Browsing by Author "Araya, Alejandra-Ximena"

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    Fear of Falling among Community-dwelling Sedentary and Active Older People
    (2021) Araya, Alejandra-Ximena; Iriarte, Evelyn
    Objective. The study sought to compare communitydwelling older people with respect to their level of physical activity and to the fear of falls between a group of sedentary elderly and a group of active elderly. Methods. Cross-sectional descriptive study carried out with 113 community-dwelling older people (45 sedentary and 48 active), users of an outpatient care center of the private health system with a geriatric program in Santiago, Chile. The study measured socio-demographic variables, state of health, comprehensive geriatric assessment, exercise, depression with the Yesavage scale, and fear of falling with the Short Falls Efficacy Scale - International (Short FES-I). Results. Sedentary older people have significantly higher scores in the Yesavage depression scale compared with active older people (4.2 versus 0.8). No statistically significant differences were found when comparing both groups of sedentary and active participants in terms of socio-demographic variables along with health, and functional and cognitive capacity. Regarding the fear of falling, the sedentary had a slightly higher score than the active (12 versus 11), although not significant. Conclusion. This study showed that fear of falling was equal in sedentary and active older people who live in the community, although it was found that sedentary individuals had a higher risk of having a positive screening for geriatric depression in those participants who do not perform physical activity.
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    Multidimensional frailty, quality of life and self-management in aging Hispanics living with HIV
    (2024) Iriarte, Evelyn; Cianelli, Rosina; De Santis, Joseph P.; Alamian, Arsham; Castro, Jose G.; Matsuda, Yui; Araya, Alejandra-Ximena
    An observational cross-sectional study was conducted to examine multidimensional frailty and its potential impact on quality of life (QOL) in aging Hispanic people living with HIV (PLWH) and assess the extent to which HIV self-management moderates this association. The sample included 120 Hispanic PLWH aged 50 years and older (M = 59.11; SD = 7.04). The structural equation modeling analyses demonstrated that multidimensional frailty was significantly related to QOL in its two dimensions, physical and mental (p < .001). The relationship between multidimensional frailty and mental and physical QOL remained significant even after controlling for confounders (age and gender). The moderator analyses indicated no statistically significant moderator effect of HIV self-management on multidimensional frailty and mental or physical QOL. These study results have practical implications that highlight the need for early screening for frailty with a multidimensional focus. Age-appropriate and culturally tailored interventions to prevent or mitigate multidimensional frailty may improve QOL.
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    Providing Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Experience of Formal Caregivers in Long-Term Care Facilities in Chile
    (2023) Araya, Alejandra-Ximena; Palacios, Josefa; Oyanedel, Francisca; Iriarte, Evelyn
    The current study aimed to identify the main challenges to formal caregivers from different long-term care facilities (LTCFs) that care for older adults (aged >= 60 years) in Chile during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Chile's national LTCF gov-erning body (SENAMA) sent a survey to 1,190 LTCFs, receiving 996 responses. LTCF characteristics were number of residents, certification with SENAMA, licensure, geographic zone, and poverty level. Four dimensions were assessed: (a) concerns, (b) challenges, (c) needs, and (d) opportunities for improvement. The majority of respondents replied negatively to these four dimensions. Among those who re-sponded positively, the fear of infecting a loved one, staff shortages and overwork, the need for access to psychological support, and improving payments were among formal caregivers' primary concerns. Targeting supportive interventions for formal caregivers, clinically and psychologically, is essential to preserve caregivers' health. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 49(5), 39-44.]