Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Trends and implications for human service development in Singapore
- Author:
- ANG John
- Journal article citation:
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work, 5(1), January 1995, pp.95-106.
- Publisher:
- Times Academic
The changing status of Singapore women leads to delayed marriage and lower parity, altering the demographic profile. Some implications for human service development in elderly and family welfare are discussed.
Living arrangements, social networks and depressive symptoms among older men and women in Singapore
- Authors:
- CHAN Angelique, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(6), June 2011, pp.630-639.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The association of depressive symptoms with living arrangements and social networks outside the home was examined among older men and women. The aim of the study was to discover whether these relationships differ between older men and women, and to investigate whether the association, if it existed, varied by strength of social networks. Data for 4489 community-dwelling Singaporeans, aged 60 years and older, collected from a recent national survey, were analysed. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 11-item CES-D scale, social networks through Lubben's revised scale, and living arrangements by household composition. Analyses, stratified by gender, assessed the risk of depressive symptoms by living arrangements and social networks, adjusting for age, ethnic group, education, housing type, functional status, number of chronic diseases and involvement in social activities. Women had higher depressive symptom scores than men. Living alone and living with at least one child (no spouse), and weak social networks were associated with higher depressive symptom scores in both genders. Men living alone with weak social networks outside the household had higher depressive symptom scores than those with strong networks. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening non-familial social networks of older adults, particularly for those living alone.
Guardians of health: the dimensions of elder caregiving among women in a Mexico City neighborhood
- Authors:
- MENDEZ-LUCK Carolyn, KENNEDY David P., WALLACE Steven P.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 68(2), January 2009, pp.228-234.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Little is known about the family care of older adults in Mexico and the role of women in this process. To begin to fill this knowledge gap, this paper describes how a small sample of low-income women in one Mexico City neighbourhood conceptualized the caregiver role and identified the forms of assistance they gave to their older relatives on a daily basis. A grounded theory approach was used to collect and analyze the data. Forty-one semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with female caregivers. The age of participants was between 19 and 83 years, and care recipients between 56 and 92 years. The relationship of caregiver to care recipient was wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, sibling, and other relative. The mean length of time providing care was 5 years. Most participants were not employed outside the home, and the median monthly household income was 2000 pesos. We found that caregiving was a life-changing event, with 27 of 41 participants viewing themselves as guardians. Caregivers' emphasis was on care recipients' emotional needs in order to provide “the most precious gift” of “time and attention.” Two forms of assistance were ‘keeping company’ and ‘watching out’ as safeguards against poor health or further decline in health. These findings increase the cultural understanding of caregiving in Mexico. Further research is needed to test the caregiving concepts identified in this study.
Families, violence and social change
- Author:
- MCKIE Linda
- Publisher:
- Open University
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 178p.
- Place of publication:
- Maidenhead
The gendered nature of much violence continues to be ignored in so far as the relationship between masculinities, families and violence are rarely interrogated. This book looks at domestic violence, considering gender, older women and social and economic changes.
Physical and sexual abuse, battering, and substance abuse: three clinical cases of older women
- Authors:
- OSGOOD Nancy J., MANETTA Ameda A.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 38(2), 2002, pp.99-113.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Many women before 1945 were subjected to childhood physical and sexual abuse and spouse battering at a time where there were no laws to protect them and few people discussed such subjects. Some of these women became substance abusers or lived with substance abusers.While there are retrospective studies on the experiences of adult women who suffered abuse in the family, little is known about the experiences of women over the age of 60 years. Three case studies are presented.
Elder care in Korea: the future is now
- Author:
- CHEE Yeon Kyung
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 26(1/2), Summer 2001, pp.25-37.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
Modernisation has greatly affected the lives of individuals and families in many ways in Korea. Women, the primary care givers of the elderly, are increasingly entering the work force, and families are becoming more mobile and segmented. With the decline in fertility and mortality rates, population ageing has generated significant demands for long-term care. This article examines the characteristics and implications of ageing in Korea, focusing on the influence of cultural heritage on care giving and the development of formal services for the older population. Argues that there should be a balance between social policy established by the Korean government and family care for the elderly.
How important is parenthood: childlessness and support in old age in England
- Authors:
- WENGER G. Clare, SCOTT Anne, PATTERSON Nerys
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 20(2), March 2000, pp.161-182.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article asks whether the distinction between parenthood and childlessness make much difference to social support in old age. Using data from Liverpool, it compares the support networks of older people in three categories: parents; married but childless and unmarried and childless. The principal finding is that childlessness has a negative impact on support network strength only for single men and married women. The findings have implications for the evaluation of social policies that are based on the expectation that individual female family members, in the context of a male-breadwinner family, will provide 'caring' for dependent persons. Such provision of care may incur diminished receipt of care for some women in old age.
Pathways to empowerment
- Editor:
- PARSLOE Phyllida
- Publisher:
- Venture Press/British Association of Social Workers
- Publication year:
- 1996
- Pagination:
- 202p.,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Birmingham
Comparative study of empowerment in social services, looking at Eastern Europe, Hong Kong, the United States and the United Kingdom. Includes chapters on: empowerment in social work practice; empowerment in a period of economic and political transition; empowerment under capitalism - the case of the United States; empowerment practice in social work in Hong Kong; empowering women; older people and empowerment in Britain; and work with families where children are at risk.
To work or to care? Working women's decision-making
- Author:
- JOLANKI Outi
- Journal article citation:
- Community Work and Family, 18(3), 2015, pp.268-283.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Recent changes in older people's public care services in Nordic countries, in particular in Finland and Sweden, are based on implicit expectations that family members will increase their involvement in care. This study addressed the question of how Finnish working women who give care to their older parents argue for and against their decisions of working and caring and the meaning of work and care in these decisions. The data comprise 48 interviews with Finnish women, most of whom gave care to older parents. Majority of the interviewees emphasised the importance of work and refuted the idea of leaving work for care. The decision not to leave work for care was justified with worker identity, commitment to work, having no innate skills to be a carer, availability of support services and other carers and financial necessity. On the other hand, a few interviewees brought forward their willingness to leave work which was justified by constructing care as meaningful and valuable activity as opposed to meaningless paid employment, and with the intensification of work, and with ageing. Lengthy argumentation and several discursive tools indicate that women anticipated moral blame for the decision of giving work primacy over care, but also for leaving work. Thus, working carers balance between contrasting expectations to care and to work. (Edited publisher abstract)
What do network members know? Network members as reporters of depression among Caucasian-American and African-American older women
- Authors:
- HELLER Kenneth, VIKEN Richard J., SWINDLE Ralph W.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 17(2), 2013, pp.215-225.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Perceived stigma makes many older adults reluctant to seek help for mental health problems. The authors asked whether family members and friends could be accurate proxy informants. African-American and Caucasian older women (n=153; mean age 75 years) previously screened for depression nominated up to five network members (NMs) two of whom were contacted as informants. NMs completed an informant version of the CES-D, described their closeness to the participant, the extent of the participant's support from family and friends, and their assessment of the participant's typical coping strategies. These reports were used to predict participant CES-D, Hamilton depression scores, and Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) depression diagnoses concurrently and at six-month and one-year intervals. NMs’ estimates of participants CES-D status were highly correlated with participants own CES-D scores, and also predicted Hamilton depression scores and SCID diagnoses concurrently and at six months and one year later. NMs’ ratings of participants’ use of positive coping also predicted depression at six months and one year. The authors conclude that NMs were able to accurately predict depression even one year later. They suggest that future research should test the possibility that NMs might be recruited as allies in encouraging earlier treatment and providing support to older adults through difficult life transitions.