BackgroundPalliative care aims to provide maximum comfort to the patient. However it is unknown what factors facilitate or hinder the experience of comfort, from the perspective of inpatients of palliative care units. This lack of knowledge hinders the development of comfort interventions adjusted to these patients. The aim of this research is to describe the comfort and discomfort experienced by inpatients at palliative care units.MethodsA phenomenological descriptive study was undertaken. Ten inpatients were recruited from a Spanish palliative care unit and seven from a Portuguese palliative care unit. Data were collected using individual interviews and analysed following the method of Giorgi.ResultsFour themes reflect the essence of the lived experience: The Palliative Care as a response to the patient’s needs with advanced disease, attempt to naturalize advanced disease, confrontation with their own vulnerability, openness to the spiritual dimension.ConclusionsInformants revealed that they experience comfort through humanized care, differentiated environment, symptomatic control, hope and relationships. The discomfort emerges from the losses and powerlessness against their situation. Even if such findings may seem intuitive, documenting them is essential because it invites us to reflect on our convictions about what it means to be comfortable for these patients, and allows incorporating this information in the design of focused interventions to maximize the comfort experience.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12904-016-0145-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Quality of life of older people living in Antofagasta, Chile Background: As basic needs of older people are covered, the concern about the determinants of their quality of life becomes preeminent. Aim: To evaluate the relationship between self-reported quality of life and related variables. Material and Methods: The Quality of Life Survey for older people developed by the World Health Organization (WHOQOL-Old), the reduced scale of Ryff Psychological Well Being, the Functional Social Support Questionnaire, the SF-12 and GHQ12 general health surveys were applied to 406 older adults aged 71 ± 7 years (83% women), that were members of older people organizations and lived in Antofagasta, Chile. Results: Older people that perceived themselves as sick had signifi cantly lower quality of life scores. Self-acceptance, social support, autonomy and having a purpose in life also infl uenced the perception of quality of life. Conclusions: Health issues and the sense of self effi cacy are determinants of the quality of life of these older subjects.

The loss of autonomy at advanced ages is not only associated with ageing, but also with the characteristics of the physical and social environment. Recent investigations have shown that social networks, social engagement and participation act like predictors of disability among the elderly. The aim of this study is to determine whether social networks are related to the development and progression of disability in the early years of old age. The source of data is the first wave of the survey "Processes of Vulnerability among Spanish Elderly", carried out in 2005 to a sample of 1244 individuals. The population object of study is the cohort aged 70-74 years in metropolitan areas (Madrid and Barcelona) and not institutionalized. Disability is measured by the development of basic activities of daily life (ADL), and instrumental activities of daily life (IADL). The structural aspects of the social relationships are measured through the diversity of social networks and participation. We used the social network index (SNI). For each point over the SNI, the risk of developing any type of disability decreased by 49% (HR=0.51, 95%CI=0.31-0.82). The SNI was a decisive factor in all forecasting models constructed with some hazard ratios (HR) that ranged from 0.29 (95%CI=0.14-0.59) in the first model to 0.43 (95%CI 0.20-0.90) in the full model. The results of the present study showed a strong association between an active social life, emotional support provided by friends and confidents and disability. These findings suggest a protective effect of social networks on disability. Also, these results indicate that some family and emotional ties have a significant effect on both the prevalence and the incidence of disability.

In order to explain damage and observed ground motions in Mexico City during the 1985 Michoacán earthquake, simultaneous consideration must be given to source, path, and site conditions. This is clear from teleseismic records and local vertical displacements. Incident waves had an important part of energy in the frequency band of 0.3-1 Hz. Damage distribution and observed motion in the lake bed zone cannot be satisfactorily explained using one-dimensional theory. The effects of lateral irregularities are required. To assess its effects we describe the stratigraphic setting of the valley and discuss some features of damage distribution with results for one- and two-dimensional wave propagation models. These are useful to establish on quantitative basis the importance of lateral heterogeneity.

RESUMENFundamento: La pérdida de autonomía a edades avanzadas no se asocia únicamente con el envejecimiento sino también con características del entorno físico y social. Investigaciones recientes han demostrado que la red social, la integración social y la participación, actúan como predictores de la discapacidad en la vejez. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el efecto de la red social sobre el nivel de autonomía (en términos de discapacidad instrumental y básica) en etapas iniciales de la vejez.Métodos: La fuente de datos fue la primera oleada de la encuesta "Procesos de Vulnerabilidad en la Vejez", realizada en 2005 a una muestra de 1.250 individuos que, tras la depuración posterior de los datos, resultó en un tamaño muestral final de 1.244 individuos. La población objeto de estudio fue la cohorte entre 70 y 74 años residente en grandes áreas urbanas (Madrid y Barcelona) y no institucionalizada. Se midió discapacidad para el desarrollo de actividades básicas de la vida diaria (ABVD), y actividades instrumentales de la vida diaria (AIVD). Los aspectos estructurales de las relaciones sociales se midieron a través de la diversidad de red social y la participación, para lo que se construyó un indicador global de diversidad de red social Resultados: Por cada unidad que disminuye el indicador de diversidad de red, la probabilidad de padecer una discapacidad instrumental frente a no padecer ningún tipo de discapacidad, se multiplica por 0,97 (IC95% 0,95-0,99), y la probabilidad de padecer una discapacidad básica se multiplica por 0,91 (IC95% 0,87-0,94) Conclusiones: Al igual que en otros ámbitos geográficos, existe una relación estadísticamente significativa entre el indicador de diversidad de red social utilizado y la discapacidad en sus dos niveles de gravedad. Por tanto, la diversidad de la red social parece mostrar un efecto protector frente a la discapacidad entre la población urbana al comienzo de la vejez.Palabras clave: Envejecimiento. Relaciones sociales. Redes sociales. Discapacidad. Envejecimiento saludable. ABSTRACT Protective effects of social networks on disability among older adults in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, in 2005Background: The loss of autonomy at advanced ages is not only associated with ageing, but also with the characteristics of the physical and social environment. Recent investigations have shown that social networks, social engagement and participation act like predictors of disability among the elderly. To analyze the effect of social networks on the level of autonomy (instrumental and basic disability) at initial stages of the old age.Methods: The source of data is the first wave of the survey "Processes of Vulnerability among Spanish Elderly", carried out in 2005 to a sample of 1,250 individuals? with the later purification of the data, it was in a size final sample of 1.244 individuals? The population object of study is the cohort aged 70 to 74 years in metropolitan areas (Madrid and Barcelona) and not institutionalized. Disability is measured by the development of basic activi...

A higher level of frailty was associated with an increased risk of death at 2 years in a prospective cohort of elderly persons older than 75 years living in their own homes in the city of Lleida.

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