Creating New Patterns of Social and Economic Activity Through Planned Housing Environments

Abstract

HOPE VI programs have transformed distressed public housing areas into “planned neighborhoods.” This research highlights key results from an evaluation request by the Tampa Housing Authority to assess the social and economic impact of the local HOPE VI community. Findings suggest that the majority of residents enjoy the new neighborhood. Questions remain regarding the social cohesion among the mixed-income community residents and the potential for economic revitalization of the surrounding area. Implications for social workers are addressed.     

Perceived Built Environment Characteristics of On-Campus and Off-Campus Neighborhoods Associated With Physical Activity of College Students

Abstract

Objective: To identify differences in neighborhood environment and their association with physical activity (PA) levels of on-campus compared with off-campus students. Participants: Participants were 822 undergraduate students at a mid-sized mid-Atlantic university. Methods: Students completed the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale–Abbreviated and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire in October 2013. Results: Lower residential density, traffic safety, and crime scores and higher land-use mix diversity, aesthetics, and lack of parking scores were reported among on-campus residents. On-campus residents reported higher levels of active transportation PA, leisure PA, and total PA. Land-use mix diversity, aesthetics, and lack of cul-de-sacs were associated with physical activity level. Conclusion: The on-campus and off-campus environments differ in ways that may impact the ability of undergraduate students to be physically active. Strategies to promote continued active transportation and leisure PA are discussed.     

Mental Illness in Assisted Living: Challenges for Quality of Life and Care

ABSTRACT

An unknown number of mentally ill elders in the United States receive care in assisted living, along with persons facing physical or cognitive challenges. While dementia is familiar in assisted living, our data indicate that neither staff nor residents are prepared to work or live with the mentally ill. Challenges are created for professionals, since these residents bring diverse needs. Daily interresident interactions are also disrupted or stressful. Qualitative data describe the impacts on quality of resident life as well as care and management dilemmas identified within five assisted-living settings having varying presence of mental illness among residents.     

Community Perceptions of Industrial Risks Before and After a Toxic Flood: The Case of Houston and Hurricane Harvey

Abstract

The present study examines risk perceptions before and after a recent natural-technological event. The aim is to improve understanding of how long-time residents understand chronic and acute industrial risks, including hazardous industrial releases triggered by natural disasters. Thirty-two interviews were conducted in Channelview, Texas: 19 in February 2017, six months before Hurricane Harvey’s landfall, and 13 with those same residents in December 2017, four months after Harvey’s landfall. Results indicate that long-time residents normalized chronic risks of industrial pollution before the storm, but they were either unaware or incredulous that major industrial spills might result from a hurricane. After such an event, residents strengthened their normalization of industrial risks and became even more inclined to frame them as coming from external forces rather than from local facilities that continue to put their community at risk.     

An examination of the locus of desired control among young‐old and old‐old nursing home patients (1)

This research examined the locus of desired control among a sample of 218 nursing home residents. Two issues were addressed: (a) What is the predictive impact on locus of desired control of education, gender, race, functional ability, subjective health and length of stay among the residents in each of the two age groups? and (b) Was there a difference in the locus of desired control among the young‐old (74 years or less) and old‐old residents (75 years or more)? A discriminant analysis revealed that among the 95 young‐old residents, greater desire for control, internality, was associated with poorer functional abilities, poorer subjective health and longer lengths of stay. Among the 123 old‐old residents, greater desire for control was assciated only with poorer functional abilities and poorer subjective health. Further, a significantly greater proportion of old‐old residents had greater locus of desired control, 59 percent, in comparison to only 43 percent of the young‐old residents who expressed greater locus of desired control.     

Elder care as "frustrating" and "boring": Understanding the persistence of negative attitudes toward older patients among physicians-in-training

ObjectivesThis study explores the attitudes of physicians-in-training toward older patients. Specifically, we examine why, despite increasing exposure to geriatrics in medical school curricula, medical students and residents continue to have negative attitudes toward caring for older patients.MethodsThis study used ethnography, a technique used by anthropologists that includes participant-observation, semi-structured interviews, and facilitated group discussions. Research was conducted at two tertiary-care academic hospitals in urban Northern California, and focused on eliciting the opinions, beliefs, and practices of physicians-in-training toward geriatrics.ResultsWe found that the majority of physicians-in-training in this study expressed a mix of positive and negative views about caring for older patients. We argue that physicians-in-trainings' attitudes toward older patients are shaped by a number of heterogeneous and frequently conflicting factors, including both the formal and so-called “hidden” curricula in medical education, institutional demands on physicians to encourage speed and efficiency of care, and portrayals of the process of aging as simultaneously as a “problem” of inevitable biological decay and an opportunity for medical intervention.DiscussionEfforts to educate medical students and residents about appropriate geriatric care tend to reproduce the paradoxes and uncertainties surrounding aging in biomedicine. These ambiguities contribute to the tendency of physicians-in-training to develop moralizing attitudes about older patients and other patient groups labeled “frustrating” or “boring”.     

Some aspects of a Housing Officer's work

Abstract

This paper reviews the benefits claimed to flow from the commencement of the Aged Care Act 1997. It is concluded that in restructuring residential aged care services the Commonwealth Government has withdrawn from its regulatory responsibility of ensuring residents receive adequate standards of care. To legitimate its actions the Government contractualised the relationship between service providers and residents, to the detriment of the residents.     

Community Needs Assessment

Abstract

Comprehensive geriatric assessments of older adult residents of a senior-only development of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) conducted by a physician-investigator found that the majority of senior residents suffer from chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular, arthritis, diabetes, take more than five medications, have scored high on body mass index and are at nutritional risk. Surprisingly majority of residents function on their own and need no help in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and activities of daily living (ADL). They have very good mental health and only a very small proportion suffer from depression.

The majority of the residents has a personal physician and is covered by Medicare. All of the residents are of low income, 38 percent of the residents living on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and the rest living on Social Security. Racially/Ethnically 66 percent of seniors are Black, 26 percent are Hispanics, 8 percent are White and less than 1 percent are other. Forty-seven percent of the residents are 75 years in age and over.     

Planning for Aging in Place: Incorporating the Voice of Elders to Promote Quality of Life

Abstract

Aging in place offers emotional and physical benefits; however, challenges associated with advanced age may make aging in place difficult. As communities across the country prepare for forecasted increases in the proportion of older residents, it is important to understand barriers that may prevent aging in place. Perceived barriers voiced by residents of a suburban county who completed an Aging in Place Needs Assessment Survey were categorized into four themes: need to downsize/home modification; need for assistance; family desire to reciprocate care; and isolation. A fifth group with no intent to relocate, but with concerns about having to, was also identified. Included among this group were persons with mental health or developmental disorders, such as anxiety and autism spectrum disorder. Results were examined through a person-centered lens to illustrate that aging in place may be the desired option even among residents who indicate that it is not. It is important that aging-in-place initiatives preserve identity by fostering a sense of autonomy, control, and well-being in older residents.     

Class,race, and the disposal of urban waste: Locations of landfills,incinerators, and sewage treatment plants

This study compared the socioeconomic status, racial composition, and ethnic composition of 49 randomly selected U.S. cities with those of the census tracts containing the solid waste disposal facilities and sewage treatment plants for those cities. Contrary to the environmental racism and classism hypotheses, residents of tracts with landfills or incinerators had higher incomes and were less likely to be minority group members than residents of the cities that generated the refuse—although they did have somewhat lower education levels. There were few differences between the population characteristics of the cities and the census tracts that contained their sewage treatment plants. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.     

Crime in Acadiana: A study of the relationship between fear levels and demographic indicators in southwest Louisiana

Demographic indicators for residents of an eight parish (county) region of Louisiana were analyzed to determine their impact on fear. Earlier studies reported a strong relationship between these indicators and high fear levels. The finding of the in‐mediate study shows a weaker relationship. Possible explanations for these results are offered.     

Resident and Family Perspectives on Assisted Living

Abstract

This research describes and compares the relative importance residents and family members place on attributes of the environment, the programs, and the policies of assisted living; describes their satisfaction with these features; and identifies factors associated with congruence between residents' and family members' ratings of importance and satisfaction. Both residents and their family members had high importance and satisfaction ratings. Family members gave the assisted living setting lower satisfaction ratings on all features than did residents. Congruence ranged from 34% to 71% for importance items and from 29% to 63% for satisfaction. Female residents, affectionate family relationships, and residing in an AL owned by a chain were positively associated with congruence on importance items, while resident and family education, resident income, and family involvement were negatively associated with congruence on importance items. For congruence on satisfaction items, having an affectionate relationship was positively associated and higher ADL dependency, more family involvement at the facility, and family members who viewed the facility as a safe place were negatively associated with congruence. This study makes a major stride forward because cognitively intact residents' perspectives are compared and contrasted with their own family members' perspectives, thus showing that residents and family members are two distinct groups, each with a unique set of preferences.     

“Hellish difficult to live in this world”

Abstract

This papers deals with a remarkable phenomenon which has occurred in a residential home for 14 severely mentally and physically handicapped young adults in Copenhagen, Denmark. None of the residents has speech, and all had been evaluated as severely mentally handicapped. It has been estimated that these people would never develop mentally beyond a functioning level of 1/2-3 years.

Between 1984 and 1985 it was discovered that two female residents could spell out words by pointing to letters on a board. Over a period of 9 months in 1986 we discovered, through the prompting of these two residents who insisted that some of the other residents could also write and through the persistent curiosity of some members of staff, that all of the other 12 residents could also write. This paper relates something of how the discovery came about, of the reactions of people in the immediate circle of contacts, of the enormous change in daily life in the house that has occurred as a result of this discovery, and attempts to point to how this phenomenon might have been caused.     

Health and Aging-in-Place: Implications for Community Practice

ABSTRACT

There is increasing interest in helping elders to remain independent in their homes. As the nation experiences the unprecedented growth among its oldest residents, public and private efforts are emerging to facilitate aging-in-place. However older people, particularly the oldest old, experience a myriad of issues impacting their health and ability to remain at home. This article presents the findings from a needs assessment of a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) (n?=?114) that revealed multiple health-related issues among older people residing in high-need neighborhoods. The study utilized a holistic perspective of health to measure physical, mental, and social well-being among the older residents. Implications for community-based health interventions to enhance aging-in-place are discussed.     

Clean and green organizing in urban neighborhoods: Measuring perceived and objective outcomes

ABSTRACT

One way in which urban community organizations attempt to improve neighborhood health is through cleaning and greening efforts. Few studies have evaluated how such efforts are related to changes in both residents’ perceptions of neighborhoods and objective community-wide cleaning and greening indicators over time. Drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data collected during an evaluation of a community-building initiative in two communities, results show how neighborhood changes in cleaning and greening were reflected in perceived and objective measures and how these measures compare across different time periods and sub-groups of residents within the two target communities. We provide suggestions for additional ways that future evaluations of urban cleaning and greening efforts can examine the impact.     

Surabaya green and clean: Protecting urban environment through civic engagement community

ABSTRACT

This study explores the involvement of townspeople in efforts to protect their environment through environmental awareness program. The environmental program implemented is Surabaya Green and Clean (SGC) which was initiated by Surabaya City government since 2005 in kampung (community-based housing) in Surabaya (Indonesia). This study employed a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews, observations, and literature studies as data collection technique. The data were taken in Kampung Margorukun with a total of 14 informants involving the head of kampung, environmental cadres, and residents who are engaged in developing Kampung Margorukun to be one of the ecotourism models. The research results indicate that the resident involvement in SGC includes environmental cadres formation, environmental awareness education, waste recycling, waste bank management, and ecotourism development. The implementation of SGC in Kampung Margorukun is a form of operationalization of residents’ concern for environmental protection and sustainable development from ecological citizenship perspective.     

A Stage of Migration Approach to Understanding Nursing Home Placement in Latino Families

ABSTRACT

This article introduces a dual application of Drachman and Ryan's stage of migration framework by applying the framework to an analysis of experiences of 25 nursing home residents with a prior history of migration from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The stages of premigration and departure, transit, and resettlement are discussed in relation to research findings about the residents' earlier migration to the mainland United States and more recent move into a nursing home. Implications for social work practice with residents, families, and as members of interdisciplinary teams are addressed.     

Chapter 2 Residents in Assisted Living Facilities and Visitation Patterns

Abstract

Resident visitation patterns within an assisted living facility provide insight into a resident's life satisfaction. This study investigated residents' perceptions of family and friend visitation. Thirty assisted living residents from Oklahoma participated in a comprehensive interview that included demographics, life satisfaction, visitation frequency, and perceptions of visitation patterns. A majority of the respondents (90%) perceived family and friend visitation as “important” to “very important” in their life. Visitation allows residents to reminisce with family members and friends, to fulfill the need to have outside contact, and to be reassured that they have not been forgotten. Results indicate residents do desire continued relationships with family and friends through visitation. Facilities should encourage activities involving outside members of a resident's support network and be aware of residents less visited, developing programs creating social contact and involvement.     

Measuring Wellness Through Interdisciplinary Community Development

SUMMARY

The aim of this study is to answer the question: Is there evidence that the quality of life of residents in a community that has had community development intervention is different as compared to the quality of life of residents in a nearby community that did not have community development initiatives? This was done by administering community development initiatives in a local area and comparing it to a similar community that did not receive this intervention. The residents of these communities rated the quality of their lives and communities in two purposively selected suburbs in Perth, Western Australia using the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index to measure individual and neighbourhood well-being. The quality of life of residents in both communities is then compared to national averages for quality of life or well-being. Answering this question provides empirical evidence of variation between ratings of quality of life of residents in different communities and highlights the utility of the Wellbeing Index for the evaluation of interdisciplinary community development.     

Potential for the Abuse of Medication for the Elderly in Residential and Nursing Homes in the UK

ABSTRACT

Abuse of the medication prescribed to the elderly living in long-stay care homes may be perpetrated by a minority of unscrupulous doctors, pharmacists, or home staff caring for the residents. Disorganised practices and homes, poor communications, and sloppy professional practices may create opportunities for over-dosing, errors, fraud, or theft. This article describes the circumstances leading to the potential abuse of elderly residents' medication, and the measures that may be taken to avoid or minimise such abuse from occurring.