Gerontological Approach Research Articles

“Her World Gets Smaller and Smaller With Nothing To Look Forward To” Dimensions of Social Inclusion and Exclusion Among Rural Dementia Care Networks

The purpose of this research was to critique the nature of rural dementia care from the perspectives of persons with dementia, their family caregivers and home care providers through a social inclusion/exclusion lens. A critical gerontology approach within a human rights framework (Townsend, 2006) was used. Three rural dementia care networks were included consisting of persons with dementia (n=3), spouse caregivers (n=3), adult children (n=9), grandchildren (n=2) and home care providers (n=3). Thematic analysis (Lubrosky, 1994) revealed three overarching inclusion/exclusion themes. Members of the dementia care network were being denied and afforded opportunities with respect to: (i) experiencing quality relationships among network members; (ii) having a voice in dementia care decisions; and (iii) participating in care, social, and work activities. This study contributes evidence that challenges the myth of the idyllic nature of rural places. Findings revealed the diversity of lived experiences within dementia care network members who described both positive (e.g., close community ties, life-long work opportunities) and negative (e.g., stigma of dementia, dangers of rural setting) aspects of the link between living in a rural setting and living with dementia.

Common understanding of the needs and requirements of URC: The gerontological approach and vision

Common understanding of the needs and requirements of URC: The gerontological approach and vision

Thinking about Generations: Conceptual Positions and Policy Implications

Three traditions of social theory are examined in this article, with a special emphasis being given to the ways that the concept of “generation” has been conceived and developed over time. These include Psychodynamic, Sociological, and Gerontological approaches with attention drawn to the similarities and differences among them. It is concluded that while conceptual development has been uneven, taken together, they provide a rich basis for a critical examination of contemporary social problems with implications for policy toward intergenerational relationships.

What Older Adults Can Teach Us About Designing Better Ballots

FEATURE AT A GLANCE: In this article, we examine the interplay between electronic voting technology machine types (touchscreen vs. touchscreen + keypad) and ballot designs (full ballot vs. one office per page) that together comprise the interface to which voters are exposed. Using a gerontological approach, we show that determining the most usable system for voters with the most limited capabilities (in this study, older participants) also corresponded to higher performance across groups (younger participants). Because older adults are more sensitive to slight differences in human-computer interaction designs, examining their performance may help shed light on potential problems that could otherwise go undetected.

Freirean Philosophy and Pedagogy in the Adult Education Context: The Case of Older Adults’ Learning

Central tenets of Freirean philosophy and pedagogy are explored and applied to the emerging field of older adults’ learning (educational gerontology), a sub-field of adult education. I argue that many of Freire’s concepts and principles have direct applicability to the tasks of adult educators working alongside marginalized older adults. In particular, Freire’s ideas fit comfortably within a critical educational gerontology approach as they challenge prevailing orthodoxies and provide a robust analytical framework from which radical adult educators can work effectively in promoting social transformation.

Informal care in the context of long-term marriage: The challenge to practice

Long-married spouses provide a crucial role in the provision of care and support to chronically ill spouses. Elderly spouse care may be distinguished by features such as co-resident care, the greater likelihood of providing significant intimate and personal care, and both partners experiencing significant health problems. The trajectory of care in the context of long-term marriage relationships may include rapid alterations in the ways in which care is defined, who undertakes care for whom, and the nature of the caring role. Drawing on data from a research project that explored the impact of chronic illness and disability on long-established marital relationships, this article explores some of the complexities of ‘care giving’ in the context of long-term marriage. It goes on to consider the practice challenges associated with assessment and intervention with long-married couples. The impact of a managerialist agenda on practice is considered and the importance of a critical gerontological social work approach is introduced.

Perfil epidemiológico do idoso: experiência de uma unidade de saúde do Programa de Saúde da Família em Curitiba

Pesquisas demonstram a questão gerontológica como a urgência do amanhã. Sendo assim, buscou-se determinar o perfil dos idosos da comunidade de Vila Torres, no município de Curitiba, com o intuito de se constatar o quadro agravante em que os mesmos se encontram. Após preenchimento do termo de consentimento livre e esclarecido, efetuou-se a apuração de dados vitais dos pacientes em questão, por meio de antropometria, miniavaliação nutricional, mini exame do estado mental, teste físico e revisão do prontuário eletrônico do período de 1 ano anterior a essa pesquisa (o qual fornece informações acerca de número de consultas, diagnósticos, medicação e confirmação de dados) e, então,verificou-se que: a) 72% dos examinados apresentaram pressão arterial elevada com ou sem tratamento,estando 64% dos mesmos tanto com alterações sistólicas quanto diastólicas; b) as alterações da pressão arterial estão diretamente relacionadas a mudanças do estado mental (demência); c) há um percentual elevado de demência em normotensos que compõem a faixa etária de 70 a 74 anos (4 casos, dentre os avaliados); d) sendo desfavorecida a condição socioeconômica dos pacientes, o nível de alterações da nutrição é mais elevado. Por esse motivo, nenhum dos que se submeteu à avaliação apresentou estado nutricional adequado, estando 83% deles em risco nutricional e 17% desnutridos (perceptível apenas pela miniavaliação do quadro alimentar); e) há o predomínio de mulheres sobre homens em todas as idades. Sendo observados, em proporção ainda maior do que na literatura, o comprometimento nutricional e a doença hipertensiva descontrolada, urge abordar tanto o controle da pressão arterial quanto o estado nutricional dos idosos dessa comunidade, por meio de promoção, prevenção, proteção e recuperação da saúde dos mesmos, além de melhor programação de ações sobre suas causas e seus riscos e danos.

Women Growing Older:

This article considers the extent to which gerontological theories, that highlight the problems associated with later life, reflect the experiences of older women across ethnic and cultural difference. It is based on an ESRC research study examining women's experiences of growing old across ethnicity and culture. Concepts that are often used to measure these experiences include `quality of life' and `successful ageing'. These are linked to other culturally related concepts such as agency, self-autonomy, independence and dis/empowerment. Yet, while it is the case that the meanings attached to these concepts change according to locality and context, they are often applied in a way that reifies dominant values and perceptions. Central to this article is the contention that gerontological approaches have often made ethnic and cultural experiences of later life invisible. Further, such approaches have assumed that agency is something that is either present or absent and that this is linked almost exclusively to income, housing, and other structures. A key argument is that this has led to an overstatement of the effects of structural disadvantage and a neglect of the diverse individual and collective strategies women use to maintain agency and control in later life. Empirical evidence presented in the article suggests there are significant cultural differences in the meanings older women attach to self-fulfilment and `successful ageing'.

An In‐Home Preventive Assessment Program for Independent Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

To evaluate the effectiveness of in-home geriatric assessments as a means of providing preventive health care and improving health and functional status of community-living elderly veterans. Randomized controlled trial with 1-year follow-up. Home visits performed in a suburb of Los Angeles. Community-living veterans 70 years and older not currently receiving health care at the Sepulveda VA Medical Center (n = 131 intervention; 123 controls). A home visit by a physician's assistant or nurse, to screen for medical, functional and psychosocial problems, followed by a letter describing findings and recommendations, and follow-up visits by trained volunteers at 4-month intervals for 1 year. Controls received only telephone interviews at 4-month intervals to collect outcome data. Compliance with recommendations was studied for the intervention group. Outcome comparisons between the two groups included: mortality, medication usage, functional status, immunization rates, and nursing home and hospital utilization. A mean of four new or suboptimally treated problems was identified for intervention subjects. Subjects complied with 76% of recommendations to see a physician or initiate a specific health practice. At 12-month follow-up, intervention subjects had significantly increased their immunization rates (P < 0.001) and had a significantly increased likelihood of having a primary care physician (P < 0.05). Twelve-month functional status (IADL) scores were significantly higher for intervention subjects than for controls; intervention subjects maintained their functional status, while controls experienced significant decline during the follow-up year (P < 0.05). Non-prescription drug use increased significantly among controls, but not among intervention subjects (P < 0.05). A brief geriatric screening assessment performed in the home can detect unrecognized and treatable problems, even among relatively healthy older adults. The use of trained volunteers is a feasible strategy for providing health education and follow-up contacts. These results support the concept that preventive gerontological approaches can help maintain important aspects of health and function.

The Modesty : A Gerontological Approach to Japanese Elderly&lt;Special Editing&gt;Psychological issues for the aged

The Modesty : A Gerontological Approach to Japanese Elderly&lt;Special Editing&gt;Psychological issues for the aged

A problem-based, student-centered approach to teaching geriatrics in the classroom.

According to Barrows and Tamblyn (1980), the possible teaching-learning methods in medicine can be categorized in two ways. First, how is the content organized? In this regard, instruction can be categorized as subject-based or problem-based. Second, who decides what is to be learned? In this regard, instruction can be categorized as teacher-centered or student-centered. The most traditional combination is subject-based, teacher-centered. The purpose of this article is to encourage the use of a problem-based, student-centered (PBSC) approach in gerontology and geriatrics education in the classroom.

Old Age and the Welfare State.

The modern welfare state is above all a welfare state for the elderly. An overwhelming proportion of its services and benefits go to them. The current crisis of the welfare state is also, therefore, a crisis of policy concerned with the aged. The essays in this volume examine not only interventions by governments on behalf of the old, but the very basis and history of the welfare state itself. From a variety of perspectives ranging from structural functionalism to neomarxism, they examine old age policy in six advanced industrial nations -- the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, West Germany, and France. The essays in Part One deal with the process of making public policy on old age and changes in it during the current economic crisis. Contributions in the second part examine the impact of existing policies on older people. The focus of the essays on social, economic, and political aspects amounts to a new approach in gerontology that has been called by some the political economy of ageing. This book is unique in providing research on the relationship between old age policy and the larger class structure, economy, and state apparatus of more than one country. It will become a classic in the field, and an example of how sociology can be relevant to deal with our current social and economic crisis.' -- Manuel Castells, University of California at Berkeley

116. Assessing Community Health A Gerontological Approach. St. Louis Mo. St. Louis University February 1966. (Master??s thesis)

116. Assessing Community Health A Gerontological Approach. St. Louis Mo. St. Louis University February 1966. (Master??s thesis)

The Motor Performance of a Rural Population in Japan

This paper is one of several reports of ecological cooperation between cultural and physical anthropologists in Sata-Mura, Kagoshima Prefecture, in the spring of 1953. Resaerch was conducted on inhabitants, male and female of all ages except pre-school children, engaging in agriculture involving heavy labour and with little contact with urban civilization. The following simple tests were selected because research was conducted in the field: (1) tapping (manual repetition of motor speed), (2) picking up balls (finger dexterity), (3) match board (manual dexterity), (4) reaction time; measured by getting the subject to pick up a stick dropped suddenly, (5) Burpee test (body agility), (6) static balancing (testing the length of time the subject can stand tiptoe on a bar) and (7) closing one eye (the development of the mimic muscles). (3) and (5) were applied only to children.As a rule children attain the adult level of motor performance at 15 years of age when most of them finish their compulsory schooling and start full-time agricultural labour, Their contemporaries who advance to a higher level of schooling progressively improve. Some decline of performance appears at about 40-50 years of age, and is especially notable in (6), while the older people show constancy in (7) and (2) as long as they can work, exclusive of abnormal conditions. Individual variation seems to become greater toward the close of life, some old people being quite lively while others are less so. In general, sexual differences are not noticeable in (2) and (3). With regard to (1), (4) and (5), males excel females. (6) and (7) show that girls are somewhat superior to boys, but this relation is reversed after adolescence. Possibly girls are more adapt in static balancing and boys in dynamic, but women may lose their superiority after the onset of menopause for physiological and psychological reasons. Labour activity among agricultural people is not only closely linked with the motor performance as mentioned above, but is also based on physical strength and endurance, factors which were not measured. I believe that the relationships of physical capacity and labour longevity to culture are important from an ecological point of view. Senile phenomena are what the complex of the individual experience the culture of a community and the natural environments elaborate upon the human organism.I suggest that a gerontological approach provides us with the necessary means of resolving the problems of contact among the physical, mental and cultural entities of a human being.