Dataset Information

Everyday Life Construction, Outdoor Activity and Health Practice among Urban Empty Nesters and Their Companion Dogs in Guangzhou, China.

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we argue that research on the everyday life of older people needs to move beyond anthropocentrism because non-human support contributes to the diversity of their social networks. We elaborate this argument by examining how companion dogs are involved in the urban empty-nest family in Guangzhou (an aging and highly urbanized city in China), the building of multispecies kinships by urban empty nesters in later life and improving the health of urban empty nesters. Participatory observations and 20 in-depth interviews were combined to assess the association between dog ownership and the reconstruction of later life. Specifically, we focus on the co-disciplined pursuit of outdoor activities by urban empty nesters and their companion dogs; this pursuit represents a shared leisure practice that maintains multispecies kinship and is a creative way for older individuals to improve their happiness and physical functioning. This paper provides a relational and reflective understanding of the interaction between the urban empty nesters and companion dogs and the implications of this interaction in the urban leisure space.

SUBMITTER: Chen X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7312120 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Everyday Life Construction, Outdoor Activity and Health Practice among Urban Empty Nesters and Their Companion Dogs in Guangzhou, China.

Chen Xianfei X Zhu Hong H Yin Duo D

International journal of environmental research and public health 20200608 11

In this paper, we argue that research on the everyday life of older people needs to move beyond anthropocentrism because non-human support contributes to the diversity of their social networks. We elaborate this argument by examining how companion dogs are involved in the urban empty-nest family in Guangzhou (an aging and highly urbanized city in China), the building of multispecies kinships by urban empty nesters in later life and improving the health of urban empty nesters. Participatory obser ...[more]

PMID: 32521753

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:With the disintegration of the extended family in recent years, the empty-nest phenomenon is increasingly common in China and the health of empty nesters is attracting more attention. Lifestyles, accounting for 53% in determining death, play a vital role in improving the health of individuals. However, it was rarely studied in promoting the health of empty nesters. In this study, we proposed a "SMG" model in empty nesters, including the self-management, mutual management, and group management, to implement health-promoting lifestyles interventions among empty nesters to provide an effective means to improve their lifestyles and health. METHODS:We conducted a prospective intervention on 350 empty nesters in three communities located in Taiyuan, China. One hundred sixty-seven empty nesters were randomly assigned to the intervention group with SMG-based health-promoting lifestyles interventions used for 7-months, and 183 were randomly assigned to the control group with no measures imposed. The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-C) was used to rate the lifestyles of empty nesters. Generalized estimation model was used to analyze the differences between the intervention and control groups over time, adjusted for education and employment. RESULTS:After 7?months of health-promoting lifestyles intervention, HPLP-C score and each dimension score in the intervention group all increase from baseline. There were significant differences after intervention associated with time and group interaction effects in aspects of HPLP-C (mean score?=?8.838, 95%CI:6.369-11.306), self-realization (mean score?=?1.443, 95%CI:0.352-2.534), Health responsibility (mean score?=?1.492, 95%CI:0.477-2.508), physical activity (mean score?=?1.031, 95%CI:0.572-1.491), nutrition (mean?=?0.827, 95%CI:0.177-1.476), interpersonal relations (mean?=?2.917, 95%CI:2.365-3.469) and stress management (mean score?=?0.729, 95%CI:0.131-1.327). And education is contributing to the effect of the health-promoting lifestyle intervention (Estimate:8.833, p?<?0.001). CONCLUSIONS:SMG-based health-promoting lifestyles intervention in empty nesters effectively improved the lifestyles of empty nesters, and the outcome was affected by education. Lifestyle change requires ongoing intervention, and community service centres must be involved in implementing the "SMG" model to provide ongoing support and improve the effect of interventions among empty nesters. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Chinese Clinical Trial ChiCTR1800015884. Registration date: 26-04-2018. Retrospectively registered.

Project description:ObjectiveThere were studies evaluating advanced nursing practice independently in the mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, but there was no attempt to make a comparison of practice between them. This study employed a case study method to examine and compare advanced nursing practice in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.MethodPurposive sampling method was used to recruit 24 advanced practice nurses (APN) who came from the specialty of medical, surgical and pediatric in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. A questionnaire survey and semi-structured interview were conducted to solicit quantitative and qualitative data for exploring the structure-process-outcome of advanced nursing practice. The structure component explored the factors influencing advanced nursing practice. The process part examined APN role components and illustrations of exemplary advanced nursing practice. The outcomes described outcome indicators that best reflected advanced nursing practice.FindingsFindings revealed that in the structure domain, APN education and career development, team approach in healthcare, and support from management, physicians and professional associations were important contextual factors for APN development in both cities. For the process domain, participants had at least 80% of their time practicing independently/interdependently and were engaged in APN activities including direct/indirect patient care, research/project work, initiation of staff and patient protocols. All participants demonstrated competencies with impacts on patient, service and profession in their description of exemplary practice. Participants from both cities ranked patient-related outcomes as top indicators for their advanced nursing practice.ConclusionThis study has revealed that APNs in Guangzhou and Hong Kong shared similar work involvement and impacts and their demonstrated competencies were on par with international counterparts. Continued efforts need to be put in establishing formal APN education, clear clinical career pathway and title protection to empower nurses to provide optimal care to the fullest extent that they are prepared for.

Project description:Given the need for knowledge on the restorative potential of urban settings, we sought to estimate the effects of personal and contextual factors on preferences and restoration likelihood assessments for different urban activities-in-environments. We also sought to study the generality of these effects across different countries.We conducted a true experiment with convenience samples of university students in the Netherlands (n = 80), Sweden (n = 100), and the USA (n = 316). In each country, the experiment had a mixed design with activities-in-environments (sitting in a park, sitting in a cafe, walking in a shopping mall, walking along a busy street) manipulated within-subjects and the need for restoration (attentional fatigue, no attentional fatigue) and immediate social context (in company, alone) manipulated between-subjects. The manipulations relied on previously tested scenarios describing everyday situations that participants were instructed to remember and imagine themselves being in. For each imagined situation (activity-in-environment with antecedent fatigue condition and immediate social context), subjects provided two criterion measures: general preference and the likelihood of achieving psychological restoration.The settings received different preference and restoration likelihood ratings as expected, affirming that a busy street, often used in comparisons with natural settings, is not representative of the restorative potential of urban settings. Being with a close friend and attentional fatigue both moderated ratings for specific settings. Findings of additional moderation by country of residence caution against broad generalizations regarding preferences for and the expected restorative effects of different urban settings.Preferences and restoration likelihood ratings for urban activity-environment combinations are subject to multiple personal and contextual determinants, including level of attentional fatigue, being alone versus in company, and broader aspects of the urban context that vary across cities and countries. Claims regarding a lack of restorative quality in urban environments are problematic.

Dataset Information

Everyday Life Construction, Outdoor Activity and Health Practice among Urban Empty Nesters and Their Companion Dogs in Guangzhou, China.

Publications

Everyday Life Construction, Outdoor Activity and Health Practice among Urban Empty Nesters and Their Companion Dogs in Guangzhou, China.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure