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Background: Too often, dementia research is conducted in research silos without thorough integration and the involvement of people with lived experiences, care professionals and the Third Sector. Research can also get lost in academic publications, without reaching those benefiting most from the evidence. The aim of this methods and evaluation paper was to outline the aims, components and evaluation of the public‐facing and ‐engaging Liverpool Dementia & Ageing Research Forum, to provide a blueprint for setting up similar communities of practice. Methods: The Forum was set up in 2019 with the aim to (a) connect different stakeholders in dementia and ageing and co‐produce research and to (b) inform and educate. This paper provides an account of the Forum model and evaluates the following key elements: (1) engagement; (2) experiences of the Forum and its impact (via an online evaluation survey and three reflections). All Forum members and attendees were asked to complete a brief evaluation survey about their experiences from October to November 2022. Three regular Forum attendees provided a case study about their involvement and its impact. Findings: The Forum has reached out to diverse stakeholders and the general public, generating growing interest and engagement since its initiation. Forty‐four members and attendees completed the survey. Most attendees completing the evaluation survey have so far engaged in between 5 and 20 activities (47.8%), and 91% felt the aims of the Forum have been met. Engaging in the Forum has produced various benefits for attendees, including increased research capacity and knowledge, as well as improved connectivity with other stakeholders. Eleven percent of respondents, 39% of lived experts, stated they experienced improved access to postdiagnostic care. Conclusions: This is the first reported multistakeholder Community of Practice (CoP) on dementia and ageing. We make key recommendations for setting up and running similar dementia CoP, as they provide a noninterventional format for raising awareness, capacity and access to dementia care. Patient and Public Involvement: This paper reports on the involvement and engagement of people with dementia, unpaid carers, health and social care providers and Third Sector organisations in a CoP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global population is ageing rapidly and there is a need for strategies to promote health and wellbeing among older adults. Nutrition knowledge is a key predictor of dietary intake; therefore, effective educational programmes are urgently required to rectify poor dietary patterns. Digital health technologies provide a viable option for delivering nutrition education that is cost‐effective and widely accessible. However, few technologies have been developed to meet the unique needs and preferences of older adults. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore technology use among older adults and qualitatively determine the content needs and design preferences for an online nutrition education resource tailored to older adult consumers in Australia. Methods: Twenty adult participants aged 55 years and older (95% female) participated in one of four 2‐h participatory design workshops. In each workshop, prompted discussion questions were used to explore participants' technology use and preferences and to explore content needs and design preferences for an online nutrition education resource specific to older adults. Results: All participants were regularly using a range of different devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets and computers) and reported being comfortable doing so. Participants wanted a website that provided general nutrition information, practical advice and recipes. To enhance engagement, they sought a personalised resource that could be adjusted to suit their needs, included up‐to‐date information and allowed for easy sharing with others by exporting information as a PDF. Conclusions: Participatory design methods generate new knowledge for designing and tailoring digital health technologies to be appropriate and useful for the target audience. Specifically, older adults seek an online resource that has large and simple fonts with clear categories, providing them with practical advice and general nutrition information that can be personalised to suit their own needs and health concerns, with the option to export and print information into a paper‐based format. Patient or Public Contribution: Older adults actively participated in the development and evaluation process to generate ideas about potential features, functionalities, uses and practicalities of an online nutrition education resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Older carers or 'care partners' of older people experiencing care needs often provide essential support, at times while neglecting their own health and well‐being. This is an increasingly frequent scenario due to both demographic changes and policy shifts towards ageing in place. Multiple community stakeholders within the care and support ecosystem hold valuable expertise about the needs of older care partners, and the programme and policy responses that may better support their health and well‐being. The aim of this study was to identify the perspectives of stakeholders obtained through the codesign phase of a multicomponent research project investigating new models of care and support for older care partners suitable for the Australian context. Methods: Principles of codesign were used to engage a purposeful sample of older care partners, health professionals, researchers, policy makers and health service administrators. Participants took part in a series of three codesign workshops conducted remotely via video conferencing. The workshops were supported with briefing material and generated consensus‐based summaries, arriving at a preferred service model. Findings: This paper reports the research design and structure of the codesign panels, the range of findings identified as important to support the health and well‐being of older carers of older people, and the resulting service model principles. The codesigned and preferred model of care is currently being prepared for implementation and evaluation in Australia. Public Contribution: This study was conducted using codesign methodology, whereby stakeholders including older care partners and others involved in supporting older carers, were integrally involved with design, development, results and conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To report on the findings of a systematic review which examined the experiences and views of older people aged 65 years and over on health professionals’ recognition of sexuality and sexual health and whether these aspects of the person are incorporated into care. Review methods: The review followed the methods laid out by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Eleven electronic databases were searched using the terms sexual*, aged, ageing/aging, attitudes and care in any health‐care setting. Only quantitative and qualitative research and opinion papers written in English and offering unique commentary published between January 2004 and January 2015 were eligible. Results: A total of 999 papers were initially identified and of these, 148 were assessed by two reviewers. Eighteen studies – seven quantitative, eight qualitative and three opinion papers – met the inclusion criteria and were appraised. The importance of sexuality to well‐being, language used, expressing sexuality, discomfort discussing sexuality, inadequate sexuality health education and treatment and deficient communication with health‐care professionals were all identified as significant issues in a range of settings. Fourteen categories and five syntheses summarize the 43 findings. Conclusions: Sexuality remains important for many older people; however, embarrassment, dissatisfaction with treatment, negative attitudes and seeming disinterest by health professionals can all inhibit discussions. Professionals and health‐care services need to adopt strategies and demonstrate characteristics which create environments that are more supportive of sexuality. Issues related to sexuality and sexual health should be able to be discussed without anxiety or discomfort so that older people receive optimal care and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgroud: Discharge planning from the hospital of frail older patients is an important step to avoid inappropriate long‐stay hospitalizations and to prevent the risks related to the prolonged hospitalization. In this frame, we developed an experimental trial—'PRO‐HOME', a multicomponent programme of interventions for multimorbid and polytreated hospitalized older patients. Aim: The main aim of the study was to develop a protected discharge facility using a mini apartment equipped with advanced architectural and technological components to reduce the length of hospital stay of older participants (aged 65+ years old) admitted to the hospital for an acute event, deemed stable and dischargeable. Materials and Methods: This is a pilot randomized controlled study, comparing 30 hospitalized participants included in a multidimensional, transitional care programme based on information and communication technologies to 30 patients in standard usual care until hospital discharge. Results: We presented the study design of the PRO‐HOME programme, including architectural and technological components, the enrolment procedures, the components of the intervention that is physical activity, cognitive training and life‐style education and the evaluation method of the intervention based on the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to explore the changes in the individual domains that are target of the multicomponent intervention. Conclusions: The final results will suggest whether the PRO‐HOME programme represents a useful and feasible intervention to reduce the length of hospital stay of multimorbid and polytreated hospitalized older patients and improve their physical and cognitive performances and overall quality of life. Patient or Public Contribution: Due to the characteristics of the population of interest of the PRO‐HOME study, we involved in the study design and programme of the activities the participants enrolled in a previous smart home‐based project named MoDiPro carried‐out during a 3‐year period. The elderly participants from the local population involved were asked, by means of focus groups, for feedback on their experience in MoDiPro, and their suggestions were integrated into the design phase of the current PRO‐HOME project. The focus groups included open group interviews with a qualitative collection of the patients' feedback so that the participants could interact with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Scarce health resources and differing views between persons with hand osteoarthritis (OA) and health professionals concerning care preferences contribute to sustaining a gap between actual needs and existing clinical guidelines for hand OA. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of persons diagnosed with hand OA in their encounters with health services and how those experiences influence negotiations and decision‐making in hand OA care. Methods: Data from 21 qualitative interviews with persons diagnosed with hand OA were collected, transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Three main themes were developed: symptoms are perceived as ordinary ageing in everyday life, consultations are shaped by trust in healthcare and the responsibilities of prioritisation and self‐care govern interactions. Conclusion: Ideas of ageing, professional knowledge and self‐management dominate hand OA health encounters and contribute to shaping illness perceptions, preferences and opportunities to negotiate decisions in consultations. Patient or Public Contribution: Two patient research partners with hand OA are members of the study project group. One of them is also a co‐author of this manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses topics within the issue including optimizing individualized evidence-informed care; patient participation in interprofessional team; and attitudes towards lung cancer screening in heavy smoking communities.

Background: Subjective survival probabilities (SSPs) are considered relevant in relation to lifestyle as lifestyle improvements may improve health and lower mortality risk. Objective: To study individuals' SSP in a population of elderly (i.e. 60 years and older) from 15 European countries. Methods: Data from the second wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were used. Individuals were asked about their chances to live up to age [T] or more. These SSPs were related to general characteristics, health and lifestyle. In addition, cross‐country comparisons were made. The validity of the probabilistic elicitation format used for collecting SSPs was also addressed. Results: The average subjective probability of surviving the next 9–15 years was around 57%. Mean SSPs varied significantly across age, with lower means at higher ages. Cross‐country comparisons showed lowest mean in the Czech Republic (42%) and the highest in Denmark (64%). SSPs correlated with socio‐demographic, socio‐economic and also strongly with (objective) health characteristics except for obesity. Smokers reported significantly lower SSPs compared to non‐smokers, but no difference was found between non‐smokers and quitters. Excessive alcohol consumers reported significantly higher SSPs than moderate consumers and abstainers, but this only held for female excessive drinkers. Physical inactivity was negatively associated with SSPs, but this relation was attenuated at higher ages. In this context, important cross‐country differences were found. Conclusions: Subjective survival probabilities are informative and relevant in relation to lifestyle decisions and can be validly obtained in elder people. The results from this study provide interesting implications for health policy, health communication strategies and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the study on the health and services usage among old age Australian war veterans who are receiving health care support from the Australian government. Qualitative data gathering was designed and provide information on the group's community living, utilization of services, and the perceived burden of their family members and friends. Results were outlined and conclude the participants valuation of control to maximize and maintain their independence in their daily living.

Background: Age and race‐related disparities in technology use have been well documented, but less is known about how health literacy influences technology access and use. Objective: To assess the association between patients’ literacy skills and mobile phone ownership, use of text messaging, Internet access, and use of the Internet for health‐related purposes. Methods: A secondary analysis utilizing data from 1077 primary care patients enrolled in two, multisite studies from 2011–2013. Patients were administered an in‐person, structured interview. Results: Patients with adequate health literacy were more likely to own a mobile phone or smartphone in comparison with patients having marginal or low literacy (mobile phone ownership: 96.8 vs. 95.2 vs. 90.1%, respectively, P < 0.001; smartphone ownership: 70.6 vs. 62.5 vs. 40.1%, P < 0.001) and to report text messaging (78.6 vs. 75.2 vs. 53.1%, P < 0.001). They were also more likely to have access to the Internet from their home (92.1 vs. 74.7 vs. 44.9%, P < 0.001) and to report using the Internet for email (93.0 vs. 75.7 vs. 38.5%, P < 0.001), browsing the web (93.9 vs. 80.2 vs. 44.5%, P < 0.001), accessing health information (86.3 vs. 75.5 vs. 40.8%, P < 0.001), and communicating with providers (54.2 vs. 29.8 vs. 13.0%, P < 0.001). Relationships remained significant in multivariable analyses controlling for relevant covariates. Conclusions: Results reveal that literacy‐related disparities in technology access and use are widespread, with lower literate patients being less likely to own smartphones or to access and use the Internet, particularly for health reasons. Future interventions should consider these disparities and ensure that health promotion activities do not further exacerbate disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]