Migration and Aging

Abstract

This paper is based on a study in Zimbabwe of older people over age 60 living in Harare, Mutare, and villages up to 50 km from these two cities. The major areas studied were the types of migrants, preferred residence, and their overall life satisfaction. Interviews were carried out by unemployed school dropouts from the two cities, especially trained for the job. The results showed that the rural-urban migrants constituted the largest group, while returnee migrants were the smallest. Among the respondents were also foreign, rural-rural, and non-migrants. There were significant differences by location and gender. Three-quarters of the respondents preferred to live in a village than in a city. Returnee migrants were consistently the most satisfied, and those who had not migrated, the least. Policy implications are discussed.     

Implications of Welfare Reform on the Elderly

Abstract

Whereas many studies of welfare reform have focused on effects on children and families, little research has examined the implications of welfare reform for the elderly. This case study incorporates interviews with service providers for the aging, members of advocacy organizations, and two focus groups of older consumers conducted in the multi-ethnic urban community of San Francisco. Study findings suggest that welfare reform has had both direct and indirect effects on the elderly and their services in the study community. Direct effects derive primarily from changes in the welfare reform legislation that had the effect of undermining both immigrants' eligibility for and claiming of public assistance benefits. Indirect effects on older persons include increased child-care demands upon grandparents. The case study data bear on a significant policy change within the broader trend of devolution at a historical point when anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States was running high.     

同业支持型社会组织发展的动力机制——以N市G区社区养老社会组织为例

根据组织提供的服务类型,支持型社会组织分为“单一功能支持型组织”和“同业支持型社会组织”。以社区居家养老组织“心贴心”为例,组织发展的动力机制;一方面,同业支持型社会组织为其自身发展需要而积累的“组织发展要素”是发挥同业支持的必要条件;另一方面,新生组织的孵化、适当的政社关系的构建对同业圈内支持的需求是同业支持的充分条件。同业支持型社会组织有利于构建有机的社会组织生态圈,是一种提升社会组织能力的新方式。     

北京市城市老年人服务的网络介入模式研究

本文在"三网融合"的背景下,以老年人服务体系信息化为出发点,梳理北京市老年人服务与网络介入方式的现状,从介入工具、介入形式、网络服务平台的运营形式三个维度提出北京市老年人服务体系的网络介入模式,并提出实施的政策建议。     

老年服刑人员:社会工作面临的挑战

随着人口老龄化的加剧,老年人口数量不断增加。由于各种各样的因素老年服刑人员在比例和数量方面都有所增长。这些老化的监狱人口产生了一系列政治和实践问题,其中包括正义的考虑、成本控制问题和生理-心理-社会护理需要。老年服刑人员的生理、社会和心理需求是复杂的而且需要以老年病学为基础提供系统服务。为此,应该发挥社会工作的专业优势,帮助这些脆弱群体顺利度过老年。     

肇庆社区老年人文化建设现存问题及解决方案——以城西社区为例

通过对城西社区老年人文化生活的调查和分析,指出目前肇庆社区老年文化建设主要存在场地不足、设施种类单一;文化活动思想性、政治性不高;基础建设资金和活动经费投入严重不足;文化工作队伍建设严重滞后等问题。建议政府要建立规范制度以保障社区老年文化建设,同时积极引进市场机制,吸收社会资金,加大社区文化建设的资金投入,另外还要相应提高社区文化服务人员待遇,培养社区文化骨干,并大力提倡大学生志愿者活动。     

Evaluating Social Integration and Psychological Outcomes for Older Adults Enrolled at a University Intergenerational Program

Abstract

Intergenerational programs are proliferating. The basic assumption of such programs is that pairing older and younger people in various activities and contexts such as educational programs will produce positive developmental benefits for all participants. Educational programs appear to help adults to remain socially active and connected. The University of Valencia (Spain) initiated in 1999–2000 a “University Program for Seniors” for adults age 55 and over, entitled “Nau Gran.”The goal of this paper is to present baseline results on the benefits and impacts for older adults enrolled at the program during 2002. Results from a sample of 212 sophomore and junior older adult participants are presented. The questionnaire included socio-demographic information and items regarding health, social integration, and psychological outcomes. Results indicated that older adults attending courses at the University increased their level of social integration.     

Feeding the Hand that Bit You: Lesbian Daughters at Mid-Life Negotiating Parental Caretaking

SUMMARY

Like other women in our culture, lesbians find parental caretaking is a gendered expectation that often falls to them. This article explores how we negotiate competing demands and integrate our parents' needs into our lives. The daughter/parent relationship may have been strained by parental homophobia, exclusion of our partner, “splitting” between our lesbian and birth family lives, and physical distance. We may recall feelings of metaphorical and physical caretaking not offered to us when we came out, when lack of parental support may have brought financial abandonment and emotional upset. Inversion of the relationship into the child as parental caretaker, fraught with mixed emotions, can bring resolution of long-held resentments and pain.     

Religiousness/Spirituality and Subjective Well-Being Among Rural Elderly Whites,African Americans,and Native Americans

SUMMARY

Little attention has been paid to subjective well-being among non-White elderly in rural areas where medical resources and financial support are deficient. The present study assessed a rural community sample of 215 elderly comprising 85 Caucasians, 75 African Americans, and 55 Native Americans, to examine roles of spirituality/religiousness on their subjective well-being. This study found ethnic differences in the reliance on religiosity/spirituality and a significant association between dimensions of religiousness/spirituality and subjective well-being among all ethnic rural elderly groups. The results of the study suggest that health providers, social workers, and faith communities need to provide rural elderly with religious and spiritual support in order to enhance their life satisfaction and lessen their emotional distress.     

Insulin resistance,oxidative stress markers and the blood antioxidant system in overweight elderly men

The purpose of the study was to examine in the blood of overweight men aged from 62 to 83 years, the relationships between age and insulin resistance, selected parameters of the oxidative stress, and the antioxidant defense system. The population studied was divided into two groups: the group ‘young-old’ consisted of men aged 62 to 74 years old, and the group ‘old-old’– of men aged between 75 and 83 years. The total antioxidative status (TAS) and concentrations of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were measured in the blood plasma. In the serum samples, the levels of antibodies against oxidized LDL (oLAB), glucose, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin were measured. Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA_IR) was calculated. Concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase activity (GPx) were determined in the red blood cells hemolysate. The results of the study did not show significant differences between groups investigated with respect to concentrations of TBARS, TAS, GSH and GPx. However, significantly higher concentrations of glucose and antibodies against oxLDL (p < 0.05) were observed in the group of men over 74 years old in comparison to the group of ‘young-old’ men. It was indicated that the increased insulin resistance and hyperglycemia in elderly men are related to body mass and that they cause intensified oxidative modifications of LDL.