Prioritising care services: Do the oldest users lose out?

Population ageing is a major concern in most European countries. Demands for health- and care services will increase, as older people typically have a higher need for such services. What is often overlooked, however, is that older users increasingly compete with younger users for the same limited care resources. We ask: How do employees in the Norwegian care sector make decisions regarding the allocation of services to younger and older users? To answer this question, we interviewed decision-makers in Norwegian municipalities. Despite providing for equal rights to services, laws allow for an interpretation of needs and this can result in the unequal distribution of services. Our study indicates that needs are defined differently for younger and older users, which affects the amount, type and content of the services allocated to younger and older people. When resources are scarce and priorities must be established, the services to the oldest suffer.måsjekke

Help and Care to Older Parents in the Digital Society

This study examines the extent and predictors of employees’ help and care to their old parentsand aims to contribute to policy development enabling employees to combine full-time workand caregiving to parents. Analyzing responses from 3332 Norwegian employees aged between45 and 67 years with at least one living parent, we identified frequencies of different help andcare types and tested competing predictors. Assistance with digital technology was frequent, andvarious types of practical support were common, but personal care provision was rare. Parents’health and parents living alone were substantial predictors. Public home care services seemedinsufficient and were associated with employees providing more help and care. The findingsemphasize the family as a comprehensive care provider when the welfare state falls short. Thestudy concludes that adult children play a critical role in helping older people cope with limitedpublic services and challenges posed by the digital society

Дослідження історії книжкової культури України

У статті розкрито основні наукові напрями та завдання Інституту книгознавства Національної бібліотеки України ім. В.І. Вернадського. Обґрунтовано ідею обрання та шляхи і форми виконання наукової теми Інституту на 2016—2018 рр. «Історія книжкової культури в Україні», суть якої — через дослідження конкретних книжкових, образотворчих, музичних, картографічних пам’яток та історичних бібліотечних зібрань створити переконливу картину історії вітчизняної книжкової культури.В статье раскрыта цель и основные задачи Института книговедения Национальной библиотеки Украины им. В.И. Вернадского. Обоснована идея выбора и форм выполнения научной темы Института на 2016—2018 гг. «История книжной культуры в Украине», суть которой — через исследования конкретных книжных, изобразительных, музыкальных, картографических памятников и исторических библиотечных собраний создать убедительную картину истории отечественной книжной культуры.The article deals with the purpose and the main problems in the scientific activity of the Institute of Book Science of Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine. The conception of the Institute’s scientific theme “The history of the book culture in Ukraine” and forms of its fulfillment are elucidated. The main task of the research is through the investigations of concrete book, graphic, musical, cartographic monuments and historical library collections to create a persuasive view of the history of the national book culture

Nurses’ experiences of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care. A nation-wide survey in Norway

Moving older patients from hospitals to community services is a critical phase of integrated care. Yet there has been little large-scale research on the quality of these transitions. We investigated how Norwegian nurses working in community care services (N = 4,312) and at in-patient wards at hospitals (N = 2,421) experienced the quality of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care. We tested hypotheses derived from qualitative research and consistent with predictions, we found that compared to hospital nurses, the nurses working in community care experienced lower quality of patient transitions and were less satisfied with information exchange on patients’ condition and needs. Further, when comparing groups of community nurses, we confirmed the hypothesis that nurses in home nursing were more dissatisfied with the quality of transitions and information exchange than nurses in nursing homes. We conclude that hospital nurses should have more face-to-face or telephone contact with community nurses, and specifically with home nurses. Further, we suggest that means are implemented to promote a mutual understanding of the older patients’ pathway from one service to the other, and to improve co-ordination across the services