Human Rights and Well-Being of Older Persons

Author(s):  
Janet Sigal ◽  
Nélida Quintero ◽  
Emily Valente
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S375-S375
Author(s):  
Mika Marumoto

Abstract This presentation discusses the increasing need for an international convention on the rights of older people. Such a convention would contextualize global, regional and national demographic shifts and identify gaps in existing international human rights laws, so as to better protect older persons’ rights to health and well-being. Persons aged 60 or above are expected to more than double from 2015 to reach 2 billion in 2050, with their proportion of the world population rising from 12% to 21%. By 2050, 80% of older persons are expected to live in societies that are currently labeled developing countries. Existing international human rights instruments fall short regarding pensions and protection from poverty. The presentation demonstrates ongoing global efforts, specifically through the UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, to set global rights-based standards, and the roles played by civil society organizations that use network approaches in advocating for the rights of older people.


Author(s):  
Marijke De Pauw

Global population aging constitutes one of the greatest challenges societies face today. Projected demographic shifts will have far-reaching consequences on social security and health care systems around the globe. Not surprisingly, aging has therefore long been approached from a development perspective. In recent years, however, an international human rights approach to aging has emerged as well. It is increasingly recognized that the well-being and inclusion of older persons in society depends on the promotion and protection of their fundamental rights. While great efforts have been made towards a new UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, many states remain critical when it comes to the adoption of category-specific rights for older adults, especially in the form of legally binding instruments. This contribution thus aims to clarify why a rights-based approach to aging remains crucial and why it is important to clarify how fundamental rights apply to older persons in an international human rights treaty.


2021 ◽  
pp. 092405192199274
Author(s):  
Cathérine Van de Graaf

Fair procedures have long been a topic of great interest for human rights lawyers. Yet, few authors have drawn on research from other disciplines to enrich the discussion. Social psychological procedural justice research has demonstrated in various applications that, besides the final outcome, the manner in which one’s case is handled matters to people as well. Such research has shown the impact of procedural justice on individuals’ well-being, their acceptance of unfavourable decisions, perceptions of legitimacy and public confidence. The ECtHR has confirmed the desirability of these effects in its fair trial jurisprudence. Thus far, it remains unclear to what extent the guarantees offered by Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to a fair trial) coincide with the findings of empirical procedural justice research. This article aims to rectify this and uncover similarities between the two disciplines.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 112-112
Author(s):  
Zvi Gellis ◽  
Kim McClive-Reed ◽  
Bonnie Kenaley ◽  
Eunhae Kim

Abstract Meaning in life for older persons has become a focal research point, with findings that a greater sense of meaning is associated with better outcomes on a range of health and well-being factors. Our study examined relationships between scores on several personality scales, including the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2009) and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, a proxy measure of mood/depression. Community-dwelling members (N=535) of Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes aged 50 and up (mean age 71.4, SD = 6.93) at 3 U.S. sites completed surveys. Higher wellness levels were significantly correlated with increased resilience, optimism, life satisfaction, and presence of meaning in life, while lower levels were associated with greater searching for meaning in life. A multivariate linear regression model (F = 55.597, df = 4, p = .000, R = .566, R2 = .320) showed that wellness scores increased with higher scores in optimism (ß = .348, p =.000), resilience (ß = .183, p = .000), and presence of meaning in life (ß = .106, p = .019). However, searching for meaning in life significantly predicted decreases in wellness scores (ß = -.084, p=.019). These results support those of previous studies, suggesting that for older persons, an ongoing search for meaning in life is linked to negative outcomes than a perception of existing meaning in life. A variety of available interventions aimed at increasing meaning and purpose in life (Guerrero-Torelles et al., 2017) may contribute to better health and well-being in older adults.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e047650
Author(s):  
Wiraporn Pothisiri ◽  
Paolo Miguel Manalang Vicerra

ObjectiveThe COVID-19 situation in Thailand was controlled with various social measures. Much of the information covered in the media and in studies focused on the public health and economic aspects of the pandemic. This study aimed to explore the psychological well-being of older people, which is important especially in an ageing society categorised as low income or middle income due to the limits of economic and healthcare resources.SettingThe impact of COVID-19 on older persons in Thailand, an online survey, taken across nine provinces within the five regions of the country.ParticipantsInformation was collected from 1230 adults aged at least 60 years old.If an older person was illiterate, unable to access the internet or had a disability preventing them from responding to the survey, an intermediary residing in the community conducted the survey interview.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe analysis focused on the worries of older adults and the factors associated with psychological distress experienced during the pandemic using logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe majority of people aged at least 60 years old experienced psychological distress during COVID-19. Employment loss (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.38), inadequate income (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.44) and debt incursion (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.57 to 4.80) were detrimental to psychological well-being. The negative changes in the perception of their health status (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.99) and decreased life satisfaction (OR 1.49, 95% CI 0.45 to 1.87) also weighed on older Thais. The protective factors for psychological well-being were residing in rural areas (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.61) and being married (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.01).ConclusionObserving the concerns of the older population is important for introducing policies that can alleviate their precarious financial and health statuses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 228-232
Author(s):  
Adamantios Koumpis ◽  
Thomas Gees

AbstractIn this article, we present our experiences from research into the healthy ageing and well-being of older people and we report on our personal opinions of robots that may help the elderly to have sex and to cope with isolation and loneliness. However, and while there is a growing industry for sex robots and other sex toys and gadgets, there is also a growing concern about the ethics of such an industry. As is the case with pornography, the concept of sex robots may be criticized, yet it has deep roots in human civilization, with erotic depictions that date back to the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages. So the need for an artefact that would offer sexually relevant functionality is not new at all. But what might be new and worrying is the potential for using artificial intelligence in sex robots in ways that might cause a repositioning of our entire value system. Such a threat is not related to the proliferation of sex robots per se but to the use of robots in general and in a variety of other fields of application.


Author(s):  
Debanjan Banerjee ◽  
Kiran Rabheru ◽  
Carlos Augusto de Mendonca Lima ◽  
Gabriel Ivbijaro

Author(s):  
Oleksandr M. Bukhanevych ◽  
Serhii O. Kuznichenko ◽  
Anastasiia M. Mernyk

The study investigates the foreign experience of constitutional and legal regulation of restrictions on human rights in conditions of emergency and martial law in Macedonia, Armenia, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Albania, Azerbaijan, which is relevantin modern conditions, based on the presence of local military conflicts, emergencies, or the possibility of their existence in many countries of the world. The purpose of this study was to analyse the text and content of the constitutions of foreign countries to clarify and explain the groundsfor restricting human and civil rights and freedoms in conditions of emergency and martial law. To achieve this purpose, the study employed a system of methods of scientific cognition, namely general scientific (analysis, synthesis), particular (comparative, quantitative and qualitative analysis, approximation), as well as special legal (formal legal, comparative legal) methods. The practical value of the study lies in the identification of four prevailing trends in the constitutions of foreign states to the procedure for determining the scope of restrictions on human rights under special regimes: 1) consolidation of an exhaustive list of rights and freedoms in the constitutions, which cannot be restricted during the period of emergency and martial law; 2) consolidation of an exhaustive list of rights and freedoms in the constitution, which can be restricted to protect human rights, the democratic structure of the state, public safety, the well-being of the population and morals; 3) combining the first two options for consolidating restrictions in the text of the constitutions; 4) consolidation of the possibility of limiting the rights and freedoms of the individual in the texts of constitutions by state authorities under special legal regimes in the interests of national security without specifying partiular rights and freedoms that may (or may not) be restricted


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roya Azizian ◽  
Bagher Saroukhani ◽  
Mahmod Mahmodi ◽  
Fereshteh Farzianpour

<p><strong>BACKGROUND &amp; OBJECTIVE:</strong> Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a global human rights and public health concern. The WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence documented the widespread nature of IPV with lifetime prevalence of physical and/or sexual parter violence among ever-partnered women in the fifteen sites surveyed ranging from 15% in Ethiopia province to 71% in Japan.Across the world, violence against women is a major threat to their physical and mental well-being. This violation of the most fundamental human rights usually takes the form of family or domestic violence.</p><p>This study was conducted to determine the violence against women in Tehran in forensic center in 2001.</p><p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Data for this cross-sectional study were collected from women referring to Tehran Forensic Center, with a view to obtaining a realistic picture of violence to women.</p><p>Data were gathered on 120 subjects randomly selected women who completed questionnaires and interview.</p><p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>The women in this study had presented with wounds and injuries inflicted by their husbands. These women had been referred to the Center by family courts to complete legal formalities concerning injury diagnosis and duration of treatment.</p><p>The main factors underlying family violence were examined from five different aspects: behavioral and educational problems (79.2%), financial strain (54.2%), and interference by the husband’s family (39.2%), sexual problems (13.3%), and differences in culture and social class (10%).</p><p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>Factors found to have an accelerating or interfering role included the woman’s age and the couple’s education level. However, many women declared that several factors were contributing simultaneously to the problem of violence.</p>


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