Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Emotional social support and access to care among older people living with HIV in rural China
- Authors:
- LIN Chunqing, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30(10), 2015, pp.1041-1047.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objectives: Globally, the number of older people living with HIV (PLH) is growing. Additionally, older PLH are facing particular challenges related to accessing health care. The objective of this study is to investigate the older PLH's access to care and its relationship to emotional and tangible social support. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 225 PLH who were 50 years of age or older in Anhui, China. A computer-assisted personal interview was used to collect the participants' demographic characteristics, perceived health status, and access to care. The following two dimensions of social support were measured: emotional support and tangible support. The association between emotional/tangible support and access to care was calculated using Pearson's/point-biserial correlations and with multiple linear regression. Results: Higher tangible support was reported by the participants who were married or living with a partner, those who had higher annual income levels, and those with better perceived health status. Emotional support was correlated with higher education, higher income, and better perceived health status. Multiple regression analyses showed that access to care was significantly associated with emotional support but not with tangible support. Conclusions: The study findings point to the importance of providing emotional support for older PLH. It is suggested that emotional support should be provided for older PLH in addition to tangible assistance, in order to engage them in treatment and care. (Edited publisher abstract)
Support networks for Chinese older immigrants accessing English health and social care services: the concept of Bridge People
- Authors:
- LIU Xiayang, COOK Glenda, CATTAN Mima
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 25(2), 2017, pp.667-677.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
As Chinese immigrants in the United Kingdom age, they experience an increasing need to access health and care services. It has, however, been reported that older Chinese immigrants have difficulties in accessing these services. This study explored the experiences of this population in using health and care services and the strategies that they adopted to address their difficulties. A grounded theory method with a two-staged research design was used. Stage 1 explored the participants’ experiences of ageing and use of health and social care services through focus group interviews. Stage 2 investigated the strategies individuals used to support access to and use of services through individual interviews. Forty-four older Chinese people and 15 supporters participated in interviews during August 2011 and May 2013. These older Chinese immigrants were challenged in knowing about and in accessing services. Their difficulties were attributed to language barriers, lack of information and instrumental support, and emotional and cultural issues regarding use of health and care services. Their supporters facilitated access to services and acted as a bridge between the service and the user; therefore, they were given the title ‘Bridge People’. Bridge People have different backgrounds: family and friends, public sector workers and staff from community-based Chinese organisations. The defining attributes of these supporters were: bilinguality, bicultural, multifunctionality and accessibility. There is no charge for this support; and the relationship between the Bridge Person and recipient involves trust and influence over decisions regarding use of health and care services. Bridge People should be recognised and identified by health, social care and housing services to promote engagement and use of services by older immigrant Chinese people. (Publisher abstract)
Community consultation with LGBT people over 50
- Author:
- LGBT HEALTH AND WELLBEING
- Publisher:
- LGBT Health and Wellbeing
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 4
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
Summarises the findings from a community consultation on the social, information and support needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people aged over 50 in Scotland’s central belt. Six key themes emerged from the consultation: there is a strong need for social connection; over half of people are selective about being out; there are key geographical differences in access to services in Lothian, Glasgow, and in the rest of Scotland; people travel to urban areas to access LGBT spaces; there are particular challenges faced by transgender people; and aging as an LGBT person often creates specific additional challenges. (Edited publisher abstract)
A support network typology for application in older populations with a preponderance of multigenerational households
- Authors:
- BURHOLT Vanessa, DOBBS Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 34(7), 2014, pp.1142-1169.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper considers the support networks of older people in populations with a preponderance of multigenerational households and examines the most vulnerable network types in terms of loneliness and isolation. Current common typologies of support networks may not be sensitive to differences within and between different cultures. This paper uses cross-sectional data drawn from 590 elders (Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sylhetis) living in the United Kingdom and South Asia. Six variables were used in K-means cluster analysis to establish a new network typology. Two logistic regression models using loneliness and isolation as dependent variables assessed the contribution of the new network type to wellbeing. Four support networks were identified: ‘Multigenerational Households: Older Integrated Networks’, ‘Multigenerational Households: Younger Family Networks’, ‘Family and Friends Integrated Networks’ and ‘Non-kin Restricted Networks’. Older South Asians with ‘Non-kin Restricted Networks’ were more likely to be lonely and isolated compared to others. Using network typologies developed with individualistically oriented cultures, distributions are skewed towards more robust network types and could underestimate the support needs of older people from familistic cultures, who may be isolated and lonely and with limited informal sources of help. The new typology identifies different network types within multigenerational households, identifies a greater proportion of older people with vulnerable networks and could positively contribute to service planning. (Publisher abstract)
Social determinants of older adults’ awareness of community support services in Hamilton, Ontario
- Authors:
- TINDALE J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 19(6), November 2011, pp.661-672.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Community support services (CSSs), such as food services, transportation services, and volunteer visiting, enable persons coping with health or social issues to continue to live in the community. However, lack of awareness can lead to these services being underutilised. This study aimed to determine middle-aged and older adults’ awareness of CSSs and to identify the relationship between the social determinants of health and awareness of CSSs. In a telephone interview, 1152 community-dwelling older adults from Ontario, Canada were asked to read a series of 4 vignettes and whether they were able to identify a CSS they could turn to in that situation. Across the 4 vignettes, 40% of participants did name a CSS as a possible source of assistance. The respondents most likely to have awareness of CSS include the middle-aged and higher-income groups. Being knowledgeable about where to look for information about CSSs, having social support and being a member of a club or voluntary organisations are also significant predictors of awareness of CSSs. The results suggest that efforts be made to improve the level of awareness and access to CSSs among older adults by targeting their social networks as well as their health and social care providers.
Formal and informal support for older adults with severe mental illness
- Authors:
- CUMMINGS Sherry M., KROPF Nancy P.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 13(4), July 2009, pp.619-627.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study sought to examine the combination of formal and informal services supplied to older adults with severe mental illness, to assess the adequacy of services received, and to determine factors predictive of formal and informal service provision. A cross-sectional research design was employed. Seventy-five older adults diagnosed with a SMI were recruited through local community mental health centre. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using the Camberwell Assessment of Needs for the Elderly. Clients most frequently received services from formal sources for psychiatric distress, physical health, information, and dangerous behaviour needs while informal sources provided the greatest amount of assistance for self-care, psychiatric distress, and money management needs. Appropriate assistance was most often not provided for benefits, sight/hearing, and incontinence. Formal services were predicted by group residence and dangerous behaviour, physical illness, medication, and daily activity needs. Assistance from informal sources was predicted by private residence, self-care, mobility, and money management needs. While formal and informal sources provided adequate services for certain client needs, over 70% of the clients did not receive the correct type of help for some of their needs. Greater communication between mental health care staff and informal caregivers, and the integration of aging network services, is essential for the adequate provision of care to older severely mentally ill (SMI) adults. Education and greater linkages among care providers are necessary so that all service providers are aware of and are able to appropriately respond to the complex multi-level needs experienced by older SMI adults.
HIV/AIDS and older adults in North America
- Authors:
- EMLET Charles A., ZABLOTSKY Diane
- Journal article citation:
- Global Ageing, 4(2), August 2006, pp.72-85.
This article discusses how the profile of how HIV/AIDS impacts older adults who are infected or at-risk for HIV across the United States and Canada. The article first provides epidemiological trends for both countries, including patterns related to gender, ethnicity and transmission routes. It then goes on to discuss psychosocial issues faced by older adults living with HIV/AIDS, including issues of stigma and social support. The article concludes with an examination of service delivery and access to services in the US and Canada.
A comparative analysis of short stays versus long stays in adult day health care programs
- Author:
- DABELKO Holly I.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Health Care, 42(1), 2005, pp.57-71.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
The purpose of this study is to identify challenges to continual use of adult day services. Individuals who stayed in five adult day health care programs for four weeks or less are compared to those who stayed enrolled more than four weeks. Data were gathered from new intake files recorded January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2000 at five adult day programs operating in central Ohio. This study is based on 143 clients who disenrolled during this study period. Short stay participants were significantly different from long stay participants in race, educational level, mental health, and in financial and social resources. The findings support the important partnerships between informal and formal care resources in the utilization of adult day services and ultimately community-based living. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Informal caregiving networks and use of formal services by Inner-City African American elderly with dementia
- Authors:
- LI Hong, EDWARDS Dorothy, MORROW-HOWELL Nancy
- Journal article citation:
- Families in Society, 85(1), January 2004, pp.55-62.
- Publisher:
- The Alliance for Children and Families
Presents a study of a group of 200 urban African American older people with dementia, the characteristics of their informal caregiving networks, and patterns of formal service use to examine relationships between informal caregiving networks and formal service use. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that older people were less likely to use formal services when caregivers in the informal networks were more capable of making care-related decisions. In addition, older people's functional status, annual income, and Medicaid eligibility were also significantly related to their use of formal services. Discusses practice implications of the findings.
‘I shall miss the company’: participants’ reflections on time-limited day centre programming
- Authors:
- HAGAN Robert J, MANKTELOW Roger
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 41(12), 2021, pp.2933-2952.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The social needs of frail or isolated older people are sometimes aided by referrals to day centres in the United Kingdom. Since the late 1940s, day centres have had a role to play promoting socialisation in later life. Additionally, attendance at day centres is often open ended, with participants only leaving due to moving to a nursing home or dying. In this study, the views of those attending time-limited day centre programmes in seven day centres in Northern Ireland have been sought in relation to their thoughts about the service as well as how they feel when it ends. Seventeen participants completed diaries for the programme duration and/or engaged in an interview process. Participants reflected on the social and educational benefits of attending but also recognised impositions in the centres that impinged upon individual choices and also the length of time they could remain. This study reveals that, in order to maintain socialisation, time-limited programmes must have clear follow-on strategies for participants. Additionally, respondents’ experiences reflect that a paternalistic model of care delivery remains in place that, whilst restrictive, reveals that access to the service is more specialised and not universal. Nevertheless, should day centres wish to remain relevant, it is important that service users are fully consulted about their desires and choices within the setting. (Edited publisher abstract)