scholarly journals Placed in homecare: Living an everyday life restricted by dependence and monitoring

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stinne Glasdam ◽  
Jeanette Praestegaard ◽  
Nina Henriksen

Through a sociological case study this article analyses how, seen from a relational perspective, everyday life for elderly people receiving care in their own homes is lived with dependence on health-care professionals. The health-care professionals’ time and tasks are assigned and allocated in advance so that the elderly people are neither allowed nor able to vary their response in relation to the situation they encounter. The life of the client is also treated as though it were a solid, structured everyday life with minimal private time. Work in the home, for example, household chores and personal care, resembles a disciplining strategy. The client lives under conditions of monitoring and control comparable to conditions of imprisonment. The client is subject to the will of and social intercourse with other people in his own home; he both knows it is necessary and offers resistance to the conditions. In short, the authors argue that the homecare service acts as a disciplining practice in modern society.

Author(s):  
Luis M. Camarinha-Matos ◽  
Filipa Ferrada

An important application context for virtual communities is elderly care. One of the key challenges facing modern societies is the increasing speed at which the population is aging. In Europe, for example, during the last three decades the number of people aged 60 years or more has risen by about 50%. Traditional approaches to care provision are based on support from either the relatives or the elderly care centers. Nevertheless, these two solutions have become increasingly insufficient due to (1) the impractical responsibility onto relatives¾given the fact that more and more family members have to work to secure steady incomes; (2) the costs of providing sufficient care centers, which leads to a relocation of the elderly people, often beyond their home communities; and (3) the fact that many elderly people preserve enough robustness to be in their homes, a situation that is often preferable to them, and as such, better for their welfare (Castolo, Ferrada, & Camarinha-Matos, 2004). This will inevitably place a considerable strain on resources and finances. To deal with this challenge, new ways of providing elderly assistance and care must be found, including the creation of a new technological infrastructure. An integrated elderly care system comprises a number of organizations, such as social security institutions, care centers/day centers, health care institutions and so forth, and involves the cooperation of a number of different human actors; for example, social care assistants, health care professionals, the elderly people and their relatives. If supported by computer networks and adequate assistance tools, such systems may evolve towards operating as a long-term virtual organization, and the various involved actors become part of a virtual community. Furthermore, virtual communities can bring the sense of community and of recognition, respect and belonging, which gives the elderly a strong feeling of usefulness along with better support for their own needs. In this context, the IST TeleCARE project (Camarinha-Matos & Afsarmanesh, 2002, 2004) was launched with the aim of designing and developing a configurable framework, based on mobile (software) agents, focused on the establishment of virtual communities for elderly support. In this article, the TeleCARE Time Bank virtual community concept is presented and the developed supporting infrastructure is discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisae Nishii

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common among elderly people, with significant effects on individuals, caregivers, and the wider health care system. As the elderly population with multiple comorbidities is increasing, the burden of LUTS will increase. This review describes the demographic trends in the aging society, changes in lower urinary tract function with aging, and deterioration of physical and cognitive function in aging, as well as what has been done regarding geriatric urology and what urologists should do to meet the health care needs of the aging population. Frailty and dementia are unmissable factors in the evaluation of elderly patients. Numerous reports have described associations between LUTS and frailty and between LUTS and dementia. Urologists must be aware of the multiplex physical, cognitive, and social characteristics of elderly people. Maintaining a geriatric viewpoint in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of elderly individuals with LUTS will fulfill the unmet needs of elderly people. It is also essential to discuss the treatment and management goals of LUTS with patients and caregivers. Active case identification, appropriate evaluations of LUTS and comorbidities, and a multidisciplinary approach with other health-care professionals are recommended for better treatment and management.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
Beltrina Côrte ◽  
Bruna Suelem Mendes Dos Santos

A violência está na agenda dos estudos sobre o envelhecimento, e manifesta-se de forma estrutural, interpessoal e institucional, sinalizando a encruzilhada à qual a humanidade chegou. A naturalização da violência como forma de cuidado é um exemplo. Para prevenir quedas de pessoas idosas residentes em instituições asilares profissionais da saúde fazem uso da contenção, prática de cuidado prejudicial à saúde física e mental que, além de pôr em perigo a integridade e a saúde dos idosos, coloca-os em situações degradantes ou desumanas. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Naturalização da violência; idosos; instituições asilares; cuidados; contenção   ABSTRACT Violence is on the agenda of the studies on aging, and it manifests itself in a structural, interpersonal and institutional manner, signaling the crossroad human beings have reached. The naturalization of violence as a form of care is an example. To prevent falls from elderly people residing in nursing homes, the health care professionals make use of restraint, a practice of care detrimental to both the physical and mental health of the elderly, and in addition puts them in degrading or inhumane situations.   KEYWORDS: Naturalization of violence; Elderly; Nursing homes; Care; Containment.   RESUMEN La violencia está en la agenda de los estudios sobre el envejecimiento y se manifiesta de forma estructural, interpersonal y institucional, señalando la encrucijada a la que llegó la humanidad. La naturalización de la violencia como forma de cuidado es un ejemplo. Para prevenir caídas de personas mayores residentes en instituciones asilares, los profesionales de la salud se utilizan de la contención, una práctica de cuidado perjudicial para la salud física y mental que, además de poner en peligro la integridad y la salud de los ancianos, los coloca en situaciones degradantes o inhumanas.   PALABRAS CLAVE: Naturalización de la violencia; personas mayores; Instituciones asilares; Cuidado; Contención.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Ferreira ◽  
Filipe Orfao ◽  
Cesar Fonseca ◽  
Lara Guedes de Pinho

Introduction: The World Health Organization creates norms and guidelines for the adoption of good practices in health care that are provided to the surgical patient. In order to prevent and control infections associated with health care, the nurse must follow the guidelines for preparing the surgical patient for success. These infections can be particularly harmful to the elderly person given their vulnerability. The preoperative preparation, includes the trichotomy as one of the interventions to be performed, however, is one of the most controversial interventions that has caused in clinical practice, by the potential risk of infection in the surgical patient. Aim: To investigate the need for trichotomy, or removal of hair, in the preparation of the skin of the surgical patient, clarifying which is the most appropriate technique in the prevention of infection. Methodology: we conducted an umbrella review. The documentary research followed the consultation of bibliographic sources in the Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health (CINAHL) and Public/Publisher Medline (PubMed) databases. The researched articles were grouped in a time horizon between 2011 and 2020. Afer data extraction, a narrative analysis was performed. Results: We found 40 articles from which 8 were selected. Conclusion: Trichotomy should be avoided by increasing the risk of infection of the surgical site. Innovative haircut and vacuum technologies can help in hair removal, mitigating the risk of contaminating the surgical incision. The timing of the trichotomy is not consensual among researchers.


2018 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Canjuga ◽  
Danica Železnik ◽  
Marijana Neuberg ◽  
Marija Božicevic ◽  
Tina Cikac

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of self-care on the prevalence of loneliness among elderly people living in retirement homes and older people living in their homes/communities. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted through standardized SELSA-L assessment loneliness questionnaires and the Self Care Assessment Worksheet for self-care assessment. The results were processed using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Findings The obtained results have shown that impaired self-care ability affects the prevalence of loneliness among the elderly almost the same in both groups of participants. However, regarding the relationship between the state of health and self-care, only a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of loneliness is found in the case of the participants living in their homes, with the worst health condition affecting the poorer psychological care. Research limitations/implications It is necessary to point out the limitations of the research, primarily sample limitations and the selected design of the study. The sample consisted of two different and relatively small groups of participants which could adversely affect the representativeness of the sample and reduce the possibility of generalising the results. The next limiting factor is the age distribution the authors used in the research, where the age of the participants as a very important variable was collected by age range and not precisely which consequently resulted in inequality in subgroup sizes. Thus, the middle age (75–85) covers up to ten years, which is a huge range at an older age and can mean major differences in functional ability, and can impact the self-care assessment. Practical implications Nurses are indispensable in care for the elderly and they need to promote and encourage self-care of the elderly through health care. Elderly people living in retirement homes should be allowed to participate equally in health care in order to preserve their own autonomy and dignity. However, to benefit those who live in their homes, nurses should be connected to the local community and thus stimulate various forms of preventative (testing blood sugar levels, blood pressure and educating on the importance of preventive examinations) or recreational activities in the environment of elderly people with the goal of preserving their functional abilities. Originality/value The impact of self-care on loneliness was not sufficiently researched, and this paper contributed to understanding the complexity of loneliness phenomena among the elderly with the aim of developing a model of prevention.


1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-96
Author(s):  
Margaret C Gibson ◽  
Michael R Thomas ◽  
Andrew J Cook

An appreciation of the context in which gerontological health care occurs is crucial to the successful and ethical collection, interpretation and utilization of data on the pain experiences of elderly people. Important contextual considerations for researchers and clinicians who are addressing pain in the elderly are identified. It is argued that topics that are the focus of current attention in the field of pain and ageing, such as the effect of dementia on memory for pain and the responsiveness of the elderly to psychosocial pain treatment, would be clarified by an understanding of the broader sociopolitical context in which ageing occurs.


JMS SKIMS ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-90
Author(s):  
Shariq Rashid Masoodi

Today more people are travelling than ever before. Travel uWith more people travelling, health care professionals should become more familiar with some of the unique health issues associated with travel and pilgrimage.Travel has some unique safety and health issues, especially for the young and the elderly. Physicians need to be aware of the health issues related to travelling, identify people at risk for health problems during travel, and provide appropriate anticipatory guidance. Many guidelines have been developed to help inform physicians about some of the health issues of people travelling. These guidelines are to provide information on the risks of travel to people, determine which pre-existing health conditions may be complicated by a particular mode of travel, and offer preventative measures that can minimize potential risks to people during the travel. sed to be a leisure which could only be afforded by a few.... JMS 2012;15(2):87-90


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mais HM Iflaifel ◽  
Rosemary Lim ◽  
Kath M Ryan ◽  
Clare Crowley

Abstract Background Traditional approaches to safety management in health care have focused primarily on counting errors and understanding how things go wrong. Resilient Health Care (RHC) provides an alternative complementary perspective of learning from incidents and understanding how, most of the time, work is safe. The aim of this review was to identify how RHC is conceptualised, described and interpreted in the published literature, to describe the methods used to study RHC, and to identify factors that develop RHC. Methods Electronic searches of PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane databases were performed to identify relevant peer-reviewed studies, and a hand search undertaken for studies published in books that explained how RHC as a concept has been interpreted, what methods have been used to study it, and what factors have been important to its development. Studies were evaluated independently by two researchers. Data was synthesised using a deductive thematic approach. Results Twenty-six studies were included; they shared similar descriptions of RHC which was the ability to adjust its functioning prior to, during, or following events and thereby sustain required operations under both expected and unexpected conditions. Qualitative methods were mainly used to study RHC. Two types of data sources have been used: direct (e.g. focus groups) and indirect (e.g. observations). Most of the tools for studying RHC were developed based on predefined resilient constructs and have been categorised into three categories: performance variability and Work As Done, cornerstone capabilities for resilience, and integration with other safety management paradigms. Tools for studying RHC currently exist but have yet to be fully implemented. Effective team relationships, trade-offs and health care ‘resilience’ training of health care professionals were factors used to develop RHC. Conclusions Although there was consistency in the conceptualisation of RHC, as well as in the methods used to study and the factors used to develop it, several questions remain to be answered before a gold standard strategy for studying RHC can confidently be identified. These include operationalising RHC assessment methods in multi-level and diverse settings and developing, testing and evaluating interventions to address the wider safety implications of RHC amidst organisational and institutional change.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-371
Author(s):  
A. A. Mahfouz ◽  
A. I. Al Sharif ◽  
M. N. El Gamal ◽  
A. H. Kisha

Use of primary health care [PHC] services and satisfaction among elderly people [60 + years] in Asir was studied in 26 PHC centers. They visited PHC centers significantly less often than younger adults but they were referred significantly more often to secondary and tertiary care and for more laboratory tests. A r and om sample of 253 elderly people attending the centers was interviewed about accessibility, continuity, humaneness, informativeness and thoroughness of care. Overall, 79.0% were satisfied with the services provided. The leading 3 items of dissatisfaction were:not enough audiovisual means for health education [65.1%], long time spent in the centre [46.4%], and not enough specialty clinics [42.5%]


Author(s):  
Batol Ramazani ◽  
Foroogh Bakhtiari

Background: Moving away from family can cause psychological and emotional trauma for the elderly. Accordingly, the present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of spiritual therapy on loneliness feeling among the elderly in a nursing home in Isfahan. Methods: The method was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The population of this study included all of the elderly in Sadeghieh nursing home in Isfahan in 2018. The sample of this study included 30 elderly people being selected by purposive sampling and then randomly included in the experimental and control groups (15 elderly people in each group). The experimental group received the therapeutic interventions related to spiritual therapy at eight sessions of 90 minutes every week for two months. Then, the subjects in both groups were re-tested. The used instruments included Russell’s loneliness questionnaire (1996). After collecting the questionnaires and extracting the raw data, the data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance by SPSS23 statistical software at 0.05 error level. Results: spiritual therapy had a significant effect on loneliness among the elderly in the nursing home (p < 0.001). In this regard, this therapy could reduce loneliness among the elderly in the nursing home. The effect of spiritual therapy on loneliness among the elderly in the nursing home was 53%. Conclusion: Based on the research findings, spiritual therapy can reduce loneliness among the elderly by the techniques such as taking responsibility, assigning cases to God, strengthening the intention, and deleting negative thoughts.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document