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The nature and quality of friendship for older adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland
- Authors:
- McCAUSLAND Darren, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34(3), 2021, pp.763-776.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: Friendship is important to quality of life, yet people with intellectual disability have more restricted social networks and fewer friends outside family and support staff. Method: Data from a nationally representative longitudinal study of older adults with intellectual disability (aged >40) examined rates and types of friends. Factors associated with having a best friend and friendship quality were explored. Results: A large majority (92.4%) had friends but just over half (52%) had a best friend. Co‐resident friends (71.8%) were more common than non‐resident friends (62%), while staff friendships (62.5%) were important. The majority of best friends were peers with intellectual disability (63.2%), carer/service providers (15.9%) or family (8.4%). Challenging behaviour and communication difficulty were associated with reduced likelihood of having a best friend. A best friend with intellectual disability was associated with lower friendship quality scores. Conclusion: Limited choice and social opportunity may result in a precarious form of friendship for older people with intellectual disability that undermines their quality of life. (Edited publisher abstract)
A qualitative study of the needs of older adults with intellectual disabilities
- Authors:
- McCAUSLAND Darragh, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34(6), 2021, pp.1560-1568.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: Research indicates that adults with intellectual disabilities are living longer. However, there is limited research on how this affects health and care needs. Objective: The present study aimed to examine the health and social care needs of older adults with intellectual disabilities in Ireland using multiple informants. Methods: Data were gathered from a sample of 20 adults aged 50 years or older (Mean = 59.1, SD = 5.9, range = 50–72; 11 female). The sample included individuals with mild (n = 7), moderate (n = 10) and severe/profound (n = 3) intellectual disabilities. Additional data from keyworkers (n = 19) and family carers (n = 15) provided a more complete understanding of needs. Results: Results revealed some areas of agreement and difference between adults with intellectual disability and their carers regarding the social care, employment, retirement, physical and mental health needs of this population. Conclusions: The findings of this study have potential implications for the provision of high-quality services for older adults with intellectual disabilities. (Edited publisher abstract)
The social cost and rewards of caring
- Author:
- CLIFFORD Dermott
- Publisher:
- Avebury
- Publication year:
- 1990
- Pagination:
- 267p.,tables,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Aldershot
A study of social services in relation to carers in Ireland, focusing on the Kerry area. Includes a literature review and an outline of study methods, and goes on to look more closely at carers of elderly people and mentally handicapped people. Explores the motivations of carers, and asks what positive experiences might be associated with long-term caring. Compares the Irish setting with similar studies in Britain, and the plight of female carers with male carers. Based on 76 case studies, outlined in an appendix.
An exploration of care‐burden experienced by older caregivers of adults with intellectual disabilities in Ireland
- Authors:
- EGAN Caroline, DALTON Caroline Teresa
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 47(3), 2019, pp.188-194.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: People with intellectual disabilities are experiencing increased longevity, and in parallel, their family caregivers are also ageing. The literature identifies that these caregivers are at risk of burden. The aim of this study was to measure the level of caregiver burden among older carers of adults with intellectual disabilities in an Irish sample and to analyse the effect of socio‐demographic factors upon experiences of caregiver burden. Materials and Methods: Thirty caregivers completed a survey questionnaire. Data were collected based upon participants’ self‐reports of burden using the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and a socio‐demographic questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS version 24. Results: Over 57% of carers indicated a mild‐to‐moderate level of burden. Analysis indicated that younger caregivers experience significantly higher levels of burden, when compared to older caregivers. Conclusions: This study contributes to our understanding of burden among an Irish population of older caregivers supporting an adult with an intellectual disability. It identified that carers do experience burden. The importance of proactive assessments and supports for these caregivers was revealed. This study highlights a lack of Irish research in this area and may pave the way for future research which could build upon its findings. (Edited publisher abstract)
“What's going to happen when we're gone?” Family caregiving capacity for older people with an intellectual disability in Ireland
- Authors:
- BRENNAN Damien, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 31(2), 2018, pp.226-235.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: Changing family sociodemographic factors, increased life expectancy for people with an intellectual disability, institutionalisation and policy prioritisation of the family as the principal care provider, presents new challenges to care sustainability. Method: A qualitative study design was employed, entailing focus groups and semistructured interviews, with purposive sampling via the parent study population of the Intellectual Disability Supplement to The Irish Longitudinal Database on Ageing. Result: The traditional sociodemographic facilitators of family caregiving are in rapid decline. Families perceived limited support from services and limited future care options. Few future care plans have been formulated. A strong possibility exists of placement of older family members with an intellectual disability in out-of-family home care. Conclusion: To anticipate and provide for quality care supports, there is a need to establish proactive initiatives, for both people with an intellectual disability and their families’, to facilitate the early formation of long-term care plans. (Edited publisher abstract)
Interpersonal relationships of older adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland
- Authors:
- McCAUSLAND Darren, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 31(1), 2018, pp.e140-e153.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: People with intellectual disability tend to have smaller social networks than other groups, with even those living in community-based residences comparatively worse off. Materials and methods: Analysis of data from the Intellectual Disability Supplement to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS-TILDA) (n = 701) examined measures of interpersonal relationships and interactions. Predictors of family contact and having non-resident friends were also explored. Results: Social networks of older people with intellectual disability differ considerably from the general older population, with a reliance on support staff and co-resident friends in place of their own immediate family structures and wider friendships. Proximity to family most strongly predicted family contact. Residence in independent or family residences was most strongly linked to having non-resident friends. Conclusions: While family proximity and community living are associated with improved social networks and contacts, older people with intellectual disability remain worse off than the general older population. (Publisher abstract)
Whose quality of life? a comparison of measures of self-determination and emotional wellbeing in research with older adults with and without intellectual disability
- Authors:
- SEXTON Eithne, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 41(4), 2016, pp.324-337.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Background: Measures of quality of life (QOL) must be appropriate for specific groups but comparable across groups. In this paper, the authors compared how QOL is measured in research with older adults with and without an intellectual disability (ID). Methods: Measures used in 2 population studies of older adults with and without ID (Intellectual Disability Supplement to the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing [IDS-TILDA], and The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing [TILDA]) were examined. Framed by Schalock’s Quality of Life Framework, conceptual content of measures of emotional wellbeing and self-determination were compared. The acceptability and concurrent validity of IDS-TILDA measures were evaluated. Results: The same measures of emotional wellbeing were identified in both surveys. However, measures of self-determination captured different aspects of the construct. Concurrent validity between self-determination and emotional wellbeing measures in IDS-TILDA was weak. Conclusions: Research with adults with and without ID is limited by the nature of current inclusive QOL measures: Instruments are required that have adequate conceptual coverage and are comparable across groups but appropriate and feasible to use. (Edited publisher abstract)
Future need of ageing people with an intellectual disability in the Republic of Ireland: lessons learned from the literature
- Authors:
- DOODY Catriona M., MARKEY Kathleen, DOODY Owen
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41(1), 2013, pp.13-21.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article synthesises current literature regarding ageing and service provision for people with an intellectual disability. It presents the context of intellectual disability in Ireland and ageing for people with intellectual disability in relation to increased longevity and service provision. Searches were conducted through electronic databases (EBSCO and CINAHL) retrieving literature published between 1980 and 2010. Computerised searches using the terms, ‘old age, aged, ageing, ageing, mortality, morbidity’, were used in conjunction with the terms ‘intellectual disability, mental handicap and mental retardation’. The review found that Ireland has and is seeing a dramatic change in the age profile of clients and the support services they require. While Ireland had specifically trained nurses in intellectual disability, they predominately work in residential settings. This can be seen as been at odds with the philosophy of supporting people with intellectual disability live at home with their family and the primary care system. As the ageing population is rising, intellectual disability services need to proactively develop and respond to this changing age profile by reviewing and adjusting the way in which they deliver services, not only in terms of how services develop and respond to a changing age profile but also in terms of collaborative working across all health services. (Edited publisher abstract)
The role of nurses in meeting the health care needs of older people with intellectual disabilities: a review of the published literature
- Author:
- JENKINS Robert
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 16(2), June 2012, pp.85-95.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
Through medical intervention, people with intellectual disabilities now live longer in the UK and Ireland. As a consequence they are likely to have greater physical and mental health needs when compared to the general population. This review explored whether nurses have a crucial role to play in meeting such needs, and whether nurses are prepared for this role. A search was conducted for relevant English language articles dated between 1990 and 2011. Overall, there was little evidence of nurses undertaking effective interventions in meeting the health needs of older people with intellectual disabilities. Nurses have been alerted to the increase in numbers of older people with intellectual disabilities and offered some direction on their future role in this area. However, most of the current literature is based on informed opinion rather than research.
Ageing and health status in adults with intellectual disabilities: results of the European Pomona II study
- Authors:
- HAVEMAN Meindert, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 36(1), March 2011, pp.49-60.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
POMONA II was a European Commission funded public health project collecting information from 14 countries using a set of key health indicators specifically relevant for people with intellectual disabilities. This research focused on age-specific differences relating to environmental and lifestyle factors and the 17 medical conditions measured by the POMONA Checklist of Health Indicators. The article describes how information was collected using the POMONA Health Interview Survey and Evaluation Form from a sample of 1,253 participants in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It then presents the results of the analysis, with tables showing characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities in the study, frequency of social contacts with relatives or friends according to age, lifestyle risk factors in people with intellectual disabilities according to age, and general and age-specific prevalence rates of health problems. The authors discuss how healthy older adults with intellectual disabilities are with regard to lifestyle factors, and whether there are health disparities between older adults with and without intellectual disabilities. They note that some evidence of health disparities was found for older people with intellectual disabilities, particularly in terms of under diagnosed or inadequately managed preventable health conditions.