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Problems of training and cooperation in social work with elderly people in the EC countries Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Spain: a report from a research project
- Authors:
- ELIAS Gabriele, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Issues in Social Work Education, 12(1), Spring 1992, pp.24-51.
- Publisher:
- Association of Teachers in Social Work Education
Reports on a study based on a postal survey of social work training institutions in Germany, France, the U.K. and Spain. The findings are presented country-by-country and concurrently discussed in the context of the overall picture which emerges. Issues concerning basic and post-qualifying training and research in the field of social work with elderly people are examined. A diversity of provision for, and variation of the development status of, this area of social work training is identified.
Elderly people's care in Germany
- Author:
- BROOKE-ROSS R.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 21(3), 1987, pp.244-251.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
-
COVID 19 and dementia: experience from six European countries
- Authors:
- BURNS Alistair, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, early cite 18 January 2021,
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The effects of Covid‐19 have been well documented across the world with an appreciation that older people and in particular those with dementia have been disproportionately and negatively affected by the pandemic. This is both in terms of their health outcomes (mortality and morbidity), care decisions made by health systems and the longer‐term effects such as neurological damage. The International Dementia Alliance (IDEAL) is a group of dementia specialists from six European countries and this paper is a summary of our experience of the effects of COVID‐19 on our populations. Experience from England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland highlight the differential response from health and social care systems and the measures taken to maximise support for older people and those with dementia. The common themes include recognition of the atypical presentation of COVID‐19 in older people (and those with dementia) the need to pay particular attention to the care of people with dementia in care homes; the recognition of the toll that isolation can bring on older people and the complexity of the response by health and social services to minimise the negative impact of the pandemic. Potential new ways of working identified during the pandemic could serve as a positive legacy from the crisis. (Edited publisher abstract)
The relationship between women’s work histories and incomes in later life in the UK, US and West Germany
- Authors:
- SEFTON Tom, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 21(1), February 2011, pp.20-36.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This study examines the relationship between employment history and the personal income of older women in the UK, US and West Germany. It compares three countries with different welfare and pension systems, and aims to achieve a better understanding of the interaction between the life course, pension system and women’s incomes in later life. The study draws on data from longitudinal surveys, and includes 1,418 samples from the UK, 1,127 from the US and 2,270 from Germany. Findings reveal that the association between older women’s incomes and employment history is strongest in West Germany and weakest in the UK, where there is evidence of a pensions poverty trap and where only predominantly full-time employment is associated with significantly higher incomes in later life. Employment history matters less for widows in all three countries and more for recent birth cohorts and more educated women in the UK only. In ending, the paper discusses the adequacy of the treatment of women under different pension systems.
At risk alcohol drinking in primary care patients aged 75 years and older
- Authors:
- WEYERER Siegfried, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(12), December 2009, pp.1376-1385.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study looks at alcohol consumption patterns among older patients. The subjects were 3,224 non-demented patients aged 75 and over attending general practitioners in 6 cities in Germany. Detailed assessment of alcohol consumption was determined by structured clinical interviews. The results showed that 50.1% were abstainers and that 43.4% were moderate drinkers. The prevalence of at-risk alcohol consumption (over 20g alcohol per day for women and over 30g alcohol per day for men) was 6.5%. This was significantly higher for men (12.1%) than women (3.6%). Compared to moderate drinking, at-risk drinking was significantly higher in men, individuals with liver disease, and current smokers. Apart from the liver disease, at-risk drinking in this population was associated with relatively good physical and mental health. The authors suggest that public prevention measures should focus on at-risk drinkers to make them aware of potential risks of high alcohol consumption in old age.
A salutogenic view on subjective well-being in active elderly persons
- Authors:
- WIESMANN Ulrich, HANNICH Hans-Joachim
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 12(1), January 2008, pp.56-65.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Subjective well-being as an indicator for successful aging is investigated from a salutogenic perspective that states that the sense of coherence plays a key role for psychological adaptation. It should be demonstrated that the sense of coherence mediates the relationship between generalized resistance resources and subjective well-being. One-hundred-and-seventy psychophysically active elderly persons (37 men) in Germany filled out a questionnaire assessing the sense of coherence, subjective well-being and resistance resources (such as age, education, physical health, activity level, social support and personality variables). It was found that resources co-varied with the sense of coherence and subjective well-being, accounting for 52 and 48% of the variance, respectively. The most important predictors were self-efficacy, self-esteem and education. After controlling for resources, the sense of coherence accounted for an additional 6% of the variance in well-being. The sense of coherence clearly mediated the relationship between resources and well-being. The findings corroborate the salutogenic idea that the sense of coherence creates, or maintains, a form of psychological integrity as represented by subjective well-being. The promotion of a strong sense of coherence should be a major aim of gerontological interventions.
The outdoor mobility and leisure activities of older people in five European countries
- Authors:
- GAGLIARDI Christina, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 27(5), September 2007, pp.683-700.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Many gerontological studies have dealt with the leisure activities of older people and they have generated many important theories. Although outdoor activities and mobility promote good health in old age, both decrease with increasing age as people lose physical and mental functions. This paper examines the outdoor and indoor leisure activities of 3,950 older adults and their variations by personal and environmental characteristics in Germany, Finland, Hungary, The Netherlands and Italy. The main dimensions of activity were established by factor analysis, and in all countries four factors were found: home activities, hobbies, social activities, and sports activities. Both similar and distinctive pursuits characterised each dimension among the five countries. ‘Home activities’ mainly comprised indoor activities, but the other three dimensions involved more physical mobility. The scores of various socio-environmental characteristics on the factors enabled the attributes of the participants to be profiled. Sports activities and hobbies were performed more often by younger men, by those with good physical functioning and by those who drove cars. Social activities were performed more by women and those who used public transport. Home activities were more frequently performed by those with low physical function and women.
A multidimensional scale for the measurement of agreement with age stereotypes and the salience of age in social interaction
- Authors:
- KRUSE Andreas, SCHMITT Eric
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 26(3), May 2006, pp.393-411.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper presents a new scale for the assessment of the salience of age in social interaction and of levels of agreement with four age stereotypical assertions, about the characteristics of people in the ‘third age’ and the ‘fourth age’, about older people's social roles and social participation, and about the problems for society produced by population ageing. The scale was constructed by testing the agreement of a national sample of 804 German respondents aged 41–84 years with over 60 item-statements in two pilot studies. The final scale has 24 items, and was tested using a stratified sample of 1,275 subjects aged 40–75 years. Five postulated subscales were confirmed using principal components analysis: ‘age salience’ in social interaction, old age as a time of ‘developmental gains and potentials of development’, old age as a time of ‘developmental losses and risks of development’, ‘the social downgrading of older people’, and believing that ‘older people are a burden on society’. For age stereotypes and age salience, no significant sex differences were found, but those aged 58–64 years held more optimistic views about old age and population ageing than both the younger and the older age groups (with no differences between the latter). Moreover, age stereotypes and age salience varied by several social-economic variables, particularly occupational status, the rate of unemployment in the region of residence, and being resident in the eastern or western part of Germany. No significant interactions between age group and sex were found for any of the five subscales.
The role of the 'trusted stranger' in DCM feedback
- Author:
- MULLER-HERGI Christian
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Dementia Care, 12(2), March 2004, pp.18-19.
- Publisher:
- Hawker
Outlines some of the challenges about the feedback process in Dementia Care Mapping, and provides information on developments in Germany.
The '1992 reform' of public pensions in Germany: main elements and some effects
- Author:
- SCHMAL Winifried
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 3(1), 1993, pp.39-51.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This article gives an overview of central aspects (aims and measures) of the German Pension Reform Act of 1989, implemented in 1992. One main element is the redefinition of the pension adjustment procedure aimed at a constant net pension level. It is integrated in a self-regulating mechanism making financing a dependent variable. Other important measures are aimed at increasing the average retirement age and introducing a partial pension into social insurance. The article discusses possible economic effects of these measures as well as consequences of their introduction in East Germany after the German unification, taking into account the quite different situations in the East and West Germany.