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The Impact of a Robotic Pet on Social and Physical Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textSocial and physical frailty are common geriatric syndromes related to adverse health outcomes, including falls, hospitalization, institutionalization, and death. Social frailty leads to physical frailty in older adults who were not frail. Previous studies have demonstrated that pet ownership and robotic pets have physical and mental health benefits for older adults; however, no studies were found investigating the impact of robotic pets on social and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a robotic pet on social and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults using the Technology Acceptance Model as a framework. This was a clinical trial of adults aged 65 and over, hospitalized at a community hospital in Westchester County, New York. Intervention group participants received a robotic pet, and control group participants received usual post-discharge care. Participants were assessed at enrollment and at the 30-day discharge point using the Questionnaire to Define Social Frailty Status, FRAIL Questionnaire, the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, and the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire. For this study ,220 participants were enrolled; 107 in the intervention group and 113 in the control group. Continuous outcomes were compared between groups using t-tests or Wilcoxon rank sum tests, as appropriate. Categorical outcomes were compared between groups using chi-square tests or Fisher’s exact tests, as appropriate. The threshold for statistical significance was considered a p value of less than 0.05. There was no significant change in social frailty or physical frailty, cognitive status, or depression between the two groups. Participants who enjoyed doing things with their robotic pet had a statistically significant improvement in their SPMSQ scores (p = 0.02), which indicated a positive effect on cognition in participants who used their pet more. Prevalence of social frailty was high, likely attributable to pandemic control measures and unlikely to change on the social frailty questionnaire used in this study due to the ongoing pandemic. In contrast to this study, previous research has shown that robotic pets were effective for improving well-being in older adults and showed more positive impact in a group setting compared to individual use. A significant limitation of this study was that it took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other limitations were related to self-report of some measures which may introduce bias. Additionally, the social frailty questionnaire has not been validated in diverse populations; thus, its validity in the study population is not known. The geographic area where the study took place is non-diverse, which may impact generalizability to wider populations. The robotic pet positively impacted cognitive status in participants who reported they enjoyed doing activities with their pet. This supports the theoretical premise of this study that greater use of the robotic pet would yield greater benefit. Regarding implications, technology is an important tool to ameliorate social and physical frailty, especially in light of pandemic-related restrictions where in-person socialization is restricted. More research is needed on the impact of robotic pets in older adults living at home, particularly on social frailty, loneliness, and cognitive status, with larger sample sizes and diverse populations
Experiences of Family Caregivers of Children with Intellectual Disabilities Living in Low-Socioeconomic Communities
No full textQualitative studies exploring caregiver experiences of children with intellectual disability are limited and even more limited in the context of low socioeconomic settings. This qualitative descriptive study was done to explore the experiences of family caregivers of children with intellectual disability, living in low socioeconomic communities. The McCubbin and McCubbin (1993) Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation was used as the theoretical framework for the study. Semi-structured questions for the interview-guide were derived from this framework. Fifteen participants were interviewed from a large metropolitan area.Results: The caregiver ages ranged between 30 and 57 years. Caregivers interviewed were primarily married women (93%) and most of the care recipients (93%) had primary diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder with intellectual disability. Three major themes were generated from the data: (1) Working for children to be self-sufficient and independent for the future, (2) Affecting socialization due to lack of time and to avoid issues and judgments from others, and (3) Needing to receive a stronger support system, both formal and informal.Recommendation: There is limited qualitative research on family caregivers of children with an intellectual disability living in low socioeconomic communities. More studies are needed in this population living in urban and rural communities, to provide new insight on this topic. Most of the participants in this study were mothers therefore, more qualitative studies are needed to explore the experiences of fathers of children with intellectual disability.Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed the process of caring for children with intellectual disability and varying challenges encountered by caregivers in this population. In the process of caring for the child with intellectual disability, caregivers brought to light the fears they faced and the efforts they were making to secure a safe future for the child
Does Accurate Detection of Dyadic Empathy Predict Positive Communication? Dyadic Empathy, Accuracy of Dyadic Empathy, and Communication Style in Romantic Relationships
No full textDoes romantic partners’ accurate detection of dyadic empathy predict positive communication in couples? Unique to this dissertation, the present study measured dyadic empathy from the perspective of self and the perception of partner to assess accurately detecting empathy as a predictor for positive communication style in romantic dyads. I investigated if dyadic empathy, and its affective and cognitive components, will positively predict positive communication, if accuracy of dyadic empathy, measured two ways, will positively predict positive communication, and if accuracy of dyadic empathy moderates the relationship between dyadic empathy and positive communication. I also explored gender differences, if women’s self-reported dyadic empathy more strongly predicts self-reported positive communication than men’s, and if women’s self-reported accuracy of dyadic empathy will be higher than men’s. Participants (n = 127) completed instruments that measured dyadic empathy, communication style and relationship satisfaction, and accuracy of dyadic empathy was calculated, to contribute to a better understanding of the interrelationships of variables. Results were analyzed through between-subjects design, within-subjects design, linear regression models, moderation models, and linear mixed multilevel models to investigate main hypotheses and exploratory questions. Findings revealed dyadic empathy as a predictor for positive communication, accuracy of dyadic empathy was not significant as a predictor but was significant as a moderator, and there was very minimal evidence of gender differences. The overall findings of this study contribute to the literature and inform counseling theory and clinical practice on romantic relationships and the effects of assessing dyadic empathy, accuracy of dyadic empathy, and communication style
THE TWOMBLY/IQBAL PLAUSIBILITY PLEADING STANDARD AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES: GOOSES AND GANDERS TEN YEARS LATER
Get PDFAmerican Consumer Acceptance of Biometric Technology
No full textThe American consumer has not fully accepted biometric technology in their daily lives. The path to acceptance of the technology is filled with apprehension and caution. Consumer concerns range from theft and hacking to illicit use of their information for monetary gains by unscrupulous corporations. For example, companies like Google and Facebook have been accused of using private information for their own gain. To investigate the key factors that must be addressed to increase the adoption of biometric technology in society, this study conducted a consumer survey on the acceptability of biometrics relative to the consumer’s education, income, and age. Over 440 participants distributed roughly equally in gender, in education, and in age completed the survey. The results indicated that the consumers are leery of claims made about biometric technology manufacturers. They are concerned with their privacy and security. They are afraid of the power of the technology in the hands of the government, the colossal corporations and by bad actors that use will use the consumer’s data for their own gains. This research was focused on identifying key factors that must be addressed to increase the adoption of the technology in society among consumers and other factors to avoid through new legislation or regulations to increase consumer protection. Some key factors identified by the research include privacy concerns, governments, and corporations. These concerns include the security of biometric data retained by the actors and the misuse of the data. Another issue that was identified was the use of biometrics by these actors to track individuals during the normal day to day living
How to End Our Stories: A Study of the Perspectives of Seniors on Dementia and Decision-Making
Get PDFBecause dementia can cause individuals to make decisions that they otherwise would not, the law needs a mechanism to determine which decisions are entitled to the respect of the legal system and which may be overridden by others. In the philosophical literature, three primary theories for how to make this determination have been offered. First, Cognitivism posits that whether a decision should be recognized is a function of the mechanical functioning of the individual\u27s brain at the time the decision is made. Second, Essentialism holds that decisions should be recognized so long as they are consistent with the cluster of values and attributes that define the individual. Third, Narrativism argues that decisions should be respected where they follow from the life story of the individual making them.In the growing tradition of experimental philosophy, this Article empirically analyzes support for these three alternative theories in a mixed-methods study involving a population of American seniors, including an online survey (n=235) and interviews (n=25). Close analysis of the results revealed a near-consensus that Narrativism is the theoretical framework through which participants understood the question of when the legal system should intervene in private decision-making. In short, participants wanted the legal capacity to make decisions taken from them only when dementia became so advanced that they would no longer be the same person they previously had been, which they understood as a question of narrative continuity
