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A conceptual framework of the multi-dimensional model of the quality of life in later life
- Author:
- PARK Seung-Min
- Journal article citation:
- Social and Public Policy Review, 7(2), 2013, pp.1-22.
- Publisher:
- University of Plymouth
- Place of publication:
- Plymouth
There is a plethora of empirical research on the quality of life in later life as global population ageing accelerates. However, some previous research on this subject may have used the concept vaguely or even incorrectly. As a result, this paper aims to conceptually build a framework on the quality of life in later life hereinafter called ‘the multi-dimensional model of the quality of life in later life’. This ultidimensional model consists not only of objective quality of life, including standard of living, social activity, and objective health status, but also subjective quality of life, including life satisfaction, happiness, and subjective health status. To promote further empirical research using the model, this paper suggests a conceptual structural equation model based on previous empirical studies on the significant associations amongst those dimensions. (Publisher abstract)
Understanding care homes: a research and development perspective
- Editors:
- FROGGATT Katherine, DAVIES Sue, MEYER Julienne, (eds.)
- Publisher:
- Jessica Kingsley
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 272p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Understanding Care Homes draws together a range of research and development initiatives that emphasise the importance of partnership working, and of enabling older people and their families to maintain the highest quality of life. The book is divided into three sections, each investigating how research and development can be undertaken to provide better care for the individual resident and their family, to enhance care at the organisational level and to develop the care home's relationships within the wider community. By addressing the concerns of residents and their families as well as those of carers and home managers, this book identifies how the generation of new knowledge through research can bring about real changes in care provision.
A concise alternative for researching health-related quality of life in older people
- Authors:
- WINDLE Gillian, EDWARDS Rhiannon, BURHOLT Vanessa
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing, 5(3), November 2004, pp.13-24.
- Publisher:
- Pier Professional
- Place of publication:
- Brighton
Examines a potentially shorter alternative to the sometimes lengthy and time-consuming health assessment tools used by researchers, the EQ-5D instrument. Data was obtained using trained interviewers from a randomly sampled cross-sectional survey of 423 community-dwelling older people aged 70-99. Information was obtained relating to activities of daily living, the EQ-5D, the EQ-VAS, the SF-36, use of health and social care services and the presence or absence of limiting illness, disability or infirmity. In terms of construct validity the EQ-5D was able to distinguish between hypothesised differences in the sample that could be expected to reflect differences in health-related quality of life. The EQ-5D items correlated well with conceptually similar items. Completion rates for the EQ-5D items were good, ranging from 98.3-98.8%. Completion rates for the EQ-VAS were 98.1%. Results suggest that the EQ-5D may provide a valid measure of health-related quality of life in a cross-sectional population sample of older adults, although the emphasis of the scale is very much on physical health and functioning. Results for the depression/anxiety item suggest that additional information may be needed if mental health is of concern.
Using the new family resources survey question block to measure material deprivation among pensioners
- Author:
- McKAY Stephen
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department for Work and Pensions
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 47p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Poverty is often measured by counting those families on relatively low incomes. A low income, whether relative to a fixed line or in comparison to other people’s income, may be taken as measuring or indicating poverty. An objection to this approach is that it is inherently indirect, and tells us little about how people are actually living, and if that experience really corresponds to poverty. Deprivation indicators may be used to replace or supplement measures of income poverty. They have been used in the Family Resources Survey (FRS) since 2004-05 for that purpose. This report takes the new material deprivation questions for older people, asked in the FRS since 2008, and proposes how to construct an overall measure of deprivation. It uses data from May 2008-March 2009, and applies a range of statistical analyses to compare different strategies to constructing such a measure. It looks at the implications of different choices in the design of the overall index of pensioner material deprivation. This report asks “at what point on the deprivation scale should we say that someone is deprived?”
Ethnic-matching in qualitative research: reversing the gaze on `white others' and `white' as `other'
- Author:
- HOONG SIN Chih
- Journal article citation:
- Qualitative Research, 7(4), November 2007, pp.477-499.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Writings on inter-racial/ethnic research tend to posit `nonwhite' as the researched `other'. There is scant literature dealing with `others' within whiteness or treating whiteness itself as an `other'. This article draws on the experience of a project looking at the quality of life of older people in Britain to illuminate often implicit assumptions underpinning the practice of ethnic-matching in qualitative research by reversing the research gaze. By examining the procedures involved in matching majority and minority ethnic researchers to a range of `white' respondents, this article unveils the often unscrutinized values and assumptions of certain sets of practice in qualitative research that can influence the process and products of research. Reversing the `ethnic' research gaze can help to illuminate new perspectives on the construction of otherness and positionalities within research. While this article looks at the influence of ethnicity on the research process, it acknowledges that ethnicity may not always be the primary social signifier and may also intersect with a range of other identifiers such as age, gender, class and geography.
Extending quality life: policy prescriptions from the Growing Older Programme
- Author:
- WALKER Alan
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Policy, 35(3), July 2006, pp.437-454.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Place of publication:
- Cambridge
This article provides a policy-oriented overview of the five-year ESRC Growing Older Programme of research on quality of life in old age: the largest UK social sciences research endeavour to date in the field of ageing. By way of an introduction to the Growing Older Programme, its main objectives are stated and some of its unique contributions to knowledge and research methods are summarised. Then the bulk of the article focuses on the relationship between research and policy: first in general terms and then specifically with regard to the operation of and outputs from the Programme. The particular methods used by the Programme to engage with the policy process are described, within a broad enlightenment framework. This is followed by an outline of the key elements of a multi-dimensional approach to extending the quality of later life. The five priority elements of this skeletal strategy – inequalities in old age, environments of ageing, economic and family roles, participation and involvement, and frailty and identity – are derived from the Growing Older Programme's comprehensive evidence base. In each case the policy implications of the research evidence are illustrated. Finally, the role of older people in living their own lives of quality is discussed, and the results of the Programme are used to show how aspects of both structure and agency combine to determine the quality of later life.
Developing attributes for a generic quality of life measure for older people: preferences or capabilities?
- Authors:
- GREWAL Ini, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 62(8), April 2006, pp.1891-1901.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Current UK policy with respect to the provision of health and social care for older people suggests that greater integration is required. Economists’ attempts to assist resource allocation decisions, however, are very health focused, with concentration on the use of health-related quality of life measures. This paper reports an attempt to determine attributes for a new index clearly focusing on quality of life for older people rather than health or other influences on quality of life. In-depth interviews were conducted with 40 purposively selected informants aged 65 and over in private households to explore their views about what is important to them in terms of quality of life. Data were analysed using Framework qualitative analysis. Initial discussions tended to concentrate upon factors influencing quality of life including activities, relationships, health, wealth and surroundings. Further probing and analysis suggested five conceptual attributes: attachment, role, enjoyment, security and control. The data also suggested that the quality of informants’ lives was limited by the loss of ability to pursue these attributes. So, for example, it is not poor health in itself, which reduces quality of life, but the influence of that poor health upon each informant's ability to, say, be independent, that is important. Amartya Sen's work on functioning and capability is particularly pertinent here. Using this work, it is possible to interpret the five conceptual attributes as a set of functionings—important for older people in the UK in the 21st century—but noting that it is the capacity to achieve these functionings that appears to be of importance. This suggests that further development of this measure should focus on an index of capability rather than preference-based utility.
Enabling frail older people with a communication difficulty to express their views: the use of Talking Mats as an interview tool
- Authors:
- MURPHY Joan, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 13(2), March 2005, pp.95-107.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim of the present study was to obtain the views of frail older people with communication impairments using an innovative interviewing method, Talking Mats. People with a communication disability are often omitted from qualitative research studies since they cannot respond to the more traditional methods of interviewing. However, their views are important and they may, in fact, have additional insights because of their communication situation. The 10 participants in this study were frail older people with a range of communication difficulties with causes including stroke, dementia and hearing loss. They had all recently (within 6 months) moved into care homes. Each participant was interviewed using Talking Mats to obtain their views on four aspects of their life: activities, people, environment and self. The findings are presented in a visual way, and the four life themes are discussed with reference to the different participants. Many insights were gained, such as the participants' views of the activities which they like and dislike, and the views of some of the people in the study about their nursing home environment. The advantages of the Talking Mats as an interview method for research, practice and policy in the care of frail older people are described. The study concludes that Talking Mats is a useful and enjoyable method of allowing frail older people with a communication disability to express views which they have difficulty conveying otherwise.
Measuring psychological well-being: insights from Thai elders
- Authors:
- INGERSOLL-DAYTON Berit, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 44(5), October 2004, pp.596-604.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Psychological well-being, an important indicator of successful aging, may be conceptualized quite differently across cultures. Using a mixed-methods approach, we developed a measure of psychological well-being based on the indigenous expertise of Thai elders. Data were collected from older people in Thailand in four stages with staggered qualitative and quantitative methods: individual and focus group interviews (n = 67); a preliminary survey (n = 477); cognitive interviews (n = 30); and a second survey (n = 460). We analyzed the resulting psychological well-being items to identify their underlying factor structure and psychometric properties. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that psychological well-being has two components: intrapersonal and interpersonal. The subscales for this measure have adequate reliability and validity. This research provides evidence for cultural variability in the nature of psychological well-being and highlights the importance of developing measures that are culturally relevant.
Comparing perceived quality of life in nursing homes and assisted living facilities
- Author:
- FRANKS Jeanette S.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 43(1), 2004, pp.119-130.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Residents 65 years old and older living in nursing homes (NH) and assisted living facilities (ALFs) were matched on a scale of functional ability: The Sickness Impact Profile for Nursing Homes (SIP-NH). Of the 97 NH and 100 ALF residents who were evaluated using the SIP-NH, 43 pairs, matched by level of disability, were formed. Each member of the 43 pairs was administered two quality of life instruments: the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index (QLI), as well as a single direct question regarding quality of life. Matched pair t-tests revealed no differences in quality of life scores, contrary to the hypothesis that the matched residents in nursing homes would have perceptions of a lower quality of life than residents of assisted living facilities. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)