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:BackgroundEmpty nesters are older people who live alone or an older couple without children to care for them. In China, empty nesters make up a significant community and are more likely to experience emotional issues, particularly depression. This study investigated the prevalence of depression and the factors influencing depression among Chinese home-bound empty nesters using meta-analysis.MethodsBased on previous studies, we used search terms relating to empty nesters and depression in English and Chinese. Databases, including China Journal Full Text Database (CNKI), Wanfang, Wipu, China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and UptoDate, were searched in April 2022, for relevant articles. Details including names of authors, year of publication, region of investigation, study type, sample size, depression detection scale, depression detection rate, and influencing factors were captured. The heterogeneity of the studies was assessed based on the I2 index, and data analysis was performed using Stata 16.0 software.ResultsA total of ten research articles involving 5337 Chinese empty nesters were evaluated in the present meta-analysis. The overall prevalence of depression among empty nesters in China was 43%. The prevalence of depression among urban empty nesters was 38% (95% CI: 0.24,0.52), and 36% (95% CI: 0.18,0.55) among rural empty nesters. Many factors, including female, income, marital status, chronic illness, relationship with children, and social support were linked to depression among urban empty nesters.ConclusionThe prevalence of depression among empty nesters was 43%. Therefore, based on the factors influencing depression, government departments can intervene early to improve the mental health of empty nesters.LimitationsThe meta-analysis only included cross-sectional studies. Therefore, there is a need for more future original studies investigating depression among empty nesters in China.

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: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

Tweets