I and others: alcohol use among older people as a social and cultural phenomenon

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 563-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
EIJA TOLVANEN
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Older People ◽  
Social Indicator ◽  
Independent Factor ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Stereotypes ◽  
Drinking Habits ◽  
Cultural Phenomenon ◽  
Cultural Indicator ◽  
Shed Light

Analysing transcripts of survey interview episodes, this paper examines the ways in which older people in Finland talk about their use of alcohol. It also aims to shed light on the meaning of alcohol use in the context of social ageing.The use of alcohol was described in forty structured interviews with people aged 60–89 years. They provided accounts of drinking situations or contexts, or juxtaposed their own drinking habits with that of ‘others’. Perceptions of these ‘others’ were constructed by interviewees from cultural stereotypes of Finnish drinking habits.Descriptions of alcohol use were embedded in everyday life and cultural frames rather than in those of old age or ageing. In the context of social ageing, alcohol use appeared in these interviews as a cultural indicator, reflecting the cultural habits and norms attached to drinking. As a social indicator, it suggested that advanced age is losing its significance as an independent factor distinguishing lifestyles.

scholarly journals Managing older people’s perceptions of alcohol-related risk: a qualitative exploration in Northern English primary care

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (701) ◽  
pp. e916-e926
Author(s):  
Bethany Kate Bareham ◽  
Eileen Kaner ◽  
Barbara Hanratty
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Older People ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Primary Care Practitioners ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
People’S Perceptions

BackgroundRisk of harm from drinking increases with age as alcohol affects health conditions and medications that are common in later life. Different types of information and experiences affect older people’s perceptions of alcohol’s effects, which must be navigated when supporting healthier decisions on alcohol consumption.AimTo explore how older people understand the effects of alcohol on their health; and how these perspectives are navigated in supportive discussions in primary care to promote healthier alcohol use.Design and settingA qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews and focus groups with older, non-dependent drinkers and primary care practitioners in Northern England.MethodA total of 24 older adults aged ≥65 years and 35 primary care practitioners participated in interviews and focus groups. Data were analysed thematically, applying principles of constant comparison.ResultsOlder adults were motivated to make changes to their alcohol use when they experienced symptoms, and if they felt that limiting consumption would enable them to maintain their quality of life. The results of alcohol-related screening were useful in providing insights into potential effects for individuals. Primary care practitioners motivated older people to make healthier decisions by highlighting individual risks of drinking, and potential gains of limiting intake.ConclusionLater life is a time when older people may be open to making changes to their alcohol use, particularly when suggested by practitioners. Older people can struggle to recognise potential risks or perceive little gain in acting on perceived risks. Such perceptions may be challenging to navigate in supportive discussions.

scholarly journals Registered nurses’ role experiences of caring for older stroke patients: a qualitative study

BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Cheng ◽  
Jiong Tu ◽  
Xiaoyan Shen
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Education ◽  
Older People ◽  
Registered Nurses ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Nursing Clinical Practice

Abstract Background With China’s population ageing rapidly, stroke is becoming one of the major public health problems. Nurses are indispensable for caring for older patients with acute and convalescent stroke, and their working experiences are directly linked to the quality of care provided. The study aims to investigate registered nurses’ experiences of caring for older stroke patients. Methods A qualitative descriptive design was adopted. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 26 registered nurses about their lived experiences of caring for older stroke patients. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results Two main themes were identified. First, the nurses identified an obvious gap between their ideal role in elderly care and their actual practice. The unsatisfactory reality was linked to the practical difficulties they encountered in their working environment. Second, the nurses expressed conflicting feelings about caring for older stroke patients, displaying a sense of accomplishment, indifference, annoyance, and sympathy. Caring for older stroke patients also affects nurses psychologically and physically. The nurses were clear about their own roles and tried their best to meet the elderly people’s needs, yet they lack time and knowledge about caring for older stroke patients. The factors influencing their working experiences extend beyond the personal domain and are linked to the wider working environment. Conclusions Sustaining the nursing workforce and improving their working experiences are essential to meet the care needs of older people. Understanding nurses’ lived working experiences is the first step. At the individual level, nurse mangers should promote empathy, relieve anxiety about aging, and improve the job satisfaction and morale of nurses. At the institutional level, policymakers should make efforts to improve the nursing clinical practice environment, increase the geriatric nursing education and training, achieve a proper skill mix of the health workforce, and overall attract, prepare and sustain nurses regarding caring for older people in a rapidly aging society.

How do employers think about older workers?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hila Axelrad ◽  
Alexandra Kalev ◽  
Noah Lewin-Epstein
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Age Discrimination ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pension Income ◽  
Significant Barrier

PurposeHigher pensionable age in many countries that are part of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and a shrinking pension income force older people to postpone their retirement. Yet, age-based discrimination in employers' decisions is a significant barrier to their employment. Hence, this paper aims to explore employers' attitudes regarding the employment of workers aged 60–70, striving for a better understanding of age discrimination.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 30 managers, experts and employees in retirement age in Israel.FindingsFindings reveal a spectrum of employers' attitudes toward the employment of older workers. The authors' analytical contribution is a conceptual typology based on employers' perceived ability to employ older workers and their stated attitudes toward the employment of older workers.Social implicationsThe insights that emerge from this research are fundamental for organizational actors' ability to expand the productive, unbiased employment of older workers.Originality/valueBy understanding employers' preferences and perspectives and the implications on employers' ability and/or willingness to employ older workers, this research will help policymakers formulate and implement policy innovations that address these biases.

scholarly journals The importance of a room with a view for older people with limited mobility

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Musselwhite
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Limited Mobility ◽  
Human Element ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Vantage Points ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how older people who are almost entirely housebound use a view from their window to make sense of the world and stay connected to the outside space that they cannot physically inhabit. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews with 42 individuals were carried out who were living at home, were relatively immobile and had an interesting view outside they liked from one or more of their windows. Findings The findings suggest that immobile older people enjoy watching a motion-full, changing, world going on outside of their own mobility and interact and create meaning and sense, relating themselves to the outside world. Practical implications Findings suggest that those working in health and social care must realise the importance of older people observing the outdoors and create situations where that is enabled and maintained through improving vantage points and potentially using technology. Originality/value This study builds and updates work by Rowles (1981) showing that preference for views from the window involves the immediate surveillance zone but also further afield. The view can be rural or urban but should include a human element from which older people can interact through storytelling. The view often contains different flows, between mundane and mystery and intrigue, and between expected and random.

scholarly journals The Exclusive Nature of Inclusive Productive Employment in the Rural Areas of Northern Ethiopia

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1044-1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crelis F Rammelt ◽  
Maggi Leung ◽  
Kebede Manjur Gebru
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Northern Ethiopia ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sociology Of Work ◽  
Poverty Threshold ◽  
Self Reliance ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Productive Employment

Inclusiveness, with its emphasis on productive employment, has become central in development policy. From this perspective, unwaged-work is condemned for not being sufficiently productive; that is, for failing to lift incomes above a poverty threshold. However, insights from the sociology of work reveal a range of unwaged activities that are potentially highly productive in their contribution to self-reliance. The article explores whether these activities are undermined by the promotion of inclusiveness. The case study takes place in Tigray, Ethiopia. Through semi-structured interviews, the activities of different households were classified according to a typology of work based on the work of Gorz, Illich, Wheelock, Taylor, Williams and others. Results show the heterogeneous character of work and shed light on the meaning of productivity. The article ends with a discussion on the risk that inclusiveness may be achieved by replacing activities ‘that count’ with activities ‘that can be counted’.

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.

scholarly journals Social acceptance of alcohol use in Uganda

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Ssebunnya ◽  
Caroline Kituyi ◽  
Justine Nabanoba ◽  
Juliet Nakku ◽  
Arvin Bhana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Help Seeking Behavior ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Major Health Problem ◽  
Seeking Behavior

Abstract Background: Alcohol use is part of many cultural, religious and social practices, and provides perceived pleasure to many users. In many societies, alcoholic beverages are a routine part of the social landscape for many in the population. Relatively low rates were reported for Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) in a community based survey and facility detection survey conducted in the study site contrary to findings in earlier formative studies where alcohol use was reported to be a major health problem. The aim of this study was to understand reasons for under-reporting and the low detection rate for AUDs, exploring the societal perceptions of alcohol use in the study district. Methods: The study was conducted in Kamuli District (implementation site for the PRIME project). Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with purposively selected participants that included local and religious leaders, lay people, health workers as well as heavy alcohol drinkers and their spouses. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The analysis followed 4 thematic areas, which include the extent and acceptability of alcohol use, patterns of alcohol use, perceived health problems associated with alcohol use and help-seeking behavior for persons with alcohol related problems. Results: The findings indicate that alcohol consumption in the study site was common and widely acceptable across all categories of people, with minimal restrictions. Society tends to overlook problems associated with alcohol use except when it is life-threatening. Help-seeking for such problems was therefore reported to be relatively rare. Conclusion: Alcohol was readily available in the community and its consumption widely acceptable with minimal restrictions to the minors. There is low recognition of alcohol use related health problems, resulting in poor help-seeking behavior. Key words: Alcohol, Kamuli, Alcohol Use Disorder, PRIME acceptability

scholarly journals Images of Europeans in the Chinese Woodblock Book Huangqing zhigongtu

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 1259-1271
Author(s):  
Nikolay A. Samoylov ◽  
◽  
Dmitriy I. Mayatskiy ◽  
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
The Other ◽  
Qing Empire ◽  
Cultural Stereotypes ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
General Picture ◽  
The Qing Dynasty ◽  
Rich Material ◽  
Shed Light

This article explores the Chinese historical and ethnographic work of the second half of the 18th century “Illustrated tributaries of the Qing Empire” (“Huangqing zhigongtu”). This book provides rich material for a systematic analysis of the views of the Chinese about European countries during the reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). Twenty eight images and descriptions of a number of European nations — Russians, Poles, Hungarians, Swedes, the English, the Dutch, etc. — which were found in the book, have been identified, classified, and analyzed. A range of issues and problems related to the content of the descriptions has been established and compared with the illustrations from the book. The article pays particular attention to identifying and explaining the anthropological and socio-cultural stereotypes that shaped the image of Europeans in China. The authors of this paper have found out that due to Catholic missionaries the Chinese compilers of “Huangqing zhigongtu” must have had enough information about Europe in the first part of the Qing period. Nevertheless, they made a large number of mistakes when describing the geographical location of several nations and relations between some of them. They also misunderstood some habits, traditions or anthropological features of their inhabitants. On the other hand, the compilers were more accurate and precise with regard to political and trade activities of the Europeans in China or near its frontier. Studying the “Huangqing zhigongtu” can shed light not only on important factors that formed the general picture of the Chinese worldview, but also contribute to a better understanding of motives that determined the foreign policy of the Qing Empire.

scholarly journals A Prospective Comparison of Bipolar I and II Subjects With and Without Comorbid Alcohol Dependence From the COGA Dataset

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich W. Preuss ◽  
M. N. Hesselbrock ◽  
V. M. Hesselbrock
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Collaborative Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Prospective Comparison ◽  
Bipolar Ii ◽  
Bipolar Patients ◽  
Alcohol Dependent

Objective: Comorbidity of alcohol use disorders in bipolar subjects is high as indicated by epidemiological and clinical studies. Though a more severe course of bipolar disorder in subjects with comorbid alcohol dependence has been reported, fewer studies considered the longitudinal course of alcohol dependence in bipolar subjects and the prospective course of comorbid bipolar II subjects. Beside baseline analysis, longitudinal data of the COGA (Collaborative Study on Genetics in Alcoholism) were used to evaluate the course of bipolar I and II disordered subjects with and without comorbid alcohol dependence over more than 5 years of follow-up.Methods: Characteristics of bipolar disorder, alcohol dependence and comorbid psychiatric disorders were assessed using semi-structured interviews (SSAGA) at baseline and at a 5-year follow-up. Two hundred twenty-eight bipolar I and II patients were subdivided into groups with and without comorbid alcohol dependence.Results: Of the 152 bipolar I and 76 bipolar II patients, 172 (75, 4%) had a comorbid diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Bipolar I patients with alcohol dependence, in particular women, had a more severe course of bipolar disorder, worse social functioning and more suicidal behavior than all other groups of subjects during the 5-year follow-up. In contrast, alcohol dependence improved significantly in both comorbid bipolar I and II individuals during this time.Conclusions: A 5-year prospective evaluation of bipolar patients with and without alcohol dependence confirmed previous investigations suggesting a more severe course of bipolar disorder in comorbid bipolar I individuals, whereas bipolar II individuals were less severely impaired by comorbid alcohol use disorder. While severity of alcohol dependence improved during this time in comorbid alcohol-dependent bipolar I patients, the unfavorable outcome for these individuals might be due to the higher comorbidity with personality and other substance use disorders which, together with alcohol dependence, eventually lead to poorer symptomatic and functional clinical outcomes.

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