Äldre människor – en resurs diskriminerad inom och utom arbetslivet

Aldrig förr har andelen äldre i Sverige och världen i övrigt ökat så snabbt som nu. Bättre bostäder, bättre hygien, rent dricksvatten, avloppsrening, bättre mat och medicinska landvinningar har under 1900-talet gett oss ett kvarts sekel till att leva. De flesta vunna åren är jämförelsevis friska år. De ”reparationsmedicinska” hälsoproblem som en del äldre drabbas som slitna knän och höftleder, grumlade ögonlinser, otäta hjärtklaffar och tilltäppta kranskärl kan med gott resultat åtgärdas med dagens operationsmetoder. Vi har fått en ålder till och de vunna åren kan ses som en välfärdsvinst. Det är först mot slutet av livet då den ”bräcklighetsmedicinska” perioden inträder med demenssjukdom och multisjuklighet som vi behöver samhällets insatser. Dessförinnan är vi en resurs men en inte fullt utnyttjad sådan. Och den får inte utsättas för diskriminering.During the 20th century we increased our life expectancy by 25 years but retirement age remains at 67 years. According to various public opinion polls up to one third of the newly retired people would have liked to go on working part-time or full-time but were referred to what they called a “life-long vacation”. Because of the demographic changes with an increasing number of old people we must see older people as a resource and open the possibilities for those who can and want to work longer. This means that we have to get rid of the prevailing ageism which results in age-discrimination. Age-discrimination exists not only in working-life, it also comprises the access to goods, services, health care and social services. Therefore the proposed directive from the EU-commission in 2008 covering all fields in society can, if it is realized, be an important tool in the struggle against age-discrimination. We also need research on older people in working life and how their health problems can best be treated. Finally, older people are important role models and their idealistic contributions to society have to be made visible

Principer för prioriteringar av intensivvård ifrågasätts

Definitioner i Socialstyrelsens nya principer för prioritering av intensivvård vid extraordinära förhållanden står i skarp kontrast till principer i prioriteringsplattformen

Resident characteristics and organizational factors influencing the quality of drug use in Swedish nursing homes

Appropriateness of drug use is an important indicator of the quality of care in nursing homes. In this study, we analyzed the influence of resident characteristics and selected organizational factors on the appropriateness of psychotropic drug use in 33 Swedish nursing homes. Specific criteria based on published guidelines and recommendations were developed to measure appropriateness. Residents diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder and younger residents had more deviations from the criteria; however, resident mix did not explain variations in appropriateness of drug use at the facility level. Facilities with better nurse staffing and drug intervention teams had fewer deviations from the criteria, but only 15-20% of the variation in drug prescribing was explained by these predictors.psychotropics drug utilization quality of care nursing homes quality criteria