Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 19
Understanding health anxiety among community dwelling seniors with varying degrees of frailty
- Authors:
- BOURGAULT-FAGNOU Michelle D., HADJISTAVROPOULOS Heather D.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 13(2), March 2009, pp.226-237.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The levels of health anxiety among younger adults and older people, with either low or high levels of frailty were compared. Predictors of health anxiety in older people were explored. Forty-nine seniors with high levels of frailty were compared with 63 seniors with low levels of frailty and 130 younger adults. Comparisons were made on the Illness Attitudes Scale (IAS) and on a Medically Adjusted Illness Attitudes Scale, an adapted version ensuring scores reflect health anxiety, and not greater illness. Seniors also completed measures of frailty, pain, depression, trait anxiety and coping. Results varied depending on the health anxiety measure. Using the traditional IAS, seniors with high frailty experienced greater levels of health anxiety than seniors with low-frailty and younger adults. Using the medically adjusted version, seniors with high frailty experienced similar levels of heath anxiety compared with younger adults; seniors with low frailty had the lowest levels of health anxiety. Using multiple regression analysis, emotional preoccupation and trait anxiety uniquely predicted health anxiety among seniors. Researchers and clinicians should ensure that health anxiety measures actually assess health anxiety and not physical illness. Using an appropriate health anxiety measure, the results suggest seniors with relatively fewer health problems may experience reduced health anxiety compared with other older adults and younger adults. The results are considered in the context of research on aging and anxiety. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.
Intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to mental health care among community-dwelling younger and older adults
- Authors:
- PEPIN Renee, SEGAL Daniel L., COOLIDGE Frederick L.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 13(5), September 2009, pp.769-777.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This American study examined intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to mental health care among younger (n = 76; M age = 23 years) and older adults (n = 88; M age = 71 years) using a new 56 item self-report measure, Barriers to Mental Health Services Scale (BMHSS). The BMHSS was developed to examine 10 barriers to the utilization of mental health services: help-seeking attitudes, stigma, knowledge and fear of psychotherapy, belief about inability to find a psychotherapist, belief that depressive symptoms are normal, insurance and payment concerns, ageism, concerns about psychotherapist's qualifications, physician referral, and transportation concerns. Results indicated that younger adults perceived fear of psychotherapy, belief about inability to find a psychotherapist, and insurance concerns to be greater barriers than older adults. Men perceived stigma to be a greater barrier than women whereas women perceived finding a psychotherapist to be a greater barrier than men. The rank order of the BMHSS subscales was strongly similar for younger and older adults. These results also provide further evidence that stigma about receiving mental health services is not a primary barrier among younger or older adults.
What is personalisation?
- Author:
- SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE
- Publisher:
- Social Care Institute for Excellence
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Place of publication:
- London
This video clearly illustrates what personalisation is about, emphasises the importance of choice and control and introduces the idea that personalisation is relevant for all adults and older people using social care services - whatever their needs or setting. People with experience of personalised services explain the impact that personalisation has had on their lives. The video also looks at what personalisation will mean for social care workers. This video was renamed 'What is person-centred care' in 2018.
Elderly volunteering and well-being: a cross-European comparison based on SHARE data
- Author:
- HASKI-LEVENTHAL Debbie
- Journal article citation:
- Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 20(4), December 2009, pp.388-404.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
This paper, based on Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data, analyzes the relation between volunteering and well-being among 30,023 Europeans aged 50 and above in 12 countries. There is an overall positive correlation between volunteering and perceived health, life satisfaction, and self-life expectancy and a negative correlation to depression. However, in some countries the correlation is much stronger than in others.
The association of family support and wellbeing in later life depends on adult attachment style
- Authors:
- MERZ Eva-Maria, CONSEDINE Nathan S.
- Journal article citation:
- Attachment and Human Development, 11(2), March 2009, pp.203-221.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Noting that social support is important for individual well-being across the lifespan, but may be of particular importance in later life with the increase in occupational, economic, functional and health challenges, this study examines the association between family support and well-being in the elderly, paying particular attention to the possible moderating role of attachment style. The researchers analysed data from the participants in the study (1,118 community-dwelling, ethnically diverse residents of Brooklyn, New York, aged from 65 to 86 years), and found that emotional support (referring to the reliability, sharing of intimate thoughts, and the understanding respondents received from their family members) was generally associated with higher well-being, whereas instrumental support (referring to the different areas of life, including shopping, daily activities and running errands, in which support had been received from kin members) was related to decreased well-being, but that these associations were qualified by attachment style, with receiving emotional support having stronger positive and instrumental support less negative effects on the well-being of individuals with higher attachment security. The researchers concluded that the findings suggest that the associations of instrumental and emotional social support with well-being are different for individuals with differing styles of attachment.
Paying for care in Wales: creating a fair and sustainable system: green paper consultation on options for reform
- Author:
- WALES. Welsh Assembly Government
- Publisher:
- Wales. Welsh Assembly Government
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 50p.
- Place of publication:
- Cardiff
In 2008 the Welsh Assembly Government held a major consultation and engagement programme on the general direction that reform of the social care system should take. The results of that consultation have helped to shape the proposals set out in this Green Paper. Reponses are invited to questions on disability benefits, bringing money into the system, different funding options, ways to contribute and whether there should be a nationally or a locally determined funding system.
Intergenerational relations across 4 years: well-being is affected by quality, not by support exchange
- Authors:
- MERZ Eva-Maria, SCHUENGEL Carlo, SCHULZE Hans-Joachim
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 49(4), August 2009, pp.536-548.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Providing support to an aging parent may pose challenges to adult children but also provide an opportunity to "give back" to loved ones. The current study investigated changes in emotional and instrumental support and quality across a period of 4 years. Additionally, associations between intergenerational support and well-being in adult children over time were investigated. Data from the first and second waves of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (N = 6,062) were analyzed to investigate the relative importance of relationship quality and support exchange and to test the potential buffering role of relationship quality for effects of the changing balance of support on well-being. It was found that provision of instrumental and emotional support to parents increased during a period of 4 years. At the same time, instrumental support children received from parents decreased, whereas emotional support from parents increased. Intergenerational support exchange between children and parents was not associated with well-being in children, whereas the quality of the intergenerational relationship strongly predicted their well-being. Implications: Decreasing relationship quality seems a greater threat to the well-being of caregiving children than increased support and care tasks. Family counselling and public awareness to address this decline in intergenerational relationship quality may be important for well-being of families.
Having the time of your life
- Author:
- JOHNSTONE David
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 13(2), June 2009, pp.20-23.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
An innovative community mentoring service delivering a personalised service to people in Devon over 50 who have experienced some kind of down turn in their lives is described. The service addresses exclusion, isolation and disadvantage. A case study is included.
Attitudes toward mental health services: age-group differences in Korean American adults
- Authors:
- JANG Yuri, CHIRIBOGA David A., OKAZAKI Sumie
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 13(1), January 2009, pp.127-134.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The present study examined the attitudes toward mental health services held by younger (aged 20-45, n = 209) and older (aged 60 and older, n = 462) groups of Korean Americans. Predisposing (age, gender, marital status and education), need (anxiety and depressive symptoms) and enabling (acculturation, health insurance coverage and personal experience and beliefs) variables were considered. In the mean-level assessment, younger and older adults were found to hold a similar level of positive attitudes toward mental health services. In the multivariate analysis, culture-influenced beliefs were shown to have a substantial contribution to the model of attitudes toward mental health services in both age groups. The belief that depression is a medical condition was found to be a common predictor of positive attitudes across the groups. In the older adult sample, more negative attitudes were observed among those who believed that depression is a sign of personal weakness and that having a mentally ill family member brings shame to the whole family. The findings show that older adults are not only more subject to cultural misconceptions and stigma related to mental disorders, but also their attitudes toward service use are negatively influenced by the cultural stigma. The findings provide important implications for interventions targeted to improve access to mental health care among minority populations. Based on the similarities and differences found between young and old, both general and age-specific strategies need to be developed in order to increase effectiveness of these programs.
Access to healthcare services makes a difference in healthy longevity among older Chinese adults
- Authors:
- GU Danan, ZHANG Zhenmei, ZENG Yi
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 68(2), January 2009, pp.210-219.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
The positive impact of access to healthcare on health and survival among older adults is well-documented in Western societies. However, whether the pattern still holds in developing countries where healthcare coverage is more limited is largely unknown. China, a developing country with the largest population in the world, has been transforming its antiquated healthcare system during the past few decades in response to rapid population aging. Yet, in recent years the lack of access to healthcare has been identified as the top concern by most citizens in China. We used the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey and the community-level data sources from the National Bureau of Statistics of China to examine the impact of current as well as childhood access to healthcare services on subsequent three-year survival and healthy survival at old ages from 2002 to 2005 under a multilevel context. Healthy survival was measured by a cumulative deficit index calculated from thirty-nine variables pertaining to various dimensions of health. The analyses showed that access to healthcare at present and during childhood improved the odds of subsequent three-year survivorship by 13–19% and 10%, respectively, controlling for various confounders. But the effect of access to healthcare at present was no longer statistically significant once baseline health status in 2002 was controlled for. Access to healthcare at present increased odds of healthy survival by 22–68%, while access to healthcare in childhood increased odds of healthy survival by 18%. All patterns held true for both men and women, for urban and rural areas, across ages, as well as across socioeconomic statuses. The findings suggested that positive inputs such as access to healthcare services over the life course make a substantial difference in healthy longevity, which has implications for the establishment of the universal healthcare system.