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To describe, analyze, and compare two long-term care (LTC) systems for elders in Germany and Israel.

Secondary analyses of data on LTC beneficiaries, structure of service provision and content analyses of policy documents in a comparative perspective based on the Esping-Andersen welfare state typologies.

Descriptive background of demographic attributes in the two countries; discussion of LTC development laws which in Israel focuses on “aging in place” concept, where in-kind services are geared only to community-dwelling frail elders while in Germany it’s for community and institutionalized elders. Analyses of various service types provided their use, resources invested, and benefits incurred for frail elders and their family caregivers.

The advantages and shortcomings of the two systems were analyzed with recommendations for future developments. Such comparisons across nations can inform social policy debates in Germany and Israel as to how to prepare for population aging. The originality of such comparison can shed light on issues for LTC service development in other countries.

Under the impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this paper contributes in the deployment of the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT)-based system, namely AIoT-based Domestic Care Service Matching System (AIDCS), to the existing electronic health (eHealth) system so as to enhance the delivery of elderly-oriented domestic care services.

The proposed AIDCS integrates IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to (1) capture real-time health data of the elderly at home and (2) provide the knowledge support for decision making in the domestic care appointment service in the community.

A case study was conducted in a local domestic care centre which provided elderly oriented healthcare services to the elderly. By integrating IoT and AI into the service matching process of the mobile apps platform provided by the local domestic care centre, the results proved that customer satisfaction and the quality of the service delivery were improved by observing the key performance indicators of the transactions after the implementation of the AIDCS.

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, this is a new attempt to overcome the limited research done on the integration of IoT and AI techniques in the domestic care service. This study not only inherits the ability of the existing eHealth system to automatically capture and monitor the health status of the elderly in real-time but also improves the overall quality of domestic care services in term of responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency.

This paper presents the experiences and perspectives of practitioners involved in the delivery of intermediate care. The findings emerged from three workshops involving therapists, nurses, social workers and managers from across South Yorkshire which were designed to explore service development issues and practitioner roles in intermediate care delivery. It explores the practitioners' interpretations of intermediate care and their vision for the future of the service, and discusses the implications for services, employers and policy makers.

Securing better health and better care outcomes for people by effective use of public resources is at the heart of the commissioning agenda. Commissioning should ensure that the needs and wishes of people are well understood, and the market managed, so there are a range of local supports and provision available at a reasonable price. This is particularly important for people with intellectual disability whose behaviour is challenging, where effective clinically informed leadership is essential. Although models of good practice have been demonstrated for more than 20 years, making this happen on a wider scale remains the real challenge. Common wisdom about positive practice is not common practice in meeting identified needs. This paper aims to demystify the ‘commissioning’ role, and highlights the case for change in current practice, exploring some of the key barriers that must be addressed and suggesting ways to achieve better outcomes.

This study aims to describe the development and approach of a theory-informed social marketing intervention that aimed to promote respite for carers of people with dementia. Despite a high need for respite, carers of people with dementia are often low users of available respite services. The reasons for this are complex, including knowledge, attitudinal, behavioural and systemic barriers. In the context of an aging population, effective strategies to support respite use by carers of people with dementia are needed.

Via formative research, the authors gained an in-depth understanding of a hard-to-reach and vulnerable group (carers of people with dementia). The resulting intervention informed, persuaded and supported carers to rethink the use of respite addressing specific barriers to service use. The intervention was evaluated using a naturalistic effects model.

Carers of people with dementia who were exposed to community-level campaign activities and also self-selected to take part in tailored coaching showed improvements to their respite knowledge, attitudes and self-efficacy. Intention to use respite and levels of personal gain from caring also increased. In contrast, carers only exposed to informational activities experienced negative changes to their respite beliefs and their sense of role captivity.

Social marketing can be used to support carer respite knowledge, attitudes and service-use behaviours in carers of people with dementia. The case study highlights an untapped role for social marketers to work in partnership with health professionals to support improvements in aged care services.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first known social marketing intervention promoting the use of respite to carers of people with dementia. Findings demonstrate that tailored support services are most effective in helping carers navigate and use respite services.

The rising of chronic illness and the continuous aging of the global population requires a re-organization of health care systems based on relations and exchange of information to address patient needs in the community. The re-organization of health care systems involves interconnected changes and the development of integrated health care information systems and novel eHealth services. In Crete, the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas has developed HYGEIAnet, a Regional Health Information Network (RHIN) to contribute to the re-organization of health care systems and information sharing. We present HYGEIAnet, some of the most critical and novel eHealth services developed and deployed, discuss the impact of an RHIN on health care processes, and explore innovative models and services for health delivery and the coordination of care. We then critically discuss lessons learned regarding the effective management of change to overcome organizational and cultural issues in such large-scale initiatives. The paper concludes with policy and practice recommendations for managing change processes in health care organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of reforms designed to address economic and demographic challenges in England with reference to the authors’ own empirical work providing a critique of their impact and suggesting a way to improve the quality of social care for older people.

The research was a qualitative study conducted in a participatory manner in which older people were positioned as co-creators of the research study. This involved setting the scope of the study and identifying and refining the themes used in the analysis of an inquiry board and interviews.

The research findings highlight the threat of recent moves that emphasise “independence” and “self-management” particularly as they risk marginalising some groups of older people and reducing the quality of care. An alternative approach drawn from the ethics of care is suggested.

The research study focused on a narrow selection of older people and future work will wish to explore concepts of “care” and “independence” in additional contexts and of reforms in other geographies.

The researchers argue that the current reform agenda threatens the quality of care services and suggest improvements to the way in which services might be organised and presented.

It is intended that the research will contribute to social policy debates and particularly those that focus on social care. The study also looks to contribute to current work in the fields of critical gerontology, feminist ethics and the management of public services more generally.

The paper presents a novel and critical viewpoint of current social care policy in England and will therefore be of interest to policy-makers and to professionals.

This paper reports some preliminary lessons from a qualitative study of services that have cared for a person with learning disabilities during a terminal illness. It reflects current concern about access to health care as well as the national priority being placed on improvements in cancer services for all patients. The study documents how the service learned of the person's illness, how they mobilised services and made decisions, how agencies worked together (or not!) and what support staff needed in the person's last months and weeks. It also considers the way staff, as individuals and as teams, made sense of their experiences and evaluated the input of other professionals.

The purpose of this paper is to review the history and current state of provision of homeless medical respite services in the UK, drawing first on the international context. The paper then articulates the need for medical respite services in the UK, and profiles some success stories. The paper then outlines the considerable challenges that currently exist in the UK, considers why some other services have failed and proffers some solutions.

The paper is primarily a literature review, but also offers original analysis of data and interviews, and presents new ideas from the authors. All authors have considerable experience of assessing the need for and delivering homeless medical respite services.

The paper builds on previous published information regarding need, and articulates the human rights argument for commissioning care. The paper also discusses the current complex commissioning arena, and suggests solutions.

The literature review was not a systematic review, but was conducted by authors with considerable experience in the field. Patient data quoted are on two limited cohorts of patients, but broadly relevant. Interviews with stakeholders regarding medical respite challenges have been fairly extensive, but may not be comprehensive.

This paper will support those who are thinking of undertaking a needs assessment for medical respite, or commissioning a new medical respite service, to understand the key issues involved.

This paper challenges the existing status quo regarding the need for a “cost-saving” rationale to set up these services.

This paper aims to be the definitive paper for anyone wishing to get an overview of this topic.

People living with opioid use disorder (OUD) disproportionately encounter the criminal justice system. Although incarcerated individuals with OUD face higher risk for withdrawals, relapses and overdoses, most jails fail to offer comprehensive medications for OUD (MOUD), including recovery support services and transition of care to a community provider. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and implementation of a comprehensive MOUD program at a large county jail system in Maricopa County, Arizona.

The authors used the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) to develop a community-based, multi-organizational program for incarcerated individuals with OUD. The SIM is a mapping process of the criminal justice system and was applied in Maricopa County, Arizona to identify gaps in services and strengthen resources at each key intercept. The program applies an integrated care framework that is person-centered and incorporates medical, behavioral and social services to improve population health.

Stakeholders worked collaboratively to develop a multi-point program for incarcerated individuals with OUD that includes an integrated care service with brief screening, MOUD and treatment; a residential treatment program; peer support; community provider referrals; and a court diversion program. Recovery support specialists provide education, support and care coordination between correctional and community health services.

OUD is a common problem in many correctional health centers. However, many jails do not provide a comprehensive approach to connect incarcerated individuals with OUD treatment. The Maricopa County, Arizona jail system opioid treatment program is unique because of the ongoing support from recovery support specialists during and after incarceration.