Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 13
Profile of elderly women seeking treatment for substance use disorders at a tertiary care treatment center
- Authors:
- MANDAL Piyali, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Substance Use, 22(3), 2017, pp.353-355.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Introduction: Elderly women comprise of a unique subpopulation of people who use drugs. However, literature on the profile of elderly women seeking treatment is scarce. Materials and methods: This retrospective chart review included 16 elderly (>60 years of age) women subjects seeking outpatient treatment at a tertiary care substance use treatment centre located in North India. Information pertaining to their sociodemographics and substance use were extracted from available records. Results: The mean age of subjects was 63.63 ± 4.92 years (range 60–75 years). Most of the subjects were Hindu (14/16), married (13/16), illiterate (11/16), housewives (12/16), and coming from an urban background (11/16). Most common substances of abuse were tobacco (8/16) followed by opioids (05/16). Mean duration of opioid use was 3.20 ± 2.68. Only four patients reported comorbid psychiatric illness. None of the patients had sought treatment in the past. Conclusion: Elderly women substance users have a distinct profile. Interventions specifically targeted to them are required, especially in Indian settings. (Edited publisher abstract)
Community building for old age: breaking new ground. The UK's first senior cohousing community, High Barnet
- Author:
- BRENTON Maria
- Publisher:
- Housing Learning and Improvement Network
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 15
- Place of publication:
- London
This case study describes an initiative developed by the Older Women’s Cohousing (OWCH) group, who understanding that living alone as they grew old could leave them vulnerable, looked to each other to develop and share their social capital. The group have developed a cohousing community based on shared responsibility and mutual support. The model offers a template whereby older people can actively collaborate to live as friendly helpful neighbours at the very least, whether they move house or not. (Edited publisher abstract)
Janus at the crossroads: perspectives on long-term care trajectories for older women with dementia in a Canadian context
- Authors:
- CLOUTIER Denise S., PENNING Margaret J.
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 57(1), 2017, pp.68-81.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Purpose of the Study: Janus, the two-faced, Roman god of beginnings and transitions, is used as a metaphor to explore our personal narratives and the authors' quantitative research on the experiences of older women with dementia in long-term care (LTC). Two research questions are addressed: (a) How does quantitative data map onto mothers’ experiences? (b) What lessons do mothers’ experiences offer for the care of older women with dementia? Design and Methods: Informed by a life-course perspective, the authors triangulate administrative data on 3,717 women with dementia receiving LTC in British Columbia, Canada, with personal narratives—the stories of mothers who made the transition from home care into residential (nursing home) care. Results: The quantitative data reveal that the home care to residential care transition is the most common LTC trajectory for women with dementia who are most likely to be widowed and living alone in suburban areas. On entry into residential care, they exhibit greater frailty in terms of activities of daily living, cognition, aggression, and incontinence. Personal narrative data on mothers reveal that the relatively straightforward pathways through LTC for women with dementia, are often considerably more complex in a real-world context. Attention is drawn to the public and private services, hospitalisation patterns, and substantial communication gaps experienced by mums and families. Implications: A life-course perspective, and qualitative and quantitative data facilitate understanding the care journeys—health and service trajectories of older women with dementia. (Edited publisher abstract)
An investigation into the patterns of loneliness and loss in the oldest old – Newcastle 85+ Study
- Authors:
- BRITTAIN Katie, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 37(1), 2017, pp.39-62.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Old age is often characterised as being associated with neglect, isolation and loneliness, not least since established risks factors for loneliness include widowhood, living alone, depression and being female. Cross-sectional data have challenged the notion that loneliness is especially an old-age phenomenon but longitudinal data on loneliness is scarce. Moreover, an under-represented group in prior studies are the oldest old, those aged 85 years and more. This paper addresses these knowledge gaps using data from the Newcastle 85+ Study, a large population-based cohort aged 85 years at first interview with follow-up interviews at 18 months and three years. At baseline over half (55%) reported being always or often alone, and 41 per cent reported feeling more lonely than ten years previously, although only 2 per cent reported always feeling lonely. Women spent more time alone than men and reported more loneliness both currently and compared to the past. Length of widowhood was a key factor, with those recently widowed having twice the risk of feeling lonely and those widowed for five or more years having a lower risk of reporting increased loneliness. Overall, the findings show that loneliness is a minority experience in the oldest old but is strongly driven by length of widowhood, challenging the notion that loneliness in later life is a static experience. (Publisher abstract)
Ageing and learning ICT skills: Implications for social care
- Authors:
- ROSCOE Karen Dawn, MORGAN Fiona, LAVENDER Peter
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work and Social Sciences Review, 19(2), 2017,
- Publisher:
- Whiting and Birch
This paper explores the narratives of older women engaged in learning at an Age UK Community Centre, in England in 2014. The participants of this small pilot study were primarily learning ICT (Information and Communications Technology) skills. This study contextualises lifelong learning by acknowledging that learning is a need of older adults in the context of the personalisation agenda, the Care Act 2014, and human rights. The authors analyse the data by drawing on two broad understandings of the different motives for learning: instrumental and expressive (Londoner, 1978). This provides a useful framework to explore the social and cultural influences behind motivations to learn. The study suggests that the two categories of learning motives overlap, yet the rationales given by older adults depicted how learning was not conceived solely as the acquisition of formal knowledge; instead, it was essentially driven by a socially enacted process. The authors conclude by emphasising how learning is an indispensable aspect of social care. The authors suggest that a re-conceptualisation of ‘care’ and ‘need’ may be required during assessment practices when working with older adults’, as motives for learning here were grounded in social participation and the search for a sense of meaning and purpose towards their identity in older age. (Edited publisher abstract)
Lifetime abuse and quality of life among older people
- Authors:
- FRAGA Silvia, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Work, 42(4), 2017, pp.215-222.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Few studies have evaluated the impact of lifetime abuse on quality of life (QoL) among older adults. By using a multinational study authors aimed to assess the subjective perception of QoL among people who have reported abuse during the course of their lifetime. The respondents (N = 4,467; 2,559 women) were between the ages of 60 and 84 years and living in seven European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden). Lifetime abuse was assessed by using a structured questionnaire that allowed to assess lifetime experiences of abuse. QoL was assessed with the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Old module. After adjustment for potential confounders, authors found that to have had any abusive experience decreased the score of sensory abilities. Psychological abuse was associated with lower autonomy and past, present, and future activities. Physical abuse with injuries significantly decreased social participation. Intimacy was also negatively associated with psychological abuse, physical abuse with injury, and sexual abuse. The results of this study provide evidence that older people exposed to abuse during their lifetime have a significant reduction in QoL, with several QoL domains being negatively affected. (Publisher abstract)
Do subjective memory complaints predict falls, fractures and healthcare utilization? A two-year prospective study based on a cohort of older women recruited from primary care
- Authors:
- AL-SARI Usama A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(9), 2017, pp.968-976.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: A proportion of older individuals report subjective memory complaints (SMCs), which can predict the development of cognitive impairment and dementia. Previous studies based on secondary care suggest that SMC is also associated with other adverse health consequences, including falls, fractures and increased healthcare utilization. In this study, the authors aimed to establish whether similar findings are observed in the wider population. Methods: Prospective analysis of the Cohort for Skeletal Health in Bristol and Avon, a population-based cohort recruited from primary care, was carried out. Data were collected by self-completion questionnaire at baseline and 2 years. SMC was assessed at baseline. Fractures, measures of falls, mobility and healthcare utilization were assessed 2 years later. A random 5% subsample of data was validated against electronic general practitioner records. Logistic regression was used to identify independent associations, following adjustment for a range of confounders assessed at baseline. Results: Data were available on 3184 women. Three hundred and fifty participants (11.0%) reported SMC. They were older (73.3 ± 4.5 vs 72.0 ± 4.2 years) and less mobile compared with those not reporting SMC. SMCs at baseline were associated with an increased risk of upper limb fractures over the following 2 years (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.02–2.90). SMCs were also associated with an increased risk of falls (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.41–2.38) and increased healthcare utilization (OR for hospital appointments 2.20, 95% CI 1.26–3.86). No association was observed with bone mineral density at any site. Conclusions: Subjective memory complaints are important markers of adverse health outcomes and should prompt interventions to reduce fractures such as physiotherapy-led fall reduction programmes. (Edited publisher abstract)
Predicting perceived medication-related hassles in dementia family caregivers
- Authors:
- GEORGE Nika R., STEFFEN Ann M.
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 16(6), 2017, pp.797-810.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Objective: This study examined predictors of medication administration hassles reported by intergenerational dementia family caregivers. Methods: A sample of 53 women who aided a cognitively impaired older adult with healthcare and who identified as inter-generational caregivers provided self-report medication management and psychosocial data. Results: Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that six independent variables hypothesized for this model, the total number of prescription medications managed by caregivers, educational attainment, care-recipient functional impairment, care-recipient cognitive impairment, caregiver depressive symptomatology, and self-reported feelings of preparedness for the caregiving role together significantly predicted caregiver medication administration hassles scores F(1, 48) = 4.90, p = .032, and accounted for approximately 25% of the variance of self-reported hassles (adjusted R2 = .247). Discussion: Future interventions may reduce medication-related hassles by providing psychoeducation about healthcare, medication management, and strategies for coping with care-related stressors and depressed mood. (Publisher abstract)
Hazardous drinking in people aged 50 years or older: a cross-sectional picture of Europe, 2011–2013
- Authors:
- BOSQUE-Prous Marina, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(8), 2017, pp.817-828.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: To assess gender and age differences in hazardous drinking and to analyse and compare the factors associated with it in men versus women, and in 50 to 64-year-old versus ≥65-year-old people in Europe. Methods: Cross-sectional study with data from 65,955 people aged ≥50 years from 18 countries (SHARE project, 2011–2013). The outcome variable, hazardous drinking, was calculated using an adaptation of the AUDIT-C test. Several individual (sociodemographic, life-style and health factors) and contextual variables (country socioeconomic indicators and alcohol policies) were analysed. The prevalence of hazardous drinking was estimated by each exposure variable. To estimate associations, multilevel Poisson regression models with robust variance were fit, yielding prevalence ratios and their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: Overall, the prevalence of hazardous drinking was 21.5% (95%CI = 21.1–22.0), with substantial differences between countries. The proportion of hazardous drinking was higher in men than in women [26.3%(95%CI = 25.6–27.1); 17.5%(95%CI = 17.0–18.0), respectively], as well as in middle-aged people than in older people [23.6%(95%CI = 23.0–24.3); 19.2%(95%CI = 18.6–19.8), respectively]. At the individual level, associations were found for migrant background, marital status, educational level, tobacco smoking, depression and self-perceived health. At the contextual level, hazardous drinking was associated with gender inequalities in society (only in women) and alcohol advertising regulations (both genders). Conclusions: One in five people aged ≥50 years in the countries studied is a hazardous drinker, with large differences by countries, gender and age group. Interventions and policies aimed at preventing or reducing alcohol use in this population should account for country, gender and age differences, as well as individual characteristics. (Publisher abstract)
Is exercise helpful for women aged 50 and over with mental health problems and what are the barriers to exercise?
- Authors:
- TINKER Anthea, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 18(2), 2017, pp.93-103.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of exercise on the mental health problems of older women. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on information from academic literature, government publications and publications from other relevant bodies. It is a scoping study and is not a systematic review because of the constraints of the resources. Findings: There is growing evidence about the value of exercise for the mental health of older women but few evaluated examples of how this can be achieved. Research limitations/implications: There is a gap in the literature about this topic with few evaluated examples of how more older women can be encouraged to take more exercise. Practical implications: Policy makers, practitioners and older people themselves would gain from a greater emphasis on exercise as a means of improving quality of life and for reducing healthcare budgets through fewer referrals to services. Social implications: Greater emphasis on exercise for older women would increase their quality of life through a reduction in mental health problems. Originality/value: There is limited research which links mental health, exercise and older women, especially regarding the barriers to exercise that older women with diagnosed mental health problems may face. (Publisher abstract)