Baidoo Selina, Salihu Ojonimi S, Salihu Ejura Y
Department of Sociology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, USA.
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA.
Cureus. 2024 Dec 29;16(12):e76587. doi: 10.7759/cureus.76587. eCollection 2024 Dec.
The US has an aging population that is under-represented in research. Many older adults face barriers to research participation, such as mobility issues, comorbidities, and declining physical and cognitive health, which make it harder for them to understand study processes and give informed consent. Proxies can be family members, paid or unpaid caregivers, or healthcare providers who provide health information for older adults. Proxy reporting is an important resource in aging research, but it is fraught with several challenges that can impact data accuracy and validity. In this paper, we describe these challenges and possible solutions to enhance proxy reporting and the participation of older adults in aging research.
美国人口老龄化,而老年人在研究中的代表性不足。许多老年人在参与研究时面临障碍,如行动不便、合并症以及身体和认知健康状况下降,这使得他们更难理解研究过程并给予知情同意。代理人可以是家庭成员、有偿或无偿护理人员,或为老年人提供健康信息的医疗保健提供者。代理人报告是老龄化研究中的一项重要资源,但它面临着几个可能影响数据准确性和有效性的挑战。在本文中,我们描述了这些挑战以及增强代理人报告和老年人参与老龄化研究的可能解决方案。