10:30-12:10 | Room 707 Sunday Onsite Presentation Session 1

Support Systems

Session Chair: Miriam Park

10:30-10:55

68786 | Family Supports between Elderly Parents and Adult Children in Thailand

Dararatt Anantanasuwong, National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand

Duangpen Theerawanviwat, National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the manifest family solidarity of older persons in Thailand and to analyze the typology of support between elderly parents and their adult children using the Latent Class Analysis (LCA). The data from Wave 2 (2017) of the longitudinal panel household survey on Health, Aging, and Retirement in Thailand (HART) were employed for the cross-section analysis.

Results: Three aspects of solidarity revealed that when parents were advanced in age, the solidarity or the interrelationship with adult children would tend to increase, in terms of co-residence with children, frequency in contact with children, or the role of sole “recipients” of resource assistance from children. The solidarity indicators had higher share with the oldest-old parents compared with the young-old and the midold parents. The analysis of LCA revealed the four types of support between elderly parents and adult children in Thailand, i.e., “Detached” “Sociable” “Tight knit” and “Normative.” Overall, filial gratitude towards parents still existed in the Thai society. But behavior might change from the old pattern of children’s assistance and support both in cash and in kind to parents, to at least in regular contact with parents or to parents exchanged assistance in kind. This changing behavior reflected the adaptation to the changing society, while familial support to older persons tended to become long-term care. To close the gap between generations should be a policy suggestion.

10:55-11:20

67480 | Family and Gendered Mobility of Older Adults: Case Studies of Tianjin, China and Ryugasaki, Japan

Yaqian Mao, University of Tsukuba, Japan

Tomoko Kubo, University of Tsukuba, Japan

It is important to understand how family and other companions affects older adults’ everyday behavior since they are in their last stage of life cycle and desired to be companied. Many feminist studies indicate that women are generally more vulnerable than men. However, as age rises, this disadvantage may be reduced according to different context. This study focused on the spatiotemporal behavior of older adults and, using time-geographical theory and methods, investigated the impact of coupling constraints on both older women and men in their everyday lives. The case cities were Tianjin, China and Ryugasaki, Japan. The survey was conducted on a face-to-face basis in Tianjin, China while in Ryugasaki it was conducted through mail and telephone interview. We obtained 218 valid questionnaires and 6,239 records of activities in Tianjin, 85 questionnaires and 1,702 records of activities in Ryugasaki. The main results were as follows. 1) type of activities, types of places, travel distance and transportation modes tended to be different under the effect of composition and size of companions; 2) older women have more advantages in mobility compared with older men which is contrary to the results of some other related studies; 3) the impact of modern technology on the daily life of older adults should not be neglected; 4) the social and cultural contexts of China and Japan contributes a lot to the different features of older adults’ behavior.

11:20-11:45

67689 | Benefits Finding Among Spouse Caregivers: Exploring the Nexus of Gender Role Attitude, Caregiver Self-efficacy, Formal Support Utilization, and Benefits Finding

Zi Yan, Waseda University, Japan

Xin Sun, Fudan University, China

Jiyuan Zhang, East China Normal University, China

Objectives: Interventions aimed at shifting caregivers’ focus from hardships to benefits to increase benefit-finding have become the focus of health promotion and gerontological social work practice. This study investigates whether caregiving benefit finding is predicted by caregiver self-efficacy, formal support utilization, and gender role attitudes among spousal caregivers.

Methods: A total of 210 spousal caregiver/care-receiver dyads participated in a survey from July to August 2021 in four Chinese. The survey used the positive aspects of caregiving scale, caregiver task inventory scale, and gender role attitude scale. All mediation and moderated mediation effects were estimated using SPSS26.0. Results: Caregiver self-efficacy was a partial mediator of the path of primary stressors and benefit-finding. Formal support utilization was a direct moderator of the mediated pathways linking primary stressors, caregiver self-efficacy, and benefit finding. Gender role attitudes were moderators at these intersections. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the co-occurrence of high caregiver self-efficacy, formal support utilization, and modern gender role attitudes were related to and predictive of better benefit-finding. Understanding caregivers' gender role attitudes can help professionals develop caregiving stress interventions. Professionals should design tailored psychoeducational interventions managing personal moral concerns and the mastery of relevant skills to further promote caregiver benefit-finding and well-being.

11:45-12:10

55886 | Young People’s Perceptions of Old Age and Resentment: A Cross-cultural Study

Miriam Sang-Ah Park, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom

Nobuhiko Goto, Kyoto Notre Dame University, Japan

Stephen Badham, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom

Resentment toward those who are considered to be out-groups in societies seem to be growing, possibly intensified by social comparison and media portrayal of the 'out-groups'. In Europe and North America, these 'out-groups' tend to be those who are racially and cultural different, whereas in East Asia, somewhat surprisingly, there seem to be divisions by age, region, perceived social class and so on which hamper cohesion and tolerance for others. In particular, resentment toward the elders and the privileged amongst young people in Japan and South Korea seems to be strong, as young people in these countries struggle to find satisfaction with life. Observing such attitudes, we investigated the experience and emotions of young people applying scenario testing method. University students in South Korea and Japan rated scenarios on the (un-) fairness and accompanied emotions for different groups (by age and perceived social class). While the results are mixed, we certainly found that out-group perceptions (judged by perceived dissimilarity) are related to feelings of resentment. Our exploratory study has implications for how resentment and out-group perceptions operate in these cultural contexts, and ramifications of such emotions for the wellness of their citizens and the societies. The findings of our study have an important meaning, as one seldom finds studies that focus particularly on Asian countries and social phenomena within these contexts. We argue that more cultural and cross-cultural analyses are necessary for the betterment of the fast-changing Asian societies.

11:25-12:40 | Room 707

Sunday Onsite Presentation Session 2

Aging and Gerontology (Health)

Session Chair: Chou Yu

13:10-13:35

69199 | Frailty, Multimorbidity and Their Association With Health Service Utilization During COVID-19 Pandemic in Southern Switzerland: A One-Year Follow-Up Study

Miao Jiang, Institute of Public Health, Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland

Laurie Corna, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern , Switzerland

Rebecca Amati, Institute of Public Health, Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland

Luca Crivelli, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern, Switzerland

Emiliano Albanese, Institute of Public Health, Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland

Background: During the Covid-19 pandemic healthcare services were highly disrupted, and little is known about the role of frailty and multimorbidity in predicting health services utilization in older adults. We aim to explore the association of frailty and multimorbidity, respectively, with health visits due to non-Covid related acute conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: We used data from the Corona Immunitas Ticino (CIT) study collected between September 2020 and September 2021. We built a Frailty Index (FI) based on 30 health deficits, and grouped participants into robust, pre-frail, and frail. We defined multimorbidity as the presence of two or more self-reported, clinically diagnosed chronic diseases. We used logistic and generalized linear models adjusted for age, gender, smoking status, and education level. Results: We included 660 older adults (≥65 years) with complete data (78% of the CIT sample). Of these, 10.3% were frail, 41.5% were robust, and 26.7% reported at least two chronic diseases. In mutually adjusted logistic models, compared with robust and non-multimorbid participants respectively, frail ones were 2.3 times (p=0.011), and multimorbid participants were 1.7 times (p=0.012) more likely to access health care services due to nonCovid related acute conditions. In the general linear model, FI as a continuous variable was associated with a higher number of health services visits (r=2.35, p=0.013). Conclusion: During Covid-19 outbreaks in southern Switzerland both frailty and multimorbidity continued to predict health service utilization due to non-Covid related health conditions, which might have contributed to increase infection risk in older adults.

13:35-14:00

68780

| Ethical Inclusion of Older Persons in Clinical Innovation for New Technologies Centered Around Long Term Care

Nadine Andrea Felber, University of Basel, Switzerland

Wendy Lipworth, Macquarie University, Australia

Yi Jiao (Angelina) Tian, University of Basel, Switzerland

Tenzin Wangmo, University of Basel, Switzerland

Clinical innovation refers to the use of treatments or technologies that have not (yet) been proven to be safe and/or effective in a research setting. When introducing new caregiving technologies for older persons, classic research is inhibited for two reasons: older persons are usually not part of medical trials, as they are a ‘vulnerable’ population. And technologies for caregiving purposes do not always count as medical devices, and are therefore regulated differently to other medical technologies. Nevertheless, there is a particular need for clinical innovation in this sector, as populations age worldwide and fewer people work in caregiving. In this paper, we report on the findings of a qualitative study with 60 participants in Switzerland, involving older persons and their caregivers (both professional and informal), in order to conceptualize if and how these stakeholders wished to participate in clinical innovation. Through thematic analysis, we discovered a variety of concerns regarding the development and implementation of such technologies. Examples include the lack of adequate information about their existence, purpose and availability, the right time and frame of introduction (especially when the care recipient experiences cognitive decline), as well as the technology’s impact on relationships and power structures. This research will be used to inform the development of an ethical framework for clinical innovation in long term aged care.

14:00-14:25

67464 |

Factors Influencing

Framework

Vaccination

Support

in

Older

Adults: A Cross-sectional Survey Based on the Theoretical Domain

Chou Chuen Yu, Geriatric Education and Research Institute, Singapore

Jonathan Gao, Geriatric Education and Research Institute, Singapore

Fiona Goh, Geriatric Education and Research Institute, Singapore

Wee Shiong Lim, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore

James Alvin Low, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore

Background: Vaccination support among vulnerable populations including older adults is often low. This study used the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to understand factors associated with older adults' overall support in Singapore’s vaccination programme.

Methods: A door-to-door survey was administered to a representative sample of 600 older adults using stratified random sampling between March-May 2022. Participants were asked questions relating to their: (a) thoughts on vaccinating against COVID-19, (b) perception on the efficacy and safety of the vaccines, (c) perception of potential benefits of a high vaccination rate, (d) sources of information relating to COVID-19, (e) health status, (f) stress level, and (g) psycho-social adaptability. Statistical methods employed include multiple regression analysis and t-tests. Results: Findings showed that four of the eight TDF domains covered in the survey were significant predictors of a composite measure of overall support in Singapore’s vaccination programme. The four domains were: (i) Beliefs About Consequences [of vaccination], (ii) Beliefs About Capabilities [of resisting COVID-19], (iii) Optimism [of the future], (iv) Goals [of a high vaccination rate]. Additionally, findings showed that trust in government was a positive predictor whereas trust in friends was a negative predictor. Differences in perspectives between the vaccinated and unvaccinated towards the necessity of vaccination were also examined

Discussion & Conclusion: Through understanding factors associated with vaccination support, decision makers will be in a better position to influence vaccine uptake in the older adult population. This is useful especially if regular vaccine shots are needed in future, or as more contagious variants emerge.

14:40-15:20 | Room 707