Biomedical subjects

Sophie Laforest

Publications and source records attributed to Sophie Laforest.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Behavior change following a self-management intervention for housebound older adults with arthritis: an experimental study.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the impact of a home-based self-management intervention for housebound older adults with arthritis on the adoption of health behaviors. The moderating role of socio-demographic, psychological, and physical characteristics in the process of behavior change was also investigated. METHODS: Participants were 113 older adult women (n = 102) and men (n = 11) with osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 68) or wait list control (n = 45) groups. Participants were interviewed using standardized questionnaires at baseline, pre-intervention, and post-intervention. RESULTS: Adjusted multilevel modeling analyses indicated that from pre to post intervention, experimental participants significantly increased their weekly frequency of exercise and relaxation activities. Socioeconomic status and depression played a moderating role in this change for exercise with larger effects occurring among more privileged, non-depressed participants. CONCLUSION: We conclude that a self-management intervention can successfully improve involvement in exercise and relaxation among housebound older adults with arthritis.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Moving forward in fall prevention: an intervention to improve balance among older adults in real-world settings.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effectiveness of a group-based exercise intervention to improve balancing ability among older adults delivered in natural settings by staff in local community organizations. METHODS: The main component of the intervention consisted of biweekly group-based exercise sessions conducted over 12 weeks by a professional, coupled with home-based exercises. In a quasiexperimental design, 10 community organizations working with older adults offered the intervention to groups of 5 to 15 persons concerned about falls, while 7 organizations recruited similar groups to participate in the control arm of the study. Participants (98 experimental and 102 control) underwent balance assessments by a physiotherapist at registration and 3 months later. RESULTS: Eighty-nine percent of participants attended the 3-month measurement session (n=177). A linear regression analysis showed that after adjusting for baseline levels of balance and demographic and health characteristics, the intervention significantly improved static balance and mobility. CONCLUSION: Structured, group-based exercise programs offered by community organizations in natural settings can successfully increase balancing ability among community-dwelling older adults concerned about falls.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed2005

From walkability to active living potential: an "ecometric" validation study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this paper is to establish the reliability and validity of a neighborhood-level measure of active living potential by applying principles of ecometrics. METHODS: Following a 3-day training session, observers (n =8) were provided with a map of a predetermined walking route constructed through the joining of ten randomly selected street blocks. Then, using an 18-item observation grid, pairs of observers performed ratings of 112 neighborhoods. Resulting observations produced a hierarchically structured data set including 4032 observations nested within observers, which in turn were nested within neighborhoods. Data from the 2001 Canadian census were linked to the neighborhood data. RESULTS: Application of ecometric multilevel modeling analyses showed that once interitem and interobserver variability were statistically controlled, about one third of the variability in observations were at the between-neighborhood level. Reliability estimates were 0.78 for items measuring activity-friendliness, 0.76 for safety, and 0.83 for density of destinations. Assessment of the convergent validity of the instrument identified that safety of the environment was positively associated with neighborhood affluence. Density of destinations was negatively associated with affluence and positively associated with higher proportions of persons in the neighborhood walking to work. CONCLUSIONS: The three dimensions of the neighborhood active-living potential measure have good reliability and convergent validity and are able to capture between neighborhood differences. Measurement characteristics would have been difficult to ascertain without the ecometrics methodology.

Environment Design↗

PubMed2005

Appreciating the predicament of housebound older adults with arthritis: portrait of a population.

This paper draws a socio-demographic, physical, psychosocial, and behavioural profile of housebound older adults with arthritis and compares older adults with rheumatoid arthritis to those with osteoarthritis. Data from 125 housebound older adults with osteoarthritis (65 per cent) or rheumatoid arthritis (35 per cent) were compared to published samples and to population data using appropriate weighting. Respondents were mainly women, living alone, mean age 77 years (SD10.50). Symptoms of stiffness, fatigue, and pain intensity were moderate to severe, and a substantial proportion (51.4 per cent) reported depression. Participants reported low levels of health behaviours such as exercise. Overall, older adults with rheumatoid arthritis were significantly younger, reported less pain and limitations, were more optimistic and satisfied with their social life, and had a higher self-efficacy than older adults with osteoarthritis. Home-based pain self-management programs should be constructed considering the unique profiles and needs of this population.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

What do Canadian seniors say supports their quality of life? Findings from a national participatory research study.

BACKGROUND: A national project investigated seniors' perceptions of the influences upon their quality of life. The seven participating cities were Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Regina, Vancouver and Whitehorse. The project focussed on policy decisions affecting the quality of life of seniors. It was a participatory study in which seniors controlled the direction and shape of the project in each city. METHODS: Focus groups and individual interviews with seniors and stakeholders. Data analysis used qualitative methods to see the world through the eyes of participants. Each project was committed to hearing the voices of seniors and their views on which issues were affecting the quality of their lives. RESULTS: Across the seven cities, seniors highlighted access to information, health care, housing, income security, safety and security, social contacts and networks, and transportation as key issues that affect the quality of life of seniors in Canada. CONCLUSIONS: The findings affirm the value of participatory activities that involve seniors working with other sectors as a productive policy-informing approach. The Seniors' Quality of Life projects demonstrate the conceptual power of the determinants of health perspective to understand seniors' quality of life issues. While seniors considered health care to be a continuing concern, they also recognized socio-economic issues as significantly affecting the quality of their lives.

Access to Information↗