Background: This study investigated the trajectories of decline in individual instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) with aging and the effect of hearing loss, vision loss, or dual sensory loss on these trajectories in community-living frail older persons. Method: This longitudinal population-based study was conducted in 9,319 community-living frail Dutch persons aged 60 years and older. Self-reported hearing loss, vision loss, or dual sensory loss and nine IADL were assessed in 15 studies of the Dutch National Care for the Elderly Program (The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum Dataset). Probabilities of limitations in IADL, odds ratios (per 5 years) for binary, and rate ratios (per 5 years) for score outcomes were calculated using mixed logistic and negative binomial models with age as the underlying timescale, stratified by sensory loss, and corrected for confounders. Results: At baseline, the number of IADL limitations was higher in dual sensory loss (2.00 [interquartile range 1.00–4.00]) and vision loss (2.00 [interquartile range 1.00–4.00]) compared to no sensory loss (1.00 [interquartile range 0.00–2.00]) or hearing loss (1.00 [interquartile range 0.00–3.00]). Trajectories of individual IADL showed an increase in limitations in all IADL with age. Household tasks, traveling, shopping, preparing a meal, and walking showed the most rapid decline. Handling finances, traveling, and walking followed a different pattern of decline based on sensory loss status. Conclusions: The age effect on limitations in IADL appears to be similar across all types of sensory loss, with the exception of handling finances, traveling, and walking. At baseline, persons with self-reported sensory loss had higher levels of self-reported functional limitations. Trajectories depict a decline in IADL competence with age.
Although there is some evidence that total dietary antioxidant capacity (TDAC) is inversely associated with the presence of obesity, no longitudinal studies have been performed investigating the effect of TDAC on comprehensive measures of body composition over time. In this study, we included 4595 middle-aged and elderly participants from the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort. We estimated TDAC among these individuals by calculating a ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) score based on data from food-frequency questionnaires. Body composition was assessed by means of dual X-ray absorptiometry at baseline and every subsequent 3-5 years. From these data, we calculated fat mass index (FMI), fat-free mass index (FFMI), android-to-gynoid fat ratio (AGR), body fat percentage (BF%) and body mass index (BMI). We also assessed hand grip strength at two time points and prevalence of sarcopenia at one time point in a subset of participants. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models or multinomial logistic regression models with multivariable adjustment. We found that higher FRAP score was associated with higher FFMI (0.091 kg/m2 per standard deviation (SD) higher FRAP score, 95% CI 0.031; 0.150), lower AGR (-0.028, 95% CI -0.053; -0.003), higher BMI (0.115, 95% CI 0.020; 0.209) and lower BF% (-0.223, 95% CI -0.383; -0.064) across follow-up after multivariable adjustment. FRAP score was not associated with hand grip strength or sarcopenia. Additional adjustment for adherence to dietary guidelines and exclusion of individuals with comorbid disease at baseline did not change our results. In conclusion, dietary intake of antioxidants may positively affect the amount of lean mass and overall body composition among the middle-aged and elderly.
ObjectivesTo identify distinct sets of disability trajectories in the year before and after a Medicare qualifying skilled nursing facility (Q-SNF) admission, evaluate the associations between the pre–and post–Q-SNF disability trajectories, and determine short-term outcomes (readmission, mortality).Design, setting, and participantsProspective cohort study including 754 community-dwelling older persons, 70+ years, and initially nondisabled in their basic activities of daily living. The analytic sample included 394 persons, with a first hospitalization followed by a Q-SNF admission between 1998 and 2012.Main outcomes and measuresDisability in the year before and after a Q-SNF admission using 13 basic, instrumental, and mobility activities. Secondary outcomes included 30-day readmission and 12-month mortality.ResultsThe mean (SD) age of the sample was 84.9 (5.5) years. We identified 3 disability trajectories in the year before a Q-SNF admission: minimal disability (37.3% of participants), mild disability (44.6%), and moderate disability (18.2%). In the year after a Q-SNF admission, all participants started with moderate to severe disability scores. Three disability trajectories were identified: substantial improvement (26.0% of participants), minimal improvement (36.5%), and no improvement (37.5%). Among participants with minimal disability pre–Q-SNF, 52% demonstrated substantial improvement; the other 48% demonstrated minimal improvement (32%) or no improvement (16%) and remained moderately to severely disabled in the year post–Q-SNF. Among participants with mild disability pre–Q-SNF, 5% showed substantial improvement, whereas 95% showed little to no improvement. Of participants with moderate disability pre–Q-SNF, 15% remained moderately disabled showing little improvement, whereas 85% showed no improvement. Participants who transitioned from minimal disability pre–Q-SNF to no improvement post–Q-SNF had the highest rates of 30-day readmission and 12-month mortality (rate/100 person-days 1.3 [95% CI 0.6–2.8] and 0.3 [95% CI 0.15–0.45], respectively).ConclusionsAmong older persons, distinct disability trajectories were observed in the year before and after a Q-SNF admission. The likelihood of improvement in disability was greatly constrained by the pre–Q-SNF disability trajectory. Most older persons remained moderately to severely disabled in the year following a Q-SNF admission.
This project develops a European network for transdisciplinary innovation in artistic engagement as a catalyst for societal transformation, focusing on immersive art. It responds to the professionals in the field’s call for research into immersive art’s unique capacity to ‘move’ people through its multisensory, technosocial qualities towards collective change. The project brings together experts leading state-of-the-art research and practice in related fields with an aim to develop trajectories for artistic, methodological, and conceptual innovation for societal transformation. The nascent field of immersive art, including its potential impact on society, has been identified as a priority research area on all local-to-EU levels, but often suffers from the common (mis)perception as being technological spectacle prioritising entertainment values. Many practitioners create immersive art to enable novel forms of creative engagement to address societal issues and enact change, but have difficulty gaining recognition and support for this endeavour. A critical challenge is the lack of knowledge about how their predominantly sensuous and aesthetic experience actually lead to collective change, which remains unrecognised in the current systems of impact evaluation predicated on quantitative analysis. Recent psychological insights on awe as a profoundly transformative emotion signals a possibility to address this challenge, offering a new way to make sense of the transformational effect of directly interacting with such affective qualities of immersive art. In parallel, there is a renewed interest in the practice of cultural mediation, which brings together different stakeholders to facilitate negotiation towards collective change in diverse domains of civic life, often through creative engagements. Our project forms strategic grounds for transdisciplinary research at the intersection between these two developments. We bring together experts in immersive art, psychology, cultural mediation, digital humanities, and design across Europe to explore: How can awe-experiences be enacted in immersive art and be extended towards societal transformation?
Hogeschool Rotterdam wil in samenwerking met IT-Campus en Rotterdamse mkb-bedrijven onderzoeken of de dataskills die studenten in hun opleiding verwerven, aansluiten op de datageletterdheid die van hen als startende professionals wordt verlangd. Om dit te beoordelen vragen we Rotterdamse ondernemers naar de datagedreven uitdagingen en problemen die zij voor zich zien en of zij bij de instroom van startende professionals voldoende kennis en skills zien om die uitdagingen het hoofd te bieden. Met de uitkomsten kunnen kennisinstellingen een helder beeld krijgen van het concept datageletterdheid en hiermee een handvat bieden aan opleidingen om dataskills in de curricula aan te laten sluiten op de behoefte in de arbeidsmarkt van de Metropoolregio Rotterdam-Den Haag (MRDH). We werken toe naar een ontwerp Data Skills-set. Misschien is het beter om te spreken van datacompetenties, hetgeen onderdeel is van de zoektocht in dit onderzoek. Welke terminologie is het meest behulpzaam in het oplijnen van onderwijs en werkveld op het gebied van data: geletterdheid, competenties, skills of een combinatie daarvan. Is het van belang of juist contraproductief om daarin (merk)specifieke tooling een plek te geven? We vragen ons ook af of datageletterdheid als een generiek concept domeinoverstijgend bruikbaar is, bijvoorbeeld tussen het economisch en technisch domein. De verwachting is dat de bevindingen op het gebied van datageletterdheid in de regio Rotterdam te generaliseren zijn naar andere delen van Nederland. Ook die hypothese willen we verkennen in dit onderzoek. Door het beantwoorden van deze vragen willen we een start maken voor het ontwerp van een instrument voor professionele ontwikkeling in het werkveld als ook een referentiekader voor het gesprek met onderwijspartners en overheid. Daarnaast kan zo’n ontwerp DataSkills-set ervoor zorgen dat de onderwijsdomeinen in gesprek blijven met elkaar ten aanzien van nieuwe methoden en onderwijsvormen voor vaardigheden.
