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People, pets and care homes: a story of ambivalence
- Authors:
- SMITH Randall, JOHNSON Julia, ROLPH Sheena
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 12(4), 2011, pp.217-228.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The aim of this article is to examine the history of pet ownership and its relationship to well-being in later life, and to compare current and past attitudes, policies and practices with regard to the issue of pet ownership in communal residential settings for older people. The article includes a review of the literature on pets and older people. It discusses pets and health and well-being, pets and older people, pet visiting schemes and institutional care, and personal and communal pets in care homes. It also draws on new data from research conducted by the authors, which compared archived material on residential homes for older people visited in the late 1950s as part of a study by Peter Townsend (The Last Refuge) with findings from revisiting a sample of these homes 50 years later. The research included observation and interviews with managers and residents, and responses indicated ambivalent attitudes, ambiguity at the policy level, and variation in practice.
An evidence base for the delivery of adult services
- Author:
- PETCH Alison
- Publisher:
- Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 60p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
This independent evidence review was commissioned by the Association of Directors of Social Work to inform current debates on the future delivery of adult services. It sought to ground such debate in a firm understanding of the conclusions that can be drawn from initiatives evaluated both within the UK and elsewhere, ensuring that any future developments can be based on a clear understanding of the likely impact. The debate is motivated by the aspiration to establish the optimum conditions for the provision of support to the 650,000 people in Scotland who have contact with social services. Key conclusions highlight the need to ensure the most effective configuration for the delivery of adult health and social care is imperative given the current financial and demographic challenges. It has a high profile within the current policy context, exemplified by the Reshaping Care for Older People agenda. Social services for adults have delivered major achievements over the last two decades. There have been major shifts in the models of support from dependency and institutionalisation to greater choice and control by the individual. At the same time there has been recognition of key areas such as the needs of family carers and the demands of dementia that were previously invisible. The large majority of those receiving care and support express high levels of satisfaction.
Divorce and the wellbeing of older Australians
- Authors:
- GRAY Matthew, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 31(3), April 2011, pp.475-498.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
In most developed countries, the number of older people who have experienced divorce at some point in their lives will increase in coming decades. However, there is a lack of research on the long-term effects of divorce in later life. This study, drawing from Australian data, examines the long-term impacts of divorce on the well-being of older Australians. Dimensions of well-being examined are social interaction and connectedness, perceived social support, life satisfaction, and physical and mental health. Findings suggest that while divorce has a long-lasting, negative impact on well-being that persists into later life for both men and women, the negative effects of divorce are largely confined to those who do not re-partner. One important difference between men and women is that for women who are divorced and remain single, the negative effects of divorce are found for general health, vitality and mental health. For men, there appear to be no long-term effects of divorce on physical or mental health. While there appears to be some effect of divorce on perceived social support for both older men and women, the effects of divorce on social support are less pervasive in later life than the effects of divorce on satisfaction with life.
Psychological well-being in visually impaired and unimpaired individuals: a meta-analysis
- Authors:
- PINQUART Martin, PIEFFER Jens P.
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Visual Impairment, 29(1), January 2011, pp.27-45.
- Publisher:
- Sage
It is generally believed that limited vision is negatively associated with psychological well-being (PWB). This meta-analysis integrates the results of 198 studies that compared the PWB of visually impaired individuals with unimpaired control groups or population norms. The authors define PWB in terms of individual internal states, such as being free of mental illness, having high levels of positive emotions, self acceptance, and being satisfied with life. The mean age of the visually impaired respondents was 71.37 years; normally sighted controls were just a little younger. About 62% of the respondents were women. Overall, visually impaired people showed a strong decline of vision-specific psychological well-being. However, declines in vision-unspecific measures were small compared to normally sighted peers. Sampling methods influenced study results. Declines of PWB were greater in studies with convenience samples (compared to probability samples) and in studies that used population norms rather than a control group. PWB was lower in; individuals with greater vision loss and in those with age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy, as compared to glaucoma; in adults as compared to children; and, to some extent, in older studies. The authors discuss their findings in terms of developing and implementing interventions aimed at protecting the PWB of visually impaired individuals.
Self-injurious behavior in the nursing home setting
- Authors:
- MAHGOUB Nahla, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(1), January 2011, pp.27-30.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Self-injurious behaviour in older adults is defined as harm inflicted on oneself without conscious suicidal intent. In this literature search aiming to determine the scope of the literature, online database searches identified 10 publications concerning self-injurious behaviour in older adults, 4 of which included studies investigating this in nursing homes. The results showed that there are few clinical studies of self-injurious behaviour in older adult nursing home residents, but that the limited literature suggests that it is a prevalent phenomenon, reported to be strongly associated with dementia and a risk of accidental death. The authors conclude that there is little evidence-based treatment guidance for self-injurious behaviour in older populations, and that clinical studies are urgently needed to help clarify causes and treatment approaches.
People with dementia living in extra care housing: learning from the evidence
- Author:
- DUTTON Rachael
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 14(1), March 2010, pp.8-11.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
A review of the literature relating to people with dementia who are living in extra care was recently commissioned by the Housing and Dementia Research Consortium, and this article discusses and presents key messages from areas where there is a strong research evidence base and some findings from small evaluation studies carried out in the UK. It looks at whether extra care is an appropriate environment for people with dementia, what is important to people with dementia living in extra care, whether extra care can be a home for life for someone with dementia and key gaps in the evidence base. The author concludes that further studies are needed in the UK to improve the robustness of current research evidence relating to people with dementia living in extra care, and that few studies address how best to implement research findings into practice.
The concept of 'ageing well' in ten Latin American countries
- Authors:
- FERNANDEZ-BALLESTEROS R., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 30(1), January 2010, pp.41-56.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
A review of several studies examining the lay concept of successful ageing and related concepts leads to the conclusion that older people from different cultures appear to agree on most of the components identified in the literature. From the research emerges a multidimensional conceptualisation of ‘successful ageing’ that is described on the basis of physical, emotional, cognitive and social domains, and which coincides with most theoretical and empirical definitions. The main goal of the present research is to study similarities and differences between concepts of ‘successful ageing’ in several Latin American and European countries and in two different age groups, and also to examine whether a similar structure of the lay concept can be found across both continents. The results show minor differences at item levels among countries, continents and age groups, and a similar internal structure across them.
Hardiness, successful aging, and HIV: implications for social work
- Authors:
- VANCE David E., STRUZICK Thomas C., MASTEN James
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 51(3-4), 2008, pp.260-283.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Ageing with HIV is becoming and important public health issue and a topic for investigation in the US because the number of middle-aged and older people with HIV is increasing. This is due to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) which is extending the lifespan of many infected, and also due to infection in later life. Little research is being done on the synergistic effects of ageing with HIV, most studies being concerned with mortality. This article reviews various studies which look at the physical, psychological and social benefits associated with hardiness and successful ageing which can mitigate the effects of HIV-related problems, and suggests strategies to improve hardiness and facilitate successful ageing.
Report from the ministerial summit on dementia: organised by the Department of Health (England) and the Medical Research Council: November 2009
- Authors:
- BAMFORD Sally-Marie, (comp.)
- Publisher:
- International Longevity Centre UK
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 63p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This Report summarises the presentations, discussions and ideas which emerged from the Ministerial Dementia Research Summit held on 21st July 2009 at the Royal Society in London. The purpose of the Summit was to identify gaps in existing knowledge and to prioritise new areas for research in the dementia field, including improving the quality of care services and appraising specific interventions, and also more basic work on the causes of dementia or on the possibility of cure. In addition to helping to develop a more clearly prioritised research agenda, the Summit also aimed to focus on ways to support the current science base and sharpen its impact. This could include better coordination of research effort, actions to increase the competitiveness of research bids and/or enhance the translation of research into effective practice.
The prescribed amount of physical activity in randomized clinical trials in older adults
- Authors:
- KRUGER Judy, BUCHNER David M., PROHASKA Thomas R.
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 49(S1), June 2009, pp.S100-S107.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article describes the amount of physical activity prescribed between 1980 and 2005 to sedentary older adults enrolled in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using MEDLINE, Health and Psychological Instruments, EBM Reviews, CINAHL, ERIC, PsychInfo, and Social Science Abstracts with the key words "exercise," "physical activity," and "older adult." More than 13,502 research abstracts were reviewed, and 160 RCTs 12 weeks or more in duration with documented outcomes of physical activity were synthesized. The average prescribed dose of aerobic activity provided by interventions for older adults was less than the recommended amount of 150 min or more per week of moderate-intensity physical activity. In interpreting the results of RCTs, there is an insufficient body of evidence on the relationship between physical activity and cognitive health. However, studies indicated that moderate-intensity physical activity had a positive effect on cognitive health. Given the broad consensus of a dose–response relationship between aerobic activity and a variety of health outcomes, the RCT literature appears to have underestimated the benefit of physical activity for previously sedentary older adults because the prescribed dosages are not consistent with those recommended.