Search

Research is an essential tool for the creation and advancement of knowledge for socio-economic development. Whilst individuals pursue different kinds of education in order to match international standards, employers are keen to recruit employees with needed skills for a competitive edge. Due to the newly existing educational technologies, individuals have been left with insatiable desire to learn more skills, yet, with limited resources. The advent of Open Education (OE) has led to mass retention, use/re-use, redistribution, revision, and remix of open educational resources (OERs) thereby transforming the learning and research landscape in higher learning institutions. This paper analysed the contribution of OERs and social justice (SJ) on research productivity in higher education institutions. A scoping review was adopted for this study to gather extant literature from relevant available databases with the aim of obtaining as much evidence as possible to make a clearer and succinct conclusion. Existing literature provides evidence that OER and SJ principles positively influence production of research outputs in higher education institutions. The main challenges hindering universality of OERs include economic, technical, legal, social, and infrastructural requirements needed for availing OERs to the beneficiaries including learners, educators, learning institutions and governments. Currently, there are many open and free-to-use resources and websites existing on the internet. There is however, need for attitudinal change towards OERs among students, academics, and scholars among other stakeholders if its optimum uptake is to be realized.

Background: There is a lack of studies investigating death anxiety among the oldest old based on a large, nationally representative sample during the pandemic. Thus, our aim was to investigate the prevalence and determinants of death anxiety among the oldest old in Germany during the Covid‐19 pandemic. Methods: Cross‐sectional data were taken from the 'Old Age in Germany' (D80+) study. This is a large, nationwide representative study including individuals 80 years and over living at home and individuals in institutionalised settings (N = 9542 individuals in the analytic sample). Results: Overall, 30% of the respondents reported the absence of death anxiety, 45.5% reported a rather not strong death anxiety, 20.2% reported a rather strong death anxiety, and 4.3% reported a very strong death anxiety. Linear regressions revealed that higher death anxiety was significantly associated with being female (β = 0.21, P < 0.01), younger age (β = −0.02, P < 0.001), being married (β = 0.09, P < 0.001), high education (compared to low education, β = 0.07, P < 0.05), the presence of meaning in life (β = 0.13, P < 0.001), higher loneliness levels (β = 0.18, P < 0.001), the presence of multimorbidity (β = 0.07, P < 0.05), and poorer self‐rated health (β = −0.07, P < 0.001). A further analysis showed that probable depression (β = 0.31, P < 0.001) is also associated with higher death anxiety. Conclusion: About one in four individuals had a strong or very strong fear of death during the pandemic. Several sociodemographic, psychosocial, and health‐related factors are associated with higher death anxiety. This better understanding of the determinants of death anxiety can be relevant for, among others, the affected individuals, informal and professional carers, as well as friends and relatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social isolation (SI) and food insecurity (FI) are important social determinants of health that can negatively impact well‐being in old age. While research on the association between FI and SI is limited in LMICs, the mediators of this association are largely unknown. This cross‐sectional study examined whether FI is associated with SI among older adults in Ghana and whether psychological factors (i.e., depression, anxiety, and sleep problems) mediated the association. Methods: Our study consisted of adults aged ≥50 years in the Aging, Health, Well‐being, and Health‐seeking Behavior Study. SI was assessed with the Berkman‐Syme Social Network Index, while FI was assessed with dietary inadequacy‐related items. We used an ordinary least squares regression (OLS), logistic regressions, and bootstrapping modeling approach to examine our hypotheses with p < 0.05. Results: The analysis included 1201 individuals (Mage = 66 [SD = 12], women = 63%). In the full sample (β = 0.21; p < 0.001) and in women (β = 0.30, p < 0.001) but not in men, FI was independently associated with SI. FI was comparably associated with increases in SI for the 50–64 age group (β = 0.21, p < 0.001) and ≥65 age cohort (β = 0.19, p < 0.01). Moreover, FI showed differential associations with specific domains of SI (OR = 1.81 to 1.45, p < 0.001). Finally, the FI‐SI association was mediated by depressive symptoms (65.16%), anxiety symptoms (30.16%), and sleep problems (9.50%). Conclusions: Our data highlight the fundamental role of FI in SI among older adults, and the effect is explained by psychosocial factors. Interventions targeted toward strengthening interpersonal ties in old age should include addressing FI and older adults' psychosocial outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the association between pet ownership and psychosocial outcomes among the oldest old in Germany during the Covid‐19 pandemic. Methods/Design: Data from the "Old Age in Germany (D80+)" study were used, a large, nationwide representative study covering both individuals living at home and individuals in nursing homes aged 80 years and above (n = 2867 individuals). The telephone interviews were conducted from May to October 2021. Established tools (e.g., "Short Form of the Depression in Old Age Scale", DIA‐S4) were used to quantify the outcomes. Five groups were generated: (1) no pet ownership, (2) having at least one dog (but no other pets), (3) having at least one cat (but no other pets), (4) having at least one other pet (but neither dogs nor cats), (5) having at least two different types of pets (in any combination). Results: Multiple linear regressions showed that compared to individuals without a pet, individuals having at least one dog had significantly lower loneliness levels (β = −0.21, p < 0.01). In the fully‐adjusted models, other forms of pet ownership were not significantly associated with the outcomes examined. Conclusion: Particularly living with a dog was associated with lower loneliness among the oldest old people in Germany. If living with a dog is in line with the preferences and attitudes of the very old, this could be a strategy for reducing loneliness in this age group. Key points: There is a dearth of studies examining the association between pet ownership and psychosocial outcomes based on nationally representative data.Using nationally representative data of the D80+, our aim was to explore the association between pet ownership and psychosocial outcomes during the Covid‐19 pandemic ‐ an area in which literature is extremely limited.Living with a dog was associated with lower loneliness.Multiple pet ownership may help to maintain life satisfaction.This could indicate a strategy for reducing loneliness in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To date, most studies examining the prevalence and determinants of depression among individuals aged 80 and over have used geographically limited samples that are not generalisable to the wider population. Thus, our aim was to identify the prevalence and the factors associated with probable depression among the oldest old in Germany based on nationally representative data. Methods: Data were taken from the nationally representative 'Old Age in Germany (D80+)' study (n = 8386; November 2020 to April 2021) covering both community‐dwelling and institutionalised individuals aged 80 and over. The Short Form of the Depression in Old Age Scale was used to quantify probable depression. Results: Probable depression was found in 40.7% (95% CI: 39.5% to 42.0%) of the sample; 31.3% were men (95% CI: 29.7% to 32.9%) and 46.6% women (95% CI: 44.9% to 48.3%). The odds of probable depression were positively associated with being female (odds ratio (OR): 1.55, 95% CI: 1.30 to 1.84), being divorced (compared to being married, OR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.76), being widowed (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.30), having a low education (e.g., medium education compared to low education, OR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.74 to 0.99), living in an institutionalised setting (OR: 2.36, 95% CI: 1.84 to 3.02), living in East Germany (OR: 1.21, 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.39), not having German citizenship (German citizenship compared to other citizenship, OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.95), poor self‐rated health (OR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.28 to 0.34), and the number of chronic conditions (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.14). Conclusion: About four out of 10 individuals aged 80 and over in Germany had probable depression, underlining the importance of this challenge. Knowledge of specific risk factors for this age group may assist in addressing older adults at risk of probable depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]