Maria (pseudonym) is a transgender woman born and raised in Portugal during the Estado Novo, a repressive regime that harshly discriminated against LGBTQIA+ people. Maria is currently 65 years old and started her transition in her early 50 s. This study aims to examine Maria’s life trajectory and how she accomplished her (late) coming out and (happy) transition. The authors adopted McAdams’ (1985) methodology for analyzing life stories, which divides a person’s life into chapters. Maria identified four chapters in her life trajectory: (a) “‘Who am I?’ A childhood and adolescence of secrecy and self-doubt”; (b) “Finding comfort in conforming to cis/heteronormativity”; (c) “Coming out: A sense of relief and authenticity”; and (d) “‘Finally being who I am’—a woman respected and satisfied with life.” Maria’s awareness of her “finite lifespan” and “time left” influenced her coming out and transition. Her constraints earlier in life heightened the significance and immediacy of time horizons and the opportunity to experience an authentic gender identity before she dies. This study uniquely highlights age as a privilege in the transgender transition process, showing how awareness of a finite lifespan can drive late-life coming out and transition. Maria’s story challenges traditional aging narratives, demonstrating resilience and the potential for finding meaning and purpose, despite lifelong adversity.

This paper aims to analyze the impact of the pandemic on the practices of older people in an urban and rural context in Russia and to highlight the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic for planning the future of older people, depending on their urban or rural context. On the basis of 50 qualitative interviews with the urban and rural older people (aged 63–90 years) in Russia, the authors analyzed how they experienced the pandemic. When selecting the sample, the authors took into account possible differences in the characteristics of the experience of the pandemic and the restrictions imposed on those living in both urban and rural areas. The method of interview analysis is thematic coding. Self-isolation in rural areas was milder and allowed older people to carry out their usual daily activities and maintain communication. Urban older people faced severe spatial isolation and the inability to carry out their usual daily activities, which had a negative impact on their physical and psychological condition. Both urban and rural residents experienced difficulties in accessing medical care and medicines. A general striking trend during the pandemic was the rapid digitalization (communication, information search, etc.). There was an increase in intergenerational and local solidarity, volunteer associations in the city and the local community in the village. This study shows that due to different regulations and law enforcement, the pandemic period was more easily experienced by older people in rural areas than in the city as they were able to maintain their usual lifestyle. At the same time, the pandemic exposed a serious problem with the medical infrastructure in rural Russia. The empirical materials show unexpected/new pandemic effects, such as the growth of intergenerational solidarity and the development of a volunteer movement and local communities to help older people.

The purpose of this paper is to report on two research studies that explored how older adult residents in assisted living facilities in the United Kingdom (UK) experienced changes to their social activity and well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. A qualitative design was used and combined interview data from 13 residents across five assisted living facilities in the UK. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were developed. The first theme “being locked in” explores the reduction in social contact and feelings of imprisonment experienced by assisted living residents. The second theme “keeping everyone safe” discusses the ways in which isolation was rationalised by older adults through drawing on narratives around safety and protection of others. The third theme “finding new ways to connect” illustrates how learning new skills enabled assisted living residents to maintain connections with others and highlights the novel opportunities for connection presented by communal living. The final theme “keeping a positive outlook” underlines how positive thinking and hope for the future enabled residents to cope with isolation. The findings from this study present a novel insight into the experience of assisted living residents during Covid-19 restrictions. While it is known that isolation during lockdowns had negative well-being implications for community-dwelling older adults, this study highlights some of the ways that communal living was protective for assisted living resident well-being.

Evidence-based hydration care for older people is essential to health and wellbeing. However, practices vary, leading to negative outcomes for older people, particularly in relation to increased incidence of morbidity and mortality. As a discrete work package situated within a larger study to enhance hydration care for older people in care homes, the purpose of this part of the study was to develop a hydration competency framework to support an evidence-based approach to practice. An overview of the literature informing hydration care was undertaken to establish best practice, resulting in the generation of a series of competency statements. Using a co-production approach, these statements were reviewed and assimilated into a hydration competency framework that was piloted across two care home sites. Revision and refinement of the framework was undertaken in response to feedback from the co-production group, until consensus was reached to agree the final iteration. The hydration competency framework has three core domains relating to: understanding the individual daily hydration requirements of older people; assessing the individual daily hydration requirements of older people; implementing person-centred care to maintain and monitor the daily hydration requirement needs of older people. Each domain is comprised of competency statements that reflect the current evidence base informing best practice for hydration care for older people. The hydration competency framework provides an innovative tool that can be used to support care home staff to deliver evidence-based hydration practices and positively enhance care outcomes for older people.

Nurses at the nursing home are very busy, as they have to take care of the residents, organise the necessary documentation, enter nursing and care data, take care of the tasks of administering therapies and medications, provide important information to colleagues and respond as quickly as possible to urgent calls. The purpose of this study is to upgrade the existing IP nurse call system at the nursing home with the ‘NURSECARE’ system, to improve nursing and care services, continuously store the performed work of the employed medical staff and integrated SIP protocol (communication between nurses with iNurse and resident’s rooms – NurseTab). The introduction of the “NURSECARE” system will facilitate and optimise the work of nurses at the nursing home. The study findings improve the quality of services and programmes and other forms of assistance by increasing the effectiveness of management and leadership. The study findings improve the quality of services and programmes and other forms of assistance by increasing the effectiveness of management and leadership.