scholarly journals Informal care of the elderly in Sweden – Carers’ situation

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 66-77
Author(s):  
Björn Albin ◽  
Christina Siwertsson ◽  
Jan-Olof Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Informal Care ◽  
English Language ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
National Development ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Public ◽  
English Language Journal ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future

Informal care of the elderly (often given by a relative or a spouse) plays an important role in most societies. This article describes the situation and support for carers that exist in Sweden today and how this may develop in the future. The description is partly based on the results from the evaluation of a government supported project (‘Anhörig 300’) aimed to develop support for carers in the county of Kronoberg as well as from information and documents. Four different typical situations for carers are identified and indicate how very different situations for carers can be. During the 21st century the Swedish Government has given great attention to support for carers, mainly through changes in the legislation and through economic grants to the municipalities. In the future the support for carers must be given even greater attention and be developed further. The National Development Plan for Nursing and Care of the elderly in Sweden, from 2005, suggested increased support for carers as a complement to the public sector elderly care. From 2009 the Social Services Act has been changed in accordance with this plan. A key issue is to involve voluntary organisations to alleviate isolation and loneliness among carers. An earlier version of the following article was first published in Japanese in Chiiki Fukushi Kenkyu (Studies of Community Welfare), 2008; 36; 72-83. It has since been revised and updated for publication in an English language journal. 

scholarly journals Nothing but Trouble: Studies on the Effects of Reforms in Elderly Care in Sweden and Poland

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iwona Sobis
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Care For The Elderly ◽  
The Future

Abstract Reforms of the public sector, conducted in the spirit of NPM since the 1990s, are frequently studied by Western and Eastern scholars. The research shows national variations in how the NPM idea was translated and adapted into a country’s context and regulations. Care for the elderly is an interesting example of reforms conducted in the spirit of NPM, because it relates to welfare and health care and to the competences of provincial and local authorities in most European countries. This paper addresses the following questions: What do we know about the reforms conducted in the spirit of NPM and its practical implication within the field of care for the elderly during 1990 - 2010? What kind of knowledge about care for the elderly is still missing and should be developed in the future ? Th is paper conducts comparative research on what is known about the effects of the Swedish and the Polish reforms regarding care for the elderly. It argues that most literature points to negative effects, but also to the fact that there are still gaps in our knowledge about the effects of reforms concerning elderly care, especially regarding its organization. Hence, despite all the research done, we do not know what kind of social and health-care services for seniors represent the best practices for the future.

13. Treatment of the Aged

2019 ◽  
pp. 440-461
Author(s):  
G. T. Laurie ◽  
S. H. E. Harmon ◽  
E. S. Dove
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Regulatory Changes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ethical And Legal Issues ◽  
Public Bodies

This chapter discusses some of the ethical and legal issues associated with the very difficult practice of treating the elderly, grounding the discussion in the tension between autonomy and paternalism. It is emphasised that this complex and fragmented field is still undergoing significant regulatory changes as a result of the Care Act 2014, the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, and the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014. It also covers the elder incapax and dying from old age.

scholarly journals HOW POLITICO-ECONOMIC SYSTEMS CAN SHAPE THE ATTITUDE TOWARD ELDERLY CARE: LESSONS FROM THE GERMAN REUNIFICATION

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S675-S676
Author(s):  
Freya Diederich ◽  
Hans-Helmut König ◽  
Christian Brettschneider
Keyword(s):  
Informal Care ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Random Effects Models ◽  
Care For The Elderly ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Future ◽  
Migration Flows

Abstract Migration flows have been rising over the past decades and are not expected to mitigate in the future. Migrants brings along values and preferences that were shaped by their origin countries, among those, their perceptions of how societies should care for the elderly. In this study, we examine how the attitude towards informal care is shaped by the politico-economic system an individual grew up in and if this attitude adjusts over time once an individual lives in a different system. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Eastern Germans were exposed to the market-oriented western economy, a natural experiment that allows us to address these issues. By analyzing data from the German Family Panel (2009/10-2015/16), we assess differences in attitudes towards informal care among four birth cohorts that were born during the German separation (N=11,966) using random-effects models. We control for socio-demographic factors as well as the institutional and economic environment an individual lives in. The results reveal that, on average, older generations that grew up in East Germany exhibit up to a 6.7% (95% CI, 0.03-0.1) higher willingness to provide informal care to their parents than older generations that grew up in West Germany. There is no significant difference in younger birth cohorts. Attitudes do not significantly converge over the observed time horizon. The results provide evidence that individuals’ attitude towards informal care is deeply shaped by the system they grew up in such that migration flows can influence the supply of informal care in the future.

scholarly journals The Role of the Family in Daily Care for the Elderly in Changing Rural Vietnam

2019 ◽  
pp. 97-122
Author(s):  
Dang Thanh Nhan
Keyword(s):  
Family Structure ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Care For The Elderly ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family

This paper use datasets on the elderly in four provinces, including 307 el derly in Ha Tinh, Quang Ngai in 2017, 407 elderly in Ninh Binh and Tien Giang in 2016 of the project “Strengthening Social Engagement in Elderly Care in Changing Economic and Family Structure in Asia: Policy and Practical Dialogues between Local Communities in Vietnam and Japan.” This paper aims to evaluate roles of family members, especially of women in caring for the elderly and to explore the difficulties posed for contemporary families in relation to the roles of the community and the state. In particular, the paper will identify the forces influencing the way that each family member provides care for their elderly in the social and culture context of Vietnam. Our findings showed that families play a very important role in elderly care and that women still play crucial roles in caring for the elderly regardless of circumstances. The family is the most important support for the elderly in Vietnam during illness (spouses and children). Family economic con dition, health status, illness, sex, age, and working status have significant impacts on the health of the elderly. It is noted that taking care of the material life for the elderly is one of the burdens that the family faces, which raised need for a more comprehensive system of social security and social services for the elderly especially in the rural areas in the context of increasing migration and recent changes in family structure and functions.

Family and Care Work Facing Social Change and Globalization

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-53
Author(s):  
Reiko Ogawa
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Care Work ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Welfare System ◽  
The Social ◽  
Long Term Care Insurance ◽  
The Public Sphere

This article examines the complex interplay between family and elderly care in Japan by taking into account both paid and unpaid reproductive work. The elderly care has gone through a discursive shift from the private sphere to the public sphere since 2000 through the introduction of Long Term Care Insurance. The article first elaborates the two major structural changes in the society namely demographic change and deterioration of the social welfare system including the transformation in the family institutions. Secondly, it discusses the globalization of care work through the entry of migrants into care workforce especially the resident migrants in Japan and how family serves as a driving force in affecting their decision. The article attempts to analyze the role of family in relation to both paid and unpaid reproductive work within the global restructuring of care, which is not only gendered but increasingly becoming ethnicized.

Care of Elderly Germans Suffering from Dementia and other Diseases in Private Social Welfare Institutions in Poland — A Case Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-85
Author(s):  
Nicole Horáková ◽  
Jan Kajfosz
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Field Research ◽  
High Standard ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Private Care ◽  
The Social ◽  
Care Of Elderly

The European society is getting older and nobody knows how to deal with this problem. There are different models from family care, special housing for elderly to professional institutional care, which has the disadvantage of being very expensive. In Germany we have noticed in the last two or three years a special trend to send old people suffering from dementia to foreign countries, because these people need intensive care and the social services for example in Poland have a high standard. The aim of our survey is to dismantle, by the example of the private care institution situated in Poland, Upper Silesia which specializes on German customers, the social practices associated with placing the elderly in such institutions and also the methods of constructing meanings of these practices providing clarity in the various groups that take part in this process. To reach this aim we used qualitative field research, including discourse and narrative analysis of various materials (interviews, promotional texts, websites), which beside other things allowed us to reconstruct the media image of the surveyed residences for the elderly and show it in a wider context.

scholarly journals Are We Ready for the Arrival of the New COVID-19 Vaccinations? Great Promises and Unknown Challenges Still to Come

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Davide Gori ◽  
Chiara Reno ◽  
Daniel Remondini ◽  
Francesco Durazzi ◽  
Maria Pia Fantini
Keyword(s):  
Herd Immunity ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Complex Issue ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
To Come ◽  
Vaccination Campaigns ◽  
The Eu

While the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to strike and collect its death toll throughout the globe, as of 31 January 2021, the vaccine candidates worldwide were 292, of which 70 were in clinical testing. Several vaccines have been approved worldwide, and in particular, three have been so far authorized for use in the EU. Vaccination can be, in fact, an efficient way to mitigate the devastating effect of the pandemic and offer protection to some vulnerable strata of the population (i.e., the elderly) and reduce the social and economic burden of the current crisis. Regardless, a question is still open: after vaccination availability for the public, will vaccination campaigns be effective in reaching all the strata and a sufficient number of people in order to guarantee herd immunity? In other words: after we have it, will we be able to use it? Following the trends in vaccine hesitancy in recent years, there is a growing distrust of COVID-19 vaccinations. In addition, the online context and competition between pro- and anti-vaxxers show a trend in which anti-vaccination movements tend to capture the attention of those who are hesitant. Describing this context and analyzing its possible causes, what interventions or strategies could be effective to reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy? Will social media trend analysis be helpful in trying to solve this complex issue? Are there perspectives for an efficient implementation of COVID-19 vaccination coverage as well as for all the other vaccinations?

scholarly journals The Social Robot in Rehabilitation and Assistance: What is the Future?

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 244
Author(s):  
Daniele Giansanti
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Social Robots ◽  
Social Robot ◽  
Clinical Use ◽  
Research Development ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Collaborative Robotics ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future

This commentary aims to address the field of social robots both in terms of the global situation and research perspectives. It has four polarities. First, it revisits the evolutions in robotics, which, starting from collaborative robotics, has led to the diffusion of social robots. Second, it illustrates the main fields in the employment of social robots in rehabilitation and assistance in the elderly and handicapped and in further emerging sectors. Third, it takes a look at the future directions of the research development both in terms of clinical and technological aspects. Fourth, it discusses the opportunities and limits, starting from the development and clinical use of social robots during the COVID-19 pandemic to the increase of ethical discussion on their use.

An End to Incrementalism? The Impact of Expenditure Restraint on Social Services Budgets 1979–1986

1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aidan Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Activity Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Total Budget ◽  
Service Departments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACTThe theory of incrementalism is a long-standing and influential perspective on policy making and resource allocation in the public sector. Previous research on social services budgeting suggests that resources are allocated incrementally, although there has been some debate as to whether this would persist in an era of prolonged expenditure restraint. Incremental budgetary outcomes are operationalised as percentage changes in budgets pro-rata with percentage changes in the total budget, and as stable shares of total expenditure for each activity. Data for 99 English social service departments supports incrementalism in that budget shares change by only 1.8 per cent, but percentage allocations depart from pro-rata incrementalism by a mean of 74 per cent. The comparison of the two summary indices over time supports those who have argued that prolonged restraint would encourage non-incremental budgeting, but change in the agency's total budget does not consistently predict budgetary outcomes. The effect of restraint on incrementalism varies with the measure used and across the component activities of the measures, but there is enough evidence to suggest a significant decline in the level of incrementalism in social service departments. In particular, non-incremental budgeting is strongly associated with the growth of day centre expenditure on the mentally ill and the elderly before 1982–3, and after that with the pursuit of the ‘community care’ strategy within state provided services for the elderly and children. Incrementalism as a general theory of agency budgeting is limited in its ability to explain variations in the degree of incrementalism between agencies, between component budgets and over time. The conclusion suggests that further research should seek explanations for these variations in the varying balance of the competing forces which shape outcomes in welfare bureaucracies and in the relationship between these forces and the organisation's environment.

Social Work and Public Social Services Practice: A Status Report

1996 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Gibelman ◽  
Philip H. Schervish
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Status Report ◽  
The Public ◽  
Education Experience ◽  
The Social

The authors review the current status of the social work labor force within the public sector by means of an analysis of the National Association of Social Workers member data base for 1988 and 1991, with additional data drawn from a 1993 member survey. Changes in the proportion and composition of the public social services labor force are documented, including education, experience, gender, and ethnicity. The decreasing professional social work labor force within public social services is discussed within the context of the realities of public social services practice and social work's historic place within this sector. The authors encourage debate about the implications of these trends, focusing on whether social work should influence labor-force trends or be influenced by them.

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