Quality of life: Conceptual challenges in exploring the role of ICT in active ageing

The chapter aims to examine the definitional challenges associated with the term quality of life, measurement challenges, the challenges associated with enhancing quality of life, and the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in quality of life in old age, and finally comments on the challenges of a modern information society for older people. The term quality of life started as a social scientific index of the relative well-being of whole populations, i.e. the state of states. Nowadays quality of life is more likely to be viewed as an individualized aspect of the modern psyche. This shift in conceptualization is problematic in that, if quality of life is individualized, it cannot be meaningful to assess it in the same way for everyone. Nevertheless, over the years a vast range of methods of measuring quality of life has emerged, leading to several measurement challenges. Wealth, health and social relations have all been found to be prime determinants of subjective quality of life; for ICT to enhance quality of life for older people they need to mediate the relationships between these three important factors and quality of life. To date there is relatively little evidence that ICT has improved the quality of life of older people. Suggestions are made as to why ICT is unlikely to influence life quality for older citizens. The chapter is drawn to a close by asking if quality of life is a meaningless term and if the future is bleak for old people in a modern information society. The answer to both questions is no

Starting Well Health Visiting Practice Guides: An Independent Audit

This report presents findings from a small study of the use of the health visiting practice guides developed as part of the Staring Well National Demonstration project. The views of twenty-one health visitors, based in two teams located within the Greater Glasgow Health Board area, were elicited via in-depth semi-structured interviews. The fieldwork was undertaken in November 2003, three years after the establishment of the Project. The aim of the study was to investigate what the health visitors thought about the process involved in drawing up the guides, the purpose behind their development, and the extent to which the health visitors were using the guides in their current practice. The intention was to interview all the health visitors currently working in the two Starting Well teams, based in South and East respectively, together with a small number of health visitors working generically, i.e. those not attached to Starting Well and managing a ‘traditional’-style case load

Improving continence services for older people from the service-providers' perspective: a qualitative interview study

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial.Objective To examine in depth the views and experiences of continence service leads in England on key service and continence management characteristics in order to identify and to improve our understanding of barriers to a good-quality service and potential facilitators to develop and to improve services for older people with urinary incontinence (UI). Design Qualitative semistructured interviews using a purposive sample recruited across 16 continence services. Setting 3 acute and 13 primary care National Health Service Trusts in England. Participants 16 continence service leads in England actively treating and managing older people with UI. Results In terms of barriers to a good-quality service, participants highlighted a failure on the part of commissioners, managers and other health professionals in recognising the problem of UI and in acknowledging the importance of continence for older people and prevalent negative attitudes towards continence and older people. Patient assessment and continence promotion regardless of age, rather than pad provision, were identified as important steps for a good-quality service for older people with UI. More rapid and appropriate patient referral pathways, investment in service capacity, for example, more trained staff and strengthened interservice collaborations and a higher profile within medical and nurse training were specified as being important facilitators for delivering an equitable and high-quality continence service. There is a need, however, to consider the accounts given by our participants as perhaps serving the interests of their professional group within the context of interprofessional work. Conclusions Our data point to important barriers and facilitators of a good-quality service for older people with UI, from the perspective of continence service leads. Further research should address the views of other stakeholders, and explore options for the empirical evaluation of the effectiveness of identified service facilitators.Funding was received from the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme, led by the Economic & Social Research Council, UK (grantnumber RES-353-25-0010)

The incidence, severity, timing and circadian variation of hypophosphataemia in Glasgow Royal Infirmary Intensive Care Unit [poster]

No abstract available

Transport and ageing: Extending quality of life for older people via public and private transport

Accessible public transport and the independence that comes with car driving are generally thought to be linked to quality of life in old age. However, there has been almost no research on this topic in the UK. This study by researchers from the University of Paisley and the University of East London used a multi-method approach to explore the relationship between quality of life and access to public and private transport. The study also examined the extent to which the transport needs of older people are taken into account by transport professionals

Financial elder abuse through the lens of the bystander intervention model

Dawes Trust; UK Economic and Social Research Council (grant number RES-352-25-0026—New Dynamics of Ageing Programme)

Alcohol and healthy ageing: a challenge for alcohol policy

Objectives: This paper presents findings of a qualitative study of older people's use of alcohol during retirement and identifies ways that an improved understanding of older people's drinking can inform policy approaches to alcohol and active and healthy ageing. Study design: Qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted with a self-selecting sample of retired people. Methods: Participants were recruited from three geographical locations in the West of Scotland. A quota sampling design was used to ensure a broad spread of participants in terms of socio-economic position, age and gender. In total 40 participants were interviewed and the data analysed thematically using Braun and Clarke's (2006) approach. Results: Amongst those who used alcohol, it was most often framed in terms of pleasure, relaxation, socialising and as a way to mark the passage of time. Alcohol was often associated with social occasions and interactions both in private and in public spaces. There were also many examples of the use of imposed routines to limit alcohol use and of a decreasing volume of alcohol being consumed as participants aged. This suggests that older people are often active in constructing what they regard as ‘healthier’ routines around alcohol use. However, processes and circumstances associated with ageing can lead to risk of social isolation and/or increased alcohol consumption. Such processes include retirement from paid work and other ‘biographical disruptions’ such as caring for a partner, bereavement and/or loss of social networks. Conclusions: These findings highlight processes that can result in changes in drinking habits and routines. Whilst these processes can be associated with a reduction or cessation of alcohol use as people age, they can also be associated with increased risk of harmful alcohol consumption. Fractured or disrupted routines, particularly those associated with bereavement or the burden of caring responsibilities, through increasing the risk of loneliness and isolation, can construct increased risk of harmful alcohol consumption. These findings reframe the pathway of risk between ageing and alcohol-related harm by highlighting the vulnerability to harmful drinking practices brought by fracture or sudden change of routine. The findings point to a role for public health in supporting the reconstruction of routines that provide structure and meaning and can be used to actively manage the benefits and harms associated with drinking

Explaining anomalous responses to treatment in the Intensive Care Unit

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) provides treatment to critically ill patients. When a patient does not respond as expected to such treatment it can be challenging for clinicians, especially junior clinicians, as they may not have the relevant experience to understand the patient’s anomalous response. Datasets for 10 patients from Glasgow Royal Infirmary’s ICU have been made available to us. We asked several ICU clinicians to review these datasets and to suggest sequences which include anomalous or unusual reactions to treatment. Further, we then asked two ICU clinicians if they agreed with their colleagues’ assessments, and if they did to provide possible explanations for these anomalous sequences. Subsequently we have developed a system which is able to replicate the clinicians’ explanations based on the knowledge contained in its several ontologies; further the system can suggest additional explanations which will be evaluated by the senior consultant