AgeLine is an online, bibliographic database produced by AARP that focuses on the subject of aging and middle-aged and older adults, particularly addressing the social, psychological, economic, policy, and health care aspects of aging.
AgeLine summarizes journal articles, books and chapters, research reports, dissertations, gray literature, and educational videos from many publishers and organizations, including AARP. Links to full text or ordering options are included wherever possible. AgeLine is produced by AARP’s Research Information Center and can be searched on this site at no cost. You can search AgeLine by subject, author, title, journal name, year, etc., or you can browse ready-made searches on high-interest topics using AgeLine’s Searches to Go.
Many academic and health libraries subscribe to AgeLine through licensed distributors–subscriptions may include links to full text of material cited in AgeLine. For more information, see AgeLine Access & Distributors.
Filed under: Databases, Tools
February 27, 2009 • 12:33 am
BC Network for Aging Research.
he BC Network for Aging Research is a unique framework for bringing together researchers from different disciplines, research streams, academic institutions, community based organizations and health regions. It is our goal to provide opportunities for these researchers to collaborate in generating innovative aging research. BCNAR will facilitate the development of new aging research proposals by providing access to shared resources, support and infrastructure to increase capacity and leverage funding for aging research in BC.
BCNAR has four dynamic themes that address the current needs and challenges of aging research in the province:
- Embracing Frontiers: support innovative discovery that leads to improved quality of life for older adults
- Bridging: build and strengthen collaboration and idea generation between organizations that share a mutual interest in aging research
- Knowledge Exchange: foster knowledge translation and dissemination in the service of research capacity building and utilization
- Mentoring: facilitate the development of researchers from multiple backgrounds to build provincial capacity in aging research
Within each of these themes, the Network focuses on six research areas:
- Facilitating Daily Living
- Prevention
- Seniors’ Mental Health
- Health Service Utilization
- Balancing Risk
- Understanding Resilience
The Network welcomes the participation of researchers from basic biology, health sciences, clinical practice, the social sciences and humanities, law, business administration and social policy and practice.
Filed under: Databases, Tools
February 26, 2009 • 12:33 am
LE Kozak, L Kayes, R McCarty et all
Purpose. To assess the use of complementary and alternative medicine in hospice care in the state of Washington.
Methods. Hospices offering inpatient and outpatient care in Washington State were surveyed by phone interview. Results. Response rate was 100%. Results indicated that 86% of Washington State hospices offered complementary and alternative services to their patients, most frequently massage (87%), music therapy (74%), energy healing (65%), aromatherapy (45%), guided imagery (45%), compassionate touch (42%), acupuncture (32%), pet therapy(32%), meditation (29%), art therapy (22%), reflexology (19%), and hypnotherapy (16%). Most hospices relied on volunteers with or without small donations to offer such services.
Conclusions. Complementary and alternative therapies are widely used by Washington State hospices but not covered under hospice benefits. Extensive use of these therapies seems to warrant the inclusion of complementary and alternative providers as part of hospice staff, and reimbursement schedules need to be integrated into hospice care.
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, Vol. 25, No. 6, 463-468 (2009)- abstract
DOI: 10.1177/1049909108322292
Filed under: CAM, Palliative care
Ruth Remington
Background: Agitated behavior is a widespread problem that adversely affects the health of nursing home residents and increases the cost of their care.
Objective: To examine whether modifying environmental stimuli by the use of calming music and hand massage affects agitated behavior in persons with dementia.
Method: A four group, repeated measures experimental design was used to test the effect of a 10-minute exposure to either calming music, hand massage, or calming music and hand massage simultaneously, or no intervention (control) on the frequency and type of agitated behaviors in nursing home residents with dementia (N 68). A modified version of the
Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory was used to record agitated behaviors.
Results: Each of the experimental interventions reduced agitation more than no intervention. The benefit was sustained and increased up to one hour following the intervention (F 6.47,
p .01). The increase in benefit over time was similar for each intervention group. When types of agitated behaviors were examined separately, none of the interventions significantly reduced physically aggressive behaviors (F 1.93, p .09), while physically nonaggressive behaviors decreased during each of the interventions (F 3.78, p 01). No additive benefit resulted from simultaneous exposure to calming music and hand massage. At one hour
following any intervention, verbally agitated behavior decreased more than no intervention.
Conclusion: Calming music and hand massage alter the immediate environment of agitated nursing home residents to a calm structured surrounding, offsetting disturbing stimuli, but
no additive benefit was found by combining interventions simultaneously.
Nursing Research September/October 2002 Vol 51, No 5 – abstract
Full text available in 
through MTABC member only website (link) under the research tab and then library.
Filed under: Agitation, Massage Therapy, Research
February 25, 2009 • 11:29 pm
SP Weinrich, S Haddock, K Robinson
Growing recognition of the importance of holistic nursing interventions is
resulting In a revival in the use of therapeutic massage. Massage
contributes to health and healing through enhancement of relaxation, and is
a safe, caring, and inexpensive Intervention. Therapeutic massage research
using older populations is reviewed for identification of its theoretical
framework, design, outcome variables, sample, procedures, instruments,
analyses and results. To establish a scientific basis for therapeutic massage
in the future, It is critical that nurses include the following key elements in
their research studies: clear definitions; procedures for massage that
include type(s) of massage performed, part of body massaged, and length of
time of massage; and analyses that control for the pre-massage level of the
vatiable of interest. Research variables need to focus on concepts that have
major health consequences such as a^tatlon. Immune status, and pain.
British Journal of Nursing 1999, vol 8, No 3
Full text available in through MTABC member only website (link) under the research tab and then library.
Filed under: Literature review, Massage Therapy, Research
KR. Faurot, SA. Gaylord, JD Mann
Increasingly, research is demonstrating the safety, efficacy, and patient satisfaction
associated with use of nonpharmacological, complementary interventions for pain
management in hospital settings. One such intervention, massage, has been found to
be effective for pain and anxiety reduction in limited forms, such as described here,
massage is relatively easy to learn and apply. The pilot project was designed to develop
and assess a clinical intervention using hand and foot massage for management of pain and
anxiety in inpatients on a rehabilitation unit. Methods included formal training of staff
nurses in hand and foot massage and subsequently having them teach key family caregivers
of the patient how to deliver hand or foot massage in response to reports of pain
and anxiety. The report describes study rationale, project development, challenges to
implementation in an academic, tertiary care, inpatient rehabilitation facility, and lessons
learned for future project design and implementation. The need for a community-based
participatory research perspective is addressed.
Complementary Health Practice Review 2007; 12; 203- abstract
DOI: 10.1177/1533210107307154
Filed under: Massage Therapy, Research, family caregiver, pain management
Elizabeth Bush
Touch and massage are viable nursing modalities that are both underutilized and understudied.
This underuse of touch is especially noted in settings aimed at improving
the well-being of older adults. Anumber of studies suggest that the appropriate use of
touch by nurses has the potential to significantly improve the health status of older
adults. In particular, touch can be useful with cognitively impaired, institutionalized,
or hospitalized older adults. Likewise, touch can be useful for improving comfort and
communication among terminally ill older adults and their loved ones. This article
synthesizes some of the available literature on the subject while suggesting avenues
for nursing practice and education aimed at using touch as a viable and cost-effective
holistic gerontological nursing intervention.
JOURNAL OF HOLISTIC NURSING, Vol. 19 No. 3, September 2001 256-270 – abstract
DOI: 10.1177/089801010101900306
Filed under: Literature review, Touch
FRASER J, ROSS KERR J
An experimental design was used to measure the effects of back massage on
anxiety levels of elderly residents in a long-term care institution. Twenty-one
residents, 17 females and four males, participated in the study. Subjects were
randomly assigned to three groups which received ‘back massage with normal
conversation’, ‘conversation only’ and ‘no intervention’ respectively. The
dependent variable, anxiety, was measured prior to back massage, immediately
following, and 10 minutes later, on four consecutive evenings. The Spieiberger Self-
Evaluation Questionnaire (STAI), electromyographic recordings, systolic blood
pressure, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate were used as measures of
anxiety. Analysis of variance was used to examine differences in group mean scores
over the pre-test to post-test, post-test to delayed time interval, and pre-test to
delayed time intervals, Scheffe comparisons being made where indicated. With the
exception of mean DBP which showed no change from pre-test to post-test and HR
which increased from post-test to delayed time interval, there was a statistically
insignificant decrease in mean scores on all variables in the back massage group
from pre-test to post-test and from post-test to delayed time interval. There was a
statistically significant difference in the mean anxiety (STAI) score between the back
massage group and the no intervention group. The difference between the back
massage group and the conversation only group approached statistical significance.
Verbal reports from subjects indicated that they perceived back massage as
relaxing. Back massage may be an effective, non-invasive technique for promoting
relaxation and improving communication with patients. It was recommended that
touch be encouraged in caring for the elderly and that further investigation of the
effects of such therapies as back massage are indicated.
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1993 Feb; 18 (2): 238-45 -abstract
Full text available in through MTABC member only website (link) under the research tab and then library.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.1993.tb02136.x
Filed under: Anxiety, Massage Therapy
Penny Robertshawe
Abstract
Australia is experiencing rapid growth in its aged population. This paper looks at the implications of this for the massage therapy practitioner working in a clinical environment. It highlights three case studies and discusses the different approaches used to treat each client.
Journal of the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society
September 2006 Volume 12 Issue 3
Filed under: Massage Therapy
KD Willisona, GJ Andrewsb, WC Cockerhamc
Summary The characteristics of those who use complementary and alternative
medicine (CAM), as an approach to chronic disease management, are poorly
understood. They may however be important to nurses and other health
professionals given that CAM is increasingly used by their patients with chronic
disorders. In these contexts, the purpose of this study was to ascertain unique life
chance population characteristics which significantly influence the use of Swedish
massage therapy (SMT), a popular form of CAM, by older adults with chronic health
dysfunctions. A multi-site and cross-sectional design was used, as well as a pretested
postal questionnaire. One hundred forty-one (141) urban, non-institutionalized,
English-speaking older persons participated, ranging in age from 60 to 94
years. Findings denote the essential role life chances have on individuals accessing
alternative forms of care.
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice (2005) 11, 232–241 – abstract
doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2004.10.003
Filed under: Massage Therapy, Research, Utilization
