Morale in the oldest old: the Umea 85+ studyShow others and affiliations
2005 (English)In: Age and Ageing, ISSN 0002-0729, E-ISSN 1468-2834, Vol. 34, no 3, p. 249-55Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
OBJECTIVE: to describe morale among the oldest old, and to investigate which social, functional and medical factors are associated with morale in this population. DESIGN: a cross-sectional study. SETTING: a population-based study in the municipality of Umea, a city in Northern Sweden. SUBJECTS: half of the 85-year-old population, and the total population of 90-year-olds and > or = 95-year-olds (95-103) were asked to participate (n = 319) and 238 were interviewed. METHODS: structured interviews and assessments during home visits, interviews with relatives and caregivers and review of medical charts. The 17-item Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS) was used to measure morale. Participants were assessed with the Barthel Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Index, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), and a symptom questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to find independent factors to explain the variation in the PGCMS score. RESULTS: eighty-four per cent (n = 199) of those interviewed answered the PGCMS. Three-quarters had middle range or high morale. GDS score, type of housing, previous stroke, loneliness and number of symptoms, adjusted for age group and sex, explained 49.3% of the variance of total PGCMS score. CONCLUSIONS: a large proportion of the oldest old had high morale. The most important factors for high morale were the absence of depressive symptoms, living in ordinary housing, having previously had a stroke and yet still living in ordinary housing, not feeling lonely and low number of symptoms. The PGCMS seems applicable in the evaluation of morale among the oldest old.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2005. Vol. 34, no 3, p. 249-55
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-3268DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afi044ISI: 000228929700011PubMedID: 15784647Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-19044377103Local ID: 113a9ee0-b68d-11db-abff-000ea68e967bOAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-3268DiVA, id: diva2:976124
Note
Upprättat; 2005; 20070207 (andbra)
2016-09-292016-09-292022-10-26Bibliographically approved