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Depression in older adults: exploring the relationship between goal setting and physical health
- Authors:
- STREET Helen, O'CONNOR Moira, ROBINSON Hayley
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(11), November 2007, pp.1115-1119.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Depression in older adults is associated with a decreased quality of life, increased physical and emotional suffering and an increased risk of death and is often associated with declining physical health. Older people with physical illness have higher rates of depression and studies have also noted the particularly high rate of co-morbidity between depressive disorder and general medical conditions. However, other studies have shown those suffering from poor physical health do not necessarily become depressed and, in particular, the goal setting style of the individual impacts on the relationship between poor physical health and depression. This study argues that those who are conditional goal setters and suffer from poorer physical health will be more prone to depression as their perceived ability to achieve their goals is negatively impacted. One hundred and eighty-seven participants were recruited for this study. The participants completed the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Inventory and the physical health subscale of the SF-12 Health Survey. Participants were asked to rank their three most important goals and to give the main reason for setting each of their top three goals. The results showed that poorer physical health is associated with higher depression scores. Correlations revealed significant negative associations between physical health and depression, physical health and progress towards goal and progress towards goal and depression. A partial correlation between physical health and depression scores controlling for progress demonstrated that the relationship between physical health and depression is mediated through perceived progress. Implications for clinical practice are highlighted.
Older people and the penal system
- Author:
- LE MESURIER Nick
- Journal article citation:
- Generations Review, 18(1), January 2008, Online only
- Publisher:
- British Society of Gerontology
This article draws upon current literature to give an overview of the population of older prisoners and their needs, and outlines some of the implications these have for the way they are served in prison and on release.
Isolation and loneliness: Help the Aged policy statement 2007
- Author:
- HELP THE AGED
- Publisher:
- Help the Aged
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 9p.
- Place of publication:
- London
New research from Help the Aged has revealed that 1.4 million older people in the UK feel socially isolated and nearly 300,000 have gone a full month in the last year without speaking to any family or neighbours. This added to the fact that more than 1.25 million older people are often or always lonely paints a bleak picture of what life is like for many pensioners today. In an effort to tackle these issues head-on, Help the Aged is today launching a new fundraising campaign called ‘1 is the saddest number’ which aims to help end isolation and loneliness among older people. The Charity’s first focus is Christmas as feelings of loneliness can be even more acute during traditional holiday times. Help the Aged is aiming to reach out to 25,000 older people across the UK by providing them each with a Christmas meal to enjoy with friends at their local day centre over the festive period. After Christmas, the Charity will use donations to launch its Volunteering Programme in Spring 2008, which will include befriending opportunities to directly target the chronic loneliness and isolation suffered by many older people across the UK on an ongoing basis.
Places and health: a qualitative study to explore how older women living alone perceive the social and physical dimensions of their neighbourhoods
- Authors:
- WALKER Ruth B., HILLER Janet E.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 65(6), September 2007, pp.1154-1165.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
There is growing interest in the impact that neighbourhood environment might have on the health of older people. Although the number of older Australian women, particularly those living alone, is projected to increase in coming decades, their experiences of neighbourhood have not been exclusively examined. The aims of this paper are: (1) to explore, from the perspective of these women, the social and physical dimensions of neighbourhoods and (2) to investigate variation in these accounts according to whether women lived in areas of higher or lower socioeconomic status. Twenty women aged between 75 and 93 years, residing in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia (SA), participated in a series of two in-depth interviews. Women's perceptions of their neighbourhood, and accounts of every-day activities in the community were analysed to determine how both social and physical aspects of neighbourhood might relate to health and wellbeing. Findings suggest that a reciprocal and trusting relationship with neighbours underpinned older women's sense of satisfaction with, and feeling of security within, the neighbourhood. Other factors such as living in close proximity to services and existing social networks were also seen as important. Women's stories demonstrated that they were able to draw on both existing social networks and neighbours to sustain their independence and social connection within the community. Women living in more disadvantaged areas were more conscious of social disconnection in their neighbourhoods, and to the way that traffic noise and pollution detracted from their neighbourhood environment. These findings indicate that, for older women living alone, trusting and reciprocal relationships with neighbours are likely to form an important part of their broader social support network and should be recognised in relation to the process of maintaining the health of older women living in the community.
Listening to older care-givers: research into aspirations for support
- Authors:
- SKELTON Judd, et al
- Publisher:
- Manchester Metropolitan University. Interpersonal and Organisational Development Research Group
- Publication year:
- 1997
- Pagination:
- 69p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Manchester
There is a need to address the problems identified by the study through multi-sectoral policies and programmes to sustain the health of older care-givers and to maintain their ability to provide adequate care. The fact that older care givers on “24-hour call” are particularly prone to failing health comes as no surprise. Often, there is a combination of factors such as vulnerability, heavy physical demands of care and a sense of losing the quality of life. Other contributory factors are the lack of sleep and rest, the curtailment or suppression of periods of sickness and the inability of maintaining hobbies. The main indicators of negative health effects are depression, fear and a low assessment of one’s own health.
Better Health in Old Age: report from Professor Ian Philp, National Director for Older People's Health to Secretary of State for Health
- Author:
- GREAT BRITAIN. Department of Health
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department of Health
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 34p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This report highlights progress since 2001 under the National Service Framework for Older People and sets out a vision for the future. The National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People promotes independence and well-being for older people and support for them to live at home or in community settings as far as possible. The emphasis in the NSF has been right across the whole health and social care system rather than being narrowly focused on just one or two conditions. This is an ambitious agenda but a crucial one.
Valuing older people: the Mayor of London's older people strategy
- Author:
- GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY
- Publisher:
- Greater London Authority
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 92p.
- Place of publication:
- London
London is often seen as a city of young people, but almost 16 per cent of the city's population – nearly 1.2 million people – are aged 60 or over, and almost a quarter of a million people are aged over 80. Valuing Older People, the Mayor's Older People's Strategy, aims to challenge stereotyping of older people and provide a framework to develop a city in which older Londoners have the support they need to lead active, healthy and independent lives.
Valuing older people: highlights of the Mayor of London's older people strategy
- Author:
- GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY
- Publisher:
- Greater London Authority
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 17p.
- Place of publication:
- London
London is often seen as a city of young people, but almost 16 per cent of the city's population – nearly 1.2 million people – are aged 60 or over, and almost a quarter of a million people are aged over 80. Valuing Older People, the Mayor's Older People's Strategy, aims to challenge stereotyping of older people and provide a framework to develop a city in which older Londoners have the support they need to lead active, healthy and independent lives.
Gender differences in health-related quality of life among the elderly: The role of objective functional capacity and chronic conditions
- Authors:
- ORFILA Francesc, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 9(63), November 2006, pp.2367-2380.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Although worse Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) among women has been widely described, it remains unclear whether this is due to differential reporting patterns, or whether there is a real difference in health status. The objective of this study was to evaluate to what extent gender differences in HRQL among the elderly might be explained by differences in performance-based functional capacity and chronic conditions, using the conceptual model of health outcomes as proposed by Wilson and Cleary. Data are from a cross-sectional home survey of 872 surviving individuals from an elderly cohort representative of Barcelona's general population. Complete valid data for these analyses were obtained from 62% of the subjects (n=544). The evaluation included the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), a generic measure of HRQL; three performance-based functional capacity tests (balance, chair-stand, and walking tests); and a standardized list of self-reported chronic conditions. A series of multiple linear regression models were built with the total NHP score as the dependent variable, with gender, socio-demographic information, performance-based functional capacity and chronic conditions included sequentially, as independent variables. Women (65.4%) showed worse results than men on HRQL and functional capacity. Functional capacity, arthritis, back pain, diabetes, and depression were significantly associated to the NHP total score in the final regression model, which explained 42% of the variance. Raw differences by gender in the total NHP score were 11.5 points, but decreased to a non-significant 3.2 points after adjusting for all the other variables. In conclusion, our data suggest that worse reported HRQL in elderly women is mainly due to a higher prevalence of disability and chronic conditions.
A cross-sectional study on the health related quality of life of depressed Chinese older people in Shanghai
- Authors:
- CHAN Sally Wai-chi, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21(9), September 2006, pp.883-889.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
With an increasing life expectancy, there is a rapidly growing sector that is aging. Depression is the most prevalent functional mental disorder of older population. It is estimated that about 21% of the older population in Shanghai are suffering from depression. This study investigated the self-rated health related quality of life of community-dwelling older people diagnosed with depression in Shanghai, and to examine the relationships between this and mental and physical health, functional status and social support. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in two community centres with a convenience sample of 71 participants. Measures included subjective perception of health related quality of life, level of depression, cognitive function, number of medical conditions, activities of daily living, functional abilities, and social support. The majority of the participants were female (n = 52, 73.23%), and married (n = 51, 71.8%). A higher level of depression was related to a poorer health related quality of life. Participants were least satisfied with their physical health. The level of depression, activities of daily living and satisfaction with social support were predictors of health related quality of life ratings. The study identified how depression affects the bio-psychosocial status of Chinese older people. Findings are discussed in light of the socio-cultural environment in Shanghai.