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National Care Homes Research and Development Forum
- Author:
- COOK Glenda
- Journal article citation:
- Generations Review, 15(4), October 2005, pp.48-49.
- Publisher:
- British Society of Gerontology
The National Care Homes Research and Development forum was established on 19th November 2003 to provide a platform for practitioners and researchers to network, share information and ideas arising from their work. This article gives a rationale for the development of the forum and highlights its current work.
Managing the transition to long-term care
- Authors:
- THOMPSON Juliana, COOK Glenda
- Journal article citation:
- Nursing and Residential Care, 14(3), March 2012, pp.146-148.
- Publisher:
- MA Healthcare Ltd.
- Place of publication:
- London
Moving from active rehabilitation to a care or nursing home can be demoralising for older people. Many may few it as ‘coming to the end of the line’. Shortfalls in the accessibility of physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy for care home residents intensifies the perception that hopes for recovery have been given up. Yet there are many situations where an older person’s condition improves following admission to a home. This article argues that the nursing approach in long-term care can aid the transition process and provide informal rehabilitation. By focusing on psychosocial, rather than medical, information, care staff can evaluate goals of ‘questing’ rather than restitution processes. Questing promotes acceptance of impairment and focuses on changing social and attitudinal environments. Activities focus on what individuals can do and ensure that skills are recognised and regularly employed to maximise improvement potential. Individuals should be encouraged to explore new interests and pursue their ideas. Staff can provide resources, referrals and opportunities to bring residents ideas to fruition.
Encouraging the bond between children and grandparents
- Authors:
- SMETHERS Sam, COOK Glenda
- Journal article citation:
- Nursing and Residential Care, 12(8), August 2010, pp.396-397.
- Publisher:
- MA Healthcare Ltd.
- Place of publication:
- London
Care homes can sometimes make family visitors feel as if they are disrupting the running of the place. This article argues that properly managed residential care homes can be made more family friendly, while respecting the needs of other residents. The article emphasises the importance of grandparents to their families and to society, both in terms of the social support that older members of a family give to younger generations and the economic contribution made through childcare. It argues that the role of grandparents in the family should not be diminished as they move into care home and that residential care can be supportive to family relationships. Moreton Hill Care Centre in Gloucestershire is described as an example of a place where family relationships are supported. Children are made to feel welcome through the use of toys and themed events, and facilities are provided to encourage family events and parties.
Older UK sheltered housing tenants' perceptions of well-being and their usage of hospital services
- Authors:
- COOK Glenda, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 25(5), 2017, pp.1644-1654.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim of this study was to examine sheltered housing tenants' views of health and well-being, the strategies they adopted to support their well-being, and their use of health and social care services through a Health Needs Assessment. Sheltered housing in the UK is a form of service-integrated housing for people, predominantly over 60. The study used a parallel, three-strand mixed method approach to encompass the tenants' perceptions of health and well-being (n = 96 participants), analysis of the service's health and well-being database, and analysis of emergency and elective hospital admissions (n = 978 tenant data sets for the period January to December 2012). Tenants' perceptions of well-being were seen to reinforce much of the previous work on the subject with strategies required to sustain social, community, physical, economic, environmental, leisure, emotional and spiritual dimensions. Of the tenants' self-reported chronic conditions, arthritis, heart conditions and breathing problems were identified as their most common health concerns. Hospital admission data indicated that 43% of the tenant population was admitted to hospital (886 admissions) with 53% emergency and 47% elective admissions. The potential cost of emergency as opposed to elective admissions was substantial. The mean length of stay for emergency admissions was 8.2 days (median 3.0 days). While elective hospital admission had a mean length of stay of 1.0 day (median 0.0 days). These results suggest the need for multi-professional health, social care and housing services interventions to facilitate sheltered housing tenants' aspirations and support their strategies to live well and independently in their own homes. Equally there is a need to increase tenants' awareness of health conditions and their management, the importance of services which offer facilitation, resources and support, and the key role played by prevention and reablement. (Publisher abstract)
Re-conceptualising the status of residents in a care home: older people wanting to ‘live with care’
- Authors:
- COOK Glenda, THOMPSON Juliana, REED Jan
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 35(8), 2015, pp.1587-1613.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The construction of a meaningful life depends upon satisfying ‘fundamental human needs’. These are broadly categorised as: physical, social and self-actualisation needs that every human experiences. Some fundamental human needs satisfiers, such as ‘home’, are synergic, addressing more than one need. For an older person, the move to a care home compromises their ontological security (through disruption of identification with place and control over environment) that one's own ‘home’ provides. This paper explores the complex issues surrounding the residential status of care home residents in terms of fundamental human needs. The methodology utilised was hermeneutic phenomenology. Eight older residents participated in the study, and each resident was interviewed up to eight times over a period of six months. Narrative analysis was used to interpret how participants viewed their experiences and environment. Five themes emerged from the narratives that collectively demonstrate that residents wanted their residential status to involve ‘living with care’ rather than ‘existing in care’. The five themes were: ‘caring for oneself/being cared for’; ‘being in control/losing control’; ‘relating to others/putting up with others’; ‘active choosers and users of space/occupying space’ and ‘engaging in meaningful activity/lacking meaningful activity’. This study indicates that if care homes are to achieve synergic qualities so residents are able to regard care homes as ‘home’, then care home staff may need to be more focused on recognising, acknowledging and supporting residents' aspirations regarding their future lives, and their status as residents. (Publisher abstract)
Potential technological solutions to promote mental well-being in older age
- Authors:
- COOK Glenda, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Generations Review, 20(3), July 2010, Online only
- Publisher:
- British Society of Gerontology
Using a multi-national Appreciative Inquiry (AI) design, the strategies that older people adopt to maintain their well-being were examined. Fifty-nine people participated in the study, from the countries of Australia, Germany, South Africa and United Kingdom. Participants described their experiences of mental well-being in relation to: social isolation and loneliness; social worth; self-determination; and security. The authors the reflected on the participants experiences, literature and research to identify potential technologies that may have assisted participants to enhance their self-reported strategies to promote their mental well-being.