Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Service barriers of Chinese family caregivers in Canada
- Authors:
- LAI Daniel W.L., SURWOOD Shireen
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 51(3-4), 2008, pp.315-336.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
The growing numbers of older people in North America means that more elderly people require care, and family carers have become an important part of the health system. The challenges they face can be made greater by “service barriers”. Community services are not taken up by 44% of Canadian carers, particularly those from ethnic minorities, and this article studies the barriers faced by Chinese carers in Calgary, which include the length of waiting lists, professionals not using the language of the service users, professionals who do not understand Chinese culture and who are not ethnically Chinese. A telephone survey to 315 Chinese households used16 service barriers identified in a previous study and results indicated that these could be grouped into five different types – cultural barriers, administrative problems, circumstantial challenges, perceived negative quality of services and personal attitudes. Financial factors significantly influenced the number and types of service barrier carers experienced, and findings indicate the importance of culturally sensitive support for carers in order to improve access to services.
Never too late for living: inquiry into services for older people
- Authors:
- SILLETT Janet, COOKSON Ameila, ELLIOTT Craig
- Publisher:
- Local Government Information Unit
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 44p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
This is the report of the All Party Parliamentary Local Government Inquiry in to services for older people. The inquiry was chaired by Clive Betts MP and supported by the LGiU. It looked at how the place of older people in society can be improved over the next decade within the context of rapid demographic change, rising expectations and increasing financial constraint. The report proposes a radical shake-up that would break down boundaries between councils and health, and between the public, private and voluntary sectors. It aims to ensure everyone in the country can expect the same kind of services and have a single place to go to access them.
Effects of digital technologies on older people’s access to health and social care: umbrella review
- Authors:
- KUNONGA Tafadzwa Patience, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(11), 2021, p.e25887. Online only
- Publisher:
- JMIR Publications
Background: The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic prompted the rapid implementation of new and existing digital technologies to facilitate access to health and care services during physical distancing. Older people may be disadvantaged in that regard if they are unable to use or have access to smartphones, tablets, computers, or other technologies. Objective: This study synthesized evidence on the impact of digital technologies on older adults’ access to health and social services. Methods: the researchers conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews published from January 2000 to October 2019 using comprehensive searches of 6 databases. This study looked for reviews in a population of adults aged ≥65 years in any setting, reporting outcomes related to the impact of technologies on access to health and social care services. Results: A total of 7 systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria, providing data from 77 randomized controlled trials and 50 observational studies. All of them synthesized findings from low-quality primary studies, 2 of which used robust review methods. Most of the reviews focused on digital technologies to facilitate remote delivery of care, including consultations and therapy. No studies examined technologies used for first contact access to care, such as online appointment scheduling. Overall, this review found no reviews of technology to facilitate first contact access to health and social care such as online appointment booking systems for older populations. Conclusions: The impact of digital technologies on equitable access to services for older people is unclear. Research is urgently needed in order to understand the positive and negative consequences of digital technologies on health care access and to identify the groups most vulnerable to exclusion. (Edited publisher abstract)
COVID-19-related social support service closures and mental well-being in older adults and those affected by dementia: a UK longitudinal survey
- Authors:
- GIEBEL Clarissa, et al
- Journal article citation:
- BMJ Open, 11(1), 2021, p.e045889. Online only
- Publisher:
- BMJ Publishing Group
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on delivery of social support services. This might be expected to particularly affect older adults and people living with dementia (PLWD), and to reduce their well-being. Aims: To explore how social support service use by older adults, carers and PLWD, and their mental well-being changed over the first 3 months since the pandemic outbreak. Methods: Unpaid dementia carers, PLWD and older adults took part in a longitudinal online or telephone survey collected between April and May 2020, and at two subsequent timepoints 6 and 12 weeks after baseline. Participants were asked about their social support service usage in a typical week prior to the pandemic (at baseline), and in the past week at each of the three timepoints. They also completed measures of levels of depression, anxiety and mental well-being. Results: 377 participants had complete data at all three timepoints. Social support service usage dropped shortly after lockdown measures were imposed at timepoint 1 (T1), to then increase again by T3. The access to paid care was least affected by COVID-19. Cases of anxiety dropped significantly across the study period, while cases of depression rose. Well-being increased significantly for older adults and PLWD from T1 to T3. Conclusions: Access to social support services has been significantly affected by the pandemic, which is starting to recover slowly. With mental well-being differently affected across groups, support needs to be put in place to maintain better well-being across those vulnerable groups during the ongoing pandemic. (Edited publisher abstract)
Shopping the agencies
- Author:
- GILBERT Helen
- Journal article citation:
- Care and Health Magazine, 50, 3.12.03, 2003, pp.22-23.
- Publisher:
- Care and Health
Reports on a study in Monmouthshire which has devised a useful way of obtaining feedback on their services. Researchers, all aged over 50, who had little or no experience of dealing with social services were given fictional case studies of a person to find services for. The study gave useful feedback on how easy it was to find information about services.
Moving in the right direction
- Author:
- LEVEAUX Caroline
- Journal article citation:
- Health Service Journal, 8.3.12, 2012, pp.22-23.
- Publisher:
- Emap Healthcare
Care navigators models were introduced by the NHS London Leading Workforce Transformation Programme to address the challenges of complex systems and to help those with long term conditions access services. This article reports on a care navigator model to address the unplanned use of services by older people at Central and North West London Foundation Trust which focused on improving information and advice on adult social care to help all local residents, including self-funders.
Family carers' experiences using support services in Europe: empirical evidence from the EUROFAMCARE study
- Authors:
- LAMURA Giovanni, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 48(6), December 2008, pp.752-771.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article explores the experiences of family carers of older people in using support services in six European countries: Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the UK. Following a common protocol, data were collected from national samples of approximately 1,000 family carers per country and clustered into comparable subgroups to facilitate cross-national analysis. Carers' use of available support services is limited across Europe but is considerably higher in Germany, Sweden, and the UK than in Poland, Greece, and Italy. Service use is more prevalent among wives and carers with stronger support networks and less frequent among working daughters with high levels of burden, suggesting the need for a reconsideration of eligibility criteria and better targeting of service responses. Access to and use of services is characterized by a divide between carers in northwestern Europe, who experience few difficulties other than the older person's refusal to accept the support offered, and carers in southeastern Europe, where service affordability and poor transportation present remarkable barriers. Concerns regarding the timeliness and quality of support are common to all countries. European Union-wide efforts to improve carer support need to focus on improving the care system's ability to provide timely, high-quality care delivered by staff who treat the older person with dignity and respect, and to enhance cooperation between health professionals (in all countries), informal networks (especially in southeastern Europe), social services (particularly in Sweden and the UK), and voluntary organizations (in Germany and the UK).
Invisible older men: what we know about men's use of health care and social services
- Authors:
- KAYE Lenard W., CRITTENDEN Jennifer A., CHARLAND Jason
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 32(1), Spring 2008, pp.9-14.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
Reaching and properly serving older men can be a challenge for practitioners. This article discusses ways to reach this population, and why many health care and social service practitioners continue to use methods of outreach that may prove ineffective or even put older men potentially at risk.
Patient views of social service provision for older people with advanced heart failure
- Authors:
- GOTT Merryn, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 15(4), July 2007, pp.333-342.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The objective of the present paper is to explore levels of social service provision, the barriers to receiving these services and the experiences of social service provision amongst older people with heart failure. Five hundred and forty-two people aged over 60 years with heart failure were recruited from UK general practices in four areas of the UK, and these subjects completed quality-of-life and service-use questionnaires every 3 months for 24 months, or until death. Forty patients participated in in-depth interviews. Data collection was conducted between September 2003 and March 2006. Only 24% (n = 127) of the 460 participants who had provided information about social services contact reported having received social services during the past 24 months. Significant associations between the level of social services contact and participant characteristics were identified, with women, participants over 75 years of age, participants living alone, and those with two or more comorbidities being more likely to report receipt of social services. The qualitative data identified key barriers to using social services, including: access problems; not wanting additional help; the negative experiences of friends; and carers substituting for statutory services. The few participants interviewed who had received social services reported mixed experiences, including problems with inappropriate and insufficient services. This study indicates that only a minority of older people with heart failure have contact with social services. Improving provision for this group involves tackling the barriers to access identified above, as well as ensuring that their views influence service planning and delivery.
Teleshopping for older and disabled people: an evaluation of two pilot trials
- Authors:
- BARLOW James, BREEZE Mary
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 66p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- York
Home shopping is an important aspect of community care services for older and disabled people, but is costly and complex to administer. As social services struggle to find the necessary resources to support them, new approaches involving internet- or phone-based 'teleshopping' services are being explored. This research, designed and tested several models for teleshopping. It has provided new information on user needs, possible teleshopping models, and on technology options and financial and legal issues. An intermediate teleshopping model, for use before internet access becomes widespread, is identified. The project also explored the technology requirements for a more sophisticated internet-based service that might be developed in the future.