Morale in the oldest old: the Umeå 85 study

• Main Authors: Petra Von, Heideken Wågert, Birgitta Rönnmark, Erik Rosendahl, Lillemor Lundin-olsson, M. C. Gustavsson, Björn Nygren, Berit Lundman, Astrid Norberg, Yngve Gustafson
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.575.9578; http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/content/34/3/249.full.pdf

Objective: to describe morale among the oldest old, and to investigate which social, functional and medical factors are associated with morale in this population. Design: a cross-sectional study. Setting: a population-based study in the municipality of Umeå, a city in Northern Sweden. Subjects: half of the 85-year-old population, and the total population of 90-year-olds and ≥95-year-olds (95–103) were asked to participate (n=319) and 238 were interviewed. Methods: structured interviews and assessments during home visits, interviews with relatives and caregivers and review of medical charts. The 17-item Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS) was used to measure morale. Participants were assessed with the Barthel Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Index, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), and a symptom questionnaire. Multiple regression analy-ses were conducted to find independent factors to explain the variation in the PGCMS score. Results: eighty-four per cent (n = 199) of those interviewed answered the PGCMS. Three-quarters had middle range or high morale. GDS score, type of housing, previous stroke, loneliness and number of symptoms, adjusted for age group and sex, explained 49.3 % of the variance of total PGCMS score.