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This paper develops knowledge of the logistics of moving house amongst older people living in insecure housing. These people typically do not move once and settle into a new house, but face ongoing moves driven by factors including housing affordability, tenure conditions and eviction. The paper identifies four domains of experience faced by people undergoing cumulative, involuntary residential moves: the material (process of relocating oneself and possessions), economic (costs of moving house), embodied (physical experience) and affective (how relocation is experienced and felt). The logistics of relocation are examined through the experiences of single older women living in insecure housing in the greater Sydney region of Australia. The accounts of these women foreground the costs and challenges of insecure housing that are a consequence of relocation. Conceptually this work contributes to understandings of mobility-based disadvantage in older age through drawing out the ways that the logistics of moving house – of relocating oneself and possessions – contribute in distinct ways to mobility-based disadvantage through risks to identity and senses of home. Empirically it addresses gaps in gerontological and housing scholarship through developing knowledge of the logistics and experiences of ongoing, involuntary residential moves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caring for elderly relatives has predominately been explored from the standpoint of the needs and experiences of the hegemonic culture in multicultural countries like Australia, Canada and the United States of America. Australia, in particular, has paid scant attention to cultural and linguistically diverse groups in relation to caring for the aged. In this paper we focus on Chinese-Australian families caring for elderly relatives. We explore the traditional value of filial piety which is said to underpin social norms and beliefs about caring for aged parents in Chinese cultures. Specifically we draw on four in-depth interviews with Chinese-Australian care-givers of elderly relatives to identify meanings of filial piety and practices of filial piety. Findings indicate that while filial piety is still an important value in caring for the aged, meanings about how to practise filial piety are changing and vary across families. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Diet is a modifiable risk factor for chronic disease and a potential modulator of telomere length (TL). The study aim was to investigate associations between diet quality and TL in Australian adults after a 12-week dietary intervention with an almond-enriched diet (AED). Participants (overweight/obese, 50–80 years) were randomised to an AED (n 62) or isoenergetic nut-free diet (NFD, n 62) for 12 weeks. Diet quality was assessed using a Dietary Guideline Index (DGI), applied to weighed food records, that consists of ten components reflecting adequacy, variety and quality of core food components and discretionary choices within the diet. TL was measured by quantitative PCR in samples of lymphocytes, neutrophils, and whole blood. There were no significant associations between DGI scores and TL at baseline. Diet quality improved with AED and decreased with NFD after 12 weeks (change from baseline AED + 9·8 %, NFD − 14·3 %; P < 0·001). TL increased in neutrophils (+9·6 bp, P = 0·009) and decreased in whole blood, to a trivial extent (–12·1 bp, P = 0·001), and was unchanged in lymphocytes. Changes did not differ between intervention groups. There were no significant relationships between changes in diet quality scores and changes in lymphocyte, neutrophil or whole blood TL. The inclusion of almonds in the diet improved diet quality scores but had no impact on TL mid-age to older Australian adults. Future studies should investigate the impact of more substantial dietary changes over longer periods of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides information on the movements into and out of paid work by mid-life women. This is a group whose representation in the paid workforce is growing as population ageing proceeds and as educational qualifications expand. It is also a group that will be critical to any labour supply response to the economic challenges posed by population ageing. However, current understandings of the needs and circumstances of mid-life women in paid work are limited. To help address this knowledge gap we use data from the first five waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey (2001-2005) to identify the causal influences of health, care and other factors on the ability of mid-life women to remain in and re-enter paid work. The results show that poor health and/or substantial care roles have a negative impact on the employment chances of this group. However, importantly, there is asymmetry in these health and care effects, in that improvements in health and/or reductions in care roles do not increase the chances of returning to paid work. This finding indicates that many mid-life women who experience poor health and/or undertake large care roles face substantial long-term negative consequences for their employment chances and, thus, their retirement and pre-retirement incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the potential health-related impact of recent versus lifetime experiences of sexual orientation discrimination among older Australian lesbian women and gay men. In a nationwide survey, a sample of 243 lesbian women and 513 gay men aged 60 years and over reported on their experiences of sexual orientation discrimination and their mental and physical health, including psychological distress, positive mental health and self-rated health. Among both lesbian women and gay men, recent discrimination uniquely predicted lower positive mental health after adjusting for experiences of discrimination across the lifetime and socio-demographic variables. In addition, recent discrimination uniquely predicted higher psychological distress among gay men. Experiences of discrimination over the lifetime further predicted higher psychological distress and poorer self-rated health among gay men after adjusting for recent experiences of discrimination and socio-demographic variables. However, there were no associations between lifetime discrimination and any of the outcome variables among lesbian women. Overall, recent and lifetime experiences of sexual orientation discrimination were related to mental and physical health in different ways, especially among the men. These findings have potential implications for policy/practice, and suggest that distinguishing between recent and lifetime experiences of discrimination may be useful when assessing potential health-related impacts of sexual orientation discrimination among older lesbian women and gay men, while also taking account of differences between these two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population of Australia is ageing, with women being the primary beneficiaries of this increase in longevity. Increasingly older individuals are being diagnosed with different chronic illnesses such as peripheral arterial disease (PAD) which causes blockages of the blood vessels in the legs resulting in pain, non-healing ulcers, immobility and the potential amputation of the threatened limb. PAD has been traditionally thought to affect men more than women. Resultingly, women have been under-represented in clinical trials of PAD and under-diagnosed in the health-care setting. However, it has recently been acknowledged that women are indeed more likely to suffer from PAD than men due to increased presence of disease and survival advantage. As such, very little is known about women's understanding of and the meaning they create of their experiences of PAD. Therefore, how older women with PAD experience the ageing process is the focus of this qualitative research project. Interviews were conducted with 11 women from Sydney, Australia aged over 65 years who had been diagnosed with PAD. The interviews were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis. Three manifest themes were constructed: independence and control, active and involved, and the acceptance of ageing. These findings emphasised the idea that despite the presence of a chronic illness and increased age, remaining independent and engaged with life was vital to these women's wellbeing. Their subjective experiences of ageing reflect the fact that by adapting to the physical, mental and social changes that come with growing older, the focus does not need to be on loss and decline but rather can be about the continuation of life that can be both positive and meaningful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although participating in community social programming is associated with positive physical and mental health outcomes for older adults, older men participate less often than women. Men's Sheds is a community programme used primarily by older men that originated in Australia and is well established there. The goal of the current study was to explore men's perceptions of the need for Men's Sheds and issues concerning access to them in Canada, a country with a small but growing Men's Sheds movement. We conducted focus groups with 64 men aged 55 years and older, including Men's Sheds members and men from the community who were unfamiliar with this programme, and analysed the data using the framework analytic approach. The data revealed two primary themes concerning: (a) the need for male-focused community programmes, including the sub-themes reducing isolation, forming friendships and engaging in continued learning; and (b) access to programmes, including the sub-themes points of contact, sustaining attendance and barriers. Findings suggest that in order to reduce the likelihood of isolation and increase opportunities for social engagement, exposure to the concept of male-focused programming should begin before retirement age. In addition, such programmes should be mindful of how they are branded and marketed in order to create spaces that are welcoming to new and diverse members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revised Dietary Guideline Index (DGI-2013) scores individuals’ diets according to their compliance with the Australian Dietary Guideline (ADG). This cross-sectional study assesses the diet quality of 794 community-dwelling men aged 74 years and older, living in Sydney, Australia participating in the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project; it also examines sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with DGI-2013 scores; it studies associations between DGI-2103 scores and the following measures: homoeostasis model assessment – insulin resistance, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, TAG, blood pressure, waist:hip ratio, BMI, number of co-morbidities and medications and frailty status while also accounting for the effect of ethnicity in these relationships. Median DGI-2013 score was 93·7 (54·4, 121·2); most individuals failed to meet recommendations for vegetables, dairy products and alternatives, added sugar, unsaturated fat and SFA, fluid and discretionary foods. Lower education, income, physical activity levels and smoking were associated with low scores. After adjustments for confounders, high DGI-2013 scores were associated with lower HDL-cholesterol, lower waist:hip ratios and lower probability of being frail. Proxies of good health (fewer co-morbidities and medications) were not associated with better compliance to the ADG. However, in participants with a Mediterranean background, low DGI-2013 scores were not generally associated with poorer health. Older men demonstrated poor diet quality as assessed by the DGI-2013, and the association between dietary guidelines and health measures and indices may be influenced by ethnic background. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Men in the gay liberation generation are approaching or entering older age. Being at the forefront of gay rights movements since the 1970s and 1980s, this generation has experienced dramatic changes in gay life. The present study aimed to provide a greater understanding of this generation by examining some of the ways these men perceive their changing lives. Participants included 439 Australian gay-identified men aged 50 years and older who completed an online survey of their health and wellbeing. These men gave unrestricted open-ended responses to a question on how life had changed for them as a gay man since being aged in their twenties. Responses were analysed qualitatively using a thematic analysis approach to identify main themes. Participants expressed many positive changes to their lives, including greater public- and self-acceptance of their sexuality, greater confidence and self-esteem, and more freedom for same-sex relationships. However, some men expressed a loss of gay community compared to their younger years and a perception that the younger generation under-appreciated the struggles they had endured. Age- and HIV-related stigma from within the gay community, as well as a loss of sexual attractiveness, also emerged as concerns for some participants. These findings may assist researchers, health professionals and aged care services to further understand the needs and experiences of this older generation of gay men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Older Australian Twins Study (OATS) was recently initiated to investigate genetic and environmental factors and their associations and interactions in healthy brain ageing and ageing-related neurocognitive disorders. The study extends the classic MZ-DZ design to include one or two equivalently aged siblings for each twin pair and utilizes the rich resources of the Australian Twin Registry. The study has a number of distinguishing features including comprehensive psychiatric, neuropsychological, cardiovascular, metabolic, and neuroimaging assessments, a longitudinal design and links with a brain donor program. The study measures many behavioral and environmental factors, but in particular lifetime physical and mental activity, physical and psychological trauma, loss of parent early in life, later losses and life events, early-life socioeconomic environment, alcohol and drug use, occupational exposure, and nutrition. It also includes comprehensive cardiovascular assessment, blood biochemistry, genetics and proteomics. The socio-demographic and health data on the first 172 pairs of twins participating in this study are presented. Prevalence of mild cognitive impairment is 12.8% and of dementia 1.5% in the sample. The target sample size is 1000, with at least 400 pairs of twins aged 65-90 years. The cohort will be assessed every two years, with in-depth assessments being repeated. OATS offers an excellent opportunity for collaboration with other similar studies as well as researchers who share the same interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]