Connectivity of older people in rural areas

Author(s):  
Catherine Hagan Hennessy ◽  
Robin Means

This chapter discusses the Grey and Pleasant Land project on rural ageing which focused on older people’s connections to and participation in community life in diverse rural settings in southwest England and Wales. The interdisiplinary approach used to investigate the types, extent and experiences of older people’s ‘connectivity’ in these rural places is described, including the combination of empirical and arts-based methods. Seven principal types of connectivities identified are elaborated using examples from the research findings: civic engagement; social participation; intergenerational relations; connections to the landscape; connectivity and group identity; virtual connectivity; and imaginative connectivity. The implications of these connectivities of older people as sources of rural community capital with the potential to sustain ageing populations in these areas are discussed.

1992 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda R. Campbell

Although data on the subject are incomplete, available national data suggest that somewhat more than one million children with disabilities live in rural areas. These children face the special challenges of preparing for community life in environments where service systems are inadequate if not totally absent, funding for educational and other programs is typically meager, and persons with knowledge of disability-related services and issues—including the independent living philosophy and its application in the community—may be unavailable. It is important, therefore, that special education teachers become familiar with the independent living philosophy and its application for people with both physical and cognitive disabilities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-169
Author(s):  
Naomi Kozaka ◽  
Yoshiki Kuroda

Background: Although previous studies have reported that suicide mortality was associated with social capital, the relation between social capital and suicide mortality has remained controversial. Thus, we evaluated the relation between social capital and suicide mortality in rural areas of Japan, and examined the association between temporal changes in social capital and suicide mortality over the last ten years. Methods: We examined the Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) for suicide for 26 municipalities of Miyazaki Prefecture and used the data to calculate the average suicide SMRs for two five-year periods: an earlier period, 2004–2008; and a later period, 2012–2016. Social capital (social cohesion and social participation of older people) was measured using information from questionnaire surveys. A multiple linear regression analysis of suicide SMR was conducted for each social capital variable, adjusting for potential confounding factors (population density, the proportion of older people, annual divorce rate, unemployment rate, and proportion of workers engaged in primary industries). Results: We demonstrated that male suicide SMR for the earlier period was significantly and positively associated with social cohesion after the adjustment of confounding factors. Temporal changes in male suicide SMRs were significantly and negatively associated with temporal changes in the social participation of older people in the adjusted model. No association was found for female suicide SMRs in either period. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that the social participation of older people might reduce suicide among males.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Nordmyr ◽  
A K Forsman

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.


Challenges ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Farshad Amiraslani

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has revealed flaws in rural settings where most people live without the necessary tools, income, and knowledge to tackle such unprecedented global challenges. Here, I argue that despite the research studies conducted on rural areas, these have not solved rising rural issues, notably poverty and illiteracy. I propound a global institute to be formed by governments that provides a platform for empowering rural communities through better training, skills, and competencies. Such global endeavour will ensure the remaining rural communities withstand future pandemics if they occur.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Yazhen Yang ◽  
Maria Evandrou ◽  
Athina Vlachantoni

Abstract Research to-date has examined the impact of intergenerational support in terms of isolated types of support, or at one point in time, failing to provide strong evidence of the complex effect of support on older persons’ wellbeing. Using the Harmonised China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011, 2013 and 2015), this paper investigates the impact of older people's living arrangements and intergenerational support provision/receipt on their physical and psychological wellbeing, focusing on rural–urban differences. The results show that receiving economic support from one's adult children was a stronger predictor for higher life satisfaction among rural residents compared to urban residents, while grandchild care provision was an important determinant for poor life satisfaction only for urban residents. Having weekly in-person and distant contact with one's adult children reduced the risk of depression in both rural and urban residents. Older women were more likely than men to receive support and to have contact with adult children, but also to report poor functional status and depression. The paper shows that it is important to improve the level of public economic transfers and public social care towards vulnerable older people in rural areas, and more emphasis should be placed on improving the psychological wellbeing of urban older residents, such as with the early diagnosis of depression.


2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 1430-1441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Boström ◽  
Kerstin Nilsson Kajermo ◽  
Gun Nordström ◽  
Lars Wallin

Author(s):  
К. А. Галкин

Ситуация пандемии COVID-19 в очередной раз напомнила о необходимости использования онлайн-сообществ здоровья, особенно в тех районах, где не хватает мест в местных больницах или существуют проблемы с получением качественной медицинской помощи. Это, например, сельские районы, где медицина ориентирована на лечение экстренно возникающих заболеваний и у врачей существуют сложности с возможностью лечения новой коронавирусной инфекции. Онлайн-сообщества здоровья в таком случае предоставляют возможность узнать необходимую информацию, а также общаться со специалистами, которые знают особенности нового коронавируса и могут дать необходимые советы. В настоящей статье на примере глубинных интервью с пожилыми людьми из сёл Ленинградской обл. и Республики Карелия рассмотрена роль телемедицины для пожилых людей и общения в онлайн-сообществах здоровья в контексте преодоления одиночества и изолированности, которая существует в сельской местности. В статье проанализированы особенности и основные препятствия для использования пожилыми людьми телемедицины и общения в онлайнсообществах здоровья - это проблемы с инфраструктурой и отключением электричества, отсутствие у пожилых людей компьютерной грамотности для общения и взаимодействия в онлайн-сообществах здоровья. Роль последних рассмотрена с точки зрения развития самозаботы пожилых людей в сельской местности в периферийных поселениях из-за отсутствия необходимой медицинской помощи. The situation of the COVID-19 pandemic has once again reminded of the need to use telemedicine and online health communities, especially in areas where there are not enough places in local hospitals or there are problems with obtaining quality medical care, such as rural areas where rural medicine is focused on treatment of emergency diseases and doctors have difficulties with the possibility of treatment, as well as explaining about the new coronavirus infection to patients and how this disease can be treated. In this case, online health communities provide an opportunity to find out the necessary information, as well as communicate with specialists who know the features of the new coronavirus and can give the necessary advice. Using the example of in-depth interviews with older people from villages in the Leningrad Region and the Republic of Karelia, the article examines the role of telemedicine for older people and communication in online health communities in the context of overcoming loneliness and isolation that exist in rural areas. The article analyzes the features of the use of telemedicine and the key barriers to the use of telemedicine and communication of older people in online disease communities. In rural areas the main barriers to telemedicine use are infrastructure problems and power outages, as well as the lack of computer literacy for communication and elder people’s interaction in online health communities. In the article the role of online health communities is considered in the context of the self-care of older people and from the point of view of the development of self-care of older people in rural peripheral settlements due to the lack of necessary medical care.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-154
Author(s):  
Dimitris Papazachariou ◽  
Anna Fterniati ◽  
Argiris Archakis ◽  
Vasia Tsami

Abstract Over the past decades, contemporary sociolinguistics has challenged the existence of fixed and rigid linguistic boundaries, thus focusing on how the speakers themselves define language varieties and how specific linguistic choices end up being perceived as language varieties. In this light, the present paper explores the influence of metapragmatic stereotypes on elementary school pupils’ attitudes towards geographical varieties. Specifically, we investigate children’s beliefs as to the acceptability of geographical varieties and their perception of the overt and covert prestige of geographical varieties and dialectal speakers. Furthermore, we explore the relationship between the children’s specific beliefs and factors such as gender, the social stratification of the school location and the pupils’ performance in language subjects. The data of the study was collected via questionnaires with closed questions. The research findings indicate that the children of our sample associate geographical varieties with rural settings and informal communicative contexts. Moreover, children recognize a lack of overt prestige in geographical variation; at the same time, they evaluate positively the social attractiveness and the personal reliability of the geographical varieties and their speakers. Our research showed that pupils’ beliefs are in line with the dominant metapragmatic stereotypes which promote language homogeneity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 2044-2073 ◽  
Author(s):  
HUIJUN LIU ◽  
KAREN N. EGGLESTON ◽  
YAN MIN

ABSTRACTChina is experiencing rapid urbanisation and population ageing, alongside sometimes contentious rural land consolidation. These on-going social, economic, political and demographic changes are especially problematic for older people in rural areas. In these regions, social and institutional support arrangements are less developed than in urban areas; older people have few options for re-settlement but are resistant to or incapable of adjusting to high-rise apartment living. In 2012–13, we gathered rich qualitative and quantitative data on over 600 older residents in 12 villages under the jurisdiction of City L in north-east coastal China to analyse residents’ living arrangement choices during the village renovation process. We compared villages with and without senior centres to shed light on the correlates of co-residence and independent living. Senior centres play a role in balancing the burden on rural Chinese families resulting from population ageing, smaller families, widespread migration for work, and the rapid urbanisation that is restructuring land rights and social support arrangements.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethan Winter ◽  
Vanessa Burholt

Research on cultural exclusion has not kept apace with transformations to rural populations, economy, family structures and community relationships. Cultural exclusion refers to the extent to which people are able or willing to conform to cultural norms and values. We theorise cultural exclusion using the critical human ecological framework and social comparison theory, taking into account period effects, area effects and cohort and/or lifecourse effects. Qualitative case studies in three rural areas of South Wales (United Kingdom) synthesise data from life-history interviews, life-history calendars, documentary sources and focus groups (n = 56). Our findings suggest that cultural exclusion is an issue for rural-dwelling older people, which they describe by temporal self-comparison and group comparisons. The critical human ecological framework provides new insight into the drivers (industrial decline, policy and population change, a shift from collectivism to individualism), and outcomes (sense of belonging, community cohesion) of cultural exclusion experienced by rural-dwelling older people.


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