Perceptions of Community Carers about Elderly People: A Sentence Completion Approach

1985 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 889-890
Author(s):  
Chris Phillipson ◽  
Patricia Strang

In the present study a sentence completion list was administered to a range of community carers in the health and social services. Analysis of information from 334 respondents indicated statistically significant differences regarding perceptions about older people. The responses of the different groups indicated attitudinal support for developing a range of preventive strategies in the field of social and health care. There was some evidence, however, that workers held stereotyped views about the lives of older people.

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 658-664
Author(s):  
Tetiana S. Gruzieva ◽  
Mykhаilo D. Diachuk ◽  
Hanna V. Inshakova ◽  
Ivan M. Soroka ◽  
Vasyl A. Dufynets

The aim: The identification and determination of needs that the population of older age groups have in medical and social services on the basis of health data and the results of a survey. Material and methods: Because of bibliographic, epidemiological, medical-statistical, analytical methods the research has investigated the problems of healthy aging, tendencies in population health of the population of Ukraine of senior age groups during 2000-2017, features and tendencies of health of a sample contingent of urban population of elderly age according to appeals in health care facilities during 2009-2019. The use of the sociological method, the self-evaluation of elderly people of their own health, characteristics of lifestyle and medical activity are determined, the needs of older people in medical and social services were assessed. Results: Negative tendencies to increase during 2000-2017 the prevalence of pathology among the population older than working age by 22.8%, including blood diseases in 2 times, endocrine system – in 1.8 times, urogenital system – by 1.5 times, digestive organs – by 1.4 times, tumors and nervous system – by 1.3 times. Among the urban elderly population, the prevalence of sensory diseases, including ear and eye diseases, endocrine disorders, injuries and poisonings, has increased, and mental health indicators have deteriorated. The sociological survey found a low level of self-esteem (31.5±3.5 per 100 had health problems, 10.1±2.3 are significant). Self-medication was practiced by 76.4±3.2 per 100 respondents, 74.2±3.3 were not followed or they violated the doctor's recommendations. 56.2 ±3.7 per 100 respondents had physical examinations in the non-right time 29.7±3.4 had not it. There was a significant prevalence of risk factors, including hypodynamics (21.9±3.1 per 100), tobacco use (29.8±3.4), malnutrition (37.1±3.6), overweight (obesity) (32, 6±3.5), arterial hypertension (37.6±3.6), hypercholesterolemia (28.7±3.4), glucosemia 16.3±2.8). The research has discovered the needs of older people in health care and social services, inter alia in preventive counseling (65.2±3.6 per 100), the introduction of electronic technologies in health care (68.5±3.5), information educational services on health issues (67.4±3.5), provision of services in hospitals at home (66.3±3.5), in increasing the availability of rehabilitation (43.8±3.7), specialized counseling (34.3±3.6) and emergency medical care (16.2±2.8), improvement of socio-economic determinants (78.0±3.1), introduction of activities (48.3±3.7), joint training programs for older people (42.1±3.7), the development of certain skills, the use of technical means, assistive devices (67.4±3.5), the formation of a conducive to better health environment (58, 4±3.7). Conclusions: The low level of the elderly people's health, the tendency to increase the burden of disease, the prevalence of risk factors for disease and low medical activity lead to significant needs for medical and social services of preventive, treatment-diagnostic, rehabilitation, improving socio-economic determinants, measures to reduce social isolation.


Author(s):  
Olga Vasilyevna Zayats ◽  
Nadezhda Vladimirovna Osmachko

The paper reveals the essence and significance of digital socialization of older people, the importance of overcoming social exclusion by older citizens in terms of access to digital technologies. The purpose of the paper is to reveal the role of social service centers for the population, which act as agents of digital socialization of older people (based on the materials of a sociological study). The objects of the study were elderly people receiving social services in the Primorsky Center for Social Services of the Population, and senior citizens who were trained in computer literacy courses. The authors set the fol-lowing tasks: to determine elderly people’s interest in mastering computer literacy and how effective the “Internet ABC” program is. In addition, it was sup-posed to establish the importance of integrated cen-ters of social services for the population in ensuring computer literacy of pensioners. As a result of a sociological study, it was found that older people show a significant interest in modern information technologies. Computer courses organized on the basis of the center for social services help elderly people to get information about state and municipal services, work with the websites of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, the Social Insur-ance Fund, Public Services and Multifunctional Cen-ter.


1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Young ◽  
Alex Brown ◽  
Anne Forster ◽  
Josie Clare

‘When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean’. So it is with rehabilitation, except that several definitions and explanations have been proposed. Although the similarities between the definitions are considerable and far eclipse any differences, the perceived diversity of view has contributed to confusion over the purpose and process of rehabilitation. Is it ‘elderly care’? Is it ‘therapy’? Is it ‘post-acute’ care? The apparent ambiguity and the intangible qualities of rehabilitation contrast with the concrete ‘ologies’ of contemporary organ-based medicine and contribute to its vulnerability in our modern general hospitals. Pressures caused by rising emergency admissions and cost-driven bed closures have necessitated steadily reducing lengths of stay and rehabilitation, as a less visible component of care, has tended to be squeezed out. Paradoxically, the consequences of the ‘sicker and quicker’ discharge approach, with fresh burdens placed on community health and social services, have drawn attention to rehabilitation as a missing ingredient. We have now entered a phase of rediscovering at a strategic policy level the rehabilitation needs of older people but redefined in new terminology as ‘recuperation’ or ‘recovery’ This article will describe the core concepts of rehabilitation for older people and set the scene for forthcoming articles addressing specific rehabilitation topics.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruta Valaitis ◽  
Laura Cleghorn ◽  
Ivaylo Vassilev ◽  
Anne Rogers ◽  
Jenny Ploeg ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Primary care providers have been tasked with fostering self-management through managing referrals and linking patients to community-based health and social services. This study evaluated a web-based tool –GENIE (Generating Engagement in Network InvolvEment)– as a component of the Health TAPESTRY program to support self-management of older adults who are high health care system users. GENIE aims to empower patients to leverage their personal social networks to access community services towards reaching their health goals. GENIE maps client’s personal networks, elicits preferences, and filters local health and social resources from a community service directory based on results of a questionnaire that explores client’s interests. In the Health TAPESTRY program, volunteers conducted home visits to gather health information on tablets and implemented the GENIE tool. A report was generated for the primary care team for follow up. OBJECTIVE This study examined the usability, feasibility, and perceived outcomes of the implementation of GENIE with older adults who were enrolled in Ontario’s Health Links Program, which coordinates care for the highest users of the health care system. METHODS This study involved two primary care clinician focus groups, one clinician interview, a volunteer focus group, client telephone interviews, field observations, and GENIE utilization statistics. RESULTS Eight patients, three volunteers, and 16 primary care clinicians participated. Patients were most interested in services that were health-related (exercise and socialization). Overall, participants perceived GENIE to be useful and easy to use, despite challenges related to email set up, disease terminology, instructions for personal network mapping, and clarity of questionnaire items. Volunteer facilitation was critical to support implementation of Genie. Tool completion averaged 39 minutes. Almost all patients identified a community program or activity of interest using GENIE. Half followed up on health and social services and added new members to their network over 6 months, while one participant lost a member. Clinicians had concerns about accuracy, suitability, and quantity of suggested programs and services generated from the tool and believed that they could better tailor choices for their patients highlighting the inherent tension between user-centred preferences focused on capabilities and bio-medical definitions of need shaping professional judgement. However, clinicians did note that GENIE strengthened their understanding of patients’ personal social networks. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated GENIE’s potential, facilitated by volunteers, to expand patients’ social networks and link them to relevant health and social services to support self-management. Volunteers require training to effectively implement GENIE for self-management support and can help overcome time limitations that primary care clinicians face. Refining the filtering capability of GENIE to allow for better tailoring of results to address the complex needs of those who are high system users may help to improve primary care provider’s confidence in such tools. CLINICALTRIAL Not applicable


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana L Akimova

The article presents data collected during the tour dedicated to the medical and social institutions of Finland about new solutions and Finnish innovations in medicine and the social sphere. The article describes the principles of the Finnish health care system, including the work of maternal and child welfare clinics, as well as common European approaches in geriatrics. Thе article describes the features of geriatric services in Finland. It reflects the role of the municipal social services to provide residents of barrier-free environment in their regions. The article presents the facts from the personal experience exploring the Finnish system of medical and social support to older generation focused on the application of the latest scientific developments. The article presents innovative products for comfortable living of older people, including a traveling exhibition of technologies for older people, specialized furniture and household items available in the functional building DoMedi and others. This article describes the function of public and private Finnish services and the Finnish Centre for Elderly, including a Finnish non-profit organization Valli. The article presents the features of a private home for the elderly “Wilhelmiina” in Helsinki and scientific developments behalf Miyna Sillanpää Foundation. The article describes the innovative products, created in the Health Innovation Village at the Finnish office of GE: vacuum therapy device for the treatment of edema, a portable device for the treatment of depression, a sensor for measuring the electrical activity of muscles. The paper presents the solutions offered by the Finnish university hospitals, including personalized medicine technology for patients with cancer, developed at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Helsinki. The article describes the work of one of the divisions of the institute - Biobank. The article describes the general approach to reform the health care system in Finland.


1999 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Jolley

Older people comprise an increasingly significant proportion of the population of the UK and other developed countries. Most remain fit and able to make continuing contributions to their families and society, but they are at risks of periods of ill health and other stresses. Dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease, is one of the major health problems of our times and particularly affects older people. Mental ill health, physical ill health and social difficulties are often intertwined, calling for close working between health and social services to provide appropriate help for patients and their carers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 442-452
Author(s):  
Patrycja Kabiesz ◽  
Joanna Bartnicka

Abstract The health care system should offer and provide a variety of services without undue delay. Due to numerous technical, financial and human resource constraints, not all services can be offered both without restrictions and in equal measure in places of different sizes of residence. As a result of qualitative and quantitative research, a map of accessibility to social and health services was drawn up, taking into consideration the division of the country into voivodeships with different population. Spatial analysis showed great diversity in terms of service availability. Voivodships with the highest accessibility of health and social services are Dolnośląskie, Opolskie and Świętokrzyskie, while the worst situation is in Wielkopolskie. Moreover, the article identifies the main problems that people with limited functionality encounter when using health and social services.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. e3488
Author(s):  
Rosana Onocko-Campos ◽  
Larry Davidson ◽  
Manuel Desviat

The care of people with mental health problems requires health system and service reforms to build up proper mental health care. The challenges of the present moment continue to be immense. The viral pandemic that we are experiencing has exposed the fragility of our health and social services and certified the inequality and precariousness of the living conditions of many people. The collection of articles published in the journal Salud Colectiva as part of the open call for papers “Mental health and human rights: challenges for health services and communities,” includes articles from Spain, Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. These papers present conceptual experiences and reflections on community action plans and programs, contributing toward better knowledge and development of mental health in the region.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Merkel ◽  
Moritz Hess

BACKGROUND Digital health care is becoming increasingly important, but it has the risk of further increasing the digital divide, as not all individuals have the opportunity, skills, and knowledge to fully benefit from potential advantages. In particular, elderly people have less experience with the internet, and hence, they are in danger of being excluded. Knowledge on the influences of the adoption of internet-based health and care services by elderly people will help to develop and promote strategies for decreasing the digital divide. OBJECTIVE This study examined if and how elderly people are using digital services to access health and social care. Moreover, it examined what personal characteristics are associated with using these services and if there are country differences. METHODS Data for this study were obtained from the Special Eurobarometer 460 (SB 460), which collected data on Europeans’ handling of and attitudes toward digital technologies, robots, and artificial intelligence, including data on the use of internet-based health and social care services, among 27,901 EU citizens aged 15 years or older. Multilevel logistic regression models were adopted to analyze the association of using the internet for health and social care services with several individual and country-level variables. RESULTS At the individual level, young age, high education, high social class, and living in an urban area were positively associated with a high probability of using internet-based health and social services. At the country level, the proportion of elderly people who participated in any training activity within the last month was positively associated with the proportion of elderly people using these services. CONCLUSIONS The probability of using internet-based health and social services and their accompanying advantages strongly depend on the socioeconomic background. Training and educational programs might be helpful to mitigate these differences.


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