scholarly journals Exploring factors that impact the decision to use assistive telecare: perspectives of family care-givers of older people in the United Kingdom

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 1912-1932 ◽  
Author(s):  
ERICA J. COOK ◽  
GURCH RANDHAWA ◽  
ANDY GUPPY ◽  
CHLOE SHARP ◽  
GARRY BARTON ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Older People ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Service Framework

ABSTRACTIn the United Kingdom (UK), an ageing population met with the reduction of social care funding has led to reduced support for older people marked with an increased demand on family care-givers. Assistive telecare (AT) devices are viewed as an innovative and effective way to support older people. However, there is limited research which has explored adoption of AT from the perspectives of family care-givers. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 family care-givers of patients who used the Assistive Telehealth and Telecare service in Cambridgeshire, UK. Family care-givers were either the spouse (N = 8) or child of the patient (N = 6). The patients' age ranged from 75 to 98, and either received a telecare standalone device or connected service. Framework analysis was used to analyse the transcripts. This study revealed that family care-givers play a crucial role in supporting the patient's decision to adopt and engage with AT devices. Knowledge and awareness, perceived responsibility, usefulness and usability, alongside functionality of the equipment, were influential factors in the decision-making process. AT devices were viewed positively, considered easy to use, useful and functional, with reassurance of the patient's safety being a core reason for adoption. Efforts to increase adoption and engagement should adapt recruitment strategies and service pathways to support both the patient and their care-giver.

Work restrictions experienced by midlife family care-givers of older people: evidence from six European countries

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREA PRINCIPI ◽  
GIOVANNI LAMURA ◽  
CRISTINA SIROLLA ◽  
LIZ MESTHENEOS ◽  
BARBARA BIEŃ ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Older People ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Family Carers ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Care Giving

ABSTRACTThis paper examines differences in work restrictions of midlife family carers of older people in terms of prevalence, gender and explanatory variables, in six European countries: Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. A sample of 2,897 carers aged 45–64 was extracted from the EUROFAMCARE (Services for Supporting Family Carers of Older People in Europe: Characteristics, Coverage and Usage) European project database, in order to analyse four possible work restrictions experienced in connection with the activity of care-giving: the reduction of working hours; giving up working; difficulties in career developments and forced occasional work. The results show that work restrictions are experienced differently between countries especially by women: they are reported to a higher degree in the United Kingdom, Germany and Greece, less so in Italy, and seldom in Poland and Sweden. Gender differences within countries are not so marked. Country differences are explained in the light of the different welfare regimes characterising the countries under investigation, in order to elucidate how policy makers may act to improve working carers' conditions through appropriate policies.

scholarly journals Ageing in Urban Neighbourhoods: Exploring Place Insideness Amongst Older Adults in India, Brazil and the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-223
Author(s):  
Ryan Woolrych ◽  
Jamuna Duvurru ◽  
Adriana Portella ◽  
Judith Sixsmith ◽  
Deborah Menezes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Older People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Sense Of Place ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Urban Neighbourhoods

The ageing in place agenda emphasises the importance of supporting older adults to age in their communities surrounded by the personal resources to age well. In exploring the relationship between older people and their environment, the concept of place insideness is seen as central to constructing feelings of identity, belonging and attachment in old age. Yet there has been little research exploring how older adults experience place insideness across different urban, social and cultural contexts which is an impediment to identifying effective interventions for age-friendly cities and communities. This article explores how place insideness is experienced amongst older adults across India, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The article presents qualitative findings from 294 semi-structured interviews collected across 9 cities and 27 neighbourhoods. The findings reveal that older adults cultivate their sense of place insideness in old age through dimensions of physical insideness (i.e., environmental competence in navigating and engaging in the community), social insideness (i.e., knowing others) and autobiographical insideness (i.e., shared place histories). In drawing on older people’s understanding of their communities, this article explores the opportunities and challenges in developing a sense of place insideness to support ageing well. We identify implications for policy and practice in terms of how we can better design urban environments as age-friendly communities which support a greater sense of place for older people.

scholarly journals The emergence and utilisation of frailty in the United Kingdom: a contemporary biopolitical practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 695-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Tomkow
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Geriatric Medicine ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Impact

AbstractFrailty has recently emerged as a dominant concept against a backdrop of media and governmental narratives that frame the growing ageing population as an economic threat to the current configuration of health care in the United Kingdom (UK). Despite frailty's popularity amongst geriatricians and policy makers, the concept faces resistance from other health-care professionals and older people themselves. This paper draws on the Foucauldian idea of biopower; by suggesting that the contemporary emergence and utilisation of frailty represents a biopolitical practice a number or critical observations are made. First, despite biomedical experts acknowledging ambiguities in the definition of frailty, the concept is presented as a truth discourse. This is driven by the ability of frailty measurements to predict risk of costly adverse outcomes; the capability of frailty scores to enumerate complex needs; and the scientific legitimacy frailty affords to geriatric medicine. Consequently, frailty has become pervasive, knowable and measurable. Second, the routine delineation between frail and robust objectifies older people, and can be said to benefit those making the diagnosis over those being labelled frail, with the latter becoming disempowered. Last, studies show that frailty is associated with increasing wealth inequalities in the UK; however, experts’ suggested management of frailty shifts the focus of responsibility away from ideologically driven structural inequalities towards the frail older person, attempting to encourage individuals to modify lifestyle choices. This neglects the association between lifestyle opportunities and socio-economic deprivation, and the impact of long-term poverty on health. These observations, set against the contemporary political climate of economic austerity, cuts to public services and rationalisation of health resources, bring the urgency of a critical consideration of frailty to the fore.

scholarly journals Ringing the changes: the role of telephone communication in a helpline and befriending service targeting loneliness in older people

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 1528-1551 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLAIRE PRESTON ◽  
STEPHEN MOORE
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Older People ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Voice Communication ◽  
Telephone Communication ◽  
The United Kingdom

ABSTRACTThe drive to deliver services addressing loneliness in older people by telephone and online makes it increasingly relevant to consider how the mode of communication affects the way people interact with services and the capacity of services to meet their needs. This paper is based on the qualitative strand of a larger mixed-methods study of a national phoneline tackling loneliness in older people in the United Kingdom. The research comprised thematic analysis of four focus groups with staff and 42 semi-structured interviews with callers. It explored the associations between telephone-delivery, how individuals used the services and how the services were able to respond. To understand these associations, it was useful to identify some constituent characteristics of telephone communication in this context: namely its availability, reach and non-visual nature. This enabled various insights and comparison with other communication media. For example, the availability of the services attracted people seeking frequent emotional support but this presented challenges to staff. More positively, the ability of the services to connect disparate individuals enabled them to form different kinds of satisfying relationships. The evolution of mixed communication forms, such as internet-based voice communication and smartphone-based visual communication, makes analysis at the level of a technology's characteristics useful. Such a cross-cutting perspective can inform both the design of interventions and assessment of their suitability for different manifestations of loneliness.

Wales

2019 ◽  
pp. 283-290
Author(s):  
Bob Woods
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Older People ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
New Strategy ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Artistic Heritage

This chapter documents the developments in Wales relating to a National Dementia Vision and Strategy. A new Strategy is to appear by December 2016. While activity and progress are evident in many areas, much remains to be done. Wales benefits from having an Older People’s Commissioner, a statutory voice for older people, including those living with dementia, and from its rich cultural, linguistic, and artistic heritage, with active third-sector organizations. Like many countries, Wales has had well-publicized scandals in relation to quality of care in hospitals and care homes, which have provided learning and impetus for development. Compared with other parts of the United Kingdom, dementia diagnosis rates in Wales appear low and are now the subject of government targets. The new Strategy will need to fully engage with people living with dementia in order to address these challenges, while building on the growing social movement of dementia-friendly communities.

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