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The article reports on the evaluation of the programmes offered by the "60+Tazelenme Üniversitesi" (University of Antalya's Senior Citizens' University) from the users' perspective. 174 users (from a population of 6000 people) evaluated in a differentiated according to 18 characteristics their expectations of the programme before enrolling in the four-semester study programme and the personal benefits of the programme after completing it. The results show a highly differentiated picture of the benefits realized with regard to areas of competence and quality of life. The empirical study is placed in the broader context of geragogics and universities of the third age., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

COVID-19 has caused a major crisis all over the world. To manage this crisis, a fixed shift system was applied to nursing home staff in Turkey to protect nursing home residents from the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff were not allowed to leave the institution during fixed shifts. It is thought that this practice for the COVID-19 outbreak, while protecting nursing home residents on the one hand, increased the workload and related stress of nursing home staff on the other hand. To the best of our knowledge, there is no study examining the workload and stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic for nursing home staff in Turkey. The aim of this study was to examine the level of workload and work stress experienced by staff working in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey., Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used in the study. The sample of the study consisted of nursing home personnel working in nursing homes in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya between October 2021 and January 2022. A personal information form and a workload and stress scale were used for collecting the data. Cluster analysis was performed with SPSS software., Results: In total, 154 nursing home personnel participated in the study. A statistically significant difference was found between the mean age of the two clusters. The first cluster was described as "old" and the second as "young". Statistically significant and high values were found in the quantitative workload, qualitative workload, job organization, social work area and fatigue factors in the nursing home staff in the older participant cluster., Conclusion: The results of this study provide new information about the concepts of workload and work stress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, which will serve as a guide for the management of future pandemics. Therefore, this study will contribute to the strategies to be followed in future pandemics in Turkey.

Background: Participation of young people in the care of older people will provide important contributions to improving older people's health., Methods: This qualitative case study was conducted to clarify the possible difficulties and experiences of student interns at the Blue House Alzheimer's Center for Alzheimer's Patients and Families. Data were collected by focus group interview., Results: It was seen that all students who practice at the Blue House Alzheimer's Patient and Patient Relatives Center willingly choose the gerontology profession. Gerontology is a new field in Turkey and the increasing number of older people leads students to gravitate towards this profession. Students who participated in the present study stated that internship at the nursing home is different to internship at the Alzheimer's care center, and it is much more difficult to empower individuals with dementia. Students stated that they had difficulty constantly meeting patients suffering from dementia, teaching an activity over and over again, caring for patients who constantly talk about their memories of past professional life, the theoretical and practical differences in caring for Alzheimer's disease patients, and the fear of one day suffering from dementia themselves., Conclusion: In the most energetic years of their life, incorporating students into the care of Alzheimer's disease patients increased their knowledge and care skills., (© 2018 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.)

Aim: The aim was to review the construct validity and reliability of a functional health assessment questionnaire (Questionnaire on Functional Health 2 [Q-FH2])., Methods: The Q-FH2 was used to assess 344 elderly people in a home setting. A polychoric correlation matrix was applied to conduct a principal axis factor analysis with oblique rotation. The number of factors was determined using various procedures and calculated using theta coefficients to estimate ordinal reliability., Results: The exploratory factor analysis supported a 4-factor solution with an explained total variance of 82%. The internal consistency showed  coefficients ranging from 0.758 to 0.854., Conclusion: The Q-FH2 appears to be a useful instrument to assess the multidimensionality of functional health as defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health to determine the resources and deficits regarding the independent living of older adults and to derive appropriate consulting measures.

In 2008, the National Social and Applied Gerontology Society (NSAGS) of Turkey held free caregiving courses for women, caring seniors, as a part of European Union (EU) programs. This course drew great attention and participation was common. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of this course on participants and non-participants of this course. The test-sheet and an envelope with a stamp on it, were sent to the registered addresses of the women who applied for the course. One hundred twenty-four of total 276 questionnaire returned. The average age was 39.4 ± 9.6 years (± S.D.) and the level of education was low. Most of participants (80.6%) lived with the elderly in the same house; 83.9% of them also have a job besides their caring function. Most of the participants (82.1%) were still caring for their patients. The findings presented here are based on the comparison of two groups (i.e., caregivers who attended and who did not attend the course). After caregiving training, participants felt more an "inner peace" when caring for their elderly (p ≤ 0.05). Participants (39.5%) of the course felt more efficient concerning their duty as caregiver. Non-attenders to the course made more negative statements concerning their concentration to their caregiving functioning (55.2% vs. 40.7%) (p ≤ 0.05). Perception on stress showed better results in the group of participants, who attended the course (p<0.05). More attenders (43%) of the course believed they could cope better with stress (p ≤ 0.05). This study showed that caregiving courses might be useful for caregivers of elderly people. The rapid increase of elderly people in need of care, will show a high demand for qualified caregivers. The NSAGS fulfilled an important duty by organizing these caregiving courses. This is an important signal showing that national gerontological organizations in Turkey might address the important needs concerning demographic aging in community., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We examine the experiences of older adult survivors of the August 2007 "Southern earthquake" in Peru within the cultural context of gender roles and family relationships. The data include 24 semistructured videotaped interviews conducted in Pisco in December 2007 with survivors of the earthquake aged 60-90. The responses, experiences, and adjustments of the older adult disaster survivors will be discussed in terms of their family and social support systems and gender roles. These older adults sustain their personal identities and deal with their health concerns in the aftermath of the earthquake in the context of these cultural systems of support.

Although Turkey is generally considered a "young country," we already have the early signs of demographic ageing. By 2020, the percentage of the Turkish population above the age of 60 will be close to 20%. This article examines the important aspects of Turkish demographic structure and discusses the general life conditions of the elderly. All data are from a report published by the author about the life conditions of the elderly in Turkey. This report showed that, in Turkey, ageing is generally specific to female elderly. Poverty during elderly age should be considered the most serious problem both today and in the future, although this issue shows a great diversity in terms of occupational status, educational level and regions. Care for the elderly is not a major problem yet. However, Turkish society needs to prepare for future problems in elderly care by creating the necessary legal and political infrastructure. Education and research about social gerontology has not improved yet. There needs to be great improvement in this field to come to the general developmental level in Europe.

Purpose: Although the ratio of the disabled population is higher in Turkish society than the average value in the world, studies in this issue have been limited to statistical surveys and no firm theoretical bases on investigation of the perception of disability in the perspective of Turkish society have been established. Reliable theses on the form and manners of Turkish society's responses to disability have not been put forward, yet. Therefore, existence of the sociology of disability in Turkey, which is a relatively new field also for western societies, cannot be stated. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the perception of disability and responses to the disabled in Turkish society in the light of the findings of research, which was conducted in 2002, into the disabled in Turkey., Method: Theoretical assessment is carried out from the perspective of two viewpoints: The structural-functional and interactional theses., Conclusion: It is concluded that the interactional thesis sets a better ground for explanation of the circumstances of the disabled and response of the society to them in Turkey.