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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Sergio Ariño‐Blasco, Win Tadd and Josep Boix‐Ferrer

Professionals' views concerning the importance of dignity and how this can best be maintained is important for the planning and provision of appropriate services, especially for…

Abstract

Professionals' views concerning the importance of dignity and how this can best be maintained is important for the planning and provision of appropriate services, especially for older people.Dignity was described as an integral part of being human and closely related to respect. Overall, participants painted a negative image of the lives of older people, although clear distinctions were drawn between fit and frail older people. Indignities associated with old age arose from ill health, dependency, vulnerability, frailty and loss of competence. It was considered that technological advances and information technology had left many older people behind. However, many described working with older people as an enjoyable experience offering variety, intellectual challenge and satisfaction, while recognising that working with older people was often given low status.Professionals identified the following factors as essential to dignified care: promotion of autonomy and independence; a person‐centred and holistic approach; maintenance of identity and encouragement of involvement, participation and empowerment; effective communication and respect. Undignified care was associated with: invisibility; de‐personalisation and treatment of the individual as an object; humiliation and abuse; narrow and mechanistic approaches to care.Policy development and professional education should give greater prominence to dignity and a greater emphasis ought to be placed on living with dignity in old age rather than solely dying with it.

Details

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-7794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 March 2020

Sertan Kabadayi, Kejia Hu, Yuna Lee, Lydia Hanks, Matthew Walsman and David Dobrzykowski

Caring for older adults is an increasingly complex and multi-dimensional global concern. This article provides a comprehensive definition of the older adult care experience and…

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Abstract

Purpose

Caring for older adults is an increasingly complex and multi-dimensional global concern. This article provides a comprehensive definition of the older adult care experience and discusses its key components to help practitioners deliver older adult-centered care to maximize well-being outcomes for older adults.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on prior research on service operations, service experience, person-centered care and the unique, evolving needs of older adults regarding their care, this paper develops a conceptual framework in which the older adult care experience is the central construct, and key dimensions of well-being are the outcomes.

Findings

The older adult care experience is shaped by older adults' perceptions and evaluations of the care that they receive. Older adult-centered care has autonomy, dignity, unique needs and social environment as its core dimensions and results in those older adults feel empowered, respected, engaged and connected as part of their experience. The article also discusses how such experience can be evaluated by using quality dimensions from service operations, hospitality and healthcare contexts, and challenges that service firms may face in creating older adult care experience.

Research limitations/implications

Given the changing demographics and unique needs of older adults, it is an imperative for academics and practitioners to have an understanding of what determines older adult care experience to better serve them. Such understanding is important as by creating and fostering older adult care experience, service organizations can contribute to individual and societal well-being.

Originality/value

To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first paper to provide a comprehensive conceptualization of the older adult care experience.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 31 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 February 2013

Boontarika Narknisorn and Kyoko Kusakabe

This article aims to present the issues that challenge women and family to provide elder care. It also shows weaknesses of policy that strongly attaches to traditional expectation…

764

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to present the issues that challenge women and family to provide elder care. It also shows weaknesses of policy that strongly attaches to traditional expectation and does not adapt to actual changes by presenting an example of Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

The review of secondary data.

Findings

Rapid growth of old age population, fewer number of children, changes in women's roles and women's employment, migration, family and societal changes challenge Thai traditional role of women and family as the main elder care providers. Academicians and policy makers are aware of these challenges, but Thai National Policy on Aging still puts responsibilities back to family.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation is that information is based on available literature. Implication is to stimulate an ongoing research to give feedback to policy.

Practical implications

A top‐down approach can create the gap between policy ideology and reality. This article provides argument information to close the gap and improve policy that better corresponds with actual social changes and life condition of older people, women and family.

Social implications

This article urges an understanding that family, women and older people are not homogeneous.

Originality/value

This article gives reasons why policy on aging needs to detach from traditional expectation, seriously prepare elder care that corresponds with social changes and provide elder care by family and non‐family.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 33 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2024

Lorna de Witt, Kathryn A. Pfaff, Roger Reka and Noeman Ahmad Mirza

Current and predicted continued dramatic increases in international migration and ethnocultural diversity of older adult cohorts pose challenges for health care services. Review…

Abstract

Purpose

Current and predicted continued dramatic increases in international migration and ethnocultural diversity of older adult cohorts pose challenges for health care services. Review studies on ethnoculturally diverse older adults and health care show a lack of focus on their service use experiences. This study aims to report a meta-ethnography that addresses this knowledge gap through answering the review question: How do ethnoculturally diverse older adults who are immigrants experience health careservices?

Design/methodology/approach

The authors applied a seven-phase method of meta-ethnography to guide the review. The authors conducted two literature searches (April 2018 and June 2020) in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Sociological Abstracts and Abstracts in Social Gerontology that yielded 17 papers eligible for review.

Findings

“There’s always something positive and something negative” is the overarching metaphor for answering the review question. Findings highlight positive and negative tensions within ethnoculturally diverse older adults’ health care use experiences of understanding and being understood, having trust in providers and the health care system, having needs, preferences and resources met and desire for self-care over dependency. The majority of experiences were negative. Tipping points towards negative experiences included language, fear, provider attitudes and behaviours, service flexibility, attitudes towards Western and traditional health care and having knowledge and resources.

Originality/value

The authors propose concrete actions to mitigate the tipping points. The authors discuss policy recommendations for health care system changes at the micro, meso and macro service levels to promote positive experiences and address mainstream service policy inequities.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 28 September 2020

Tulika Bhattacharyya, Suhita Chopra Chatterjee and Debolina Chatterjee

Purpose – Academic campuses in India in recent years have witnessed an increase in the proportion of older people due to the rise in the age of superannuation of faculty and their…

Abstract

Purpose – Academic campuses in India in recent years have witnessed an increase in the proportion of older people due to the rise in the age of superannuation of faculty and their cohabitation with older parents. However, such campuses continue to have a skewed program which favor the needs of the younger population. For the present study, a residential academic campus equipped with a health care facility was selected to understand the challenges of the family caregivers of older people residing in it.

Methodology/Approach – Exploratory in-depth interviews were conducted with 154 family caregivers. Secondary data were obtained from the campus hospital records.

Findings – Data revealed that family caregivers experienced various challenges in providing older care in the campus due to unavailability of paid supportive caregivers, lack of community support, and inadequate housing. Though the academic campus has a health care facility, the entitlement rights to it varies among the older people in campus. While the campus health facility was not congenial for family caregiving, it was utilized as a space for providing long-term care. This chapter suggests the need to extend a public heath model of family caregiving in campus.

Research limitations/implications – The study has implication for modifying similar academic campuses in India for facilitating family caregivers of older people.

Originality/Value of Paper – This is the first study of its kind which explored the challenges of family caregiving for older people in academic campuses in India.

Details

Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Other Social Characteristics as Factors in Health and Health Care Disparities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-798-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 February 2021

Nguyen Huu Minh and Phan Thi Mai Huong

Purpose: To explore emotional support, daily housework assistance, and economic support for older adults provided by the Vietnamese family within the context of the impacts of…

Abstract

Purpose: To explore emotional support, daily housework assistance, and economic support for older adults provided by the Vietnamese family within the context of the impacts of socio-economic, demographic, and other factors.

Methodology: (1) The researchers used data from censuses taken from 1989 to 2019; national surveys of Internal Migration, Labor and Employment and other topics; and recent large sample sociological surveys (2) adapted a modified Diamond Care Model (Ochiai, 2009) to analyze effects of the characteristics of older adults; and of the country’s laws, policies, and socio-economic changes, on the families’ caregiving activities supporting the older adults.

Findings: The family is still the most important institution providing care for older adults in Viet Nam. Most older people live with their children and see this as an age-old security solution despite differences related to lifestyles and interests. However, when the average number of working-age people per older person decreases, as older adults live longer, household sizes are smaller, and there is increased large migration, the demand for non-family caregiving for older adults will increase. Since social services to help meet this demand are limited, the traditional family support system for the elderly in Viet Nam will face many challenges as families try to assure the quality of care needed in the very near future.

Value: This chapter shows systematically a relationship between elderly care in the Vietnamese family and socio-economic, demographic, and associated factors based on comprehensive data sources. The results can help us think about how to create an appropriate future model for taking care of older adults in Viet Nam that combines the efforts of families and the support of comprehensive social policies by the community.

Details

Aging and the Family: Understanding Changes in Structural and Relationship Dynamics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-491-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 August 2023

Bahtiar Bahtiar, Ida Ayu Kade Sri Widiastuti, Dwi Nopriyanto, Nurlaila Fitriani, Khumaidi Khumaidi, Arief Andriyanto and Iskandar Muda

The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of the constraints of older adult family caregivers with chronic diseases in caring for and accessing health services…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of the constraints of older adult family caregivers with chronic diseases in caring for and accessing health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used the descriptive phenomenology qualitative method. The sampling method was purposive sampling involving 16 older adult family caregivers.

Findings

The results of this study showed three themes such as difficulties in health services in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic (complaints of services provided by doctors, older adult treatment control problems and difficulty getting to hospital health facilities); difficulties accompanying taking older adult medicine (older adult non-compliance response to taking medication and older adult medicine assistance); and psychosocial complaints caring for and accompanying the older adult (negative emotions for the older adult, difficulty interacting with the older adult and the economic burden of caring for the older adult).

Practical implications

Barriers to family caregivers in caring for older adults with chronic diseases can help health-care service providers understand and support families caring for and assisting older adults, which may contribute to the quality of life and care for both family caregivers and older adults.

Originality/value

This study showed that Indonesian family caregivers faced difficulties caring for and living with older adults with chronic diseases during the pandemic. Family caregivers’ experiences are essential when developing an intervention to support and manage health care for older adults with chronic illnesses.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2023

Chin-Hui Chen

The demand for long-term home care services has been increasing in Taiwan due to the significant growth of the older population. In order to understand the crucial roles that…

Abstract

Purpose

The demand for long-term home care services has been increasing in Taiwan due to the significant growth of the older population. In order to understand the crucial roles that language and communication play in providing better long-term home care services in Taiwan, this study aims to adopt a gerontological sociolinguistic perspective to investigate how professional care workers communicate with older people in this context.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews were conducted with 58 long-term home care workers to identify their communication accommodation strategies for older people, considering their health conditions (dementia), personalities (grumpiness), living status (loneliness) and general principles of long-term home care communication.

Findings

The study's findings provide practical insights for long-term home care workers to enhance their communication skills while interacting with older people.

Research limitations/implications

The results could contribute to improving the quality of care services provided to older people and address their specific communication needs.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first attempt to identify contextually specific communication accommodations to older people in existing literature of gerontological sociolinguistics that addresses language, communication and older age. The salience of the findings in this study can be further enhanced if they were applied in the development of training programs for future Taiwanese long-term home care workers.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 April 2020

Watchara Tabootwong and Frank Kiwanuka

Partnership is both a goal and an approach to family-centered care (FCC). Family members play an important role alongside the health-care team when an older family member is…

290

Abstract

Purpose

Partnership is both a goal and an approach to family-centered care (FCC). Family members play an important role alongside the health-care team when an older family member is admitted to the hospital. Family involvement in care for an older person forms a partnership approach where health professionals and the family engage collaboratively in care. This enhances the quality of care and family satisfaction with care. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the potential areas of partnerships of family members with health-care professionals while caring for older people based on the perspective of FCC.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was carried out.

Findings

The findings of this study focus on how healthcare professionals can listen to, respect the perspectives of family members, and share useful information with the family while caring for an older person. Family participation in providing care and collaboration between healthcare professionals and families is a seminal goal strategy in caring for older people during hospitalization. It is helpful to family members as a way of training and preparing them to assist their loved one after hospital discharge. Furthermore, it can establish a good relationship between healthcare professionals and families.

Originality/value

Partnership between health-care professionals and families helps and supports the older people and the family in managing the health condition the following discharge from the hospital.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2022

Melanie Levasseur, Daniel Naud, Nancy Presse, Nathalie Delli-Colli, Patrick Boissy, Benoît Cossette, Yves Couturier and Julien Cadieux Genesse

This conceptual paper aims to describe aging all over the place (AAOP), a federative framework for action, research and policy that considers older adults’ diverse experiences of…

Abstract

Purpose

This conceptual paper aims to describe aging all over the place (AAOP), a federative framework for action, research and policy that considers older adults’ diverse experiences of place and life trajectories, along with person-centered care.

Design/methodology/approach

The framework was developed through group discussions, followed by an appraisal of aging models and validation during workshops with experts, including older adults.

Findings

Every residential setting and location where older adults go should be considered a “place,” flexible and adaptable enough so that aging in place becomes aging all over the place. Health-care professionals, policymakers and researchers are encouraged to collaborate around four axes: biopsychosocial health and empowerment; welcoming, caring, mobilized and supportive community; spatiotemporal life and care trajectories; and out-of-home care and services. When consulted, a Seniors Committee showed appreciation for flexible person-centered care, recognition of life transitions and care trajectories and meaningfulness of the name.

Social implications

Population aging and the pandemic call for intersectoral actions and for stakeholders beyond health care to act as community leaders. AAOP provides opportunities to connect environmental determinants of health and person-centered care.

Originality/value

Building on the introduction of an ecological experience of aging, AAOP broadens the concept of care as well as the political and research agenda by greater integration of community and clinical actions. AAOP also endeavors to avoid patronizing older adults and to engage society in strengthening circles of benevolence surrounding older adults, regardless of their residential setting. AAOP’s applicability is evidenced by existing projects that share its approach.

Details

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-7794

Keywords

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