Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jul 10, 2024
Date Accepted: Apr 21, 2025
Understanding Gender Specific Daily Care Preferences: A Topic Modeling Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Daily preferences are a reflection of how adults wish to have their needs and values addressed, contributing to joy and satisfaction in their daily lives. Clinical settings often regard older adults as a uniform group, neglecting the diversity within this population, which results in a shortfall of person-centered care that overlooks their distinct daily care preferences. At the heart of person-centered care lies the imperative to comprehend and integrate these preferences into the care process. Recognizing and addressing gender differences in older adults is critical to customizing care plans, thereby optimizing quality of life and well-being for individuals. This study addresses the need to understand the diverse daily care preferences of adults, particularly among older populations, who represent a growing demographic with unique needs and interests.
Objective:
The primary question was to identify and analyze the key themes and daily care preferences from unstructured adult text narratives, with a focus on uncovering gender-specific variations.
Methods:
This study used de-identified, unstructured textual data from ADVault, an interactive online platform. Utilizing advanced topic modeling techniques, we analyzed texts from 4350 adults. The study focused on extracting meaningful themes and daily care preferences, and identifying gender differences in these elements.
Results:
Our analysis identified six major themes: Entertainment, Music, Personal Interests and Memories, Intimate Relationships, Natural Comfort, and Emotional, Cultural, and Spiritual Foundations. Notably, the study revealed significant gender differences in daily care preferences, especially in terms of familial relationships and entertainment choices.
Conclusions:
The findings underscore the importance of recognizing individual daily care preferences in person-centered care, particularly in relation to gender. Understanding these preferences is crucial for improving care quality and patient satisfaction, thereby enhancing the overall quality of life for adults receiving care across our healthcare system.
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Copyright
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