Interviewing Elderly Residents in Assisted Living

The interpretation of interview data requires an understanding of its context. In this study, the context was Assisted Living (AL). Twenty-one interviews were conducted with elderly residents of 4 Midwestern Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs). Institutional fear and loneliness associated with ALF living framed residents’ interpretation of and responses to the interview questions. Residents feared transfer to a nursing home, and they experienced the loneliness of being cut off from their homes and put into the care of busy staff members. Their framing of and responses to questions (both qualitative and quantitative) reflected this context, and included the invocation of impairments, the reluctance to criticize staff, and the refusal to complain about the ALF or their present situation.

Social Care in Old Age: More Than a Funding Problem

There is currently a debate about the future funding of long-term care for old people. Welcome as it is, there is a risk that the focus on finance will obscure equally important questions about who should provide the care and what models of care should be chosen. Many years of research and innovation in the care of the elderly have shown that the effective and efficient provision of simple care services is very difficult to achieve. Social care is at once everyday and peculiarly complex. Some essential characteristics of social care are described which make it unlikely that a solution to the funding problem will improve either the allocation or the outcomes of long-term care.     

Impact of Environment on Social and Activity Behavior in Public Housing for the Elderly

The study examines the inter-relationshps of physical design and service environments on the social and activity behaviors of residents in public housing for the elderly. It compares the observed behavior patterns found in the common spaces of 11 apartment buildings administered by a midwest housing authority. The findings indicate that building height, number of apartment doors ajar and provision of meal service can facilitate increased resident sociability in the public spaces of senior housing buildings.     

Depression,Hopelessness, and Suicidal Ideation Among the Elderly

Abstract

This study attempts to compare levels of depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation among elderly males and females, in reference to their living arrangement, i.e., community vs. nursing homes. For many elderly people, old age is characterized by various losses: physiological, functional, social, cognitive, financial, etc. The outcomes of such losses often include, more often than not, environmental isolation, a subjective feeling of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and frequently, loss of motivation to continue living. In light of the rise in life expectancy and the multitude of losses which can be associated with the aging process, it is probable that one out of five elderly persons will spend part of his/her life in a long term care institute. Such living arrangements may have negative effects on the mental health of its residents, because placement is often accompanied by feelings of lack of control over one's own life, and inability to make decisions regarding daily issues. Elderly persons living in the community (227: 78 men, 149 women) and 91 living in nursing homes (33 men, 58 women), in both independent and frail functional status (ADL), participated in the study. Findings show significantly more hopelessness, helplessness, and depression among residents of nursing homes compared to those living in the community, differences between men and women living in both environments, and a correlation between other demographic variables and the three dependent variables of the study. The conclusions of the study indicate a need to pay interdisciplinary attention to the mental health of elderly residents of nursing homes, particularly in the preliminary stages of placement and adjustment.     

Assisted Living,Elderly Women and Sense of Self: Communicating the Impact of Reduction of Long-Standing Activities

ABSTRACT

Through the use of in-depth interviews this study examines elderly women's communication about transitioning to assisted living and personal sense of self. A combination of communication and aging theory and socio historical factors aid in understanding the communication elderly women use to describe themselves within the context of life events prior to and after becoming an assisted living resident. Findings reveal that decrease in long-standing feminine sphere (traditionally female household) tasks due to the transition to assisted living is the major factor leading to the inability to communicate the sense of self. Inability to adjust and accept the downsizing of feminine sphere activities leads to several mental, physical and social implications.     

社会养老服务机构的法律规制

我国养老服务机构存在分类混乱、资金匮乏、管理体系不明、人员缺乏、风险巨大等发展困境,迫切需要法律规制和引导。新修订的《老年人权益保障法》针对上述问题对社会养老服务机构作出了相应规范,但在社会养老服务机构的称谓、分类、监管和法律责任方面仍略显不足。可以考虑在《老年人权益保障法》中对社会养老服务机构的界定、分类标准、准入、管理等作系统规定,并完善相应配套法规。     

从华人文化脉络反思台湾高龄社会下的老人福祉

为了以具本土契合性的方式理解华人社会中新兴的高龄化议题,文章从亲子代间伦理的角度切入,在台湾社会文化与现行政策脉络下,以华人孝道概念为核心,整合西方既有研究概念及研究取向,进而建构一套适用于探究华人文化脉络下高龄福祉议题的前沿理论。孝道概念及文化在近期高龄化趋势下开始受到西方学术社群与政策单位的重视,但可惜的是,无论华人或欧美研究者往往都将孝道内涵局限于"奉养年老父母的义务",或子女在物质、劳务与情感层面上提供父母代间支持之义务,而未能掌握华人文化中各种孝道行为在个人、家庭与社会等层次上的不同功能与意涵。有鉴于此,文章特别援用华人孝道双元模型,借助其在孝道概念化方式上兼具亲子代间关系运作特征、儒家伦理展现形式之优势,完整反映出孝道在华人社会中同时涵盖私德与公德领域的运作特征,及其在个人、家庭及社会层次上的多元功能,据以深入解读台湾老人福祉议题与相关现象、政策方向背后更细微的本土特色与伦理意涵。     

农村老年人自杀风险的社会工作干预模式 ———以抗逆力视角为例

农村老年人自杀是中国社会快速发展过程中凸显出来的一个特殊失范问题,既有宏观社会结构、文化方面也有微观个体的原因。与传统公共卫生视角、社会政策与保障视角不同,社会工作专业化的自杀干预模式强调宏观与微观、环境与个体的联结,对于降低农村老人自杀率具有重要的意义。以提升老年人抗逆力为项目目标,通过一个农村敬老院老年人自杀风险干预的社会工作实践,对社会工作干预模式的过程进行了介绍,以期为社工介入农村老年人自杀提供循证研究。并据此提出,为了减少农村老年人的自杀现象,较合理的路径就是结合中国当前正大力推动的社会工作人才队伍建设活动,积极发展本土化、专业化、社区为本的社会工作老年人自杀干预模式。     

莫西沙星治疗老年下呼吸道感染的疗效观察

目的研究莫西沙星治疗老年下呼吸道感染的临床疗效与安全性。方法搜集老年下呼吸道感染病例98例,对其用药前后的临床症状、体征、实验室检查和病原学检查。及肝肾功能相关指标进行分析。结果98例患者经莫西沙星治疗后急性支气管炎有效率为90．0％、慢性支气管炎急性发作（ABCE）为80．0％、慢性阻塞性肺疾病急性加重期（AECOPD）轻度为80％、中度为64.3％、重度为61．5％,慢性支气管炎并肺炎为54．5％。98例患者治疗中出现头晕3例、出现幻觉1例,所有患者用药前后肝肾功能相关指标变化无统计学意义。结论莫西沙星治疗老年下呼吸道感染疗效确切,安全。