Search results for ‘Subject term:"activities of daily living"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 7 of 7
Older adults, falls and technologies for independent living: a life space approach
- Authors:
- BAILEY Cathy, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 31(5), July 2011, pp.829-848.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper aims to further understand routines which lead to falling in older adults, and how new technology might be used to provide unobtrusive support in independent living. A small study was conducted in Ireland with eight community-dwelling older adults with varying experiences of falls or fear-of-falls. Data were collected through weekly life-space diaries, daily-activity logs, two-dimensional house plans and a pedometer. Findings revealed that, for some participants, daily activities and movements led to potentially risky behaviour about which they had been unaware, which may have implications for falls-prevention advice, and technology design. Four key themes were also uncovered, which are discussed: being pragmatic; not just a faller; heightened awareness and blind spots; and working with technology. In conclusion, the study highlighted a need to think creatively about how technological and other solutions best fit with people's everyday challenges and needs.
Factors associated with perceived health in older adult Irish population
- Authors:
- BURKE Kate E., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(3), April 2012, pp.288-295.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Perceived health status or self-reported health is a reliable indicator of overall health status and is a widely used measure in health and aging surveys. Self-reported health declines with age and is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, poor mental health and functional outcomes and health care utilisation. The aim of this study was to investigate how older people perceive their health and the physical, psychological and social factors that influence and potentially predict such perceptions. The participants were 492 community-dwelling older people with a mean age of 72.5 years living in Dublin. The participants underwent a comprehensive assessment using standardised measures of medical morbidity, personality, functional status, depression, anxiety, perceived stress, cognition, loneliness and social support. Analysis of the findings revealed that self-rated health is best predicted by instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), Charlson Co-morbidity Index (CCI), extraversion and perceived stress. The effects of cognition and social support from friends on self-rated health were found to be mediated by elements of these identified factors. The article concludes that self-rated health is not simply the absence of physical illness but is also strongly influenced by the degree of functional impairment, personality factors and the level of stress experienced by the older person.
An exploration of occupation in nursing home residents with dementia
- Authors:
- MORGAN-BROWN Mark, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(5), May 2011, pp.217-225.
- Publisher:
- Sage
There is growing interest in evaluating the living experience of people with dementia in nursing homes. However evaluating staff, visitor and resident interactions within a residential care environment is complex and challenging. The aim of this study was to develop and report a method of measuring the way residents used their time. The authors evaluated the sitting room environment of two nursing homes in Ireland, using interactive occupation and social engagement as outcome measures and defining these rooms as occupational spaces. Snapshot observational recordings were made during the periods of time when the rooms were in most active use. A total of 35 residents with dementia were involved. These residents spent approximately 70% of their time in the main sitting room areas in states of occupational disengagement. Further insight is provided through narrative descriptions of the functioning of the main sitting room environment in terms of interactive occupation and social engagement, which was poor in these two traditional nursing homes. Routines involving food and drink were critical opportunities for occupational and social engagement. Environmental influences on occupational and social engagement could be detected. The study demonstrated an assessment procedure that provides quantitative and qualitative analysis of a residential care environment in terms of occupation, social engagement and non-engaging behaviour.
The influence of nursing home residency on the capacities of low-dependency older adults
- Authors:
- WALSH Kieran M., WALDMANN Thomas
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 12(5), September 2008, pp.528-535.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
With the growing number of low-dependency older adults in long-stay care and the lack of categorisation of these institutions in the Republic of Ireland, it can be asked if such facilities are truly beneficial. This paper presents an explorative investigation of the influence of the nursing home environment on the capacities of low-dependency older adults. The participants consisted of 50 community residents, as a control group, and 50 nursing home residents ranging in age from 65 to 95 years. The methodology was based on a triangulation of three data sources: a battery of cognitive, sensory, sensorimotor and psychological well-being assessments; a semi-structured participant interview; and an institutional questionnaire. Cluster analysis was then used to identify natural performance groupings within the assessment battery data. There were two performance groupings within the dataset. Interestingly, two community residents were grouped with the majority of nursing home residents and six nursing home residents were grouped with the majority of community residents. The interpretation of the results was informed by the semi-structured interviews and the institutional questionnaires. Although causality cannot be attributed, findings indicate an association between the nursing home environment and the capacities of older adult residents.
Needs assessment in dementia
- Authors:
- MEANEY A. M., CROKE M., KIRBY M.
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(4), April 2005, pp.322-329.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Resource allocation and service development traditionally focuses on diagnostic categories and consequent perceived need. Identification of the actual level of need in the elderly with dementia, and the degree to which it is unmet is necessary to plan services both individually and as a group. The aim of this study was to characterise the needs of a sample of community dwelling elderly patients with dementia who were referred to an old age psychiatry service in Ireland between July 2002 and July 2003. Eighty-two consecutively referred community dwelling patients with ICD-10 diagnosis of dementia were assessed on The Care Needs Assessment Pack for Dementia (CareNap-D). Data on needs across seven domains (health and mobility, self-care and toileting, social interaction, thinking and memory, behaviour and mental state, housecare, community living) is presented. Subjects had a mean of 33 (range: 13-56) identified needs. Approximately 1/3 of these were unmet with a mean of 13 (range: 0-37) and a mean of 20 (range: 4-39) were met. High levels of unmet need was identified in the domains of behaviour and mental state (84% of those with agitation) and of social interaction (79% of those with partaking in activities need). The specific item of repetitive questioning occurred in 68 individuals and was unmet in 88% of these cases. Increasing age, lower MMSE score, and living alone were associated with greater total levels of unmet need. This data underlines the degree of unmet need in the community dwelling elderly with dementia and the importance of developing a spectrum of services on the basis of the actual needs identified.
Perceptions of older people in Ireland and Australia about the use of technology to address falls prevention
- Authors:
- MACKENZIE Lynette, CLIFFORD Amanda
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 40(2), 2020, pp.369-388.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Falls are common events with serious consequences for older people. With an ageing population and increasing health-care costs, information and communication technologies (ICT) will have a potential role in future health-care delivery. However, research on technology acceptance in health care for older people is limited and its application to falls prevention is unknown. The aims of this study were to explore and describe the perceptions of community-dwelling Australian and Irish older people about their current use of technology, and the potential use of technology for falls prevention. Qualitative data were collected from three focus groups conducted in and around Limerick in Ireland, and three in the Sydney area, Australia. A total of 35 older people participated. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged from the data: (a) perceptions of vulnerability to falls, (b) preferences for exercise interventions, (c) participation in and ownership of technology, and (d) perceptions about applications of technology for falls prevention. As the use of technology is an instrumental activity of daily living, health professionals need to assess the capacity of older people to adopt these technologies, and provide falls prevention interventions to accommodate the technology skills of older people. Some participants were reluctant to embrace technology and barriers to the effective use of technology to assist in preventing falls may conflict with future health service trends. (Publisher abstract)
Engagement and social interaction in dementia care settings. a call for occupational and social justice
- Authors:
- MORGAN-BROWN Mark, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 27(2), 2019, pp.400-408.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
As full citizens, people with dementia are entitled to engage in social and occupational activities in residential care settings. Limitation or deprivation of choice and experience of valued occupations has been described elsewhere as occupational injustice. This research frames the unmet needs of people with dementia for occupation and social interaction, as issues of human rights and citizenship. It identifies a gap in current measurement tools of engagement in residential settings and in response, presents the Assessment Tool for Occupational and Social Engagement (ATOSE) as an objective measure of engagement. It examines results from a study of five residential care settings in Ireland using the ATOSE which included 73 residents with dementia and/or enduring mental health diagnoses. Residents spent on average, 38% of their time engaged and 62% of their time not engaged while in their communal sitting rooms. The ATOSE observations supported the rights of residents as citizens to have low levels of engagement addressed. A critical gerontology lens is employed to discuss concepts of citizenship, occupational justice, and social justice in the context of this research project. (Edited publisher abstract)