Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 48
Physical health and mental disorder in elderly suicide: a case-control study
- Authors:
- PRÉVILLE Michel, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 9(6), November 2005, pp.576-584.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The psychological autopsy method was used to study 95 cases of suicide. Ninety-five comparison subjects matched for gender, age, region, and date of death were selected from the death register. This study showed that suicide cases did not differ from controls with regard to the number of chronic health problems and, compared to the suicide cases, the controls had less functional autonomy six months prior to death. If minor and sub-threshold depression cases were included, 74.7% of the suicide cases would have been considered as having a mental health disorder compared to 12.6% in the control group. When the effect of other co-variables were controlled for, multivariate analysis showed that suicide cases and controls did not differ according to marital status, education, income, and living arrangement. Furthermore, suicide cases were no more likely than controls to seldom meet with family members or friends or to have been isolated during the six-month period preceding their death. Our findings suggest that detection of psychiatric disorders, mainly depression, must be included in late life suicide prevention strategies.
Not such a winter wonderland
- Author:
- GREENGROSS Sally
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 17.12.98, 1998, p.11.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
The author, Director General of Age Concern England, looks at the tragic and sometimes fatal effects of the winter months on elderly people.
Enhancing our understanding of drinking in later life: qualitative data refreshes parts that other data cannot reach
- Author:
- FUDGE Nina
- Journal article citation:
- Age and Ageing, 48(1), 2019, pp.3-5.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article considers how older people can be at risk of alcohol-related harm. It points out that qualitative studies on drinking in older age provide nuanced detail on the routines and practices behind drinking in later life. For example: most adults consider themselves responsible drinkers; ‘othering’ differentiates themselves from heavier and riskier drinkers and drinking alcohol in later life can be pleasurable, helping to ease social interactions and structure post-retirement day. It concludes that qualitative evidence can be used to develop public health interventions that speak to the people they are intended for. (Original abstract)
Associations between falls and general health, nutrition, dental health and medication use in Swedish home-dwelling people aged 75 years and over
- Authors:
- FONAD Edit, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 23(6), 2015, p.594–604.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The vast majority of elderly people in Sweden live in private homes in their communities for as long as possible. Poor health and a high risk of falls are very common among this group. This cross-sectional study investigates the association between falls and general health, appetite, dental health, and the use of multiple medications among home-dwelling men and women aged ≥75 years. Data were collected between October 2008 and March 2009 using a postal questionnaire. A total of 1243 people participated in the questionnaire survey (74% response rate), of which 1193 were included in the analysis. The majority of participants were women (n = 738, 62%). Falls in the previous 12-month period were reported by 434 (36%) participants. Most fallers (n = 276, 64%) were women. The majority of the fallers lived in a flat (n = 250, 58%). Poor health (aOR: 1.61; CI: 1.34–1.95), poor dental health (aOR: 1.22; CI: 1.07–1.39) and the use of four or more types of medication daily (aOR: 1.13; CI: 1.03–1.25) were significantly associated with falls in all participants. Poor dental health was found irrespectively of living in a flat (aOR: 1.23; CI: 1.04–1.46) or living in a house (aOR: 1.28; CI: 1.02–1.61), and both were significantly associated with falls. The use of more than four different types of medication daily (aOR: 1.25; CI: 1.11–1.41) was associated with falls for those living in a flat. The results highlight that falls are associated with poor general health, poor dental health and the use of four or more types of medication daily. Health professionals should provide health promotion education and investigate dental health and risk factors for oral disease. Likewise, medical and clinical practices of physicians and community care nurses should include assessing the risk of falling, and treatment that predisposes falls. (Publisher abstract)
Heatwave plan for England: making the case: the impact of heat on health: now and in the future
- Author:
- PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND
- Publisher:
- Public Health England
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 19
- Place of publication:
- London
This document provides a background to the 'Heatwave plan for England'. The purpose of the plan is to avoid the adverse health effects of excessive heat by raising public awareness and triggering actions by those in contact with people who are most at risk. This, in turn, helps reduce pressures throughout the health and social care system. The document outlines key health issues associated with heatwaves, explains why long-term planning is essential and gives some examples of medium term and longer term actions which can be taken to mitigate or ameliorate some of the effects of future heatwaves and hot weather. (Edited publisher abstract)
Informal caregiving and its impact on health: a reappraisal from population-based studies
- Authors:
- ROTH David L., FREDMAN Lisa, HALEY William E.
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 55(2), 2015, pp.309-319.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article aims to re-examine some of the existing evidence on the health effects of caregiving, focusing in particular on one commonly cited claim that family caregiving is associated with an increased risk for mortality. The authors discuss important methodological concerns on the definition of caregiving, the composition of different caregiving subgroups, the sampling of caregivers, and the sampling and recruitment of appropriate noncaregiving comparison groups. A landmark study by Schulz and Beach reported higher mortality rates for strained spouse caregivers. However, five subsequent population-based studies found reduced mortality and extended longevity for caregivers as a whole compared with noncaregiving controls. Most caregivers also report benefits from caregiving, and many report little or no caregiving-related strain. The article stresses the importance of achieving more balanced and updated portrayal of the health effects of caregiving is needed to encourage more persons to take on caregiving roles, and to better target evidence-based services to the subgroup of caregivers who are highly strained or otherwise at risk. Recommendations are discussed for research that will better integrate and clarify both the negative and potential positive health effects of informal caregiving. (Edited publisher abstract)
Heatwave plan for England: making the case: the impact of heat on health: now and in the future
- Author:
- PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND
- Publisher:
- Public Health England
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 19
- Place of publication:
- London
This document provides a background to the 'Heatwave plan for England'. The purpose of the plan is to avoid the adverse health effects of excessive heat by raising public awareness and triggering actions by those in contact with people who are most at risk. This, in turn, helps reduce pressures throughout the health and social care system. The document outlines key health issues associated with heatwaves, explains why long-term planning is essential and gives some examples of medium term and longer term actions which can be taken to mitigate or ameliorate some of the effects of future heatwaves and hot weather. (Edited publisher abstract)
Visualizing risk: health, gender and the ageing body
- Author:
- MARTIN Wendy
- Journal article citation:
- Critical Social Policy, 32(1), February 2012, pp.51-68.
- Publisher:
- Sage
The promotion of active ageing in later life has been a key development in recent health and social care policy. Noting alternative images of ageing (a positive image conveying the possibilities and opportunities of later life and a negative image associated with perceptions of increased risks to health), this article reports on a study exploring visual images associated with health, risk and well-being targeted at people aged 50 years and older. Images of health, well-being and ageing from health promotion materials were explored and analysed, and data was collected through in-depth interviews and photo-elicitation (based on 12 selected visual images) with 50 older people in the south-east of England. This article focuses on the analysis of visual images, which identified 2 key themes (active ageing, and health, risk and dependency). It describes and discusses the main characteristics and meanings of images in the 2 groups, such as the contexts and settings in which men and women were depicted, and includes brief examples of participants' perceptions and experiences of the images. The author notes that visual images not only reflect and reproduce social differences but can influence conduct and perceptions of risk in everyday life.
Social involvement, behavioural risks and cognitive functioning among older people
- Authors:
- ENGELHARDT Henriette, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 30(5), July 2010, pp.779-809.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study examines data, from 22,949 adults (10,902 men, 12,047 women, average ages 62 and 63 years, respectively) from the non-institutional populations, of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, and Israel, from the first (2004-2006) wave of the ‘Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe’, on relationships between cognitive performance, social participation and behavioural risks, such as physical inactivity, smoking, drinking, or obesity. The authors use “stochastic frontier approach methodology”, controlling for age, educational attainment, income, physical activity, body-mass index, smoking and drinking and identifying the effects on age-related declines to cognitive performance, of variables, such as employment status, attending recreational educational courses, doing voluntary or charity work, providing help to family, friends or neighbours, participating in sports, social or other clubs, or in a religious, political or community organisation. Cognitive function measures used were orientation, memory, verbal fluency, numeracy and recall. The pooled results indicated that social involvement enhanced cognitive functions and that smoking, drinking, obesity or physical inactivity reduced cognitive functioning. Variation was found between countries’ examined.
Health-related safety: a framework to address barriers to aging in place
- Authors:
- LAU Deny T., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 47(6), December 2007, pp.830-837.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Maintaining safety in the home and community is a national public health concern, especially for older adults who "age in place." This article introduces a multicausal concept called "health-related safety," which is defined as the minimization of the probability of preventable, unintended harm in community-dwelling individuals. Derived from the modern patient safety movement, health-related safety attributes adverse health events in the home and community to systematic breakdowns in the societal system, not to the commission of errors by particular individuals. Extending beyond health care institutions, the health-related safety framework is composed of multiple levels: micro (consumers and providers); mezzo (homes and communities); and macro (policies). Because the societal system is complex with inherent risks, health-related safety will require a culture shift and system redesign, new tools of risk assessments and management, and continuous safety improvement. The authors propose a research agenda to further refine the health-related safety framework by using empirical evidence and to develop appropriate mathematical and practical models from safety sciences to support this initiative. This article moves the field forward by applying systems thinking and safety sciences to health-related safety in the home and community, thereby paralleling what researchers have begun to do with patient safety in health care systems.