scholarly journals Explaining the continuum of social participation among older adults in Singapore: from 'closed doors' to active ageing in multi-ethnic community settings

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 46-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Aw ◽  
Gerald Koh ◽  
Yeon Ju Oh ◽  
Mee Lian Wong ◽  
Hubertus J.M. Vrijhoef ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Ethnic Community ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Community Settings ◽  
The Continuum

scholarly journals Social participation and life satisfaction among older adults: diversity of practices and social inequality in Switzerland

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Marie Baeriswyl ◽  
Michel Oris
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Church Attendance ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Satisfaction With Life Scale ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Life Scale ◽  
Large Survey

Abstract This paper examines the associations between social participation and individual life satisfaction among older adults. It specifically considers the diversity of the practices and social inequalities among this population. For analyses, we used a large survey of individuals of 65 years and older conducted in 2011 in Switzerland (N = 2,727). The first set of linear regression analyses examines Diener's Satisfaction with Life Scale and its association with various indicators of social participation. While the second set of logistic regression addresses the issue of social inequalities by evaluating the impacts of gender, age group, region and education on social participation indicators that are significantly associated with the satisfaction with life score. Our results stressed the importance of combining multiple forms of participation for life satisfaction and shows that some forms are particularly meaningful: in particular, the involvement in associations, visitation of family or visitation of friends/acquaintances and church attendance. When inequalities among older adults are considered, having rich and varied social participation, being involved in associations and maintaining private sociability with non-kin appear more elitist. While institutionalised and/or private sociability types of participation appear particularly significant for older adults’ life satisfaction, the most traditional integration forms – i.e. family and religions – are crucial for the more vulnerable. Implications for active ageing was equally discussed as well.

scholarly journals Constructing and negotiating social participation in old age: experiences of older adults living in urban environments in the United Kingdom

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Woolrych ◽  
Judith Sixsmith ◽  
Jenny Fisher ◽  
Meiko Makita ◽  
Rebecca Lawthom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Outdoor Spaces ◽  
Community Facilities

Abstract The age-friendly cities and communities movement has focused on how to better support older adults to age well within urban environments. Central to ‘ageing well’ and ‘active ageing’ agendas is ensuring that older adults can participate in meaningful forms of social participation. The benefits of social participation in old age have been well documented, and research amongst community-dwelling older adults has explored some of the neighbourhood qualities that facilitate or impede such forms of engagement. However, understandings of how older adults construct and negotiate social participation within everyday urban environments have been largely unexplored. To address this gap, we present results from 104 interviews conducted with older adults living in three cities and nine neighbourhoods in the United Kingdom (UK). The findings explore three themes generated from the research: ‘constructing meaningful social participation in old age’, ‘negotiating access to social participation’ and ‘navigating home and community’. Across these themes, the paper describes how experiences of social participation in old age involve a number of inter-connected physical, psychological and social processes experienced by individuals across a range of environmental settings including the home, outdoor spaces and community facilities. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for practice, specifically in the delivery of age-friendly communities.

Differences in social participation of older adults across European welfare regimes: Fourteen years of SHARE data collection

2021 ◽  
pp. 026858092199332
Author(s):  
Martin Lakomý
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Unintended Consequence ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
Share Data ◽  
Over Time

Social participation amongst older adults is considered generally beneficial and is supported by active ageing policies in Europe. However, efforts to increase the quality of life and enhance the ageing experience may have the unintended consequence of increasing later life inequalities. This study uses six waves from SHARE to illustrate how social participation develops over time and how it is structured by education, financial situation and health status in the context of five European welfare regimes. The level of participation slightly increases over time for the population 55+, whilst the inequalities in access to these activities and their outcomes remain stable. Therefore, support of these activities does not strengthen or reduce inequalities amongst older adults – it may rather legitimise the inequalities in its emphasis on individual responsibilities. These findings suggest that the active ageing approach needs to become more context-sensitive or replaced by other social policy approaches.

Effect of Obesity on Social Participation of Older Adults

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael L. Britton ◽  
Laura Zettel-Watson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Participation

scholarly journals The Nordic @geing Online project: Co-creating a social application together with older adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Nordmyr ◽  
A K Forsman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Psychosocial Health ◽  
Design Approach ◽  
Online Services ◽  
Online Application ◽  
Development Fund

Abstract Background Online resources present various possibilities for health promotion, also in the growing older adult population. Tailored online services aiming to support social participation among users could potentially promote older adults’ psychosocial health. In the @geing Online project an online application is developed, focusing on access to meaningful social activities among older adults in rural areas in Finland and Sweden. The innovation project (2017-2020) is funded by the Interreg Botnia-Atlantica programme (European Regional Development Fund). Methods A collaborative, user-centred design approach is applied when developing the online application, allowing older potential users and personnel groups from the social and health care sector to evaluate application features in a step-wise process. The inclusion of personnel groups allows for the exploration of the feasibility of introducing the tool in home care services and similar relevant contexts from an organizational perspective. Further, the inclusion of regional IT-companies presents opportunities for them to develop their competence regarding eHealth tools and older adults as a target group. Results An advanced prototype of the application and its core features is presented. Promising approaches and outcomes regarding the co-creation methods applied to ensure the involvement of stakeholders in the development process are elaborated upon. Challenging issues related to the project theme, such as stereotypical and negative views of older adults’ competences and motivation related to application use are also discussed. Conclusions The project highlights possibilities - but also challenges - when co-creating a social application together with older adults, some of whom have no experience in internet use. The gathered project outcomes will provide lessons on the potential of new technologies for delivering health promotion initiatives among older adults. Key messages Tailored online services aiming to support social participation among users provide possibilities for promoting psychosocial health in the growing population of older adults. Application development utilizing a user-centered design approach can be implemented even if the end-users are not familiar with the internet or application use.

scholarly journals Impact of Pain and Discomfort on the Lives of Cognitively Impaired Older Adults and Their Informal Caregivers

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 786-787
Author(s):  
Hyunjin Noh
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitively Impaired ◽  
Community Settings ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Disease Trajectory ◽  
Care Recipients ◽  
Home Based ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Future Program

Abstract This qualitative study explored the impact of pain and discomfort on the lives of cognitively impaired older adults and their caregivers from the caregiver perspective. Forty-three individuals of age 19+, who identified themselves as primary caregiver to a chronically or seriously ill older adult (age 50+) with cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia, were recruited at various community settings. Individual, face-to-face interviews were conducted to ask participants how they thought their care-recipient’s pain and discomfort affected the care-recipient’s and the caregiver’s life respectively. Inductive, thematic analysis of interview transcripts revealed several key themes: compromised mobility, limited social interaction or activities, and depressive symptoms in both care-recipients and caregivers; aggravated cognitive decline in care-recipients; and poorer physical health in caregivers. Participants wanted more information on the disease trajectory and available services, particularly home-based therapies and social activities for care-recipients, which provides future program/practice implications.

scholarly journals Benefits and barriers: a qualitative study on online social participation among widowed older adults in Southwest China

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Hong ◽  
Jingjing Fu ◽  
Dehui Kong ◽  
Siqi Liu ◽  
Zhu Zhong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Southwestern China ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Barriers And Challenges

Abstract Background With the development of digital media, online activities are increasingly becoming part of the daily life of older adults. Widowed older adults generally would face changes in social interactions and activities due to widowhood; thus, the importance of online participation may be more prominent in this population. However, a detailed evidence on the experiences of online social participation among widowed older adults is relatively sparse. This study aimed to explore widowed older adults’ perceptions regarding online social participation in southwestern China. Methods This study adopted a qualitative approach. Semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews were conducted with 19 widowed older adults between September–December 2020. Thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data. Results Two major themes, “benefits” and “barriers” were identified from the original data analysis. Subcategories concerning the theme “benefits” were “benefit perception (convenience, flexible time, supplementation)”, “health promotion”, “emotional comfort”, and “social connection”. Subcategories of “barriers” were “worries: personal economic loss”, “concerns: security of digital device”, “troubles: the diversity of online social participation”, and “difficulties: using digital media”. Conclusions Social participation of widowed older adults in southwestern China has begun to be integrated into the digital world; however, it remains at an early stage with the simple purpose of engagement. The older adults may face many challenges for online social participation. Although there are barriers and challenges in online social participation, widowed older adults can reap its benefits, which can be used as an important measure to facilitate a fulfilling life and successful ageing. There is no doubt that online social participation will become a trend within the foreseeable future. Family, friends and health care professionals should pay more attention to the needs of online social participation in widowed older adults and provide adequate support for them to achieve a meaningful life.

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