1146
S1
Multiple socio-demographic aspects of older patients need
to be considered for implementing equitable access to remote
oncology care.
Abstract citation ID: igad104.3678
UNDERSTANDING "COMMUNITIES" IN COMMUNITY-
BASED SENIOR HOUSING MODELS: A SCOPING
REVIEW
Sojung Park1, Jihye Baek2, Byeongju Ryu3, Ahra Ko4,
Jeungkun Kim5, Takashi Amano6, and Hyeji Kim7,
1. Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis,
Missouri, United States, 2. Washington University in St.
Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, 3. Boston College,
Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 4. Yonsei University,
Seoul, Republic of Korea, 5. Kangnam University, Yongin,
Geyonggi, Republic of Korea, 6. Rutgers University,
Newark, New Jersey, United States, 7. Good Neighbors
Mirae Foundation, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Various community-based senior housing models have
been developed to enhance social engagement and communal
living among older adults, alongside their pursuit of inde-
pendence and later life well-being. However, a comprehen-
sive understanding of the efficacy of these housing models in
cultivating "communities" which are integral to sustaining
social ties in later life, remains limited. This scoping review
investigated the conceptualization, establishment, and man-
agement of communities within diverse housing models, with
an emphasis on community-related constructs. This scoping
review examined empirical, peer-reviewed studies sourced
from PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, and PubMed,
resulting in the inclusion of twenty-one articles. Through
thematic analysis, three predominant themes emerged: 1)
residents' well-being and lived experiences within the com-
munity (n=13), 2) engagement in communal activities and
social programs (n=4), and 3) the spatial design and phys-
ical aspects of the community (n=4). We found that the way
communities are defined and conceptualized differed across
housing models. Also, residents' individual characteristics
(e.g., gender, age, income, health status) influenced their com-
munity lives and experiences. Community experiences were
often conceptualized as a "sense of community" and "place
attachment." The majority of research focused on the ex-
periences of residents' communal living and their well-being.
Still, some studies focused on how social and physical en-
vironments supported and facilitated community lives. This
study underscores the need for further research into the dy-
namics of communities within diverse senior housing facil-
ities. Also, more studies should be conducted on how those
communities are formed and maintained to support older
adults' successful social lives in the community.
Abstract citation ID: igad104.3679
UNDERSTANDING AGE-RELATED DISPARITIES AND
ENVIRONMENTAL BARRIERS IN OLDER ADULTS
WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Kyungmi Lee, and Matthew Plow, Case Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Given the increasing life expectancy of individuals with
multiple sclerosis (MS), the challenges faced by older adults
with MS in terms of health changes and decreased physical
function contribute to a potentially diminished quality of
Innovation in Aging, 2023, Vol. 7, No.
life. Despite this, our understanding of how this condition
manifests in the context of aging remains limited. This study
aims to examine age-related variations in fatigue, anxiety,
depression, community engagement, and environmental bar-
riers in older adults with MS, as well as to explore health
disparities among older adults with MS. This secondary ana-
lysis involved 288 individuals with MS, divided into two age
groups: below 60 years and 60 years and above. Aim 1 used
T-tests and Aim 2 employed ANCOVA with disability adjust-
ment. The results show that older adults with MS had higher
levels of community engagement, disability, and behavioral-
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cognitive fatigue, reporting lower levels of anxiety, cognitive-
motor fatigue, fatigue severity, and participation barriers
than younger adults with MS. Noteworthy health disparities
emerge, characterized by reduced community integration/
participation (F=10.622, p=.001) and heightened environ-
mental barriers (F=4.323, p=.039), even when adjusting for
disability levels. The study highlights environmental barriers
impeding social participation among older adults with MS,
emphasizing the need to address these obstacles to enhance
their quality of life. This underscores the imperative for cus-
tomized interventions targeting reduced community disen-
gagement and heightened environmental barriers faced by
older adults with MS.
Abstract citation ID: igad104.3680
UNDERSTANDING CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
FOR DEAF OLDER ADULTS
Shraddha Shende1, Lyndsie Koon2, Jenny Singleton3, and
Wendy Rogers4, 1. Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois,
United States, 2. Kansas University, Lawrence, Kansas,
United States, 3. Stony Brook University, Stony Brook,
New York, United States, 4. University of Illinois Urbana-
Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States
The Aging Concerns, Challenges, and Everyday Solution
Strategies (ACCESS) project explores everyday activity chal-
lenges and solutions experienced by U.S. older adults as
they age with a lifelong disability involving vision, motor, or
hearing. Here, we report our findings from our community-
engaged research with older adults who self-identify as mem-
bers of the U.S. Deaf Community and who use American Sign
Language (ASL) as their primary language. Using trained
Deaf interviewers, we conducted semi-structured interviews
in ASL with 60 Deaf participants (age 60-79 years) to under-
stand their challenges performing various everyday activ-
ities (e.g., doing things around the home, activities outside
the home, transportation, and managing health). Overall,
our thematic analyses revealed that Deaf older adults navi-
gate everyday tasks quite well. However, they experience
particular challenges with technology, communication,
and accessibility; specifically, fragile or inaccessible tech-
nology systems. For instance, technology alerting systems
at home (e.g., smoke alarms) or airports (e.g., gate change
announcements) are typically auditory. Accessibility is also
poor when healthcare or wellness providers fail to provide
an ASL interpreter. When probed about their responses to
these challenges, Deaf older adults often reported frustra-
tion or resignation when experiencing barriers; the need for
constant vigilance and self-advocacy; or reliance on hearing
family members when systems fail them. Improving commu-
nication access and technologies that Deaf older adults rely
Innovation in Aging, 2023, Vol. 7, No. S1
on is critical and requires the inclusion of individuals from
the Deaf community to identify the challenges and potential
avenues for solutions.
Abstract citation ID: igad104.3681
UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF AGEISM AMONG
HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS
Laura Finn1, Kavitha Sukumar1, Serena Fasola1,
Dennis Phan1, Kirsten Bautista1, Michelle Hon2, and
Catherine Oswald2, 1. Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
/ St Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States, 2. Roseman University of Health Sciences,
Henderson, Nevada, United States
With our population aging, the need for healthcare prac-
titioners trained in caring for older adults is urgent. The an-
ticipated shortage of geriatric-trained providers may further
the impact of age-related discrimination. Little data is pub-
lished about the understanding of ageism by healthcare pro-
fessionals and students. The comparison of these different
groups became the focus of the conducted survey, and the
presenting research analyzed a total of 467 respondents
including dental, nursing, pharmacy, occupational therapy,
and physical therapy professions across 2 universities. When
comparing demographic differences in studied populations,
69% of faculty/preceptors and 12% of students were over
35 years old. Overall, 33.8% reported being unable to define
ageism with 27.7% of all students unable to do so. In looking
specifically at pharmacy, 34.3% of students and 37.9% of
faculty were unable to define ageism. Understanding ageism
and its effects on healthcare for older adults is important for
pharmacists as 82.1% of pharmacy faculty reported regularly
interacting with older adults and 67% said that primarily oc-
curred at work; yet only 37.5% had taken a class or course
in geriatrics. Among pharmacy students, 71.4% interacted
regularly with older adults with 41.4% saying this occurred
primarily at work. Differences were noted in student educa-
tion with 50% of pharmacy and 86.9% of physical therapy
students having taken a geriatric course. Analysis and con-
clusions interpret the impact of ageism and emphasize a need
for education to address age-related disparities and potential
for bias in healthcare.
Abstract citation ID: igad104.3682
UNMET NEEDS OF OLDER FEMALE VETERANS AND
GENDER DIFFERENCES USING THE PROSPECTIVE
HERO CARE SURVEY DATA
Stuti Dang1, Pranjal Tyagi2, Sandra Garcia1, Erin Bouldin3,
Ranak Trivedi4, Orna Intrator5, Mary Jo Pugh6, and
Luci Leykum7, 1. University of Miami, Miami, Florida,
United States, 2. South Florida VA Foundation for Research
and Education (SFVAFRE), Miami, Florida, United States,
3. Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences Center
(IDEAS 2. .0. ), Salt Lake City, Utah, United States,
4. Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States,
5. Canandaigua VAMC and University of Rochester,
Canandaigua, New York, United States, 6. VA Salt Lake
City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah, United
States, 7. South Texas Veterans Health Care System, San
Antonio, Texas, United States
Aging female Veterans face unique healthcare needs
which are yet to be well-described. We analyzed round one
1147
data from HERO CARE, a prospective survey, to describe
the medical, psychological, and social unmet needs of female
Veterans and compare them with those of male Veterans. We
received survey responses from 8,056 community-dwelling
Veterans (227 (2.8%) females and 7,829 (97.2%) males)
from San Antonio, Palo Alto, Miami, Salt Lake City Veterans
Affairs (VA) Medical Centers, and Veteran Integrated Service
Network 8 in July 2021. We compared difference in needs be-
tween the female and male respondents using chi-square tests
and difference in age in years using t-tests. Respondents were
classified as having an unmet need if they responded that they
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needed “a little” or “a lot more help” for specific needs. Female
respondents were 74.3 (SD: 14.5) years-old on average, and
7.9% Hispanic, 15.4% non-Hispanic Black, 72.7% non-
Hispanic White. Male respondents were older 80.3 (SD: 9.8)
years-old on average (p< 0.01), with no significant difference
in race/ethnicity. Female Veterans reported unmet needs in
ADLs (14.1%), IADLs (40.1%), nursing tasks (7.1%), pain
management (17.6%), communicating with the healthcare
team (10.6%), and social needs like legal or housing (16.3%).
All unmet needs were like those of male Veterans (all p>0.05).
Among female Veterans, 20.1% screened positive for anxiety
(GAD-2 score >2) and 22.8% for depression (PHQ-2 score
>2), compared to male Veterans: 15.2% (p< 0.01) and 21.6%
(p=0.41), respectively. Routine assessment of aging female
Veterans, specifically focusing on mental health and IADLs,
may better address their needs.
Abstract citation ID: igad104.3683
UNVEILING TENSIONS: CAREGIVING FOR OLDER
ADULTS WITH CANCER IN THE COVID-19 ERA
Charlotte Weiss1, Rachel Johnson-Koenke2, Karen Sousa2,
Connie Ulrich1, and Karen Hirschman1, 1. University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States,
2. University of Colorado- Anschutz Medical Campus,
Aurora, Colorado, United States
The COVID-19 pandemic was traumatic for many indi-
viduals, including older adults with serious illness and their
families. This qualitative study aimed to explore family
caregiver narratives for the historical, societal, and insti-
tutional context of caring for older adults with advanced
cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using narrative
inquiry alongside photo elicitation, 5 caregiver narratives
were co-created during in-person semi-structured inter-
views or virtually through Zoom video conferencing. Each
of the participant caregivers started caring for an older adult
family member with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Narratively derived thematic threads of COVID-19 emerged
as short stories of tension woven throughout the cancer care-
giver narratives. The themes within and across the narratives
included: advocacy of quality healthcare for care recipients,
protection of care recipients from COVID-19; protection of
care recipients from medical institutional disregard; finan-
cial strain and uncertainty; lack of medical, emotional, so-
cial, and spiritual support; intention towards self-care; and
saying goodbye in isolation. The backdrop of COVID-19
contributed to caregiver fear, anxiety, feelings of being alone,
guilt, and emotional and physical exhaustion. Findings from
this study highlight that cancer family caregivers experi-
enced multiple layers of tension when caring for older adults
with advanced cancer during COVID-19. By acknowledging