Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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'Just live for today': living, caring, ageing and dying
- Author:
- HOWARTH Glennys
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 18(6), November 1998, pp.673-689.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article draws on interviews with people over the age of 75 to explore the nature of attitudes to death in old age. It focuses on the issues raised by elderly people themselves when given the opportunity to talk about death and dying. In so doing, attitudes to death and dying are separated into 'death of self' and 'death of other'. each of these categories is then divided thematically according to the issues raised by respondents.
Are wishes for death or suicidal ideation symptoms of depression in older adults?
- Authors:
- ROSSOM Rebecca C., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 23(7), 2019, pp.912-918.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objective: Clinicians may question whether thoughts of being better off dead are normal consequences of aging or symptoms of depression. This study examines whether thoughts of suicide are as strongly linked to depression severity in older adults as they are in other age groups. Methods: Cross-sectional cohort study. Participants included 509,945 outpatients >18 years old from four large integrated healthcare systems in the Mental Health Research Network who completed 1.2 million Patient Health Questionnaires (PHQ) and had data to calculate Charlson Comorbidity Index scores from 2010 through 2012. The PHQ8 estimated depression severity, while suicidal ideation was measured using the 9th item of the PHQ. Data were abstracted from a Virtual Data Warehouse. Results: In older adult patients, suicidal ideation was strongly associated with depression severity. Older adults who had at least moderately-severe depression (PHQ8 ≥15) were 48 times more likely (95% CI: 42.8–53.8) to report suicidal ideation than those with minimal or mild symptoms of depression (PHQ8 <10) after adjustment for all other variables in the model, including medical comorbidity burden. Conclusions: Depression severity was by far the strongest predictor of suicidal ideation in older adult patients. Older patients with suicidal ideation should be screened for depression. (Edited publisher abstract)
Living in the end times: a short course addressing end of life issues for older people in an English parish church setting
- Author:
- COLLICUTT Joanna
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 19(3), 2015, pp.140-149.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report a pilot study that evaluated an innovative practice in a faith community context designed to help older people live well at the end of life and prepare for death. Design/methodology/approach: A simple audit of the intervention using a contemporaneous journal kept by the author, and a follow up questionnaire completed by participants. Findings: Rich findings on the process are reported. These indicate a high degree of engagement by participants, the establishment of a high degree of group intimacy and trust, a high level of articulation of wisdom, the emergence of significant anxiety in some isolated cases, and the use made of tea and cake to manage the transition between the existentially demanding nature of the discussions and normal life. The outcome indicated very high levels of appreciation and increased confidence in relation to issues of death and dying. Practical implications: The findings of the pilot have been used to inform training of clergy in the principles of working in this area (e.g. in ways of managing group dynamics and anxiety, pacing, tuning in to archetypes and the natural symbols that people use to talk about death and dying, self-care and supervision of the programme leader/facilitator). Originality/value: The paper adds to knowledge in terms of an in depth description of processes at work in a group of older people working on spiritual and practical issues in relation to death, and offers ideas for supporting older people in this process, some of which are specific to the Christian tradition, and some of which are more widely applicable to people of all faiths and none. It gives a specific worked example of what “spiritual care” in this area might look like. (Publisher abstract)
The prevalence and predictors of passive death wishes in Europe: a 2-year follow-up of the survey of health, ageing, and retirement in Europe
- Author:
- AYALON Liat
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(9), September 2011, pp.923-929.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Using a cross-national longitudinal design, this study evaluated regional variations (South, Centre and North of Europe) in passive death wishes (wish to die) and predictors of passive death wishes. It used data from wave 1 (2004) and wave 2 (2006-2007) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), a survey of individuals aged over 50 years and their spouse of any age. The statistical analysis found that the rate of passive death wishes was significantly lower in Northern (4.6%) than in Southern (8.5%) and Central (7%) Europe. The article reports that older adults, women, and those reporting more depressive symptoms, more medical conditions and lower levels of hope in wave 1 were more likely to report passive death wishes in wave 2, that passive death wishes were associated with increased mortality risk, and that most predictors of passive death wishes functioned similarly across geographic regions.
Change in living arrangements following death of a partner in England and Wales, 1971 to 2001
- Authors:
- HIRST Michael, CORDEN Anne
- Journal article citation:
- Population Trends, 141, Autumn 2010, pp.127-147.
- Publisher:
- Office for National Statistics
Using widow(er) statistics and four successive sets of census data (1971-2001) on married couples from the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, this study examines changes in couples’ living arrangements and households and shows how these differ by age and gender on the death of a spouse or partner. The findings are discussed in the following sections: age on death of spouse (independently, with extended family, or in communal/residential care); residential mobility before and after death of spouse; numbers of couples separated by death. Residential independence and mobility in older age and the policy directions chosen in the future for long-term care provision for older people are also briefly discussed.
Coming of age
- Author:
- O’MARA Erin
- Journal article citation:
- Druglink, 25(3), May 2010, pp.12-15.
- Publisher:
- Drugscope
- Place of publication:
- London
Following the death of a friend, aged 60, due to a drug overdose the author discusses how long term addiction is affecting Britain’s rapidly ageing opiate users. The increasing number of older long-term drug users is highlighted and lifestyle issues are discussed. The ageing process not only increases the probability of overdose, even for long-term regular users, but it also increases the chances of an overdose being fatal. The author comments that older users often put up with mounting health problems as a result of decades of ambivalence when they have sought treatment. This trend needs to be reversed to instil in the older generation some hope of a better, healthier life.
Older people: death, dying and end-of-life care
- Author:
- LEISHMAN June L.
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing, 9(4), December 2008, pp.36-43.
- Publisher:
- Pier Professional
- Place of publication:
- Brighton
This paper seeks to provide insights into the ways in which older people in contemporary society make sense of death and dying and makes a case for improvements in end-of-life care for this population.
Navigating the journey of aging parents: what care receivers want
- Author:
- KUBA Cheryl A.
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 177p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Exploring issues of housing, spirituality, personal care and death, Cheryl Kuba has created a testament to the dependent elderly. This book draws on numerous interviews with aging people and discusses common caregiver mistakes and interpretations, what a caregiver should expect when an aging parent moves in, and how to care for an aging parent from afar. Kuba also delves into such phenomena as guilt, role reversal, changing family dynamics, financial stress, and caring for oneself while caring for another.
The Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing 2002 and social work
- Author:
- GEORGE Janet
- Journal article citation:
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 15(1), June 2005, pp.51-61.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
United Nations policy on ageing is articulated in the 2002 Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing directed to needs arising from the rapid demographic ageing of population globally. This article considers the direction, strengths and limitations of this global Plan of Action and the inferences for social work in the diverse Asia-Pacific region.
Religious involvement and health outcomes among older persons in Taiwan
- Author:
- YEAGER D. M.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 63(8), October 2006, pp.2228-2241.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
The authors use data from a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of older Taiwanese to examine the relationship between religious involvement—including religious affiliation, religious attendance, beliefs, and religious practices—and self-reported measures of overall health status, mobility limitations, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function; clinical measures of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, serum interleukin-6, and 12-h urinary cortisol; and 4-year mortality. Frequency of religious attendance shows the strongest, most consistent association with health outcomes. But, with only one exception, this relationship disappears in the presence of controls for health behaviors, social networks, and prior health status. Religious attendance remains significantly associated with lower mortality even after controlling for prior self-assessed health status, but the coefficient is substantially reduced. Other aspects of religiosity are only sporadically associated with health and, in all cases, private religious practices and stronger beliefs are associated with worse health; again, this relationship disappears after controlling for prior health status. These results suggest that reverse causality may partly account for both the positive and negative correlations between religiosity and health. We find no significant associations between religious involvement and biological markers. Notably, even after controlling for prior health, participation in social activities has a more robust effect on health than religious attendance. Consequently, we question whether the purported health benefits are attributable to religion or to social activity in general.