Search results for ‘Subject term:"very old people"’ Sort:
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Pain in residential aged care facilities: management strategies
- Author:
- AUSTRALIAN PAIN SOCIETY
- Publisher:
- Australian Pain Society
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 84p.
- Place of publication:
- North Sydney, NSW
An Implementation Kit to accompany The Australian Pain Society's Pain in Residential Aged Care Facilities: Management strategies
Psychiatric hospitalisation and suicide among the very old in Denmark: population-based register study
- Authors:
- ERLANGSEN Annette, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 187(1), July 2005, pp.43-48.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Very old people have higher suicide rates than the younger elderly population. Psychiatric disorders are known to have a strong association with suicide among elderly people. The aim was to analyse the suicide risk associated with psychiatric hospitalisation among the very old (80 years) compared with the middle-aged (50-64 years) and old (65-79 years) populations. Individual-level data on the entire Danish population aged 50 years or over were analysed for the period 1994-1998. Relative suicide risks were calculated using event-history analysis. Among 1978 527 persons, 2323 died by suicide. Although the very old group exhibited a four-fold to five-fold increase in risk of suicide for those previously hospitalised, we noted an inverse interaction effect: the increase is distinctly smaller compared with that in the middle-aged and old groups. The association between suicide and psychiatric hospitalisation is much weaker for the very old than for the old. Psychiatric disorders among very old people may be interacting with other disorders, may be underdiagnosed or treated in other healthcare settings.
Support for very old people in Sweden and Canada: the pitfalls of cross-cultural studies; same words, different concepts
- Authors:
- MIEDEMA Baukje (Bo), de JONG Jennifer
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 13(3), May 2005, pp.231-238.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The Swedish and Canadian 80+ studies are collecting longitudinal data regarding medical, psychological and sociological aspects of the lives of people who are 80 years of age and older. A paper entitled 'Informal and formal support from a multidisciplinary perspective: a Swedish follow-up between 80 and 82 years of age', was based on the Swedish 80+ study. It examined psychosocial and health measures by support type (i.e. no support, and formal and informal support). Support is defined as care given by either friends and family (informal support) or healthcare professionals (formal support). This article compares participant characteristics between two groups of 80-year-olds from two study sites (i.e. Lund, Sweden, and Fredericton, NB, Canada), using the Swedish study site data. Only those participants who participated at both 80 and 82 years of age were included in the analyses. The intent of the descriptive analyses was to compare cross-culturally the two groups of participants and the level of support that they received. Between the two groups, the level of support received by the participants was rather dissimilar: Canadians reported receiving far more informal and formal support compared to Swedes. This finding was despite the fact that the Swedish state provides more funded support than that of Canada to its citizens. Therefore, the present authors speculate that the concept of support has a different meaning in Sweden than in Canada. This speculation raises concerns about cross-cultural studies, particularly when survey questions involve culturally ambiguous concepts such as the term 'support'.
Culture change in long-term care: educating the next generation
- Author:
- ROTH Dwight
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 45(1/2), 2005, pp.233-248.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Long-term care facilities for frail elders are usually based upon the medical model, which is focused primarily on the biological functioning of these elders. The medical model allows for little choice on the part of the residents of these facilities. By way of contrast, culture change is a new approach to long-term care. This model of care seeks to meet a wide variety of needs for the elders and aims to expand their choices. This article presents the observations of college students responding to interactions with frail elders and looks at the implications of culture change for young adult college students. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
The demographic characteristics of the oldest old in the United Kingdom
- Author:
- TOMASSINI Cecilia
- Journal article citation:
- Population Trends, 120, Summer 2005, pp.15-22.
- Publisher:
- Office for National Statistics
Those aged 85 and over are the fastest growing age group in the population of many developed countries. This article draws together demographic characteristics of people aged 85 and over from various different national data sources to provided and up-to-date picture of the oldest old.
Should I stay or should I go?: an overview of the findings of the evaluation of pilot local housing options services for older people
- Author:
- CARE AND REPAIR ENGLAND
- Publisher:
- Care and Repair England
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 8p.
- Place of publication:
- Nottingham
This summary report provides an overview of the evaluation of 8 pilot local housing option services in Bristol, Burnley, Derbyshire Dales, East Riding of Yorkshire, Enfield, Hackney, Leeds and Warwickshire. These services provide information, advice, support, advocacy and practical help for older people living in poor or unsuitable housing or considering options for moving home. The evaluation looked at whether there is a need for housing option services, to what extent did these services improve the housing situation of individual older people, and whether the services could help improve the local housing situation of older people more generally through influencing service provision and planning. The evaluation identified a demand for the housing option services, particularly amongst people over 80 with health and mobility problems. Many of the older people using the housing option services were doing so because of significant difficulties with their current living arrangements. Others were seeking information in order to weight up possible options in advance of problems and to plan for their future housing. On average 17% of service users moved home. Others were still waiting to move home, some had chosen not to move because of the lack of suitable housing on offer, and others had made a positive choice to stay put after provision of information about options. There was a high level of satisfaction from service users with the housing options service, with the help for some users being literally life transforming. Whilst there are limitations on what the housing options service can achieve for some people because of a lack of suitable alternative housing options, the information generated can be used by planners and providers to bring about wider improvements to housing for older people.
Understanding the racial and ethnic differences in caregiving arrangements
- Author:
- LUM Terry Y.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 45(4), 2005, pp.3-21.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
In this American study, the relative importance of family/household structure, socioeconomic status, and culture is examined, and their connection to racial and ethnic variations in caregiving networks is explored. Each of these three domains is seen as contributing to the race/ethnic variations in caregiving arrangements. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life and self-transcendence in relation to perceived physical and mental health among the oldest old
- Authors:
- NYGREN B., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 9(4), July 2005, pp.354-362.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Different concepts have been presented which denote driving forces and strengths that contribute to a person's ability to meet and handle adversities, and keep or regain health. The aim of this study, which is a part of The Umeå 85+ study, was to describe resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life and self-transcendence in relation to perceived physical and mental health in a sample of the oldest old. The study sample consisted of 125 participants 85 years of age or older, who ranked themselves on the Resilience Scale, Sense of Coherence Scale, Purpose in Life Scale and Self-Transcendence Scale and answered the SF-36 Health Survey questionnaire. The findings showed significant correlations between scores on the Resilience Scale, the Sense of Coherence Scale, the Purpose in Life Test, and the Self-Transcendence Scale. Significant correlations were also found between these scales and the SF-36 Mental Health Summary among women but not among men. There was no significant correlation between perceived physical and mental health. The mean values of the different scales showed that the oldest old have the same or higher scores than younger age groups. Regression analyses also revealed sex differences regarding mental health. The conclusions are that, the correlation between scores on the different scales suggests that the scales measure some dimension of inner strength and that the oldest old have this strength at least in the same extent as younger adults. Another conclusion is that the dimensions that constitute mental health differ between women and men.
The vascular depression hypothesis: the influence of age on the relationship between cerebrovascular risk factors and depressive symptoms in community dwelling elders
- Authors:
- MAST B. T., AZAR A. R., MURRELL S. A.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 9(2), March 2005, pp.145-152.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The current study examined the moderating effect of age on the relationship between cerebrovascular risk factors (CVRF's) and depressive symptoms. Consistent with the broader vascular depression model, it was hypothesized that CVRF's would demonstrate a stronger link to depressive symptoms in the older age groups than among the younger age groups. Data from 2916 adults from the Resources, Stress, and Older Persons Panel Study were utilized. Path analysis was used to estimate direct and indirect effects (via health related symptoms and limitations) of CVRF's on depressive symptoms. Path analyses were estimated separately on four age groups: 50–64 years old, 65–74 years old, 75–84 years old, and 85 years and older. CVRF's and other comorbid medical conditions were highly predictive of health related symptoms and limitations across the four age groups. Health related symptoms and limitations were strongly linked to depressive symptoms and mediated the influence of medical illnesses (both vascular and nonvascular) on depressive symptoms. However, CVRF's exerted a unique effect on depressive symptoms in the oldest-old group (i.e., 85+). Among those over the age of 85, a greater number of CVRF's was associated with more severe depressive symptoms independent of health related symptoms/limitations and other comorbid medical conditions. Health related symptoms and limitations mediated the relationship between CVRF's and depression in individuals under 85. That is, the influence of vascular burden on depression is predominately indirect via health related limitations. But among those over the age of 85, vascular disease had a unique contribution on depression, even after controlling for other comorbid medical illness and health related limitations. This finding supports the vascular depression hypothesis and is consistent with prior work suggesting vascular disease may exert its greatest effect on depression in the context of increasing frailty.
Seasonal mood variation in the elderly: the Leiden 85-plus Study
- Authors:
- DE CRAEN Anton J. M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(3), March 2005, pp.269-273.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The influence of seasonal changes on mood and behaviour is called seasonality. The prevalence of seasonality in elderly subjects is unknown. All subjects from the Leiden 85-plus Study with an MMSE score of 19 or more were assessed for depressive feelings at age 85 and yearly thereafter. The influence of time of the year, duration of sunlight, daylight, and rain on the prevalence of depressive symptoms was assessed using linear mixed models for repeated measurements. There was no significant seasonal pattern in the data (p = 0.44). Within each of the four years of observation (85, 86, 87 and 88 years) and all years combined, there was also no significant association between the one-month cumulation of duration of sunlight, daylight, or rain and the score on the GDS (all p-values >0.05). The results of either the one week or three-month accumulation of sunlight, daylight, or rain were comparable to the one-month results. Estimates of prevalence of seasonality reported in the literature might be overestimated or a remarkable difference between young and old subjects exists.