Mistreatment of Older People in the United Kingdom: Findings from the First National Prevalence Study

There have been few national studies of the prevalence of elder mistreatment (abuse and neglect) in private households. This article provides an overview of the UK National Prevalence Study of Elder Mistreatment that took place in 2006. It addressed 2,111 respondents in four countries who answered a face-to-face survey questionnaire. The achieved sample was weighted to be representative of the UK older population. Of respondents, 2.6% reported mistreatment by family members, close friends, or care workers. The predominant type of reported mistreatment was neglect (1.1%) followed by financial abuse (0.6%), with 0.4% of respondents reporting psychological abuse, 0.4% physical abuse, and 0.2% sexual abuse. Women were significantly more likely to have experienced mistreatment than men, but there were gender differences according to type of abuse and perpetrator characteristics. Divergent patterns were found for neglect, financial, and interpersonal abuse. Further analysis of the data indicated that the likelihood of mistreatment varied with socioeconomic position and health status.     

A ‘new materialist’ lens on aging well: Special things in later life

Aging well is a process of making sense of self and aging. Over the last two decades, researchers have studied how individuals make self-meaning through person–object relations. Much of this work has focused on how individuals assign meaning to special objects, yet little is known about the influence of the physicality of these things on this meaning-making. This paper introduces a “new materialist” lens to aging-well research by distilling and synthesizing key assumptions from diverse bodies of literature. Each assumption is illustrated with data from a recent series of interviews with older women. The paper demonstrates how this theoretical perspective may be applied to study the making of self-meaning through such later-life transitions as widowhood. A new materialist lens can enhance understanding of identity construction, and more broadly, aging well, in terms of later-life relationships with special things.     

Financial Abuse of Older People by a Family Member: A Difficult Terrain for Service Providers in Australia

Financial abuse by a family member is the most common form of abuse experienced by older Australians, and early intervention is required. National online surveys of 228 chief executive officers and 214 aged care service providers found that, while they were well placed to recognize financial abuse, it was often difficult to intervene successfully. Problems providers encountered included difficulties in detecting abuse, the need for consent before they could take action, the risk that the abusive family member would withdraw the client from the service, and a lack of resources to deal with the complexities inherent in situations of financial abuse.     

Independent Advocacy for Children and Young People: Developing an Outcomes Framework

This article draws on a study of the outcomes and impact of independent advocacy for children and young people to explore how the value of advocacy is understood by them and by professionals, and what differences advocacy can make to the lives of children and young people. Findings indicate that outcomes of advocacy can be significant and wide‐ranging, including both direct effects on the child or young person and wider impact on services. This has implications for how to capture and report the outcomes of advocacy, for which this article offers a new conceptual framework.     

Perceived Aspects of Home Environment and Home Modifications by Older People Living in Rural Areas

This study investigated the relationships between the “perceived aspects” of current home environment of elderly people living in rural areas and their home modification behavior. To investigate this perception, home satisfaction, perception of home capability, and home safety were used as perceived aspects of the home. Data were collected by a questionnaire. The response rate was 43.1%, with 317 eligible questionnaires. The results from this study indicate that there was no significant difference in perceived aspects of home environment between those who modified their homes and those who did not. Regardless of their current home conditions, most elderly respondents (75%) showed high home satisfaction. Results from this study suggest that a modified home environment does not necessarily contribute to an older person's perception of perceived aspects of their home environment.     

The Availability of Adequate Housing for Older People:

Part of the strength of the arguments posed by housing advocates for the elderly rests on why the elderly merit special attention. Using two indicators of housing need, physical adequacy and affordability, the elderly are shown to be relatively less well-off than the nonelderly both at a point in time and persistently over time. A review of the federal government's response to the elderly's housing needs suggests that the number of households in need will continue to outdistance the number of households who actually receive assistance.     

Housing for Older People in Iceland: Apartments and Nursing Homes

The first residential and nursing homes in Iceland were built in the early 1920s, and the first apartments for older people in the early 1970s. Most of the existing housing for older persons was built in the last 30 years. Legislative provisions on housing and particularly on assisted living have not changed significantly since laws relating to the affairs of the elderly were first passed in 1983. While approximately 90% of older people in Iceland own their own home and the primary stated goal of the government is to support independent living, official policy relies on placement in nursing homes. Services and care at home, provided by social and home healthcare services, has not been developed to the same extent as in the other Nordic countries. Clearer guidelines on integrated service housing are needed to reach the government's primary stated goal. Placing more emphasis on delivering services, care, and rehabilitation to people living in the community could shorten individuals’ length of stay in hospitals, delay admission to nursing homes, and better meet the expectations of older people for independent living.     

Implications of Divorce on Reasons for Living in Older Adolescents

To assess any possible differences in reasons for living between adolescents from divorced families and those from "intact" families, 286 older adolescent age undergraduates were, administered the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL). Adolescents from divorced families revealed lower Responsibility to Family beliefs, but other adaptive cognitive characteristics were not different. Various demographics were shown to have some impact on reasons for living, especially the age of the child at the time of the divorce.     

Building a Humane Society for Older People: Compassionate Policy Making for Integration,Participation, and Positive Ageing Within a Framework of Intergenerational Solidarity

This article explores the global challenge of population aging with a specific focus on the concepts of integration and participation of older people in society within the context of “realizing a society for all ages” as promoted by the United Nations. It is proposed that governments worldwide need to embrace new ways of thinking about population aging that include strategic initiatives for strengthening the social contract that fosters generational interdependence. The meaning of “positive aging” is explored at both the individual and social levels, with implications for quality-of-life issues involving intergenerational relationships. The point is made that while the promotion of positive aging is commendable on both philosophical and health grounds it can be problematic for those older people who for a range of legitimate reasons are unable to fulfill the notion of positive or active aging. The longevity revolution will require the emergence of a more humane society that undertakes to reconceptualize what older age means, together with exploring new ways of enhancing the citizenship status of older people through the development and promotion of innovative intergenerational relationships. A call is made for a wider engagement of the citizenry in the processes involved in the formulation and implementation of policy making.     

Managing Risk in Community Care of Older People: Perspectives from the Frontline

Abstract

Since the mid-1980s, Australian governments have focused on expanding community and home-based services for older people. This has led to increased levels of dependency, vulnerability, and complexity to be managed in the community. Consequently, aged care services have had to develop mechanisms for regulating and managing these increased risks, and risk management has become more central to the practices of professional workers in this field. This paper reports on some findings from a large-scale study that explores the way risk management policies have been translated into practice by community-based services in Victoria, Australia. Drawing on interviews with 18 frontline and management professionals employed in community aged care, we found that these workers were wrestling with a diverse and new range of institutional risks beyond those encountered in the actual delivery of frontline care. We found that these workers experienced “risk” in four different contexts, which often created demands for contradictory or conflicting responses. Here we examine these “contexts of risk practice”: professional workers' relationships with their clients, relationships with other service providers, the unregulated nature of the home as a work environment, and community expectations about the management of risk. Despite tensions that frequently arose, workers expressed strong professional commitments to their clients and were motivated to find positive resolutions amid competing interests. We conclude that tensions experienced by workers were embedded in the structural dimensions of institutional relationships and the systematic absence of shared understandings of “acceptable” risks in the community care of older people, rather than in the failure of professional agency.     

Financial planning for later life: Subjective understandings of catalysts and constraints

This paper examines the conditions under which individuals begin or do not begin making financial plans for their later years. The data are drawn from a sample of mid- and later-life individuals (n = 51) who participated in qualitative, life-history interviews. Participants identified three types of circumstances that acted as both catalysts and constraints to their planning: financial, personal and familial. Catalytic financial influences included employer programs and enrolment in retirement courses, while job loss and unforeseen expenses were viewed as constraints. Personal influences such as health and age, as well as familial transitions such as the death of a spouse, divorce, or remarriage served as both catalysts and constraints, depending on the individual. For example, divorce was viewed by some as a constraint, while others viewed it as a catalyst. Participants' locations in the social structure influenced the onset of financial preparation, however, subjective perceptions of life circumstances were also pivotal.     

Narrative foreclosure in later life: Preliminary considerations for a new sensitizing concept

The objective of the paper is to explore narrative foreclosure as a sensitizing concept for studying the ways in which narrative identity development falters in later life. Two main characters in famous movies are contrasted to provide a better understanding of narrative foreclosure. The concept is further clarified by discussing similarities and differences with other theories about lifespan identity development. Last, the concept is related to theories in social gerontology to provide a better understanding of narrative foreclosure in later life.It is concluded that narrative foreclosure can be defined as the conviction that no new interpretations of one's past nor new commitments and experiences in one's future are possible that can substantially change one's life-story. In terms of the metaphor of a book, one is not only convinced about its ending and does not add new chapters anymore, but also refrains from enjoying, rewriting, and editing earlier chapters. Several interpersonal–social and structural–ideological factors are identified that promote narrative foreclosure in later life.Finally it is discussed that the narrative study of later life and of narrative foreclosure in particular, should be conducted in an interdisciplinary framework. Narrative foreclosure only exists within a certain constellation of personal, social, and societal characteristics, drawn together in a mutually dependent system.     

Economic security for the elderly in India: an overview

The basic concept of social security is not new in India. Traditionally, a sort of moral economy existed to provide security to older destitute and other vulnerable groups in society. However, gradually, traditional support systems are disappearing, and state-based social security systems have come into existence. Under standardized economic security policies, government is covering retirement benefits for those in the organized sector; economic security benefits for those in the unorganized sector; and old-age pension for rural elderly. These are contributory as well as non-contributory programs. Besides life insurance approaches, savings-linked insurance and Annapurna (food security) are other important programs. However, in terms of coverage, program quality and effectiveness have been largely criticized by social security experts, suggesting immediate reforms to old-age programs.     

Enhancing Critical Reflection amongst Social Work Students: The Contribution of an Experiential Learning Group in Care Homes for Older People

As part of a Practice Learning Centre, representing a partnership between an English University social work department and a non-governmental organisation, 12 students were placed in care homes for older people for their first period of assessed practice. The aims of this initiative were to facilitate: development of critical reflection; deployment of social work skills in a care home setting; and opportunities for social work students to work with care home residents. The learning was captured via four Experiential Groups facilitated by the Practice Educator with responsibility for assessing the students' practice. On-site supervisors also participated. Key learning included understanding of: the importance of critical reflection as a key social work skill; the influence of organisational norms and care home culture on the quality of care practice; the complexity and emotion-rich nature of person-centred care; and the pivotal role of relationships in work with people with dementia. Links made in the Groups—between the experiential and theoretical, the emotional and cognitive, and the structural and personal—demonstrate their value as learning platforms. Placements in care homes have considerable potential to enrich practice education; this is especially important in the context of an ageing population.     

Relational Autonomy in Assisted Living: A Focus on Diverse Care Settings for Older Adults

Consistent with Western cultural values, the traditional liberal theory of autonomy, which places emphasis on self-determination, liberty of choice, and freedom from interference by others, has been a leading principle in health care discourse for several decades. In context to aging, chronic illness, disability, and long-term care, increasingly there has been a call for a relational conception of autonomy that acknowledges issues of dependency, interdependence, and care relationships. Although autonomy is a core philosophy of assisted living (AL) and a growing number of studies focus on this issue, theory development in this area is lagging and little research has considered race, class, or cultural differences, despite the growing diversity of AL. We present a conceptual model of autonomy in AL based on over a decade of research conducted in diverse facility settings. This relational model provides an important conceptual lens for understanding the dynamic linkages between varieties of factors at multiple levels of social structure that shape residents' ability to maintain a sense of autonomy in this often socially challenging care environment. Social and institutional change, which is ongoing, as well as the multiple and ever-changing cultural contexts within which residents are embedded, are important factors that shape residents' experiences over time and impact resident-facility fit and residents' ability to age in place.     

Protecting Older People From Burglary: Prevalence of Security Devices in the Homes of Older Adults in Perth,Western Australia

ABSTRACT

Fear restricts the activity of older adults, potentially leading to social isolation and unhealthy life styles. Consequently, this population remains a priority for home security research and intervention. One option is to increase home security by installing security devices. However, little is known about how older adults protect their homes. In this study, 5,582 community-dwelling older people completed a cross-sectional survey. The survey was able to document the prevalence of security measures taken by older adults. More than 70% of the respondents had security screens and key-operated deadlocks and 148 (2.7%) respondents reported no security features. Respondents living alone had the lowest prevalence of home security devices. Female living alone protected their home differently from male living alone by installing different security devices. Logistic regression analysis indicated that older adults living in detached houses feel particularly vulnerable to burglary (p < .001). These survey findings have practical implication for burglary prevention.     

Materializing architecture for social care: Brick walls and compromises in design for later life

This article reports on an ethnography of architectural projects for later life social care in the UK. Informed by recent debates in material studies and “materialities of care” we offer an analysis of a care home project that is sensitive to architectural materials that are not normally associated with care and well-being. Although the care home design project we focus on in this article was never built, we found that design discussions relating to a curved brick wall and bricks more generally were significant to its architectural “making”. The curved wall and the bricks were used by the architects to encode quality and values of care into their design. This was explicit in the design narrative that was core to a successful tender submitted by a consortium comprising architects, developers, contractors, and a care provider to a local authority who commissioned the care home. However, as the project developed, initial consensus for the design features fractured. Using a materialized analysis, we document the tussles generated by the curved wall and the bricks and argue that mundane building materials can be important to, and yet marginalized within, the relations inherent to an “architectural care assemblage.” During the design process we saw how decisions about materials are contentious and they act as a catalyst of negotiations that compromise “materialities of care.”     

The invisibility of age: gender and class in later life

Sociology almost entirely neglects later life. This contrasts with social policy where elderly people are largely seen as a burden on society and their carers. The article examines three areas of sociological enquiry and suggests reasons for the omission of elderly people. Parallels are drawn with sociology's earlier neglect of women. The feminist agenda has largely excluded the concerns of elderly women and at times has contributed to the pathological image of elderly people as burdens to be shouldered by their daughters. We argue that sociological theories would be enriched by incorporating the experiences of elderly people within their theoretical net.