Search results for ‘Subject term:"very old people"’ Sort:
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Who will care for the oldest people in our ageing society?
- Authors:
- ROBINE Jean-Marie, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Medical Journal, 17.03.07, 2007, pp.570-571.
- Publisher:
- British Medical Association
The number of informal carers for frail elderly people is set to fall steeply. The authors propose a way to assess the trend that should help policy makers plan for the deficit, using an indicator to monitor potential informal care resources. American and Swiss data is used as examples.
The use of control - the actions of informal carers on those at risk from falling at home. A qualitative study
- Authors:
- LEES Carolyn, O'BRIEN Thomas, MAGANARIS Constantinos
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 30(3), 2022, pp.1045-1050.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
To explore the experiences of informal carers who provide care for frail, older adults who are at risk from falling in their own home. Frail, older adults who fall present a significant challenge for their careers and the health and social care services that support them. Falls can often mean long stays in acute hospital facilities or admission to care homes. Research studies have often investigated the cause and effect of falls in relation to risk, but there has been a limited amount of insight into how informal carers manage those who are at risk from falling in their own home. A qualitative study that used thematic analysis was adopted. Ten informal carers participated in the study. Data were collected via one to one, semi structured interviews in the care recipient's home from February to May 2019. The study applied the COREQ research checklist. Findings highlight that informal carers believed that once a fall had occurred, further falls were inevitable and that falls prevention interventions were of little value. To prevent falls, informal carers would restrict the activity of the care recipient as well as controlling both the environment and the care recipient's movements. A better understanding of the use of control and monitoring of care recipients by informal carers is important. This knowledge will enable the delivery of falls prevention interventions for the frail, adult population that are effective, appropriate and promote the delivery of evidence-based care. (Edited publisher abstract)
Caring for a frail older person: the association between informal caregiver burden and being unsatisfied with support from family and friends
- Authors:
- HARTMANN Maja Lopez, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Age and Ageing, 48(5), 2019, pp.658-664.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Background/objective: although informal caregivers (ICG) find caring for a relative mainly satisfying, it can be difficult at times and it can lead to a state of subjective burden characterised by -among others- fatigue and stress. The objective of this study is to analyse the relationship between perceived social support and subjective burden in providing informal care to frail older people. Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using data from a large nationwide longitudinal effectiveness study. Pearson correlations were calculated between the variables for support and burden. Logistic regression models were applied to determine the association between being unsatisfied with support and burden, taking into account multiple confounding variables. Results: of the 13,229 frail older people included in this study, 85.9% (N = 11,363) had at least one informal caregiver. Almost 60% of the primary informal caregivers manifested subjective burden, measured with the 12-item Zarit-Burden-Interview (ZBI-12). The percentage of informal caregivers that were unsatisfied with support from family and friends was on average 11.5%. Logistic regression analysis showed that being unsatisfied with support is associated with burden (OR1.85; 95%CI1.53–2.23). These results were consistent for the three groups of impairment level of the frail older persons analysed. Conclusions: the association between perceived social support and subjective caregiver burden was explored in the context of caring for frail older people. ICGs who were unsatisfied with support were more likely to experience burden. The findings underline the importance of perceived social support in relation to caregiver burden reduction. Therefore efforts to improve perceived social support are worth evaluating. (Edited publisher abstract)
Relational aspects of mastery for frail, older adults: the role of informal caregivers in the care process
- Authors:
- LAMBOTTE Deborah, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 27(3), 2019, pp.632-641.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Frail, older care recipients are often thought of as individuals with a decreased mastery of everyday life skills. Various authors have proposed to acknowledge a relational dimension of mastery, defined as the ability to maintain control over one's life with the help of others. This study explores how frail, older adults experience relational aspects of mastery and the role of their informal caregivers in maintaining these aspects of mastery over the care process. Qualitative interviews (N = 121) were conducted in 2016 with potentially frail, community‐dwelling older adults participating in the Detection, Support and Care for Older people: Prevention and Empowerment (D‐SCOPE) project. A secondary analysis of 65 interviews reveals that, according to frail, older adults, informal caregivers contribute in various ways to the preservation of their mastery. This differs across the four elements of care: caring about (attentiveness), taking care of (responsibility), care‐giving (competence), and care‐receiving (responsiveness). However, in some cases, older adults experienced a loss of mastery; for example, when informal caregivers did not understand their care needs and did not involve them in the decision, organisation, and provision of care. A relational dimension of mastery needs to be acknowledged in frail, older care recipients since stimulating mastery is a crucial element for realising community care objectives and person‐centred and integrated care. (Edited publisher abstract)
Linkages between informal and formal care-givers in home-care networks of frail older adults
- Authors:
- JACOBS Marianne T., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 36(8), 2016, pp.1604-1624.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
In ageing societies, policy makers aim for more contact between informal and formal care-givers as it may enhance the quality of care. So far, the linkage between formal and informal care-givers is generally studied from a one-sided or a single dyadic perspective, without taking into account that care networks of community-dwelling older adults often exist of multiple informal and formal care-givers. The current study examines discussion of care between all potential informal–formal care-giver dyads in a care network, and relates this to characteristics of the older care recipient, the care network and the care-givers. Seventy-four Dutch older care recipients provided information on all care-givers who helped with five different types of tasks; 410 care-givers reported on the contact between all care-givers identified. Multi-level logistic regression was conducted in 2,150 informal–formal care-giver dyads and revealed that in 26 per cent of all these dyads discussion on care occurred. This was more likely when both care-givers performed multiple types of tasks, the informal care-giver was residing with the care recipient, and contact within the formal and the informal sub-network was higher. To enhance discussion of care between informal and formal care-givers in care networks where no discussion occurs at all, home-care organisations may need to allocate formal care-givers who form a bridge with an extra-residential care-giver of care recipients living alone. (Publisher abstract)
Elasticity of care networks and the gendered division of care
- Authors:
- KRUIJSWIJK Wilco, Da ROIT Barbara, HOOGENBOOM Marcel
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 35(4), 2015, pp.675-703.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The gender gap in family care-giving is an established research finding: men dedicate less time to care-giving and provide specific gendered types of help. This article argues that in order to grasp men's contribution to care arrangements one should recognise the multifaceted nature of care and examine care networks beyond the 'care receiver-primary care-giver' dyad with a dynamic perspective. A qualitative analysis of the care networks of three large Dutch families with an older parent in need of care confirms the greater involvement of women in care-giving and men's tendency to provide specific types of care. However, men also contribute to the elasticity and stability of the care arrangement by filling temporary gaps and supporting the female care-givers. This article puts forward the idea that men's contribution is in turn a factor in the perpetuation of the gendered structure of care-giving. (Publisher abstract)
Childlessness at the end of life: evidence from rural Wales
- Author:
- WENGER G. Clare
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 29(8), November 2009, pp.1243-1259.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
When the frailties of advanced old age result in the need for help, after the spouse, adult children are the most important source of support. Despite developing closer relationships with next-of-kin or non-kin, older childless people in times of need are socially vulnerable and in need of more formal support services. Using data from the 1979-1999 Bangor Longitudinal Study of Ageing, the author explores the effects of childlessness on adults aged 65 or more, at the start of the study, for twenty years. Generally, childless people in old age had expectations consistent with being childfree, had developed closer relationships with next-of-kin and friends and placed a high value on independence. Marital status, gender, and wealth, in terms of social as well as financial capital were all important variables. In some cases expectations of inheritance were clearly associated with support received. It was noted however that unless death was sudden or after a short, acute illness, almost all childless people entered residential care or a long stay hospital at the close of their lives.
How equitable is Sweden's changing care-mix? Linking individual and regional characteristics over time
- Authors:
- DAVEY Adam, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 27(4), July 2007, pp.511-532.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Given its relative ethnic and socio-economic homogeneity, Sweden is an ideal nation for the study of variations in formal and informal care as a function of gender, disability and advanced age. This paper reports an analysis of the relationships between gender, disability and age and the formal care delivered to more than 1,200 people aged 75 or more years in Sweden in 1994 and 2000. In municipalities that provided above-average home-help hours per recipient, and that had high institutional placement rates, women were relatively less likely to have been receiving informal assistance alone, those with greater disability were more likely to have been receiving all forms of assistance, the oldest-old were less likely to have been receiving either informal or formal help alone, and rates of formal assistance and of no informal care were relatively low. In municipalities with high rates of institutional placement, the oldest-old were relatively more likely to have been receiving both formal and informal assistance. Sweden's system of old-age care appears broadly equitable although the quality of care could not be fully assessed. Although home and community-based service provision (HCBS) has recently decreased, variations in the volume and mix of delivered formal services reflect differences in need.
The long-term care mix in Austria: an overview of community-based care provision by formal and informal caregivers
- Authors:
- lINCA Stefania, RODRIGUES Ricardo
- Publisher:
- European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research
- Publication year:
- 2019
- Pagination:
- 12
- Place of publication:
- Vienna
This Policy Brief provides insights into the individual characteristics associated with the use of formal, informal and mixed care by older Austrians living in the community. These are instrumental in understanding how care services can be structured to best complement informal care provision and respond to care users’ needs, as well as how long-term care policies can be expected to impact different care users and caregivers’ groups. The Brief shows that while informal support still accounts for the majority of provided care, the supply of formal services has been constantly increasing, serving primarily very old individuals, those with higher support needs and women. Large gender differences in care use patterns are still observed in Austria and particularly pronounced among married and co-habiting older people. (Edited publisher abstract)
Caregivers for people at end of life in advanced age: knowing, doing and negotiating care
- Authors:
- WILES Janine, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Age and Ageing, 47(6), 2018, pp.887-895.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Background: the need for palliative and end of life care for the oldest old is growing rapidly. Family carers often report they do not feel well supported; for better practice and policy, we need better understanding of their experiences and how to support them. Design and setting: people in the LiLACS NZ longitudinal study of advanced age identified a carer to be interviewed after their death. Nominated caregivers were contacted 3–6 months after an older person’s death and invited to take part in the current study. Subjects: fifty-eight interviews were conducted with carers of 52 people in advanced age, 20 Maori and 32 non-Maori. The majority of the 58 carers were in their 60 s and were women. Methods: guided-conversation interviews covered end of life preferences and experiences, needs and gaps in support, arrangements after death, and experiences of bereavement. Rigorous data analysis included multiple researchers identifying and interrogating themes across and within: the transcripts, and feedback and discussion with participants. Results: we identify a typology of nine categories of care, and argue that the support and care provided by family should be understood as going beyond simple task-based transactions. We present a model of end of life care describing and explaining inter-related aspects of knowing, doing and negotiating care tasks. Conclusions: this work furthers current understandings of care, as multifaceted and negotiated. This has very practical implications for thinking about how best to support the complex end of life caregiving work of people caring for a person in advanced age. (Edited publisher abstract)