Aesthetic wisdom of older workers

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to propose the notion of the value and contribution of the wisdom of older workers in working life.Design/methodology/approachUsing a framework of organisational aesthetics, this paper presents an empirical case study analysing the material collected from Finnish municipal home care services and sheltered accommodation designed for older people. Through the analysis of the stories of older and younger employees, the case study shows how workers construct ideas of skills related to ageing, how the wisdom of older workers has been transformed into practices and how aesthetic wisdom might benefit this social process.FindingsThe findings reveal three characteristics of ageing wisdom – caring, graceful and joyful wisdom – that all present focused sensitivity, emphasizing the subject’s experience, feelings and emotions. The findings also illustrate how the authority of older workers made visible this feeling-driven wisdom and values, and through these means, enhanced the skills of younger employees.Social implicationsThe present paper challenges the debate on ageing which has mainly focused on the problems of older workers in a social context.Originality/valueThis paper provides new insights into the skills of older workers in the empirical and theoretical framework of organisational aesthetics.

Societal Labels, Maslows Hierarchy and Care within the Mental Health System

This article deals with how social attitudes and the consequent labelling in the society and prevent climbing the maslow tree and the kinds of therapy personal growth can offer to those living with schizophrenia. The way this works is illustrated in the article and how the various parts of the mental health system including hospitals, day centres and sheltered accommodation can help with this based on my own experiences.

Proposal for Pervasive Elderly Care

This chapter reports how interaction between family members and caregivers as perceived by family members could be improved via context-aware, imperceptible internet of things (IoT)-based solutions. The qualitative study focused on investigating experiences of the family members and the communication between caretakers in sheltered accommodation. Interviews including both open and closed questions revealed that there is high need for improving the communication, adding to the sparse earlier knowledge. The study revealed that the family members were willing to adopt an application to improve the communication that currently was experienced as too limited and vague. The results provide a fruitful base for further actions to improve communication between family members and professional caretakers.

UNALTERED IMAGE OF HEALTH MAINTENANCE: AN OBSERVATION OF NON-PARTICIPANTS IN A SWEDISH COHORT STUDY OF 85 TO 86 YEAR OLDS

Background: Selection bias is often inevitable in epidemiologic studies. It is not surprising that study conclusions based on participants’ health status are frequently questioned. Objective: This study aimed to assess whether the non-participants affected the characteristics of a general population of the very old people. Design, Setting and Participants: Prospective, cross-sectional (N=650, aged 85 years old) analysis and 1-year follow-up (n=273), in Linköping, Sweden. Measurements: We analysed data on health-related factors from a postal questionnaire, a home visit and a clinic visit at baseline and at the 1-year follow-up. We calculated the effect size to evaluate the degree of differences between the groups. Results: A greater proportion of non-participants resided in sheltered accommodation or nursing homes (participants vs non-response vs refusal, 11% vs 22% vs 40, P<0.001, φ=0.24). During the home visit or clinic visit, a higher proportion of dropouts reported mid-severe problems in EQ-5D domains (mobility and self-care) and limitations in personal activities of daily living, but the differences between participants and dropouts were very small (φ<0.2). No significant difference was found between the groups with regard to emergency room visits or hospital admissions, despite the fact that more participants than dropouts (φ=0.23) had multimorbidities (≥2 chronic diseases). Living in sheltered accommodation or a nursing home (odds ratio (OR), 2.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.5-5), female gender (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1-3.1) and receiving more home visits in primary care (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1-1.06) contributed positively to drop out in the data collection stages over the study period. Conclusion: Non-participants were not considered to be a group with worse health. Mobility problems may influence very old people when considering further participation, which threatens attrition.

Peer-led approaches to dietary change: report of the Food Standards Agency seminar held on 19 July 2006

ObjectiveTo summarise the discussions of a seminar on peer-led approaches to dietary change held at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on 19 July 2006.DesignFollowing presentations on three FSA-commissioned research projects involving peer-led dietary interventions, discussions in small workshop groups identified learning points for researchers, policy-makers and practitioners and considered how the findings of such studies can be effectively communicated to each of these groups. The target groups in the three separate projects were: older people living in sheltered accommodation; mothers and babies during the weaning period; and people with diabetes.ResultsThe projects discussed here were quite different from one another, involving three separate populations, having different aims and approaches and different styles of peer leading. Their effectiveness in achieving quantitative dietary change was disappointing. However, results for some of the qualitative outcomes (social, psychological, behavioural) were more positive. Process evaluation, whether built in or post hoc, provided useful learning to inform future projects and potentially improve their effectiveness and usefulness for researchers, policy-makers and health promotion practitioners.ConclusionsThe projects discussed here showed that peer-led interventions can achieve positive changes in outcomes such as knowledge, confidence and attitudes, as well as small improvements in diet. They also demonstrated that there is a need for a more sophisticated analysis of peer-led interventions that recognises the diversity of approaches and their suitability in different situations.

Heavy Use of Psychiatric Inpatient Care from the Perspective of the Patients Affected

Background: Patients who spend an above-average amount of time in inpatient care are termed heavy users. Up to this point, very little has been known about what drives these patients to their heavy use of inpatient treatment. Aim: For this reason, the present study investigates the causes for frequent inpatient admissions of heavy users from the perspective of the patients affected. Methods: Twenty heavy users who were identified in a quantitative preliminary study were interviewed using a qualitative analysis of the contents. Results: Heavy users housed in sheltered accommodation either experienced frequent inpatient stays because of their symptomatic burden, or because of poor integration in their residences. Among the heavy users living in private residences was a subgroup that compensated for the lack of support from the private sphere with frequent hospital visits. A second subgroup turned to hospital care only during acute relapse episodes. In a third subgroup, secondary substance abuse accounted for the high demand for inpatient treatment. Conclusion: Findings suggest that, using community-based psychiatric support offers tailored to the needs of the heavy user subgroups, inpatient treatment could be avoided.