A recent study into the quality of care homes which has sparked a much wider legal investigation has been called 'a manifestation of our buckling social care system' by Age UK.
Care home residents in England have variable access to health care services. There is currently no coherent policy or consensus about the best arrangements to meet these needs. The purpose of this review was to explore the evidence for how different service delivery models for care home residents support and/or improve wellbeing and health-related outcomes in older people living and dying in care homes.
American Psychologist71.4 (May-Jun 2016): 302-311.
Elder abuse is a growing societal concern, affecting at least 1 in 10 older Americans. Researchers and practitioners alike consistently assert that a dramatic discrepancy exists between the prevalence rates of elder abuse and the number of elder abuse cases reported. As a field of study, recognition and understanding of elder abuse is still emerging. Comparing findings of a small, but growing, body of literature on perceived and substantiated cases of elder abuse is challenging because there is no uniform term or agreed-upon definition used among state governments, researchers, health care and service providers, and advocates. This article summarizes current understanding of elder abuse, including what constitutes elder abuse, risk factors for elder abuse, perpetrators of elder abuse, and outcomes of elder abuse. Issues associated with the detection of elder abuse and intervention strategies for victims of abuse are addressed. In the final section, potential roles and contributions of psychologists for advancing elder abuse research, professional practice, and policy development are highlighted
To test the relationship between greenery in gardens at residential facilities for older people and the self-perceived health of residents, mediated by experiences of being away and fascination when in the garden and the frequency of visitation there. To examine how these indirect effects vary with the number of physical barriers to visiting the garden. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
It is conventional wisdom that primary care for community-dwelling older people needs to shift from vertical, disease-oriented system of care to horizontal, problem-based, person-centred, goal-oriented care, integrating all healthcare providers. Although plausible, there is little evidence that such horizontal care, when embedded into routine practice, is effective in reducing disability and improving function, quality of life or well-being among older people. The negative findings of the ISCOPE trial, published in this issue [1], add to the argument that conventional wisdom may be wrong. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
The concerns of older carers of an adult with disabilities have been well documented. The sudden incapacity or death of the carer can result in a crisis response rather than a planned transition to a chosen sustainable alternative care arrangement for the person with disability. Building on previous ‘Futures Planning’ projects, the aim of this project was to enrich the lives of people with disabilities and their carers whilst ensuring that their wishes for the future are documented to provide security. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library