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Fostering resilience later in life: a narrative approach involving people facing disabling circumstances, carers and members of minority groups
- Authors:
- OTTMANN Goetz, MARAGOUDAKI Margarita
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 35(10), 2015, pp.2071-2099.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Over the last two decades, the concept of resilience has become the focus of a growing body of gerontological research. However, there is a dearth of qualitative research that explores how socio-economic and socio-cultural factors shape older people's resilience. This study addresses this gap and explores the concept of resilience through the lens of 25 Australians from a variety of backgrounds, investigating the resilience strategies they employed in the face of different challenging life events. A qualitative narrative methodology involving one focus group and semi-structured interviews was employed. A stratified convenience sample of 34 people aged 60 and over participated in semi-structured interviews between 2009 and 2011. The study describes the meaning participants assigned to the term resilience, and focuses on the range of resilience responses and strategies they employed, bringing to light some key commonalities and differences. The study's findings suggest that access to economic and cultural resources and the nature of the adversity older people face can shape and limit their resilience strategies. The article outlines how the concept of resilience could be incorporated into aged care practice and argues that resilience-focused interventions that potentially broaden the resilience repertoire of older people should be explored within an aged care context. (Publisher abstract)
Dementia, culture and ethnicity: issues for all
- Editors:
- BOTSFORD Julia, HARRISON DENING Karen
- Publisher:
- Jessica Kingsley
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 328
- Place of publication:
- London
With contributions from experienced dementia practitioners and care researchers, this book examines the impact of culture and ethnicity on the experience of dementia and on the provision of support and services, both in general terms and in relation to specific minority ethnic communities. Drawing together evidence-based research and expert practitioners' experiences, the book highlights the ways that dementia care services will need to develop in order to ensure that provision is culturally appropriate for an increasingly diverse older population. The book examines cultural issues in terms of assessment and engagement with people with dementia, challenges for care homes, and issues for supporting families from diverse ethnic backgrounds in relation to planning end of life care and bereavement. First-hand accounts of living with dementia from a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds give unique perspectives into different attitudes to dementia and dementia care. The contributors also examine recent policy and strategy on dementia care and the implications for working with culture and ethnicity. (Edited publisher abstract)
Depression literacy among American Indian older adults
- Authors:
- ROH Soonhee, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, 12(6), 2015, pp.614-627.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Older American Indians experience high rates of depression and other psychological disorders, yet little research exist on the depression literacy of this group. Depression literacy is fundamental for individuals seeking help for depression in a timely and appropriate manner. In the present study the authors examine levels and predictors of knowledge of depression symptoms in a sample of rural older American Indians (N = 227) living in the Midwestern United States. Data from self-administered questionnaires indicate limited knowledge of depression and negative attitudes toward seeking help for mental health problems. Additional findings and implications for social work practice and policy are discussed. (Publisher abstract)
Optimizing health promotion among ethnocultural minority older adults (EMOA)
- Authors:
- KHAN Mushira Mohsin, KOBAYSHI Karen
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Migration Health and Social Care, 11(4), 2015, pp.268-281.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: This paper aims to identify barriers in the uptake and effective utilisation of health promotion interventions among ethnocultural minority older adults (EMOA). Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on a literature review of 25 sources (peer-reviewed articles as well as documents from the grey literature). The search was primarily conducted in a database developed during a scoping review on the health and health care access and utilisation of EMOA. Emphasis was placed on older ethnocultural minorities in Canada; however examples from the UK (which has a comparable health care system) and the USA and Australia (which have large, ethnically diverse populations) were also selected. The Candidacy framework was used as an analytical lens in the review. Findings: Findings indicate that health promotion needs to be understood as comprehensive care, involving not only the provision of health care services, but also knowledge dissemination and the facilitation of access to these services. Limited health literacy, low levels of self-efficacy and autonomy, and diverse life course experiences, particularly in the case of immigrant older adults, give rise to issues around the identification of need and system navigation. Cultural beliefs on health and illness, particularly around diet and exercise, and a lack of trust in formal systems of health care, are barriers to the uptake of interventions. Similarly, service permeability is low when cultural competency is lacking. Practical implications: The recommendations include the need for collaborative engagement with stakeholders, including family, peers, community partners and health practitioners, and the development of concise, culturally, and linguistically appropriate tools of health promotion that are targeted toward the intersecting needs of individuals in this diverse population of older adults. (Edited publisher abstract)
Gearing up: housing associations' responses to tenants with dementia from black and minority ethnic groups
- Authors:
- LIPMAN Valerie, MANTHORPE Jill
- Publisher:
- Age UK
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 20
- Place of publication:
- London
Explores how social housing providers meet the needs of people with dementia who are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. The study took an audit approach and investigated current practice and policy by interviewing respondents from 11 housing associations (HAs) providing sheltered housing and extra–care support that are already serving tenants or lease holders with dementia from different ethnic backgrounds and received information from 15 more. The overriding finding is that while all the HAs are developing their understanding of dementia, and have policies in place relating to equalities and diversity, none have yet fully integrated the three strands of housing, dementia care and cultural or ethnicity related needs and preferences, nor the impacts of racism and disadvantage. The study found similarities in both policy and practice between the different HAs in relation to tenants with dementia and offers of housing to older people from varied backgrounds. Differences appeared to be in the degree of integrating understandings and knowledge of dementia and of cultural or ethnic diversity. However, some HAs were apprehensive about how to manage dementia if their focus had previously been on addressing needs related to ethnic or cultural identities or discrimination or disadvantages. All but one of the HAs had or were developing dementia strategies, and were training their staff to understand and recognise dementia. (Edited publisher abstract)
Association of social isolation and health across different racial and ethnic groups of older Americans
- Author:
- MIYAWAKI Christina E.
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 35(10), 2015, pp.2201-2228.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Social isolation is a social and public health problem that affects people of all ages, especially elders. Previous studies have found that social isolation across numerous industrialised countries is associated with negative health outcomes. However, it is unknown whether and how this association differs by race/ethnicity and age. To begin to address this gap, this study examines the association of social isolation and physical and mental health among Black, White and Hispanic elders in the United States of America. Building on Cornwell and Waite's perceived isolation and social disconnectedness dimension model of social isolation, the author used multi-stage survey data from a nationally representative sample of 3,005 community-residing adults aged 57–85 from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. Tests for association were conducted on health by age, gender, marital status, education and race/ethnicity separately. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to test the association of social isolation and health exclusively and separately among these three groups. Results showed that social isolation is strongly associated with physical and mental health. Both perceived isolation and social disconnectedness had a significant negative association with physical and mental health among White elders. For Blacks, social disconnectedness is negatively associated with their physical health while perceived isolation had a negative association with mental health. Among Hispanic elders, there seemed to be no association between social isolation and physical health, but a significant negative association was found with their mental health. Despite various associated patterns, however, social isolation overall was associated with health outcomes that were similar across three elder groups. By identifying factors influencing social isolation and health among minority older Americans, this study has relevance to the development of culturally sensitive health-care practice and services, which may be applicable to minority elders in different countries. (Publisher abstract)
Women and alcohol: social perspectives
- Editor:
- STADDON Patsy
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 224
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Issues relating to alcohol 'misuse' can only properly be understood within their social and environmental contexts. This research and practice based book explores social models of alcohol misuse to offer a sociological approach to its treatment. Through considering the social meaning of women's alcohol use, the book challenges current policy and practice in the field. It raises concerns about the political role of 'treatment' in making women behave, or to be 'well', and aims to develop a new approach to women's drinking and new ways of aiding recovery, at national and local levels. With contributions from service users, academics and practitioners, the book is aimed at those studying addiction, gender and the social background to alcohol problems. (Edited publisher abstract)
‘Health is their heart, their legs, their back’: understanding ageing well in ethnically diverse older men in rural Australia
- Authors:
- RADERMACHER Harriet, FELDMAN Susan
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 35(5), 2015, pp.1011-1031.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Older men from ethnic minority communities living in a regional town in Australia were identified by a government-funded peak advocacy body as failing to access local health and support services and, more broadly, being at risk of not ageing well. A qualitative study was undertaken to explore the health and wellbeing of ethnic minority men growing older in a rural community, and to identify the barriers they faced in accessing appropriate services from a range of different perspectives. Individual interviews were conducted with key informants (service providers and community leaders), followed by focus groups with older men from four ethnic minority communities. The men in this study showed signs that they were at risk of poor mental and physical health, and experienced significant barriers to accessing health and support services. Furthermore, environmental, technological, social and economic changes have brought challenges for the older men as they age. Despite these challenges, this study demonstrated how work, family and ethnic identity was integral to the lives of these older men, and was, in many ways, a resource. Key informants' perspectives mostly confirmed the experiences of the older men in this study. The discrepancies in their views about the extent of health-promoting behaviour indicate some key areas for future health intervention, services and research. (Publisher abstract)
The relevance of four narrative themes for understanding vulnerability among homeless older African-American women
- Authors:
- MOXLEY David P., WASHINGTON Olivia G.M., CRYSTAL Jennifer
- Journal article citation:
- Practice: Social Work in Action, 27(2), 2015, pp.113-133.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Narrative strategy can strengthen social work practice, given its usefulness in revealing how social forces influence people’s experiences with situations that can compromise their well-being. In this paper, a product of long-term developmental research, the authors consider the versatility of narrative strategy to address homelessness among older African-American women, a growing segment of the homeless population in the United States. After considering homelessness as a social issue, and the distress it can produce, often resulting in serious health and mental health problems among older minority women, the authors examine vulnerability from a narrative perspective, offer background on their long-term narrative research and summarise their observations about the nature of narrative practice in working with members of vulnerable populations. The authors develop a thematic framework for conceptualising narrative as a practice research tool for social workers and other human service professionals. For each of the four narrative themes (involving plight, efficacy, hope and recovery), useful in helping people who are vulnerable, the authors document the distinctive focus of each one, and they then conclude the paper with implications for helping people who are vulnerable. (Publisher abstract)
Ethnic/racial minority older adults and recovery: integrating stories of resilience and hope in social work
- Author:
- MATSUOKA Atsuko Karin
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 45(S1), 2015, pp.i135-i152.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Although a recovery approach is relevant to older adults, a significant gap exists in social work literature regarding mental health recovery among ethnic/racial minority older adults. This paper explores the meaning of ‘recovery’ and the applicability of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), a recovery-based programme, to Japanese-Canadian older adults through qualitative data collected as part of an evaluation of two WRAP workshop series in a metropolitan city in Canada, 2010–12. All eight workshop participants (two male and six female, all Japanese speakers, aged sixty-four to eighty-nine years) took part in the study. A strength-based critical social work approach, which incorporates the understanding of resilience and hope and the intersectionality of oppression, was used to facilitate the programme. Qualitative data analysis identified key themes of the participants' workshop experiences, including reaffirming self-worth, being positive (hope), being self-reflective and mindful, supporting each other and advocating for themselves. The participants experienced positive changes in line with Jacobson and Greenley's (2001) internal and external conditions for recovery; in particular, it found an unexpected long-term outcome: the formation of a peer support group by participants. Social work practice in recovery is discussed. (Publisher abstract)