). Higher dependence of the centenarian may be related with a higher sense of providing care and this should be further explored. Positive aspects of caregiving are of particular rel- evance and should be addressed within oldest-old family care interventions.