Optimizing healthy ageing in disadvantaged communities: insights into older people’s use of health and social care services

The European Year of Healthy Ageing recognizes that health care systems need to be improved and reorganized if services are to optimize the opportunities for people to stay healthy and well in their own homes for as long as possible. However, current services tend to be fragmented and insensitive to the needs of older people and their carers resulting in services being underused or refused leading to increased admissions into acute hospital care that could have been prevented. The main aim of the study reported in this paper was to identify the factors that affected older peoples’ decision and choice-making processes, when using or contemplating the use of care services. Using a constructivist methodology, this study used participant observation and 23 interviews in three study settings: an African Caribbean support service, day centers for people with memory and cognition problems and luncheon clubs for older people. An inductive analysis of the data revealed that when older community dwelling people found themselves struggling with certain aspects of their daily care needs; they used adapting, coping and seeking as strategies to manage. Additional issues of how well services were able to meet individual’s aspirations for care and support were identified through themes of match-mismatch, fair-unfair, independence-dependence. The findings reported in this study provide important insights as to how people’s needs are complex yet are negatively affected by rigid state controlled services that ultimately affect individual decisions to use or refuse services

Activity and Culture: The Contribution to Health and Well-being in Later Life

A nurse-led multi-agency team worked with older people to develop a model of activity and culture, and evaluate its impact to health and well-being. Underpinned by a needs analysis, the project sought to identify the range of activities that older people used to engage in, currently undertake and what they aspire to engage with both inside their home and in the community. Initial findings revealed that lack of confidence, restricted opportunities and physical barriers such as transport, limited tenants' involvement with physical, social and cultural activities that could improve their health and wellbeing. The project has therefore aimed to develop a more diverse and accessible programme of activities that better reflects individual and collective needs. Following early positive evaluations, the project team are now considering how the centre could be accessed by, and benefit, a wider group of community dwelling older people and would hope to collaborate with other groups to explore how this model can be developed for use with a wider range of older people

Optimizing healthy ageing in disadvantaged communities: insights into older people’s use of health and social care services

The European Year of Healthy Ageing recognizes that health care systems need to be improved and reorganized if services are to optimize the opportunities for people to stay healthy and well in their own homes for as long as possible. However, current services tend to be fragmented and insensitive to the needs of older people and their carers resulting in services being underused or refused leading to increased admissions into acute hospital care that could have been prevented. The main aim of the study reported in this paper was to identify the factors that affected older peoples’ decision and choice-making processes, when using or contemplating the use of care services. Using a constructivist methodology, this study used participant observation and 23 interviews in three study settings: an African Caribbean support service, day centers for people with memory and cognition problems and luncheon clubs for older people. An inductive analysis of the data revealed that when older community dwelling people found themselves struggling with certain aspects of their daily care needs; they used adapting, coping and seeking as strategies to manage. Additional issues of how well services were able to meet individual’s aspirations for care and support were identified through themes of match-mismatch, fair-unfair, independence-dependence. The findings reported in this study provide important insights as to how people’s needs are complex yet are negatively affected by rigid state controlled services that ultimately affect individual decisions to use or refuse services

Older people's decision-making about the use of health and social care services : a constructivist inquiry. Vol.1

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Respite care for frail older people and their family carers: Concept analysis and user focus group findings of a pan-European nursing research project

This paper provides a concept analysis of respite care for frail older people and their family carers. The authors re examine the broader conceptualization of respite care delineated by Nolan & Grant, namely, users' needs for information, education and support about respite care, based on a review of recent literature and on a user focus group study. This work was undertaken by the Sheffield arm of the ACTION Project research team. ACTION is a 36-month project (1997±1999), involving Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Sweden and England and is the largest nurse-led project to have received funding from the European Union TIDE sector (DGXIII Telematics Applications Programme, Disabled and Elderly). The authors discuss the key elements of respite and, more specifically, how they can be successfully used so that the potential of respite may be realized fully by family carers. Recommendations within the context of the ACTION research project are put forward to enable family carers and the persons they care for to make informed choices about respite care

Supporting family carers using interative multimedia

ACTION (Assisting Carers using Telematic Interventions to meet Older persons' Needs) is a nursing led Pan-European project (1997–2000). Its primary aim is to maintain the autonomy, independence and quality of life of frail older and disabled persons and their family carers by the application of telematic technology. This article describes the development of two multimedia programmes created as part of the ACTION project. Programme 1 'Planning ahead' helps family carers and frail older people to think about and plan for the future. Programme 2 'Break from caring' assists carers and older people to explore the range of respite care options available. Both programmes have been developed using a multimethod, user-centred approach. Preliminary evaluation data have indicated that frail older people and their carers have used the programmes to assist them when making difficult decisions such as selecting a nursing home, or exploring the use of respite care facilities

A multimedia intervention to support family caregivers

The lack of choice and predominance of crisis-oriented care in relation to respite and long-term care for family carers and frail older people provided the authors with the rationale for the development, within the European-funded Assisting Carers using Telematic Interventions to meet Older person's Needs (ACTION) project, of two innovative multimedia programs. The key aim of the programs is to provide education, information, and support about respite care and planning for the future for family carers and frail older people in their homes. In this way, it is intended that family carers and frail older people will be able to make informed choices concerning their health and social care needs. The authors describe the conceptual basis of the multimedia programs, the research and development process, the content of the multimedia programs, and the evaluation of the developed product