International Journal of Care and Caring, 5(3), 2021, pp.535-541.
Publisher:
Policy Press
We are facing the 2050 aging wave that is calling us to prepare several strands of interventions to be ready on time. There is a need to foster the digital transformation of the care sector by the improvement of the digital literacy among older people, carers and care workers also using codesign approaches for the ICT usability and adoption in the social and health care domains. Moreover we need to switch from a reactive care model based on chronicity towards the adoption of a new one where citizens will be the co-maker of their own health.
(Edited publisher abstract)
We are facing the 2050 aging wave that is calling us to prepare several strands of interventions to be ready on time. There is a need to foster the digital transformation of the care sector by the improvement of the digital literacy among older people, carers and care workers also using codesign approaches for the ICT usability and adoption in the social and health care domains. Moreover we need to switch from a reactive care model based on chronicity towards the adoption of a new one where citizens will be the co-maker of their own health.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
older people, digital technology, co-production, ageing, service development;
Over the last few decades, increasing attention has been paid to the issue of wellbeing among older people, and life satisfaction has been used as an indicator to evaluate older people's life conditions. This paper sheds some light on this topic by examining life satisfaction among people aged 65 and older and its predictors. The authors adopt a gender approach to examine whether older men and women have different sources of satisfaction. This hypothesis is tested in Italy, a country still characterised by an unbalanced public and private gender system. The study also examines whether living arrangements, specifically living alone, influence the determinants of life satisfaction of older men and women. The data used are from the cross-sectional surveys ‘Aspects of Daily Life’, undertaken in Italy by the National Statistical Institute. The results do not show clear gender differences in the determinants of life satisfaction, with only some slight gender differences among those living alone. This suggests that the social and cultural environment may play a relevant role for older people's life satisfaction.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Over the last few decades, increasing attention has been paid to the issue of wellbeing among older people, and life satisfaction has been used as an indicator to evaluate older people's life conditions. This paper sheds some light on this topic by examining life satisfaction among people aged 65 and older and its predictors. The authors adopt a gender approach to examine whether older men and women have different sources of satisfaction. This hypothesis is tested in Italy, a country still characterised by an unbalanced public and private gender system. The study also examines whether living arrangements, specifically living alone, influence the determinants of life satisfaction of older men and women. The data used are from the cross-sectional surveys ‘Aspects of Daily Life’, undertaken in Italy by the National Statistical Institute. The results do not show clear gender differences in the determinants of life satisfaction, with only some slight gender differences among those living alone. This suggests that the social and cultural environment may play a relevant role for older people's life satisfaction.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
quality of life, wellbeing, older people, ageing, gender;
Universite Catholique de Louvan. Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche Travail, Etat et Societe
Publication year:
2012
Pagination:
290p.
Place of publication:
Charleroi
... of this research will be of relevance for any country or region struggling to design a home care system for an ageing population. The coordinators of this research project have submitted a proposal for a special issue of Ageing and Society based on the main chapters of this report.
Taking the reforms of the 1990s as its starting point, this report examines the dynamics of change experienced by Belgium, England, Germany and Italy in their home care sectors. Central to our analysis is the process of “marketisation”. This constitutes one of the major trends in all these four countries, yet its nature and impact show important national variations. The data referred to in this report relate to developments in and around various home care sectors, and cover both societal and organisational dynamics. Country-based research teams gathered the information, each team following identical methodological guidelines. This report uses official documents and grey literature from the care sector to analyse the discourses underpinning reforms in the field. The conclusions of this research will be of relevance for any country or region struggling to design a home care system for an ageing population. The coordinators of this research project have submitted a proposal for a special issue of Ageing and Society based on the main chapters of this report.
Subject terms:
home care, older people, social care provision, ageing, health care;
Research study providing an empirical analysis of the incomes of older people in 11 countries. Also presents the results, for a narrower range of countries, of an analysis of living standards, defined to include the value of government provided health and education services, as well as disposable cash income. In addition, looks at the role of owner-occupied housing and liquid wealth.
Research study providing an empirical analysis of the incomes of older people in 11 countries. Also presents the results, for a narrower range of countries, of an analysis of living standards, defined to include the value of government provided health and education services, as well as disposable cash income. In addition, looks at the role of owner-occupied housing and liquid wealth.
Subject terms:
income, older people, poverty, quality of life, ageing;
Content types:
research, government publication
Location(s):
Canada, Australia, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States
In light of an increased ageing population, policy makers are faced with the urgent problem of planning programmes that reflect active ageing or, in other words, the promotion of activities that help individuals to remain active in a societal context. The construct of agency, defined as the capacity to make decisions and to address situations depending on the individual's future plans, reflects
(Publisher abstract)
In light of an increased ageing population, policy makers are faced with the urgent problem of planning programmes that reflect active ageing or, in other words, the promotion of activities that help individuals to remain active in a societal context. The construct of agency, defined as the capacity to make decisions and to address situations depending on the individual's future plans, reflects a specific normative criterion: individuals are expected to live in an active and productive way, while those who are unable to live up to this expectation are considered dependent, passive, unproductive, weak. From a social constructionist perspective, the current study proposes a critical reflection on the qualities usually attributed to the construct of agency that are liable to appear reductive and oppressive when applied to an elderly population. Once the basic premises underlying agency, as it is commonly defined in the Western tradition, have been deconstructed, a different conceptualisation, based on interviews with older individuals, will be presented. The current work aims to produce a different conceptual framework that will permit examination of experiences and organisational modalities of agency typifying later life. The comments made by the interviewees in many cases resonate with ideas contained in Taoist philosophy and, more specifically, with the concept of disponibilité (or disponibility) outlined by the French sinologist François Jullien, which we discuss here.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
older people, ageing, policy, physical exercise, activities of daily living, social inclusion;
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a route-learning training in a group of older adults living in a residential care home. The authors verified the presence of training-specific effects in tasks similar to those trained – route-learning tasks – as well as transfer effects on related cognitive processes – visuo-spatial short-term memory (VSSTM; Corsi Blocks Test (CBT), forward version), visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM; CBT, backward version; Pathway Span Tasks; Jigsaw Puzzle Test) – and in self-report measures. The maintenance of training benefits was examined after 3 months.
Method: Thirty 70–90-year-old residential care home residents were randomly assigned to the route-learning training group or to an active control group (involved in non-visuo-spatial activities).
Results: The trained group performed better than the control group in the route-learning tasks, retaining this benefit 3 months later. Immediate transfer effects were also seen in visuo-spatial span tasks (i.e., CBT forward and backward version and Pathway Span Task); these benefits had been substantially maintained at the 3-month follow-up.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that a training on route learning is a promising approach to sustain older adults’ environmental learning and some related abilities (e.g., VSSTM and VSWM), even in residential care home residents.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a route-learning training in a group of older adults living in a residential care home. The authors verified the presence of training-specific effects in tasks similar to those trained – route-learning tasks – as well as transfer effects on related cognitive processes – visuo-spatial short-term memory (VSSTM; Corsi Blocks Test (CBT), forward version), visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM; CBT, backward version; Pathway Span Tasks; Jigsaw Puzzle Test) – and in self-report measures. The maintenance of training benefits was examined after 3 months.
Method: Thirty 70–90-year-old residential care home residents were randomly assigned to the route-learning training group or to an active control group (involved in non-visuo-spatial activities).
Results: The trained group performed better than the control group in the route-learning tasks, retaining this benefit 3 months later. Immediate transfer effects were also seen in visuo-spatial span tasks (i.e., CBT forward and backward version and Pathway Span Task); these benefits had been substantially maintained at the 3-month follow-up.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that a training on route learning is a promising approach to sustain older adults’ environmental learning and some related abilities (e.g., VSSTM and VSWM), even in residential care home residents.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Health and Social Care in the Community, 22(4), 2014, pp.361-367.
Publisher:
Wiley
Previous research reported that economic crises may have important implications for increasing suicide rates. The authors investigated official data on completed suicide in Italy during the recent economic crisis as related to age and gender. Data were extracted from the Italian Mortality Database. The trend in suicide rates from 1980 to 2010 (the most recent year available) was analysed by joinpoint regression analysis. Rate ratios were calculated to compare suicide rates before and after the present economic crisis. Suicide rates for men 25–64 years of age (those involved in the labour force) started to increase in 2008 after a period of a statistically significant decrease from 1994 to 2007 and their suicide rate was 12% higher in 2010 compared with that in 2006. In contrast, suicide rates declined for women of all ages and for men younger than 25 and older than 65 years of age. After 2007, there was a noticeable increase in suicide rates among Italian men involved in the labour force.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Previous research reported that economic crises may have important implications for increasing suicide rates. The authors investigated official data on completed suicide in Italy during the recent economic crisis as related to age and gender. Data were extracted from the Italian Mortality Database. The trend in suicide rates from 1980 to 2010 (the most recent year available) was analysed by joinpoint regression analysis. Rate ratios were calculated to compare suicide rates before and after the present economic crisis. Suicide rates for men 25–64 years of age (those involved in the labour force) started to increase in 2008 after a period of a statistically significant decrease from 1994 to 2007 and their suicide rate was 12% higher in 2010 compared with that in 2006. In contrast, suicide rates declined for women of all ages and for men younger than 25 and older than 65 years of age. After 2007, there was a noticeable increase in suicide rates among Italian men involved in the labour force.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publication year:
2007
Pagination:
78p., bibliog.
Place of publication:
Paris
... policy implications that can be drawn from the findings of this study is that it would not be prudent for policymakers to count on future reductions in the prevalence of severe disability among elderly people to offset completely the rising demand for long-term care that will result from population ageing.
As the population aged 65 and over will continue to grow steadily in OECD countries over the next decades, improvements in the functional status of elderly people could help mitigate the rise in the demand for, and hence expenditure on, long-term care. This paper assesses the most recent evidence on trends in disability among the population aged 65 and over in 12 OECD countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. One of the principal findings from this review is that there is clear evidence of a decline in disability among elderly people in only five of the twelve countries studied (Denmark, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States). Three countries (Belgium, Japan and Sweden) report an increasing rate of severe disability among people aged 65 and over during the past five to ten years, and two countries (Australia, Canada) report a stable rate. In France and the United Kingdom, data from different surveys show different trends in ADL disability rates among elderly people, making it impossible to reach any definitive conclusion on the direction of the trend. One of the main policy implications that can be drawn from the findings of this study is that it would not be prudent for policymakers to count on future reductions in the prevalence of severe disability among elderly people to offset completely the rising demand for long-term care that will result from population ageing.
Subject terms:
long term care, older people, ageing, assessment, disabilities, evidence-based practice;
Location(s):
Canada, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States
International Journal of Social Welfare, 20(2), April 2011, pp.180-191.
Publisher:
Wiley
... by older people. The first set of findings is a descriptive account of the context of ageing and social welfare in the six countries and the relationship between this context and volunteering by older people. The second set of findings uses a broad comparative dataset, the World Values Survey (2005–2006), to explore differences in voluntary association involvement more specifically. The analyses suggest
This study explores voluntary association involvement by older people using a six-regime model with Esping-Andersen's three worlds of welfare as a starting point. Current literature is then used to argue for the inclusion of three additional regime types. The model, with its six illustrative countries, is then used to compare type and level of voluntary association membership and volunteering by older people. The first set of findings is a descriptive account of the context of ageing and social welfare in the six countries and the relationship between this context and volunteering by older people. The second set of findings uses a broad comparative dataset, the World Values Survey (2005–2006), to explore differences in voluntary association involvement more specifically. The analyses suggest that differences across regime types are explainable in terms of the social welfare context. These findings suggest a possible line of approach to understanding differences across countries.
Subject terms:
models, older people, social welfare, volunteers, ageing, comparative studies;
Content type:
research
Location(s):
Australia, Italy, Japan, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom
Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 36(1), March 2011, pp.49-60.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
POMONA II was a European Commission funded public health project collecting information from 14 countries using a set of key health indicators specifically relevant for people with intellectual disabilities. This research focused on age-specific differences relating to environmental and lifestyle factors and the 17 medical conditions measured by the POMONA Checklist of Health Indicators. The article describes how information was collected using the POMONA Health Interview Survey and Evaluation Form from a sample of 1,253 participants in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It then presents the results of the analysis, with tables showing characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities in the study, frequency of social contacts with relatives or friends according to age, lifestyle risk factors in people with intellectual disabilities according to age, and general and age-specific prevalence rates of health problems. The authors discuss how healthy older adults with intellectual disabilities are with regard to lifestyle factors, and whether there are health disparities between older adults with and without intellectual disabilities. They note that some evidence of health disparities was found for older people with intellectual disabilities, particularly in terms of under diagnosed or inadequately managed preventable health conditions.
POMONA II was a European Commission funded public health project collecting information from 14 countries using a set of key health indicators specifically relevant for people with intellectual disabilities. This research focused on age-specific differences relating to environmental and lifestyle factors and the 17 medical conditions measured by the POMONA Checklist of Health Indicators. The article describes how information was collected using the POMONA Health Interview Survey and Evaluation Form from a sample of 1,253 participants in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It then presents the results of the analysis, with tables showing characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities in the study, frequency of social contacts with relatives or friends according to age, lifestyle risk factors in people with intellectual disabilities according to age, and general and age-specific prevalence rates of health problems. The authors discuss how healthy older adults with intellectual disabilities are with regard to lifestyle factors, and whether there are health disparities between older adults with and without intellectual disabilities. They note that some evidence of health disparities was found for older people with intellectual disabilities, particularly in terms of under diagnosed or inadequately managed preventable health conditions.
Subject terms:
learning disabilities, life style, older people, adults, ageing, health;
Content type:
research
Location(s):
Austria, Belgium, Europe, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom