scholarly journals Improving Care for Elders Who Prefer Informal Spaces to Age-Separated Institutions and Health Care Settings

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy Torres ◽  
Xuemei Cao

Abstract Background and Objectives Despite advantages of urban areas (such as walkability, public transportation, nearby shopping, and health care services), challenges remain for elders aging in place to access care. The changing demographics of older adults, with higher rates of divorce, singlehood, and childlessness, often living alone and far from family, necessitate new strategies to support health and well-being. Research Design and Methods Drawing on 5 years of ethnographic fieldwork and 25 interviews with elders in New York City, this study presents empirical insights into older adults’ use of “third places” close to home, in conjunction with more formal settings. Results This article identifies external and internalized ageism and complicated age-based identity as important reasons why older adults preferred “third places” to age-separated spaces such as senior centers and formal settings such as health care settings. We find that neighborhood “third places” offer important physical venues for older adults to process negative or hurried interactions in other formal and age-separated places. Discussion and Implications This article makes policy suggestions for increasing access and usage of essential services, including developing attractive and appealing intergenerational spaces in which older community members can obtain services and dispatching caseworkers to public spaces where elders congregate. Furthermore, this article recommends improving exchanges between health care providers and older adults so that they feel recognized, respected, and cared for, which can improve health care outcomes.

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Landi

One aspect that characterises the twenty-first century is its accomplishments such as better health-care systems, improved economies, a reduction in infant mortality and a growing number of adults living longer. However, these accomplishments can have a downside. For example, people are living longer while at the same time dementia rates are increasing significantly. With the increase in demand for high-dependency-related services, while at the same time costs are spiralling possibly out of control of societal budgets, there is a need for a shift in the care model. Additionally, difficulties in defining a clear dividing line between normal ageing and pathological ageing have led to a stigmatisation of older adults as a social and economic burden. This type of segregation and stigmatisation must be addressed to ensure future care delivery is inclusive. The positive benefits of an inclusive care system are both social and economic, and at an individual level it can positively impact upon an older adult’s mental and physical well-being. Taking this into consideration, the aim of this paper is to describe and empirically explore Humanitas© in Deventer, the Netherlands, a nursing home with a population of 50 older adults with dementia, 80 people with severe physical suffering, 20 people with social difficulties, 10 people in short stay for recovery and 6 university students. This analysis will be adopted as a ‘tool’ for the definition of a new way of conceiving architectural types in contemporary culture, based on the concept of an ‘open system’ described by Richard Sennett. In this study, an open system is able to promote a new paradigm of care built upon inclusive collaboration and teamwork between different categories of health-care providers, volunteers, residents and their families. This will allow an alternative paradigm of older adults’ long-term care and its architectural correlate to ‘normalise’ ageing and its related mental and physical impairments, rather than to ‘medicalise’ and stigmatise.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-69
Author(s):  
Cynthia Sterling-Fox

Globally, the number of homebound older adults is rising exponentially as the aging population increases. Homebound older adults have complex medical and psychological issues for which many receive home-based primary care services. The purpose of this integrative review was to identify, analyze, and synthesize the existing literature regarding homebound older adults’ need for, use of, and access to five nonprimary health care services. They are dental, nutritional, optical, pharmacy, and psychological services. The integrative review was conducted using a database search of CINAHL, Health Source: Nursing Education, PubMed, Medline, PsycINFO, and Cochrane, that was supplemented by a hand search. Little research was found addressing the five nonprimary health care services. Five themes emerged from the 10 studies. They were (1) complex and interrelated health problems require more health care services; (2) perceived unimportance of nonprimary health care services; (3) barriers to use of and access to nonprimary health care services; (4) the impact of socioeconomic and demographical factors on access to services; and (5) the impact of psychological factors (depression and social isolation) on the use and access to health care services. These findings suggest further inequity and barriers to health care services by homebound older adults. Future research is needed with nonprimary health care providers to examine the clinical outcomes and costs of providing the services to homebound older adults.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Anne Bell ◽  
Sarah Dickey ◽  
Marie-Anne Rosemberg

Abstract Background: Home-based care is a vital, and growing, part of the health care system that allows individuals to remain in their homes while still receiving health care. During a disaster, when normal health care systems are disrupted, home-based care remains a vital source of support for older adults. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of home-based care providers in providing care to older adults during a disaster in order to inform future disaster planning.Methods: Using qualitative inquiry informed by the social ecological model, five focus groups were conducted with home health nurses (n=25) in two settings affected by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey. An open-source database of home health agencies participating in Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services programs was used to identify participants. Data were manually coded and larger themes were generated from recurring ideas and concepts using an abductive analysis approach. Results: Twenty five participants were included in one of five focus groups. Of the 22 who responded to the demographic survey, 65% were registered nurses, 20% were Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN), and 15% were other types of health care providers. 12% of the sample was male and 88% was female. Seven themes were identified in the analysis: the importance of the community in preparedness and response, government and corporations were viewed as unreliable, disasters exacerbate inequalities, the role of the family bond, the breakdown of preparedness is at implementation, the tension between caring for self and family and caring for patients, and the resilience and adaptability of home based care providers.Conclusions: While home-based care providers faced multiple challenges to providing care during and after a disaster, the importance of community supports and existing nursing models of care in the immediate period after the disaster were emphasized. This study informs the growing body of evidence on the value of home-based care in promoting safety and well-being for older adults during a disaster.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Pakpour ◽  
Shamsedin Namjoo ◽  
Khadijeh Sabahiazar ◽  
Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi ◽  
Vijay Kumar r Chattu ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundAssessing anxiety in the elderly and the factors affecting this phenomenon will help the health care providers to provide appropriate and effective support and health care services for older adults. The aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Aging Scale (AAS) among Persian speaking older adults.Method:A sample of 703 community-dwelling older adults was recruited for the study. A 'forward-backward' translation procedure was conducted to develop the Iranian version of the AAS. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Rasch model were then used for construct validity, and GHQ-12 and MSPSS were utilized for assessing concurrent validity of the AAS.ResultThe study participants included 416 (59.2%) men and 287 (40.8%) women with an average age of 69.4 years (SD D 8.11). Cronbach’s alpha for Fear of Old People, Psychological Concerns, Physical Appearance, Fear of Losses and the overall score was 0.881, 0.705, 0.748, 0.768 and 0.77, respectively. Applying CFA, it was found that the four original factors model was the best solution with 0.55 of the total variance. The result of the CFA indicated that this four-factor model had a good fit to the data. The results were then confirmed by Rasch analysis. Moreover, the AAS was significantly correlated with MSPSS (r=-0.395, p < 0.001) and GHQ_12 (r = 0.238, p < 0.001).ConclusionThe Persian version of the AAS was found to be valid and reliable for measuring anxiety of ageing among Persian speaking elderly populations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S902-S903
Author(s):  
December Maxwell ◽  
Rebecca L Mauldin ◽  
Dennis Kao

Abstract Transportation is vital in the daily lives of older adults and provides access to health care services and health enhancing activities, such as social engagement. Disparities in mobility exist for older African American and Hispanic adults compared to non-Hispanic Whites, including higher likelihood of driving cessation at an earlier age and having a higher risk for reduced life space. This poster presents findings from a qualitative analysis of data from the Using Geo-Ethnography to Explore the Spatial Accessibility of Health Services for Aging Minorities Study (GeoSAS), a mixed methods study of older minority adults in Houston, TX. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis, the transcripts of semistructured interviews with 23 older adults (13 African American and 10 Hispanic; 17 female; mean age = 71.3 yrs, SD = 6.3 years) were analyzed to address the research question: What are the mobility experiences and perceptions of minority older adults regarding healthcare access and social engagement? Based on an ecological systems theoretical framework, we found reciprocal influences of (1) healthcare systems and transportation utilization and (2) participants’ health and well-being, mobility, and social engagement. Support from family members and financial capacity were critical for participants’ mobility. Implications of this research include educating health care providers about patients’ transportation experiences and barriers, optimizing social support to increase mobility, and addressing systematic disparities in transportation access to enhance health and well-being for older minority adults.


2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
Lynn Chatfield ◽  
Sandra Christos ◽  
Michael McGregor

In a changing economy and a changing industry, health care providers need to complete thorough, comprehensive, and efficient assessments that provide both an accurate depiction of the patient's deficits and a blueprint to the path of treatment for older adults. Through standardized testing and observations as well as the goals and evidenced-based treatment plans we have devised, health care providers can maximize outcomes and the functional levels of patients. In this article, we review an interdisciplinary assessment that involves speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and respiratory therapy to work with older adults in health care settings. Using the approach, we will examine the benefits of collaboration between disciplines, an interdisciplinary screening process, and the importance of sharing information from comprehensive discipline-specific evaluations. We also will discuss the importance of having an understanding of the varied scopes of practice, the utilization of outcome measurement tools, and a patient-centered assessment approach to care.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 910-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Lee ◽  
John L. Oliffe ◽  
Mary T. Kelly ◽  
Olivier Ferlatte

Gay men are a subgroup vulnerable to depression and suicidality. The prevalence of depression among gay men is three times higher than the general adult population. Because depression is a known risk factor for suicide, gay men are also at high risk for suicidality. Despite the high prevalence of depression and suicidality, health researchers and health care providers have tended to focus on sexual health issues, most often human immunodeficiency virus in gay men. Related to this, gay men’s health has often been defined by sexual practices, and poorly understood are the intersections of gay men’s physical and mental health with social determinants of health including ethnicity, locale, education level, and socioeconomic status. In the current article summated is literature addressing risk factors for depression and suicidality among gay men including family acceptance of their sexual identities, social cohesion and belonging, internalized stigma, and victimization. Barriers to gay men’s help seeking are also discussed in detailing how health care providers might advance the well-being of this underserved subgroup by effectively addressing depression and suicidality.


Author(s):  
Fatemeh Rahmanian ◽  
Soheila Nazarpour ◽  
Masoumeh Simbar ◽  
Ali Ramezankhani ◽  
Farid Zayeri

AbstractBackgroundA dimension of reproductive health services that should be gender sensitive is reproductive health services for adolescents.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess needs for gender sensitive reproductive health care services for adolescents.MethodsThis was a descriptive cross-sectional study on 341 of health care providers for adolescents in health centers and hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran in 2016. The subjects of the study were recruited using a convenience sampling method. The tools for data collection were: (1) a demographic information questionnaire and; (2) a valid and reliable questionnaire to Assess the Needs of Gender-Sensitive Adolescents Reproductive Health Care Services (ANQ-GSARHS) including three sections; process, structure and policy making for the services. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.ResultsThree hundred and forty-one health providers with an average working experience of 8.77 ± 5.39 [mean ± standard deviation (SD)] years participated in the study. The results demonstrated the highest scores for educational needs (92.96% ± 11.49%), supportive policies (92.71% ± 11.70%) and then care needs (92.37% ± 14.34%) of the services.ConclusionsProviding gender sensitive reproductive health care services for adolescents needs to be reformed as regards processes, structure and policies of the services. However, the gender appropriate educational and care needs as well as supportive policies are the priorities for reform of the services.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mackenzie A ◽  
◽  
Wang J ◽  
Teppema S ◽  
Duncan I ◽  
...  

Reimbursement for health care services is transferring more risk away from payers and toward health care providers in the form of Alternative Payment Models (APMs), also known as Value-Based Care (VBC) models. VBC models cover a wide variety of forms but all include guarantees by providers of services to improve quality of care and/or reduce cost. Types of risk include performance risk, contract design risk or stochastic risk (because of the random variation in health care services and costs). A form of contract risk that can be a significant driver of cost is model risk, defined as the probability that the savings calculated at contract reconciliation will deviate from the actual savings generated. To estimate the degree of risk we quantify the potential variance in outcomes in a naïve population prior to intervention and the components that could affect outcomes, using examples of maternity and type 2 diabetes. This analysis has implications for both participants in, and designers of value-based contracts.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483992110654
Author(s):  
Kathryn West ◽  
Karen R. Jackson ◽  
Tobias L. Spears ◽  
Brian Callender

In this descriptive case series, we detail the theoretical basis, methodology, and impact of a small-scale pilot implementation of graphic medicine workshops as an innovative approach to well-being and resilience in the age of COVID-19 and increasing awareness of racial injustice. The data provided in this article are anecdotal and based on participation in the workshops. Images created during the workshops are also shared as examples of the types of reflection that graphic medicine can enable. The workshops themselves were designed collaboratively and are based on the theoretical principles of graphic medicine, narrative medicine, and racial and social justice. They were conducted as part of a larger wellness initiative and were offered to health care-focused faculty at our academic medical institution. Our findings suggest that this was a beneficial activity which helped participants to reflect and reconsider their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic and surging awareness of racial injustice. Reflections also showed that drawings were correlated with ProQOL scores and may, in larger numbers, also help to mitigate or bring attention to issues of burnout in frontline providers. Drawings shared show the tremendous impact of COVID-19 and the simultaneous chaos and emptiness of practicing during dual pandemics. Our workshops engaged about 20 frontline health care providers and other health care faculty and highlight the utility of graphic medicine as a tool for building resilience and encouraging self-reflection. Further study is necessary, as is more rigorous analysis of the relationship between the graphics created and the ability to recognize and mitigate burnout.


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