Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Concluding commentary
- Author:
- LEAPER Robert
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 27(3), September 1993, pp.257-265.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Draws conclusions from a series of companion studies on the views of older people in cities in the United Kingdom, Eire, Belgium and France.
Why can't I get care? Older people's experiences of care and support
- Author:
- AGE UK
- Publisher:
- Age UK
- Publication year:
- 2022
- Pagination:
- 23
- Place of publication:
- London
This short report aims to explain why people can't get the care they need, drawing on older people's experiences, as well as on what we know about how the social care system is supposed to work, and how it actually works in cash-strapped 2022. New polling from Age UK finds that 10% (1.6 million) of over-60s in the UK are already cutting back or stopping their social care, or expect to do so in the months to come, because they can't afford the cost. This particularly affects older people who pay for their own care, but in England even those whose care is supposedly funded by the State often have to pay 'top ups' to their provider, so some of them are likely to be impacted too. In addition, 22% (3.6 million) of older people are already reducing or stopping spending on medications or specialist foods or expect to do so in the coming months; and 15% (2.5 million) are already skipping meals, or expect to do so over the same time period. Given these worrying statistics it is not surprising that the same polling found that more than half of over-60s 54% or 8.8 million people said they believed that cost of living increases would affect their health and care needs over the winter. In most cases, the answer to the question this report poses, 'why can't I get care?', is that there simply isn't the care to get. The severe shortages in staff and the lack of funding to pay for more or better services to provide care or respite provision have left a gaping hole in support, and often services just aren’t available. (Edited publisher abstract)
"You don't stop the worrying": the difficulties of caring in later life
- Author:
- INDEPENDENT AGE
- Publisher:
- Independent Age
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 40
- Place of publication:
- London
Drawing on findings from focus groups and interviews with older carers, this report explores their experience of caring, what issues most concern them, where they find support in their caring, and what more support is needed. Older carers agreed that caring took a heavy toll on them, and had multiple impacts on their quality of life. It was clear that carers perceived that some of the impacts of caring were exacerbated by their age. Particular impacts affecting older carers included: difficulties keeping up with family and friends; financial constraints; poor health; and stress. They identified a range of gaps in support available to them, problems accessing services and a lack of support from the wider community in their role as carers. ‘Former carers’ made clear that there were important differences between the experiences of those whose loved ones moved into residential care or supported / independent living, and those who were bereaved. The report sets out older carers’ priorities, which include: improving carers’ access to support, in particular by ensuring GPs play a part in identifying carers and signposting to support; addressing inadequacies in care and support services available to carers’ loved ones; developing a ‘carers’ friend’ service to provide one-to-one practical and emotional support for carers; and improving support for bereaved carers, offering them opportunities to find mutual support among those with similar experiences. (Edited publisher abstract)
Using survey data to measure changes in the quality of home care: analysis of the older people's user experience survey 2006
- Authors:
- MALLEY Juliette, NETTEN Ann, JONES Karen
- Publisher:
- Personal Social Services Research Unit
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 110p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Canterbury
The development of the User experience Survey (UES) and the inclusion of the user’s perspective in the Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) were novel and important steps forward in the world of performance assessment and monitoring of social services. Commentators had previously criticised the lack of connectedness between the performance/quality and user involvement agendas and these developments represented real steps forward in meeting this goal. Analysis from the 2003 extension to the UES for older people has demonstrated that user experience measures can usefully discriminate between Local Authorities (LAs). While his new research raises some important questions, this type of approach is clearly an improvement on performance measurement based on processes and inputs. Fifty authorities took part with representation from all Government Office Regions and LA types. Analysis of responses to the compulsory questions and comparison with responses to these questions nationally revealed very similar proportions responding to each category. We can assume from these findings that the sample of authorities is broadly representative of the views of service users across England.
Unretired and better than ever: older adults as foster parents for children
- Authors:
- GOUGHLER Donald H., TRUNZO Annette C.
- Journal article citation:
- Families in Society, 86(3), July 2005, pp.393-400.
- Publisher:
- The Alliance for Children and Families
The authors explore issues concerning employing older adults as foster parents for children. A survey of agencies in the United States suggests that agencies that utilize older adults as foster parents experience benefits, including elders’ abilities to impart life experience and to offer a high degree of tolerance and time flexibility. Older foster parents, when surveyed, reported that fostering benefited them, citing pleasures they derived and defining contributions gained to their own welfare. The authors recommend strategies for agencies to recruit older adults as foster parents as well as public consciousness-raising efforts that promote the value gained by society and the older adults when they choose second careers in child care.
The ageism survey: first findings
- Author:
- PALMORE Erdman
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 41(5), October 2001, pp.572-575.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This research aimed to develop an instrument that could be used to answer three questions: what is the prevalence of ageism in various societies? Which types of ageism are more prevalent? Which subgroups of older people report more ageism. The survey found that the experience of ageism was widespread and frequent among respondents. The majority reported several incidents of ageism and over half the incidents were reported to have occurred "more than once". The most frequent types were persons showing disrespect for older people, followed by persons showing assumptions about ailments of frailty caused by age. Concludes that researchers now have a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the prevalence of ageism in various societies and of various types of ageism experienced by various groups of older persons.
Users and providers: different perspectives on community care services
- Author:
- WILSON Gail
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Policy, 22(4), October 1993, pp.507-526.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Place of publication:
- Cambridge
Elderly clients usually express satisfaction with their services when they are asked. Surveys of clients and carers therefore have to take this tendency into account. It is important not to ask direct questions and to allow for positive, neutral and negative responses, otherwise positive responses will be overestimated. A survey of clients and carers served by a community psychogeriatric service indicated that the way a service is delivered can be more important than what is provided. The differences between staff and user perceptions of services are analysed. There are theoretical reasons for the differences connected with the combination of care and control exercised by service providers. There are also practical reasons in terms of staff perceptions, which are dominated by process, and client perceptions, which are more directly influenced by the services as they are actually delivered. Attempts to incorporate users' views into the process of service delivery need to understand these differences and to acknowledge the limitations of user satisfaction surveys.
Hobson's choice
- Author:
- EDWARDS Nick
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Today, 30.4.92, 1992, p.12.
- Publisher:
- British Association of Social Workers
Reports on the publication of a Policy Studies Institute survey into elderly people's views on social services, their satisfaction, and complaints.
How would you like it?
- Author:
- BROWN Derek
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 8.11.90, 1990, pp.24-25.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Listening to consumers can offer important insights and a useful way of checking quality - examines options of local authority home users, following an SSI survey of residents.
Day care for the elderly part 1: definition, objectives and current level of provision for day care services
- Author:
- LENNON Joy
- Publisher:
- Cornwall Social Services Department
- Publication year:
- 1990
- Pagination:
- 74p., tables, diags., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Truro
Analyses who is in receipt of services; level of disability; complaints and dependency; day care in context; quality, quantity and level of service on offer by various agencies; assessing the service from the consumers perspective.