Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 26
Investigating the triggers into claiming pension credit
- Authors:
- BHATTACHARY Darren, SLADE Zoe
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department for Work and Pensions
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 63p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This research investigated the events that act as a trigger to thinking about, making enquiries about or claiming Pension Credit for existing pensioners. The research involved 55 qualitative depth interviews with pensioners in ten areas of the United Kingdom (UK). Interviews lasted for approximately 30 minutes and were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed. Pensioners’ awareness of and their perceived need for Pension Credit had an impact upon the customer journey. Four distinct segments emerged based upon these two factors. There were those not comfortable discussing financial matters, other than with close family. They had low awareness and low perceived need of Pension Credit. They had low awareness but a high perceived need of Pension Credit. Those that thought they had enough money to ‘survive on’ and thought they would be ineligible. They had high awareness and a low perceived need of Pension Credit. The most financially vulnerable group were too proud to get additional support – viewing Pension Credit as a handout. They had a high awareness of and a high perceived need for Pension Credit.
GPs' perspectives on preventive care for older people: a focus group study
- Authors:
- DREWES Yvonne M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of General Practice, 62(604), November 2012, pp.582-583.
- Publisher:
- Royal College of General Practitioners
The aims of preventive care for older people may differ from the traditional targets of preventing diseases or injuries and include the maintenance of independence and wellbeing. This qualitative study explored Dutch GPs' perspectives on preventive care for older people in six focus groups involving a total of 37 GPs. Whether or not to implement preventive care for older people depends on the patient's individual level of vitality, as perceived by the GP. For older people with a high level of vitality, GPs confine their role to standardised disease-oriented prevention on a patient's request. It is when the vitality levels in older people fall that the scope of preventive care shifts from prevention of disease to prevention of functional decline. For older, vulnerable people, GPs expect most benefit from a proactive, individualised approach, enabling them to live as independently as possible. Based on these responses, a conceptual model for preventive care for different groups of older people was developed. It focuses on five main dimensions: aim of care (prevention of disease versus prevention of functional decline), concept of care (disease model versus functional model), initiator (older persons themselves versus GP), target groups (people with requests versus specified risk groups), and content of preventive care (mainly cardiovascular risk management versus functional decline).
Increased longevity from viewing retirement positively
- Authors:
- LAKRA Deepak C., NG Rueben, LEVY Becca R.
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 32(8), November 2012, pp.1418-1427.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The aim of this study was to consider whether life expectancy would be influenced by attitudes toward retirement. The research used data from the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement, about a cohort of 394 participants who were followed for 23 years, to examine views of retirement held by participants who were still employed and who were retired and impact on longevity. This article describes the study methodology, data analysis, and findings. It reports that participants with positive attitudes toward retirement tended to live significantly longer than those with negative attitudes toward retirement (over the 23 years of follow-up, 48% of those in the positive attitudes group died and 64% of those in the negative attitudes group died). The authors conclude that their findings indicate that psychological planning for retirement is as important as the more traditional forms of planning, and that it would be interesting for future research to examine the development of attitudes toward retirement.
Beliefs about Alzheimer's disease in Britain
- Authors:
- HUDSON John M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(7), September 2012, pp.828-835.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Despite the prevalence and consequences of Alzheimer's disease (AD), surveys have revealed that the general public in North America and Australia hold numerous misconceptions of the disease. This study investigated whether misconceptions of AD are also endorsed by adults in Britain. The Alzheimer's disease knowledge scale (ADKS) was completed by 312 adults residing in Lincolnshire, UK. The ADKS contains 30 true or false statements pertaining to risk factors, assessment and diagnosis, symptoms, course, life impact, caregiving, and treatment and management of AD. Findings revealed that, regardless of age, education, and familiarity with AD, respondents demonstrated a good understanding of some items from all categories. However, knowledge gaps exist about the course of the disease, and of conditions that can exacerbate or simulate the symptoms of AD. The authors concluded that educational campaigns that specifically target these issues may help reduce the impact of AD.
Back from the brink: ageing, exercise and health in a small gym
- Authors:
- TULLE Emmanuelle, DORRER Nika
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 32(7), October 2012, pp.1106-1127.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study explored older adults' experiences of becoming regular exercisers in a gym, triggered by health problems, and their interactions with their younger gym instructors. Interviews were held with 15 men and women aged 55 to 83 years in Scotland. While participants reported significant benefits (greater health capital, expanded social networks and a return to active life after illness), they nevertheless were engaged in a complex and ambiguous negotiation of attitudes to bodily ageing and meanings of fitness and competence. In contrast, the instructors subscribed to a model of physical activity oriented towards physical capital as greater fitness. The paper suggests that these positions manifest competing understandings about what constitutes appropriate and desirable physical capital in later life. The authors concluded that there is a need to develop ways of breaking down barriers in communication to overcome divergent understandings of what constitutes legitimate physical capital people age.
Religiosity, authoritarianism, and attitudes toward psychotherapy in later life
- Authors:
- MCGOWAN Joseph C., MIDLARSKY Elizabeth
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(5), July 2012, pp.659-665.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study investigated whether religiosity in older adults was associated with attitudes toward psychotherapy when controlling for authoritarianism. Interviews were conducted with a sample of 307 community-residing older adults (164 Black and 142 White) aged 65-82. Questions explored their intrinsic religiosity, authoritarianism, and mental health help-seeking attitudes. Findings indicated that intrinsic religiosity was associated with stigma tolerance and interpersonal openness after controlling for authoritarianism. Religious older adults preferred to seek help in religious contexts, while the association of authoritarianism to less favourable psychotherapy attitudes toward psychotherapy could be explained by a fear of external perspectives. Overall, the findings reinforced the importance of including religiousness and authoritarianism in models of mental health help-seeking.
The relationship between self-efficacy and positive aspects of caregiving in Alzheimer's disease caregivers
- Authors:
- SEMIATIN Alicia M., O'CONNOR Maureen K.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(6), August 2012, pp.683-688.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Positive aspects of caring may help buffer carers from the negative psychological and physical consequences of caregiving. Self-efficacy is a potentially modifiable psychological construct that has been associated with positive thinking, improved control of negative affect, and enhanced motivation. This study investigated the relationship between positive aspects of caregiving and self-efficacy among 57 family members caring for a family member with Alzheimer's disease in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Participant data was gathered through individual interviews conducted as a part of a larger randomised controlled trial of a caregiver intervention. Result revealed that self-efficacy accounted for a significant percentage of the variance in positive aspects of caregiving after controlling for other factors commonly associated with positive aspects of caregiving including caregiver demographics, care recipient neuropsychiatric symptoms, and caregiver depression.
Older people's views of support services in response to elder abuse in communities across Ireland
- Authors:
- BEGLEY Emer, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 13(1), 2012, pp.48-59.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This study investigated older peoples’ perceptions of interventions and services to support people experiencing abuse. Participants included 58 older people, aged 65 years and over, who took part in focus groups across Ireland. Preventative community-based approaches and peer supports were identified as important mechanisms to support people experiencing, and being at risk of, elder abuse. Choices regarding care provision and housing, as well as opportunities for engagement in community activities where they can discuss issues with others were identified as ways to prevent abuse. The policy implication of the findings from this research is that enhanced attention and resources should be directed to community activities that enable older people to share their concerns informally thereby gaining confidence to seek more formal interventions when necessary. Suggested for future research are presented.
Exploring community perceptions of the relationship between age and social exclusion in rural areas
- Authors:
- O'SHEA Eamon, WALSH Kieran, SCHARF Tom
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 13(1), 2012, pp.16-26.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This paper investigated community perceptions of the relationship between age and social exclusion in rural areas of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The research was conducted through focus groups with community stakeholders, which were undertaken in ten communities in different rural settings – village, near-urban, island, dispersed, and remote – in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Findings indicated four themes as important in determining exclusion or inclusion for older people living in rural areas: place; economic circumstances; social provision; and social connectedness. Within these themes, various tipping points emerged as important for pathways into and out of exclusion, most notably local systems of social support and the mindset of older people themselves in relation to participation. Implications for future research are discussed.
Positions of social workers’ views about residential care for people with dementia
- Authors:
- HAVRDOVA Zuzana, JIRI Safr, STEGMANNOVA Ingrid
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work and Society: International Online Journal, 10(2), 2012, Online only
- Publisher:
- University of Bielefeld
Reform of the social services in the Czech Republic faces numerous obstacles in individual care, mainly in residential services. Many different professions participate in these services provided to care recipients. To show how social work may contribute to reforms in this area, the authors present the views of social workers about the care provided within a team of different professionals. A questionnaire survey was used to study the respondents’ readiness to apply the person-centred approach in a group of 560 professionals working in a number of residential facilities for the elderly. The results show that regardless of the organisational context, social workers tend towards the client-centred approach more often than other professionals. The organisational context influences however the perspectives of other professionals. (Publisher abstract)