Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Research priorities for Gerontological social work: researcher and practitioner perspectives
- Authors:
- MORROW-HOWELL Nancy, BURNETTE Denise, CHEN Li-Mei
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Research, 29(4), December 2005, pp.231-242.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article describes a Delphi study to identify research priorities of gerontological social work practitioners and to compare these priorities with those of social work academic researchers. A national expert panel of 52 gerontological social work practitioners from the United States completed questionnaires to delimit a set of high-priority research topics. Findings were compared with a similar Delphi study conducted with academic social work researchers. The researcher panel and the practitioner panel endorsed a need for intervention research. Practitioners also identified several unique priorities, including income security and long-term care policies, decision making, and planning for later life. The authors suggest four substantive areas (housing and transitions in living arrangements, family caregiving, health and mental health, and workforce) and four cross cutting themes (intervention research, social policy, service delivery, and capacity building) as a potential organizing framework for a research agenda for gerontological social work.
SCIE research briefing 15: helping older people to take prescribed medication in their own homes
- Author:
- SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE
- Publisher:
- Social Care Institute for Excellence
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 7p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This briefing summarises recent evidence on the taking of prescribed medication by older people aged 65 or over who live at home. It covers all older people, including those who suffer from cognitive or other impairments. The briefing examines the policy literature and the findings of the research into why older people living at home may intentionally or unintentionally fail to take all of their prescribed medication when they need to, and what measures may be effective in helping them to achieve compliance with the prescribed doses. It also summarises the key messages arising from the literature, including reasons for non-compliance and effective ways of improving compliance. It will be of interest to both the prescribers of medication and health and social care professionals who work with older people in their own homes.
Improving medication management in home care: issues and solutions
- Editors:
- FREY Dennee, (ed.)
- Publisher:
- Haworth
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 155p.
- Place of publication:
- Binghamton
The problem of medication errors among the elderly is widespread. Improving Medication Management in Home Care: Issues and Solutions tackles this tough issue by closely examining the challenges faced in preventing medication errors in home and community care program settings and putting forth effective solutions to better manage medication use. Respected experts discuss the unique role of the pharmacist in improving patient safety, presenting a comprehensive collection of evidence-based studies featuring national and international viewpoints, cutting-edge interventions, and cost-effective procedures that address medication problems in older adults. Polypharmacy is the term used for patients receiving too many medications for a specific treatment. The implications for drug-drug interactions can be dangerous for the unaware patient. Improving Medication Management in Home Care: Issues and Solutions focuses on several different effective management programs and examines each in detail, completely explaining the positive—and negative—results. This hands-on practical information is useful for all professionals and field providers working with older adults and their medication concerns. The book also provides valuable lessons through the experiences of national home health leaders in various settings—hospital-based, rural, large or small, etc., as well as community-based programs for dually eligible older adults.
Use of senior centers as a moderator of stress-related distress among Latino elders
- Authors:
- FARONE Diane Weis, FITZPATRICK Tanya R., TRAN Thanh V.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 46(1), 2005, pp.65-83.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Little is known about the moderating effects of community services on psychological distress among Latino elders in the United States. This study explores the use of senior centres as an intervention strategy to moderate the harmful impact of stress on psychological distress. The study was conducted using data from the 1988 National Survey of Hispanic Elderly People (N = 2,299) in the United States. To examine the direct and moderating effects of the use of senior centres on the relationship between stress and psychological distress the authors applied multiple regression analysis to an initial model, a direct effect model, and a moderating model. The results indicated that, under stressful life situations, respondents who used senior centres experienced lower levels of psychological distress than those who did not. Implications of the findings for senior centres and for further research are discussed. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
A clash of cultures: rural values and service delivery to mistreated and neglected older people in Eastern Canada
- Authors:
- HARBISON Joan, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Practice: Social Work in Action, 17(4), December 2005, pp.229-246.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
There is considerable evidence to suggest that older people living in situations of mistreatment and neglect are reluctant to accept help. This is attributed to the high value that older generations place on their privacy and family integrity, and on their ability to cope and remain in charge of their lives. This paper explores the challenges these cultural norms pose for formal and informal helpers. The discussion is illustrated by the findings of a study of service delivery in rural Eastern Canada. The study revealed that the efforts of formal and informal helpers to accommodate older people’s cultural norms, and respond to what they want, are frequently successful. However, this help is continually under threat from the centralisation and rationalisation of service delivery, as well as an increased focus on the potential for litigation resulting from harm to clients or helpers. The implications of these findings for practice are discussed.
Depression in later life
- Authors:
- MANTHORPE Jill, ILIFFE Steve
- Publisher:
- Jessica Kingsley
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 160p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
The authors take a multidisciplinary approach and employ both medical and psycho-social models of depression. The medical model is used to identify symptoms, make diagnoses and work towards optimal treatment. Psycho-social perspectives provide insight into the scale and complexity of the condition and point to its social causes. The authors identify different levels of depression through in-depth analysis and consider the condition in relation to, but distinct from, dementia, psychosis and anxiety disorders, helping professionals to make the correct diagnosis. Supporting case studies show that depression, and the physical symptoms often linked to it, are amenable to treatment. The authors provide practical guidance for health and social care practitioners and suggest numerous coping strategies.
Falls prevention in older people
- Author:
- DANIEL Karen
- Journal article citation:
- Community Practitioner, 78(4), April 2005, pp.127-128.
- Publisher:
- Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association
Examines two projects which seek to address the problem of falls in older people. 'Intergenerational Falls', a Northumberland-based initiative which has brought children and older people together in a falls prevention programme targeted at older people living at home. The Gloucestershire-based 'Active ageing in care homes' is provides support and training to care home staff to enable them to deliver active ageing sessions for older people, as part of a falls prevention management.
Older adults' health and changes in late-life drinking patterns
- Authors:
- MOOS R. H., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 9(1), January 2005, pp.49-59.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study focused on the prospective associations between older adults' health-related problems and their late-life alcohol consumption and drinking problems. A sample of 1,291 late-middle-aged community residents (55-65 years old at baseline) participated in a survey of health and alcohol consumption, and was followed one year, four years, and 10 years later. Health-related problems increased and alcohol consumption and drinking problems declined over the 10-year interval. Medical conditions, physical symptoms, medication use, and acute health events predicted a higher likelihood of abstinence and less frequent and lower alcohol consumption. However, overall health burden predicted more subsequent drinking problems, even after controlling for alcohol consumption and a history of heavy drinking and increased drinking in response to stressors. Among older adults, increased health problems predict reduced alcohol consumption but more drinking problems. Older adults with several health problems who consume more alcohol are at elevated risk for drinking problems and should be targeted for brief interventions to help them curtail their drinking.
Toward understanding the clinical aspects of geriatric case management
- Authors:
- FERRY James L., ABRAMSON Julie S.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Health Care, 42(1), 2005, pp.35-56.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Despite the prominence of complex psychosocial problems in aging clients, geriatric case management has generally emphasized the provision of concrete resources and services as its primary function. However, some of the literature as well as the findings of this study, point to competent case management as being contingent on interventions that successfully address key psychosocial problems. This paper presents a qualitative study involving experienced geriatric care managers. Psychosocial problem and intervention categories are identified as well as overarching themes with significant implications for practice. The paper argues that a grounded, thorough, well-explicated and generalizable model for clinically-focused geriatric case management practice is necessary; it also suggests additional research towards the development of such a model. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Social work with older adults and their families: changing practice paradigms
- Authors:
- GREENE Roberta R., COHEN Harriet L.
- Journal article citation:
- Families in Society, 86(3), July 2005, pp.367-373.
- Publisher:
- The Alliance for Children and Families
Given the far-reaching social, economic, and demographic changes in the aging population, the authors argue for a methodological and practice-oriented transformation in future geriatric social work. The authors suggest that if they are to maintain their independence and well-being, a resilience-enhancing social work intervention will be especially effective in fostering the specific survival skills that older adults often already utilize to help them cope with difficult situations. A risk-resilience model sensitive to ethnic difference and practiced at multiple systems levels (e.g., the community) is offered as an advancement of the traditional models of social work practice. In conclusion, the authors emphasize the value of a strengths perspective to address the pressing issues that affect the aging population.