Wellbeing in the elderly: the role of respect. Due to advances in health care, many more Australians are living to old age. It is important to ensure that older people, who comprise a significant proportion of the population, maintain high levels of quality of life (QOL). One of the factors that impact on QOL of older people is the respect afforded to them. This project will determine the issues related to respect for older people in Australia, and produce an evidence-based strategy for encoura ....Wellbeing in the elderly: the role of respect. Due to advances in health care, many more Australians are living to old age. It is important to ensure that older people, who comprise a significant proportion of the population, maintain high levels of quality of life (QOL). One of the factors that impact on QOL of older people is the respect afforded to them. This project will determine the issues related to respect for older people in Australia, and produce an evidence-based strategy for encouraging Australians to adopt more positive attitudes and behaviours related to increasing levels of respect for older people. It is expected that the project will reduce the level of ageism and enhance the status of older people in Australia.Read moreRead less
Social relations and social engagement in older adulthood: implications for health, well being and cognition. This project will examine the nature of changes in peoples' social networks that occur with age, and the effects of these changes on health and well being in later life. The project will use information collected from several ongoing Australian studies of ageing, and will have important implications for social policy in Australia.
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL110100199
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,529,601.00
Summary
Responding to the challenges of identity change: an advanced social identity approach to issues of leadership, health and well-being. This project develops an integrated framework for understanding how changes to identity that are associated with the changing fabric of the modern world impact on Australians' health and well-being. The project will develop and test strategies for tackling these challenges and minimising their negative consequences.
Resilient ageing and the oldest-old in the Australian longitudinal study of ageing. This project will provide a better understanding of resiliency (positive adaptation) in oldest-old Australians (85 plus). At a time in history when the population is ageing at an unprecedented rate, understanding how the oldest-old respond adaptively to age-related challenges is critically important to informing ageing policies and service provision.
Acting with the future in mind. This project seeks to establish whether it is possible to enhance the prospective memory function of healthy older adults. Prospective memory refers to memory for future intentions and is used in many daily activities that are critical for the maintenance of independence in late adulthood, such as remembering to take medication and turn off appliances. The project intends to conduct the first controlled study to use prospective memory activities to directly train ....Acting with the future in mind. This project seeks to establish whether it is possible to enhance the prospective memory function of healthy older adults. Prospective memory refers to memory for future intentions and is used in many daily activities that are critical for the maintenance of independence in late adulthood, such as remembering to take medication and turn off appliances. The project intends to conduct the first controlled study to use prospective memory activities to directly train prospective memory using both major cognitive training approaches: process training (restorative) and strategy training (compensatory). The results should have implications for clarifying how prospective memory function can be optimised in late adulthood, which will be important for healthy ageing.Read moreRead less
Improving aged care with memory conversations. This project aims to investigate conversational techniques known as "elaborative reminiscing" as a tool for aged care staff to practice relationship-based care in their day-to-day interactions with older clients. The project expects to generate new knowledge about which specific techniques increase reminiscing during routine care, and how these tools have ongoing benefits for aged care clients. Expected outcomes include an evidence-based training pr ....Improving aged care with memory conversations. This project aims to investigate conversational techniques known as "elaborative reminiscing" as a tool for aged care staff to practice relationship-based care in their day-to-day interactions with older clients. The project expects to generate new knowledge about which specific techniques increase reminiscing during routine care, and how these tools have ongoing benefits for aged care clients. Expected outcomes include an evidence-based training program and improved understanding of facilitators and barriers to meeting aged care clients' social needs. This should provide significant benefits by improving wellbeing of clients in aged care, reducing hospitalisations, and enabling aged care providers to meet new industry standards.Read moreRead less
Reconnecting the ageing brain to enhance plasticity and motor learning. The ability to execute and learn skillful actions deteriorates with advancing age, but the cause remains elusive. The main aim of this project is to use new neurophysiological techniques to examine the age-related changes in brain function that contribute to reduced movement control in healthy older adults. The research will use multimodal approaches to reveal the causal role of age-related changes in specific brain networks ....Reconnecting the ageing brain to enhance plasticity and motor learning. The ability to execute and learn skillful actions deteriorates with advancing age, but the cause remains elusive. The main aim of this project is to use new neurophysiological techniques to examine the age-related changes in brain function that contribute to reduced movement control in healthy older adults. The research will use multimodal approaches to reveal the causal role of age-related changes in specific brain networks to motor behaviour and learning. The outcomes will provide significant new knowledge that may help to optimise the design of targeted interventions aimed at rejuvenating brain function and movement quality in the elderly.Read moreRead less
Futile treatment at the end of life: legal, policy, sociological and economic perspectives. This project explores why and how often doctors provide treatment they believe will not benefit a patient. The project will help us to avoid harm to patients and their families caused by burdensome and unnecessary treatment, and ensure that limited community health resources are spent wisely.
Episodic foresight and ageing. Episodic foresight refers to the capacity to imagine future events, and consequently often involves the prediction of future needs based on hypothesised possible outcomes. It is therefore unsurprising that episodic foresight has been consistently linked to independent living and many functional behaviours. The aim of the project is to test the hypothesis that psychological changes brought about by ageing decrease the likelihood of acting prudently with the future i ....Episodic foresight and ageing. Episodic foresight refers to the capacity to imagine future events, and consequently often involves the prediction of future needs based on hypothesised possible outcomes. It is therefore unsurprising that episodic foresight has been consistently linked to independent living and many functional behaviours. The aim of the project is to test the hypothesis that psychological changes brought about by ageing decrease the likelihood of acting prudently with the future in mind. By advancing conceptual understanding of how, and under what circumstances, episodic foresight is affected in late adulthood, the proposed research has important implications for finding ways to help older adults maintain a productive and independent life. Read moreRead less
Ageing, trust, and financial exploitation: social, emotional and cognitive mechanisms. This project aims to understand how age-related differences in the processing of social and emotional information contribute to the exploitation of older adults' trust. This research will examine deception detection during financial negotiations and provide new strategies for ensuring the financial independence and well-being of older Australians.