Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Ageing and well-being in an international context
- Author:
- CLIFTON Jonathan
- Publisher:
- Institute for Public Policy Research
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 36p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
The author asks what lessons the UK can learn from several case studies from overseas about how the well-being of older people can be incorporated into a wider range of policy areas than those, traditionally, of pensions, health and social care. For example, in the UK an ageing population brings more focus onto mental health, loneliness and isolation issues, whereas life satisfaction is highest in Japan among those over 65. In addition, case studies from Ireland, the United States, Norway, Finland, New Zealand and China are presented with much variation in findings. Examples of how the well-being of older people can be addressed in the four key areas of relationships, work, learning and the built environment are discussed and put forward by the author as good practice for the future of an ageing population in the UK.
Comparing nursing home assistive personnel in five countries
- Authors:
- LAXER Katherine, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 41(1), 2016, pp.62-78.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
Assistive personnel are the primary caregivers in long-term residential care (LTRC) in industrialised countries. The authors' goal is to describe and compare the work-related characteristics of assistive personnel in LTRC in five countries (Canada, Germany, Norway, U.K., and U.S), which may reflect how various societies view their responsibility to ageing populations and the workers who care for them. OECD and national statistical databases are used to assess and compare the work context for assistive personnel. Analysis of the statistical data is informed by on-site observations in nursing homes with reputations for high quality, close readings of these organisations’ documents and records, and interviews with LTRC staff. Pay is generally low and the work required of assistive personnel is often demanding in all countries studied. While most assistive personnel have completed high school, formal certification requirements vary considerably. Professionalisation is increasing in Norway with its high school major in eldercare, and in Germany, which has a 2-year certificate programme. Financial compensation for assistive personnel in Norway and Canada is greater than in the other countries. Union membership for assistive personnel ranges from very high in Canada to negligible in the U.S. Some countries studied have training programs of only a few months duration to prepare assistive personnel for highly demanding jobs. However, in Germany and Norway, training aims to professionalise the work of assistive personnel for the benefit of workers, employers, and residents. There are high rates of part-time and/or casual work among assistive personnel, associated with reduced employment-related benefits, except in Germany and Norway, where these benefits are statutory for all. Data suggest that unionisation is protective for assistive personnel, however union coverage data were not available for all countries. The need to improve the qualifications and training of assistive personnel was observed to be a national priority everywhere except in the U.S. Compensation is relatively low in the U.K., the U.S. and Germany, despite the important jobs performed by assistive personnel. Finally, to improve future research, statistical mapping of this critical component of the labour force in LTRC should be a greater priority across high-income countries. (Edited publisher abstract)
Ageing and health status in adults with intellectual disabilities: results of the European Pomona II study
- Authors:
- HAVEMAN Meindert, et al
- Journal article citation:
- 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.
“‘Call security’: locks, risk, privacy and autonomy in long-term residential care”
- Authors:
- TUFFORD Frances, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 43(1), 2018, pp.34-52.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
Locked doors and secure units are often used as a solution in long-term residential care (LTRC) for residents with moderate to severe dementia who are at risk for wandering and potentially harming themselves or others. This practice creates important quality of life implications for residents as well as for employees. In this paper the broader assumptions, connotations and possibilities of LTRC built environments by comparing and contrasting the use of and philosophies regarding the locking of doors and entire units in facilities that maintain this practice to those that have open doors, open units and other accessible physical spaces are explored. This sub-study is part of a larger international, interdisciplinary study that uses rapid site-switching ethnography within a feminist political economy framework to investigate promising practices in LTRC. Field observations and interviews with management, health providers, support staff, informal care providers, union representatives, residents and family members were conducted in 27 sites, 10 of which were elected to include for the purpose of this paper, located in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia (BC), Canada, as well as Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK). Locked doors and units, and inaccessible physical spaces affect the balance between “home” and “institution” in LTRC facilities in numerous ways including privacy, mobility and autonomy of residents, the ability to remain socially connected within the home, possibilities of integration with the larger community and overall quality of life and care. (Edited publisher abstract)
Physical environments for long-term care: ideas worth sharing
- Editors:
- ARMSTRONG Pat, BRAEDLEY Susan
- Publisher:
- Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 114
- Place of publication:
- Montreal
This report provides examples of promising practice which show how planning physical environments in long term care homes can contribute to quality of life and care of residents. The examples demonstrate how environments can shape how care and life in nursing homes are understood, and how they can have a positive impact on residents. It draws on evidence gathered from international ethnographic research carried out in 27 different sites in the six countries of Norway, Germany, the UK, the US, and Canada. Chapters cover a range of issues, including: location of a care home; space; staff - environments for staff to carry out their work and interact with residents; food and residents connections with where food is prepared; locks and doors; clothing and laundry - its role in dignity and identity; and cleaning - the need for both a clean and attractive environment; and environments that meet the needs of those at the end of life. Each chapter includes key questions for consideration to help care homes to improve their practice. The final chapter identifies key lessons from the examples and reflects some of the tensions identified when designing physical environments for long-term residential care. (Edited publisher abstract)
Rights, risks and restraint-free care of older people: person-centred approaches in health and social care
- Editors:
- HUGHES Rhidian, (ed.)
- Publisher:
- Jessica Kingsley
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 224p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
This book provides health and social care professionals with an authoritative reading resource on the ethics and use of restraint. It provides an overview of the different forms of restraint, the conditions under which they are used and their implications for the health and wellbeing of older people. Practical approaches to minimising restraint are then explored, underlining the importance of person-centred care. Innovative programmes and approaches to reducing the use of restraint are described and assessed, and case studies are drawn upon to highlight practice challenges and their effective resolutions. The perspectives of older people and their carers and families, as well as of professionals, commissioners and regulators of health and social care, are also taken into account. The contributors are drawn from an international range of health and social care settings, as well as from the academic world.
Social care and social exclusion: a comparative study of older people's care in Europe
- Editors:
- BLACKMAN Tim, BRODHURST Sally, CONVERY Janet
- Publisher:
- Palgrave
- Publication year:
- 2001
- Pagination:
- 236p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Basingstoke
Explores the diversity of social care provision for older people in six European states. Discusses diversity in relation to general models of welfare and the relevance of social care provision to the emerging risk of social exclusion in Europe's ageing societies. Analyses the main features of care in each country, and significant differences and similarities between them, through case studies. Concludes by considering the utility of the concept of social exclusion in evaluating social care provision.
Elder abuse and mediation: exploratory studies in America, Britain and Europe
- Author:
- CRAIG Yvonne Joan
- Publisher:
- Avebury
- Publication year:
- 1997
- Pagination:
- 229p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Aldershot
Part 1 looks at the social confluence of elder abuse and mediation and contains chapters on: theories of interrelational conflict and relational justice in later life; rights-based mediation as a minimal form of social intervention; and participatory action research into the unresolved conflicts of elder relations. Part 2 examines the social construction of elder abuse and mediation in the United States and includes sections on: American elder care and elder rights; Californian long term care and institutional elder abuse; and Atlanta and Kansas community mediation and elder abuse. Part 3 is on the social development of elder abuse and mediation services in Britain and Europe and includes chapters on: the British Elder Mediation Project; elder abuse and mediation in Norway; and insights and initiatives with European perspectives.
Payments for care: a comparative overview
- Editors:
- EVERS Adalbert, PIJL Marja, UNGERSON Clare
- Publisher:
- Avebury
- Publication year:
- 1994
- Pagination:
- 358p.,tables,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Aldershot
Presents a collection of papers looking at how payments for care schemes are developing across Western and Central Europe, the United States and Canada. Includes discussions of payments to 'volunteers', and consideration of the way in which social security and tax systems work to increase the incomes of care recipients and their carers. Also includes introductory chapters discussing general and theoretical issues involved in the development of systems of payments for care including the labour market, empowerment and the relationship between carers and care recipients.
Gender and caring: work and welfare in Britain and Scandinavia
- Editor:
- UNGERSON Clare
- Publisher:
- Harvester Wheatsheaf
- Publication year:
- 1990
- Pagination:
- 205p.,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Hemel Hempstead
Brings together a collection of papers that develops a comparative analysis of the way in which women in general, and mothers and carers in particular, are affected by social policy, with the central question being in what sense is caring for frail elderly or children 'work', how should it be remunerated. Also looks at how far labour market change, particularly in trends in women's employment, has fed into social policy development.