Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Network first
- Author:
- GEORGE Mike
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 7.4.94, 1994, p.8.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Research in Wales has been done to help understand older people's informal networks. Identifies the following types of informal networks: local family dependent, locally integrated support, local self-contained support, wider community focused support and private restricted support. Describes these types and reports on the ways practitioners can build on them.
Community structure and support network variations
- Authors:
- WENGER G. Clare, ST LEGER Fred
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 12(2), 1992, pp.213-236.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Presents data from two studies of support networks of elderly people and identifies five types of network which are correlated with service use.
Between social networks and formal social services
- Authors:
- LITWIN Howard, AUSLANDER Gail K.
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 8(3), September 1988, pp.269-285.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Reports a study of the social networks of recent applications to the social welfare bureaux of Jerusalem. Beyond review of the relevant study variables as reflected in the literature, and an overview of Israeli social services for the aged, addresses why the social networks of the elderly claimants turned to formal assistance.
Older people's strategies for meaningful social interactions in the context of eldercare services
- Authors:
- SODERBERG Maria, EMILSSON Ulla Melin
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work Practice, 36(1), 2022, pp.73-85.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Considering that 'social work with older people' refers to something that is carried out with older people, it is of crucial importance to reveal the meaning of 'the social' from the perspective of the elderly. The aim of this article is to reveal how older people go about achieving meaningful social interactions in everyday life in the context of eldercare services and the role of social work practice within this area. Twenty-six older people have been included in 24 open semi-structured interviews. Prominent features in the findings are that care recipients in eldercare services develop strategies to create a sense of meaningfulness. This is a new dimension of 'self-created' person-centred care. The conclusions drawn are that while social work for older people involves someone in charge of something for somebody else, social work with older people indicates an unconditioned practice beyond the performance of services. (Edited publisher abstract)
Social support and depressive symptoms among trauma-impacted older adults
- Authors:
- CHO Seungjong, BULGER Morgan
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 18(4), 2021, pp.371-378.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Purpose: The present study investigates the association between social support and depressive symptomatology among older adults who have been impacted by trauma. Previous studies have not sufficiently explored this topic to date. Method: The current study analyzed public-use data from the 2012 Health and Retirement Study (N = 4,195), focusing specifically on community-dwelling older adults (> 50). They had at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Results: This study found that higher levels of social support were significantly associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms after controlling for life satisfaction, age, gender, race, ethnicity, and education. Discussion and Conclusion: The recent emergence of trauma-informed research has consistently emphasized the importance of social interaction for mental health. The current study shows that social support can reduce depressive symptoms of those who have experienced trauma. (Edited publisher abstract)
The nature and quality of friendship for older adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland
- Authors:
- McCAUSLAND Darren, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34(3), 2021, pp.763-776.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Background: Friendship is important to quality of life, yet people with intellectual disability have more restricted social networks and fewer friends outside family and support staff. Method: Data from a nationally representative longitudinal study of older adults with intellectual disability (aged >40) examined rates and types of friends. Factors associated with having a best friend and friendship quality were explored. Results: A large majority (92.4%) had friends but just over half (52%) had a best friend. Co‐resident friends (71.8%) were more common than non‐resident friends (62%), while staff friendships (62.5%) were important. The majority of best friends were peers with intellectual disability (63.2%), carer/service providers (15.9%) or family (8.4%). Challenging behaviour and communication difficulty were associated with reduced likelihood of having a best friend. A best friend with intellectual disability was associated with lower friendship quality scores. Conclusion: Limited choice and social opportunity may result in a precarious form of friendship for older people with intellectual disability that undermines their quality of life. (Edited publisher abstract)
Social isolation’s influence on loneliness among older adults
- Author:
- TAYLOR Harry Owen
- Journal article citation:
- Clinical Social Work Journal, 48(1), 2020, pp.140-151.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
Social isolation and loneliness are significant risks to health among older adults. Previous studies have found a significant association between social isolation and loneliness; however, few studies examined the association between social isolation and loneliness in a multivariate context and how specific types of social isolation influence loneliness. This study fills this gap by examining social isolation’s overall influence on loneliness and how specific social isolation indicators influence loneliness. Data comes from 2014 Wave of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative study of adults aged 50 and older. Social isolation was operationalized using seven indicators as social isolation from: (1) adult–children, (2) other family members, (3) friends, (4) living alone, (5) being unmarried, and (6) not participating in social groups or (7) religious activities. Loneliness was operationalized by the Hughes 3-item loneliness scale. Loneliness was regressed on social isolation and key socio-demographic factors. Results found when social isolation indicators were combined into an index, every unit increase in overall social isolation was associated with an increase in loneliness. Furthermore older adults who were isolated from other family members and from friends, lived alone, were single, and did not participate in social groups or religious activities reported greater loneliness. Study findings demonstrate that greater overall social isolation and specific social isolation indicators are associated with greater loneliness. Clinical practice with older adults can be enhanced by understanding the connections between social isolation and loneliness and which forms of social isolation are more meaningful for perceived loneliness. (Publisher abstract)
Use of information and communication technologies to support social connections for older people
- Author:
- YARKER Sophie
- Publisher:
- University of Manchester
- Publication year:
- 2020
- Pagination:
- 5
- Place of publication:
- Manchester
Drawing on the findings of a brief literature review, this document looks at the different types of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and digital technologies that are being used by older people to help maintain their social connections. It identifies broad trends on the types of technologies being used, the extent to which these technologies support social connections, and what can help older people to use digital technologies. (Edited publisher abstract)
The neighbourhood asset mapping of greater Fishponds: a project delivered by BAB community researchers
- Editors:
- MEANS Robin, WOODSPRING Naomi
- Publisher:
- Bristol Ageing Better
- Publication year:
- 2018
- Pagination:
- 60
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
This report presents the findings of a neighbourhood asset-mapping by community researchers in one area of Bristol, and includes their reflections on the asset-mapping process itself. The mapping included a range of organisations, clubs and activities where older people might engage, either as participants or volunteers, some of which might not be expressly focused on older people. Assets identified ranged from churches and traditional service providers to bicycling and gardening clubs to cafes to individuals who were seen as important resources in their neighbourhoods. The mapping also identified some of the community deficits, which included poor public transportation, obstacles to walkability, and a basic lack of resources and facilities. An important insight from the asset mapping work was how boundaries of wards and neighbourhood partnership areas are artificial from the point of view of both many community groups and many older people, with older residents accessing various assets across ward and neighbourhood partnership boundaries. (Edited publisher abstract)
The importance of the size of the social network and residential proximity in the reception of informal care in the European Union
- Authors:
- RODRIGUEZ Mercedes, RECOVER M. Angeles Minguela, BALLESTA Jose A. Camacho
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 21(5), 2018, pp.653-664.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper explores which factors affect the reception of informal care among those dependent people aged 65 and over in Europe, starting from the so-called Behavioural Model of Health Service Use introduced by Andersen. The data employed are drawn from the fourth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement. The final sample consists of a total of 17,284 older dependent people of which 4529 (26.2%) received informal care. The main novelty is the incorporation of different characteristics of the social network of the individual (presence of children, size and residential proximity) among the factors that enable the reception of informal care. In particular the two latter aspects are combined in one sole indicator of distance to the social network. In addition to ‘traditional factors’ like age or degree of dependency, all the characteristics of the social network are found to influence the likelihood of receiving informal care. This reveals the need for taking into consideration the role played by social networks when governments design care programmes, especially in the current scenario of rising demand for care. (Publisher abstract)