Gyeonga Kang

Background: Adults with learning disabilities experience persistent health inequalities and often face communication barriers and fragmented care. Hospital passports have been promoted to support person‐centred care and reasonable adjustment, yet their use remains inconsistent. Methods: A systematic literature review with narrative synthesis was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched from inception to November 2025. Peer‐reviewed qualitative, quantitative, and mixed‐methods studies examining hospital passport interventions for adults with learning disabilities were included. Methodological quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Due to study heterogeneity, a narrative synthesis was conducted. Findings: Nine studies published between 2004 and 2024 were included. Hospital passports varied in format and length but commonly included personal details, communication preferences, medical history, and support needs. Passports were perceived to improve communication, reduce repeated explanations, and support more person‐centred care. However, sustained use was limited by frequent updating requirements, patients forgetting passports, stigma concerns, time pressures, limited staff training, unclear responsibility, and lack of integration into routine clinical workflows. Conclusions: Hospital passports may support communication and reasonable adjustments for adults with learning disabilities, but their impact depends on organisational commitment and effective implementation within healthcare systems. Protocol Registration: PROSPERO (registration number CRD420251177371). Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution.

Young adult caregivers (YACs) who care for parents with dementia face unique developmental and psychological challenges; however, empirical evidence on thi

As the population progressively ages, it has become increasingly important to maintain intrinsic capacity (IC) in advanced middle age. Our study aimed to e

Aims: To identify the use of telehealth for people with disabilities in community or primary care settings and to explore effective telehealth interventions for this group.Design: Systematic literature review and narrative synthesis.Data Sources: The literature search was conducted in January 2024 using five electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane library and PsycINFO.Methods: The review followed the Tawfik's guideline and adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta‐Analyses guidelines for reporting. Out of 7363 retrieved articles, 1871 duplicates were removed, 5389 were excluded after title and abstract review, and 4 were excluded due to unavailable full text. One additional article was obtained through citation and hand searching. Thirteen studies were quality assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Quantitative data were narratively synthesised.Results: Thirteen quantitative studies were selected including three quasi‐experimental studies and ten randomised controlled trials. The types of telehealth included telemonitoring, computerised intervention, virtual reality, telephone care, mHealth tools, decision support tools, digital storytelling and technology‐assisted language interventions. The most common type of disability was intellectual disability, and the most common telehealth provider was the digital device itself. Most studies used surveys as the data collection method and the interventions were mostly conducted individually. Computer‐based telehealth interventions demonstrated significant improvement in attention, health knowledge and psychological well‐being. Telephone, virtual reality and tablet interventions also had positive impacts on body weight, motor coordination and pragmatic language skills. Telemonitoring was also beneficial.Conclusions: This systematic review examined the current state and effectiveness of telehealth interventions for people with disabilities. However, few intervention studies were found, and some studies were of poor quality. Continued interest and efforts from the government and researchers are needed targeting people with disabilities.Impact: Results provide valuable insights for healthcare providers, policymakers and researchers. They raise awareness about the potential of telehealth to address healthcare disparities and improve access to care for people with disabilities.Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution: Systematic review.

Objective: This study aims to identify classes based on the trajectory of depressive symptoms and to examine the impact of trajectory classes of depressive symptoms on longitudinal changes in cognitive function in older adults with diabetes.Methods: This is a secondary data analysis of 572 older adults with diabetes using data from the 5th (2014) to 8th (2020) wave of the Korean longitudinal study of aging. Analysis of latent class growth and the effect of trajectories of depressive symptoms on cognitive function was examined using a latent growth curve model. This analysis has been found to be functional in change trajectories and in describing the direction of the trajectory.Results: The trajectory of depressive symptoms was classified into four classes: low‐stable (36.89%), high‐decreasing (20.28%), low‐increasing (18.71%), and high‐persistent (24.13%). Compared with the high‐persistent class, higher initial levels of cognitive function were observed in the high‐decreasing and low‐stable classes. Compared with the high‐persistent class, a slower rate of cognitive decline was observed in the low‐stable class (B = 0.410, p = .021).Conclusions: Continuous monitoring of depressive symptoms and early management of depressive symptoms for community‐dwelling older adults with diabetes can help prevent the cognitive decline and delay the deterioration of cognitive function.

AimAs life expectancy increases worldwide, the prevalence and the disease burden of diabetes in older adults are also increasing. This study aimed to examine sex differences in the reciprocal relationship between glycemic control and depressive symptoms among older adults with diabetes by using longitudinal data at two timepoints.MethodsWave 1 (W1, 2016-2017) and wave 2 (W2, 2018-2019) data from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study were used. Finally, 416 older adults with diabetes who satisfied the inclusion criteria were analyzed (215 males, 201 females). The reciprocal relationship between depressive symptoms and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels was examined using a cross-lagged panel model.ResultsHbA1c levels and depressive symptoms at earlier time points were the most significant factors contributing to HbA1c levels and depressive symptoms at later timepoints. The relationship between HbA1c level and depressive symptoms differed according to sex. The cross-path from depressive symptoms (W1) to HbA1c levels (W2) was positively statistically significant in males (beta = 0.18, SD = 0.05, P = 0.001). The path from HbA1c levels (W1) to depressive symptoms (W2) was positively statistically significant in females (beta = 0.12, SD = 0.06, P = 0.032).ConclusionsEarly management of blood glucose levels and depressive symptoms is important in older adults with diabetes. Moreover, glycemic control through social activities in the community could be effective in relieving depressive symptoms in older females with diabetes, and managing depressive symptoms and glucose levels together could be effective in glycemic control in older males with diabetes. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2023; center dot center dot: center dot center dot-center dot center dot. Early management of blood glucose levels and depressive symptoms is important in older adults with diabetes. Moreover, glycemic control through social activities in the community could be effective in relieving depressive symptoms in older females with diabetes, and managing depressive symptoms and glucose levels together could be effective in glycemic control in older males with diabetes.*image

Purpose: Preventing the effects of physical vulnerability is a practical approach to improving older adults’ depressive symptoms. This study aims to examine the relationship between gender differences related to muscle strength and depressive symptoms mediated by perceived stress. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data from 2,705 older adults (65 years old or older) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VII 2016 and 2018 were analyzed. The moderated mediation model was developed; the outcome, independent, mediation, and moderated mediation variables in the literature-based research model were depressive symptoms, muscle strength, perceived stress, and gender, respectively. Results: Perceived stress had a mediating effect on the relationship between muscle strength and depressive symptoms. The indirect effect of muscle strength on depressive symptoms mediated by perceived stress was β = -.02 (95% CI:-0.03~-0.01). The moderated mediation model demonstrated that the interaction term of handgrip strength and gender negatively affected perceived stress, which indicated that gender moderated the mediating model of perceived stress on the association of muscle strength and depressive symptoms (β = -.01, p <.05). The conditional indirect effect model was insignificant in the male group (β = -.00, 95% CI:-0.01~0.01) but significant in the female group (β = -.01, 95% CI: -0.02~0.00). Conclusions: Perceived stress mediated the relationship between muscle strength and depressive symptoms. However, the effect differed by gender. A stress-mediated depressive symptoms intervention program for older adults should be developed to consider women’s needs.