Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 11
Does sense of coherence affect the relationship between self-rated health and health status in a sample of community-dwelling frail elderly people?
- Authors:
- SAEVAREID H. I., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 11(6), November 2007, pp.658-667.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The objective of this Norwegian study was to examine the association between self-rated health (SRH) and physical, functional, social and mental health measures in community dwelling elderly people needing nursing care. Of special interest was how coping resources (SOC) influenced this relationship. Self-rated health is a good predictor of future health status as measured by mortality and morbidity, decline of functional abilities, use of healthcare, and nursing home placement. The high mean age and the relatively high level of care-dependency in this sample, make this investigation important. A hierarchical regression analysis was applied in a cross sectional sample of 242 elderly (mean age 84.6 years). Results found subjective health complaints (SHC) in both sexes, and psychological distress (only in men), was associated directly with SRH. Coping resources associated with SRH directly, and indirectly through subjective perceived health (SHC and GHQ) but only in men. The influence of registered illness was mediated through the effects of subjectively perceived health in both women and men. Sex differences moderated the effects of SOC on SRH. Subjectively perceived health was more important in the perception of SRH than objective health measures. Men, in contrast to women, tend to convert physical illness into emotional distress.
Older adults’ networks and public care receipt: do partners and adult children substitute for unskilled public care?
- Authors:
- SCHENK Niels, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 34(10), 2014, pp.1711-1729.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study investigates how (a) the reliance on public care and (b) the type of public care received by older people in the Netherlands depends on the availability of partners and adult children. Older people aged 65 years and older were surveyed in the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study at two time-points. Survey results were linked to registry data on public care receipt at the two time-points. Multilevel models revealed that receiving frequent help in the household from children was not associated with public care receipt. Only men having a partner were less likely to receive public care. Further analyses comparing the receipt of skilled and unskilled forms of public care revealed that female partners are especially important in rendering unskilled care unnecessary compared to skilled care. Two arguments may explain the findings. One is that a gender-bias exists in processing public care requests – men are perceived as less able to provide care to their female partners. Another is that men lack the skills, or perceive themselves as lacking the care skills that female partners have. Caution is advised against introducing policy measures that increase pressure on female partners. (Edited publisher abstract)
Carework as a form of bodywork
- Author:
- TWIGG Julia
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 20(4), July 2000, pp.389-411.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article argues for the importance of recognising carework as form of bodywork. It discusses why this central dimension has been neglected in accounts of carework, pointing to the ways in which community care has traditionally been analysed, the resistance of social gerontology to an overly bodily emphasis, and the conceptual dominance of the debate on care. Drawing on a study of the provision of help with bathing and washing for older people at home, it explores the body dimension of the activity, looking at how careworkers negotiate nakedness and touch, mange dirt and disgust, balance intimacy and distance. Finally, the paper draws together some of the key themes of this bodywork: its designation as 'dirty work', its hidden, silenced characters, the low occupational esteem in which it is held and its gendered nature.
At the intersection of marketisation, diversity and migration: reshaping the provision of paid family eldercare in Sweden?
- Author:
- BRODIN Helene
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 21(2), 2018, pp.222-234.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article explores how paid family eldercare in Sweden is reshaped at the intersection of marketisation, accommodation to ethnic diversity and globalisation of international migration. Using a mixed-methods case study approach, the paper examines how implementation of customer choice in publicly funded homecare services to older adults in the city of Stockholm interacts with paid family care. The results show that some private homecare companies employ family caregivers as a business strategy; moreover, that the majority of employed family caregivers are foreign-born women coming primarily from non-European countries. The findings point towards gains but also risks for all parties involved. Though the family caregiver is ensured an income, the employment is generally associated with low wages and weak social security. In addition, employed family carers often lack formal training, which affects documentation procedures and monitoring of the daily care work. It is therefore difficult to evaluate the quality of care services performed by employed family carers. The results indicate a need for policy-makers to reconsider how customer choice in eldercare interacts with paid family care. Otherwise, unintended consequences may result in negative effects for integration as well as social work practice with foreign-born older adults. (Publisher abstract)
From the state to the family or to the market? Consequences of reduced residential eldercare in Sweden
- Authors:
- ULMANEN Petra, SZEBEHELY Marta
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 24(1), 2015, pp.81-92.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article analyses the changing roles of the state, family and market in providing care for older people in Sweden, in relation to Scandinavian welfare ideals of universalism and de-familisation. The analysis was based on non-institutionalised individuals 65 years and older who reported needing help with at least one household task (laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping or cooking. A total of 847 individuals in 2002–2003 and 958 individuals in 2009–2010 aged 65–99 years were were included in the study, and asked from whom they received help. The change between 2002–2003 and 2009–2010 in the use of the three sources of help (homecare services, non-cohabiting family/friends, privately purchased services/other help were analysed. Since 2000 every fourth residential care bed has disappeared and the increase in homecare services has not compensated for the decline. Instead family care (defined here as help from adult children and other non-cohabiting family or friends) has increased in all social groups: help by daughters mainly among older people with shorter education and help by sons among those highly educated. Use of privately purchased services has also increased but continues to play a marginal role. Family care remains more common among older people with less education whereas privately purchased services are more common among those with higher education. This dualisation of care challenges universalism, and working-class daughters continue to be most affected by eldercare cutbacks. (Edited publisher abstract)
Still working for love? Recognising skills and responsibilities of home-based care workers
- Authors:
- BRIAR Celia, LIDDELL Elizabeth, TOLICH Martin
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 15(3), 2014, pp.123-135.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on care workers employed in clients’ own homes recognising the skills and responsibilities of home-based care workers. Design/methodology/approach: Interviews and focus groups with domiciliary care workers in New Zealand centred on what these employees actually do during their working day. Findings: Home-based care workers require the same skills as residential care workers, but they also have greater responsibilities and receive less supervision and support, as they work largely in isolation. In addition, they must spend a large part of their working day travelling between clients: this time is unpaid, and brings their average hourly pay below the minimum wage. Practical implications: Although the home-based care workers who took part in this project love and are committed to making a positive difference to their clients, they also want the government, employers and the public to recognise their skills, efforts and their challenging working conditions. Originality/value: In earlier days of deinstitutionalisation, Graham described caring work as a “labour of love”. More than three decades years later, a New Zealand government minister described paid care workers as working partly “for love”. Care work is also currently perceived as unskilled. Both these perceptions depress the pay and working conditions of care staff, and in future may undermine the quality of care delivered to vulnerable clients. (Publisher abstract)
Gender differences in caregiver stressors, social resources, and health: an updated meta-analysis
- Authors:
- PINQUART Martin, SÖRENSEN Silvia
- Journal article citation:
- Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 61(1), January 2006, pp.33-45.
- Publisher:
- The Gerontological Society of America
This meta-analysis of 229 studies examines gender differences in caregiver psychological and physical health, and tests a number of theoretical explanations for observed gender differences in caregiver stressors, resources and health. Contrary to common belief, gender differences in caregiving variables were small or very small. Women had higher levels of burden or depression, and lower levels of subjective well being and physical health. They also reported greater behavioural problems in their care recipient, provided more caregiving hours and helped with more caregiving tasks. There were no significant gender differences in the use of formal or informal support. When controlling for gender differences in stressors and resources, the gender differences seen in depression and physical health were reduced to levels observed in the non-caregiving population, thus supporting the stress-and-coping theories on gender differences in caregiving. The significant gender differences in burden, depression, amount of care provision and the quality of the relationship with the care recipient were, however, of practical significance, and should be taken into account in interventions aimed at negative caregiver outcomes.
The last 3 months of life: care, transitions and the place of death of older people
- Authors:
- KLINKENBERG Marianne, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 13(5), September 2005, pp.420-430.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study investigated the care received by older people in the last 3 months of their life, the transitions in care and the predictors of place of death. In this population-based study, interviews were held with 270 proxy respondents to obtain data on 342 deceased participants (79 percent response rate) in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. In the last 3 months of life, the utilisation of formal care increased. Half of the community-dwelling older people and their families were confronted with transitions to institutional care, in most cases to hospitals. Women relied less often on informal care only, and were more dependent than men on institutional care. For people who only received informal care, the odds of dying in a hospital were 3.68 times the odds for those who received a combination of formal and informal home care. The chance of dying in a hospital was also related to the geographical region.
Elderly care recipients in a Swedish municipality living in their own homes: their diseases, functional health status and care provided as reported by formal carers
- Authors:
- OLIVIUS Gunilla, HALBERG Ingalill Rahm, OLSSON Birgitta
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 4(3), May 1996, pp.133-141.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Investigates from the perspective of formal carers the care given to people aged 65 and over in Sweden, who are cared for in their homes by informal care. Concludes that, diagnoses, the care recipients ability to be alone and functional health status are important variables to include when assessing the demands for home care and when planning supplementary care for home care recipients and their informal caregivers.
Gender, kinship and caregiver burden: the case of community-dwelling memory impaired seniors
- Authors:
- CHUMBLER Neale R., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(8), August 2003, pp.722-732.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study examined whether there were gender and kinship (spouse, child, more distant relative) differences in caregiver burden. It further examined the constellation of gender and kinship by examining whether adult daughter caregivers experienced greater burden compared to wives, husbands, sons, and other more distant relatives. The sample consisted of 305 family caregivers of memory-impaired individuals who were age 70 years or older and resided in non-institutional settings in Arkansas. A cross-sectional design was employed using validated measures to assess both the memory-impaired elders' and family caregivers' self-reported physical and memory status. After controlling for the age and health status characteristics of the memory-impaired elder, sociodemographic and health status characteristics of the family caregiver, and the caregiver coping response (measured by the sense of coherence), multiple regression analyses found kinship, but not gender differences in caregiver burden. Adult children experienced more caregiver burden than more distant relatives. There were no significant differences in caregiver burden between adult children and spouses. Adult daughters had greater caregiver burden scores compared to more distant relatives, but had comparable scores to wives, sons, and husbands. Other significant correlates of burden included caregiver personal characteristics (age and ethnicity) and the sense of coherence. The study discusses the practice implications of adult children and adult daughters' propensity to suffer burden when caring for their memory-impaired parents living in the community. It also discusses the relevance of caregiver personal characteristics and the sense of coherence as correlates of burden.