Objectives: This study examined relationships between home and community gardening and older adults’ self-reported psychosocial and physical well-being, attitudes to aging relative to gardening activities and benefits of membership to a gardening group. Methods: A survey addressing (a) demographic characteristics, (b) gardening interests and sentiments, (c) activities, (d) benefits, (e) self-rated health and quality of life and (f) attitudes to aging was administered online and via mail-out. Results: Participants, 331 gardeners aged 60–95 years from Australia, reported numerous benefits from leisure gardening. According to multiple regression analysis, Restoration and Physical benefits were the strongest explanatory variables of participants’ positive aging self-perceptions. Members of gardening groups reported significantly more social and physical benefits than non-members. Conclusion: The current study provides support for promoting positive aging through gardening. Regardless of ‘doing’ gardening or simply ‘being’ in the garden, having contact with nature was key to attaining positive therapeutic benefits for this sample.

Research shows that contact with nature plays a vital role in our psychological wellbeing. Domestic gardening is common among older adults who spend more leisure hours gardening than any other age group. Despite this, few studies have systematically explored the significance of domestic gardens in relation to older adults' health and wellbeing. This study examined the perceived therapeutic benefits of gardening, and the effect of ageing in relation to older gardeners' continued participation in gardening, using quantitative and qualitative data from a survey of Australian older adult gardeners (N=331). The quantitative data, which included frequencies, were analysed using the PASW Statistics 18.0 package. The qualitative data, which included participants' responses to open questions, were analysed by deriving themes via Leximancer, an innovative text analytics software that uses word association information to elicit concepts, extracting the most important and grouping these according to themes. In relation to the reasons for gardening, several themes were identified including valuing the aesthetics of gardens, connecting with nature, achievement, and physical and mental activity. The benefits of gardening, and the variety of ways that respondents had adapted or modified their gardening activities in order to continue, are also reported. Gardening was more than a casual leisure pursuit for these participants, who saw it as critical to their physical and psychological wellbeing.

Healthcare professionals’ attitudes to older people, and especially those living with dementia, may contribute to unsatisfactory healthcare. Despite repeated calls to address increasing need, training an adequate geriatric workforce remains an international concern. Of particular concern are the attitudes and knowledge healthcare workers may hold about people living with dementia. Students’ knowledge of dementia has been found to be low at the beginning of their university education and has shown limited improvement throughout their coursework; greater understanding of students’ attitudes to ageing and dementia, upon entry and throughout their degrees, may help inform targeted educational interventions to improve the healthcare delivered to older people. This study measured knowledge of and attitudes toward dementia and ageing in an Australian university student sample (n = 183), comparing students from medical professional versus non-medical professional related fields at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. We examined diagnostic and prognostic biases through age manipulation of a vignette describing a hypothetical patient (aged 42 or 72 years), who was experiencing symptoms that were consistent with DSM-5 criteria for both dementia and depression. Based on information provided in the vignette, student participants were asked to select a primary disorder that they would assign to the patient. Showed that while medical professional students held significantly more positive attitudes toward ageing than 'other' students, average attitudinal scores indicated neutrality. Medical professional students indicated a diagnostic bias toward the older vignette patient, who was more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than depression. A history of geriatric-specific training did not predict dementia knowledge; however, having prior contact with people with dementia predicted both dementia knowledge and more positive prognoses. Overall, findings indicated medical professional students held neutral attitudes towards older people and showed deficits in knowledge of dementia. Educational interventions that introduce students to people living with dementia may improve knowledge, skills, and attitudes. All university students would benefit from education about dementia and inclusivity to reduce stereotyping and stigma.

Objectives: This project investigated experiences of caregivers of people living with dementia during COVID-19. We recorded caregivers’ perceptions of care before, during, and moving forward from COVID-19, emphasizing positive experiences, coping strategies, creative care adaptation, strengths demonstrated, and benefits of providing care. Methods: Allied health professionals conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 informal caregivers of people living with dementia. We categorized and thematically analyzed responses as before, during or moving forward from COVID-19. Results: A range of themes were derived from the data. Pre-pandemic care: (1) focusing on the person living with dementia and (2) working together. During-pandemic care: (1) respecting personhood; (2) connecting with virtues and values; (3) improving relationships; (4) seeking and receiving support; (5) prioritizing self-care; (6) being protective and proactive; (7) making practical changes. Moving forward from COVID-19: (1) strengthening commitment to the person living with dementia, (2) looking after my own needs, and (3) considering practical requirements. Conclusions: Participants reported positive caregiving experiences in all timeframes, focusing more on their own needs and experiences during and moving forward from COVID-19. This research may highlight informal caregivers’ challenges and needs. Clinical implications: Enforced isolation produced deeper connections for some caregivers. Caregivers benefit from resources facilitating adaptive care.

Driving a car meets older people’s needs, providing utility (getting from A to B), psychosocial (providing identity and roles and feelings of independence and normality) and aesthetic (mobility for its own sake) mobilities. Giving up driving is related to poorer health and wellbeing. This paper addresses how older people cope when they give up driving, using Bourdieu’s theory of capital as a way of categorising different barriers and enablers to managing without a car in a hypermobile society. Older people are most likely to mention barriers and enablers to mobility relating to infrastructure capital (technology, services, roads, pavements, finance and economics), followed by social capital (friends, family, neighbourhood and community). Cultural capital (norms, expectations, rules, laws) and individual capital (skills, abilities, resilience, adaptation and desire and willingness to change) are less important but still significantly contribute to older people’s mobility. Implications for policy and practice suggest that provision for older people beyond the car must explore capital across all four of the domains.