Number Of Older People Research Articles

Food security and food practices in later life: a new model of vulnerability

AbstractThe older population is particularly susceptible to malnutrition, which currently affects 1.3 million people aged 65+ in the United Kingdom. Malnutrition is an outcome of food insecurity and despite demographic changes that have led to a rise in numbers of older people, we know very little about how older people become vulnerable to food insecurity. The aim of this study was therefore to explore older people's everyday food practices in order to expose the strengths and challenges within local and national food systems, and better understand how food insecurity might arise in later life. This empirical study operationalised practice theory using a multi-method ethnographic approach with 25 households aged 60–94 years, comprising interviews, observation, visual methods and food logs. A model of vulnerability developed by Schröder-Butterfill and Marianti framed data collection and analysis. Analysis revealed the assets and adaptations older households used to protect themselves from threats to food security. Factors ranging from changes to physical and mental health, and structural factors such as supermarket design, moved households towards food insecurity. Smaller everyday ‘trivia’, e.g. lack of seating and accessible toilets in supermarkets, accumulated to shift people towards vulnerability. Vulnerability is structured by the habitus but is a fluid, relational, temporal and socially constructed state, and people moved towards and away from vulnerability. We have developed a model that accommodates this fluidity, incorporates the concept of ‘cumulative trivia’ and suggests how the ‘aggregation of marginal gains’ could counter-balance and address trivial threats. This model demonstrates to policy makers and those working in public health how vulnerability to food insecurity operates and where interventions could be applied to support households to achieve food security and avoid becoming malnourished.

Influence of socio-economic profile of neighbourhoods on the selection of home care strategies for older dependants

AbstractCare strategies for older dependants are determined by not only individuals or network characteristics, but also contextual factors. The objective of this study is to determine whether urban contexts (neighbourhoods) are linked to the use of family care (informal), public services or private care at home (formal). We applied logistic regression analysis to data from the Survey of People in a Situation of Dependence 2018. The sample was composed of 530 older people (55 years old and over) living in two types of socio-economic groups of neighbourhoods in Barcelona, Spain. The type of neighbourhood is relevant in explaining the home care that older dependants receive. In neighbourhoods with a high socio-economic level, dependants are more likely to use private services and less likely to use informal care services and public services, even after controlling for household income, degree of dependency, sex, age and the number of people in the household. Understanding the factors that determine the use of public care services, private care services or family care-giving is important due to the increment in the number of older people in the population. Our results suggest that differences in urban socio-economic contexts determine some inequalities in the use of services even after controlling for socio-economic individual differences. The characteristics of neighbourhoods should be considered to adjust care policies for older dependants.

Evaluating the Health Care the Level of Electronic Health (e-Health) among Healthcare in Developing Countries and It Application in the Management of COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak

Context: Healthcare institution in developing countries is in a state of great despair, with the lack of basic health infrastructure and support services, compounded with the ever increasing number of old people , chronic diseases and the manifestation of new communicable disease such as the ongoing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (SARS-CoV-2, 2019 or COVID-19) pandemic. The massive healthcare disruption cause by the pandemic with respect to the management modality such as social distance and contact tracing re-affirm the importance of adopting the electronic health system in developing countries. This evolutionary trend in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with the advancement in eHealth is changing the face of health care system globally by bringing healthcare closer to the people in term of cost, accessibility and planning. Despite the well documented benefits of eHealth, the knowledge and the level of adoption of these technologies in most developing countries such as Lesotho is nothing to ride home about (still remains very low). The management of Covid-19 patients has proven that healthcare is not confined; but a structured global system, with people travelling long distances than ever before. Objective: The objective of this article therefore, is aimed at evaluating the state and the level of Electronic Health (e-Health) and its adoption in the management of Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, and to also provide the authorities with information on the importance e-Health technology in this 21 century. The paper therefore reveal that, the level of e-Health in developing country like Lesotho, is still very low, due to lack of political commitment in the provision of needed infrastructure support structures.

Admiral Nurse Case Management within Enhanced Health in Care Homes

The United Kingdom’s (UK) older population is higher than the global average. Over the next 20 years, England will see an increase in the number of older people who have higher levels of dependency, dementia, and comorbidity many of whom may require 24-hour care. Currently it is estimated that 70% of residents in nursing and residential care homes either have dementia on admission or develop it whilst residing in the care home. The provision of high-quality care for this population is a challenge with a lack of consistency in the provision of primary care and specialist services and a known gap in knowledge and skills. The NHS Long Term Plan aims to move care closer to home and improve out of hospital care which includes people who live in care homes by introducing Enhanced Health in Care Homes (EHCH). However, such services need to be equipped with the correct skill mix to meet the needs of the care home population. Admiral Nurses are specialists in dementia care and are well placed to support the delivery of EHCH and improve access to specialist support to care home residents, their families, care home staff and the wider health and social care system. This paper discusses current gaps in service provision and how both the EHCH framework, and the inclusion of Admiral Nurses, might redress these and improve outcomes.

A Systematic Review on The Insurability Risk for Long-Term Care Insurance in Europe and Asia Countries

Due to the trends of the increase in life expectancies and decrement in fertility rates, the world population is moving towards becoming an ageing nation. With the rise in the number of older people, the demand for long-term care services is expected to increase. Long-term care services are ubiquitous in the developed country, especially in the European region as the countries have become the aged nations. Apart from that, the cost for long-term care services differs for individuals based on the level of needs and the service provider, either public or private nursing home for long-term care. Due to the growing cost of long-term care services, a long-term care insurance policy may be seen as an alternative to covering the cost of long-term care services because the risk is mitigated for individuals. However, most Asian countries are not familiar with the long-term care insurance policy as there is no specific insurance policy for long-term care services offered yet in these countries. The essential factor in constructing a long-term care insurance policy is to identify the risks that are insurable to be included in the policy to be used later for pricing long-term care insurance policy in Malaysia. This study provides an in-depth review and understanding of the insurable risks associated with long term care insurance in European and Asian countries.

Predictors for oral and general health outcomes and quality of life among older people attending general practice clinics in South Australia.

As the proportion and number of older people in Australia continue to grow, innovative means to tackle primary care and prevention are necessary to combat the individual, social and economic challenges of non-communicable diseases. To assess risk factors (or predictors) for oral and general health outcomes and quality of life of older people (75+ years.) attending general practice (GP) clinics in South Australia. Data were collected from older people attending 48 GP clinics in metropolitan South Australia. Age, sex, education, living arrangement, material standards, chronic conditions and nutrition were assessed as risk factors. Global self-rated oral and general health and quality of life (OHIP Severity and EQ-5D Utility) were included as outcome measures. A total of 459 participants completed the study; response rate was 78%. In the adjusted models, high satisfaction with material standards and good nutritional health were positively associated with all four oral and general health measures. Sex (β=-0.08), age (β=-0.09) and number of chronic conditions (β=-0.12) were negatively associated with EQ-5D, while living arrangement (β=0.07) was positively associated. Further, having four or more chronic conditions (RR:1.47) was significantly associated with self-rated general health. Satisfaction with material standards and nutritional risk were consistent predictors for oral and general health outcomes and quality of life of older people visiting GP clinics.

Unlock your potential with good nutrition: A prosthodontist’s outlook

General and oral health is a fundamental right of human being. Good health is achieved by assimilation of healthy diet and this further helps in maintaining health of oral hard (teeth) and soft tissues. Many age related diseases are highly influenced by nutrition. Improper nutrition not only affects physical appearance but also it affects psychological status of patient. Chronic disease and most oral diseases share common risk factors. Diet plays a key role in disease prevention, as poor diets have been linked to ill- nesses, such as osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, and bowel disease. Prosthodontist is a geriatric dentist who interacts with more number of older people as compare to other profession. Therefore, the major role for a prosthodontist is to guide the older people regarding malnutrition, balanced diet and age-related diseases. In this literature review the outlines of nutrition, basic requirements of nutrition associate with aging have been discussed.

Designing web search UI for the elderly community: a systematic literature review

Now-a-days the number of older people or senior citizens are rapidly increasing across the world and their need for the internet is also increasing mostly for information searching to make them up to date with the current trends and news. Therefore, they need a search user interface that is to be elderly-friendly so as to communicate with the computing system and to attain better results for their search task. The user interface is the only way of communication between the users and the computing systems. Currently, available user interfaces focus only on youngsters' needs and their recommendations to attract them, but the need for seniors is neglected, because of which the elders could not handle these complicated user interfaces for their search task and attain their target information. Thus, this topic is in trend today by the researchers to build a new type of user interface that can cope up with the elderly needs and to improve their daily life. Even though there exists a considerable growth in this research area, there are no attempts made to analyze the existing studies systematically and utilize those ideas mentioned by various other researchers. Thus, in this systematic literature review, the existing methods of search user interfaces and the elderly user behaviors are well analyzed and then certain recommendations are proposed which are useful for future researches in this field. The objective of this systematic literature review (SLR) is to collect and analyze the facts that are proposed in existing research articles and existing designs of web search user interface that are related to the challenges, impact and limitations that elderly people are experiencing while doing a web search in their daily activities so as to gather information online. This SLR is organized by gathering all the existing survey papers and research papers that have been published over a specific period of time. These papers are systematically reviewed by some pre-defined reviewing strategy thereby making a conclusion regarding the design of user interface for the elderly community. A total of 30 studies are selected as primary subject for the literature survey regarding web search user interface for the elderly. From these selected studies, the data needed for the research are extracted using an approach of systematic mapping and are synthesized to acquire knowledge related to the current research topic. These studies are analyzed and synthesized in such a way that the knowledgeis used for answering the research questions formulated during the survey. The information regarding the user interface for interaction, the assistance provided to elderly by the existing user interfaces, the impact created by those UI’s on the elderly community and the research gaps and limitations that occur in existing researches and systems while communicating with the computing systems through a user interface for their daily internet search activities are extracted and some recommendations are proposed for future researchers. There are some more research gaps identified in the current state-of-the-art since most of the researches don’t focus on the aging of the elderly and their consequences while interacting with the computing system through a user interface. Thus, this research can help in finding a better understanding of elders and the difficulties faced by them while searching through the internet so as to develop a positive impact for the researchers to create an elderly-friendly user interface for web search activities.

Comparative Study of Population Aging Trend in Iran and Poland

Population aging and its consequences are an extremely controversial issue in the global context. An increase in the number of older people along with a decrease in the birth rate leads to an excessive burden on the economically active part of the population. Such imbalances threaten to reduce the workforce, slow economic growth, increase social spending, increase the fiscal burden. Therefore, using the country’s own experience to solve the problem of rapid aging of the nation and take measures to improve the quality of life of older people and their social integration into society is insufficient, as changes in the age structure of the population may occur for the first time. Therefore, it is necessary to study and adapt the experience of other countries to address this social issue. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of the aging population in Iran and Poland, as well as to assess the impact of the nation’s aging on life expectancy, fertility and gross domestic product (GDP) in these two countries. The object of the study is Poland as a representative of European countries, which is facing an increase in the number of elderly people, and Iran as a country where the age structure of the population is just beginning to change. The study period is 1950-2020. The results of the study show that there has been an increase in the elderly population, but the share of this population compared to other countries is lower. The authors of the study proved the existence of significant differences in the aging population in Poland and Iran. A feature of the demographic situation in Iran is the declining birth rate, which leads to a decrease in the total population and an increase in the proportion of elderly people. These socio-demographic transformations in the long run can have a destructive effect on Iran’s GDP. In contrast to Iran, Poland is experiencing an increase in population aging, leading to rising spending on social security and protection, as well as falling GDP. The rapid growth of the elderly population compared to the growth of the total population of the country and the increase in the share of elderly people in the coming years emphasizes the need for further planning of control over the problems associated with this population group.

Age modifies the effect of ethanol on behavior: Investigations in adolescent, adult and aged rats.

The number of older people is increasing in most if not all countries in the world. In addition, the amount of alcohol consumption in the aged population is increasing and the consumption pattern is often in a binge fashion. However, little is known if the effects of alcohol, either acute or chronic exposure, vary in the older population compared to younger populations. The current mini-review will provide an overview of the effects of acute and chronic ethanol exposure at three different periods of development: adolescent, adult and aged on multiple different commonly studied behaviors. The overall conclusion is that biological age of the subject is a critical factor in understanding the effects of ethanol across the lifespan.

Geospatial panorama of long-term care facilities in Brazil: a portrait of territorial inequalities

OBJECTIVES: To map the number and geospatial distribution of Brazilian long-term care facilities (LTCFs) for older adults. Additionally, we sought to highlight the relationship between these findings and the number of older people in the country’s 27 Federation Units, demonstrating the growth of these facilities in the last decade. METHODS: This is a descriptive observational study, using secondary data, which was performed in 3 stages: 1) searching and consolidating national and subnational data from different sources and mapping LTCFs; 2) preparing a geospatial map using Brazilian postal codes; and 3) triangulating the number of facilities and of older people in each state and all 5 Brazilian regions. RESULTS: We found 7029 LTCFs in the country, mostly in the Southeast and South regions: São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul had the highest numbers of facilities while states in the North region represented only 1.12% of Brazilian LTCFs. Geospatial mapping highlighted that 64% of the 5 570 Brazilian municipalities did not have any LTCFs for older adults. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a large difference between Brazilian regions regarding the provision of long-term care.

Exploring Health-Related Needs of Elderly People (70+) at Home: A Qualitative Study From Switzerland.

Background:The elderly represents the fastest growing group in our population. Since there is a close relationship between the number of older people and health care expenditure, promoting healthy aging has become an important topic. However, it is essential to understand first the needs of this population in order to create suitable programs and activities.Methods:A qualitative design was used in this study to explore the subjective views of elderly people and to learn more about their health-related needs. A total of 12 participants were recruited using a consecutive sampling strategy. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed by employing a summarizing content analysis.Results:This study has identified 4 areas of health-related needs: Independence and autonomy, social security, structure in daily life and community and belonging, where all categories are interrelated and interact with one other.Conclusion:Focusing more on community-based approaches would support creating a conducive environment. Also, home visits undertaken by a specialized nurse focused on health risks and disabilities could be an adequate approach to support the elderly population in an efficient way and to offer targeted programs and activities.

A Systematic Review on The Insurability Risk for Long-Term Care Insurance in Europe and Asia Countries

Due to the trends of the increase in life expectancies and decrement in fertility rates, the world population is moving towards becoming an ageing nation. With the rise in the number of older people, the demand for long-term care services is expected to increase. Long-term care services are ubiquitous in the developed country, especially in the European region as the countries have become the aged nations. Apart from that, the cost for long-term care services differs for individuals based on the level of needs and the service provider, either public or private nursing home for long-term care. Due to the growing cost of long-term care services, a long-term care insurance policy may be seen as an alternative to covering the cost of long-term care services because the risk is mitigated for individuals. However, most Asian countries are not familiar with the long-term care insurance policy as there is no specific insurance policy for long-term care services offered yet in these countries. The essential factor in constructing a long-term care insurance policy is to identify the risks that are insurable to be included in the policy to be used later for pricing long-term care insurance policy in Malaysia. This study provides an in-depth review and understanding of the insurable risks associated with long term care insurance in European and Asian countries.

Does Long-Term Care Substitute for Hospital Care? Evidence From the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey

Publicly funded long-term care (LTC) support is shrinking in many countries despite continuing increases in the number of older people who need care. Evidence has shown that the LTC services have an impact on the efficient use of the resources in the health care sector by reducing rates of admission and associated costs through assisting older people with daily living. This paper seeks to examine whether and to what extent these services are substitutes. We use a fixed-effect instrumental variable GMM model to predict the effect of long-term care services on the utilisation of outpatient and inpatient care services. Data are drawn from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey 2011, 2013 and 2015. Our findings suggest that LTC significantly reduces the use of outpatient care but not inpatient care. We have also found LTC use is concentrated among the rich, but the substitution effects are stronger among the poor compared to the rich. This indicates that the poor would benefit more from subsided LTC services. We urge the Chinese government to take action to develop its formal LTC system and to channel more resources to its LTC system, which will benefit the older population in general, and the poor in particular.

Social Exclusion and Material Disadvantage: Housing, Poverty, and Living Standards Impacts

SRPP 2020 Ollie Randall Symposium Award Winner. Many of the detrimental effects of material disadvantage on the lives of citizens have been well understood by public health and social scientists, and post-World War II social protection polices were designed to mitigate the negative impacts of them. As the numbers of older people increase proportionally to the rest of the population in most countries, less is known about the exclusionary impacts of material disadvantage and the roles housing, poverty and living standards play on the health, well-being and social connections of their lives. This symposium draws together research emanating out of four countries Norway, Poland, Ireland and New Zealand that are part of the European COST Action 15122 Reducing Old-Age Social Exclusion: Collaborations in Research and Policy (ROSEnet). The papers present contemporary results of specific health well-being and social impacts of material disadvantage in the four quite different countries and assesses them through the lens of social exclusion. As the growing international evidence during the last decade has highlighted the negative health and well-being impacts of loneliness and social disconnection (Holt-Lunstad et. al. 2015), the role of housing, poverty and living standards has in creating social exclusion is less well known. This research analyses the subjective and objective experiences of material disadvantage and quantifies their exclusionary impacts on well-being (e.g. quality of life, loneliness), health functioning (mental and physical) and their challenges to macro-structures (e.g. government policies, social protection).

Building Community Space for Supporting Residents Living With Dementia in a Housing Complex District in Tokyo, Japan

It is estimated that by 2025 the number of people with dementia will reach around 600 thousand, approximately one out of five in the older population in Tokyo, Japan. At the same time, the number of older people living in a single, couple household is expected to increase. We built a community space for older people in the largest housing complex district in Tokyo, and with the goal of creating a dementia friendly community (DFCs). In this study, we used the community-based participatory research approach to create a model of an inclusive community space with a human-rights-based approach, which is embodied in the PANEL framework by the Alzheimer Scotland organization. The community space where everyone, regardless of with or without dementia, can freely spend their time, and seek consultation on healthcare and older care. It also serves as a Dementia Café, where people with dementia can get together and chat. Places open 3 days a week. Those users can casually seek consultation by physicians, health nurses and psychologists. From April 1, 2017 to March 30, 2018, the average number of visitors was 11.6. Number of consultation was 182 times (female 81.3%, 80s’ =31.3%; 70s’ =23.1%). Historically, service delivery for the people with dementia was hospital-based in japan, but our community space established a new method to provide consultation to people with dementia, from a professional perspective, and to cooperate with appropriate social resources and related organizations as needed.

FEATURES OF INTERVIEW OF ELDERLY PEOPLE

Relevance . The article considers current problems of a criminal procedural and forensic nature common for search and cognitive activities when dealong with older people with cognitive impairment. Successful developments in the field of medicine, an overall increase in the standard of living of the population, and the quality of social security have extended life span expectancy and, accordingly, led to the increase of the total number of older people. People from this category are increasingly involved in the orbit of criminal proceedings as witnesses and victims, and often as defendants (suspects). It should be understood and taken into account that, due to various diseases, changes in the mental state, social status of these persons and other reasons, obtaining verbal criminally relevant information from such participants in the criminal proceedings demonstrate certain specifics. However, at the moment, there are no forensic developments aimed at optimizing investigative actions involving older people. Relevant scientific research on this issue has not been conducted either in Russia or abroad. The aim of the work is the need to ensure the full realization of the rights and legitimate interests of participants in criminal proceedings from among the elderly by developing and introducing forensic techniques into law enforcement in criminal investigations, which necessitates the initial definition of the problem and disclosing its essence. The materials for the study are scientific works of specialists in the field of psychology, gerontology, neurophysiology, forensic science, and statistical data, as well as the authors vast experience in the preliminary investigation of criminal cases as an investigator. The results and conclusions were obtained with the help of general scientific research methods: logical, systemic, sociological, as well as private-scientific and special: comparative-legal, formal-legal, interpretation, statistical, etc. Results: several conclusions have been made to strengthen the necessary to improve the regulatory framework governing participation of older people in criminal proceedings to ensure their legal rights and freedoms. Recommendations on preparation and conduct of investigative actions with participation of such categories of persons have been proposed.

Viewpoints of Older People Toward the Features of Age-Friendly Communities: Map for Charting Progress in Tabriz, Iran

The number of older people living in urban environments is growing dramatically. Adhering to a set of standards is essential to achieve a desirable living setting. In order to assess strengths and deficiencies, older people described how the checklist of essential features of age-friendly cities matches their own experiences. The descriptive study was conducted with the participation of 384 older people from Tabriz, Iran, who were selected randomly, from all over the city. The degree of conformity of city characteristics was described with the standards with a score of 0–100. The mean age of participants was 68.2 ± 0.35 years. More than half of the respondents (56.5%) were men and approximately one-third of the participants were illiterate and 80% were married respectively. The most satisfying dimension was the outdoor spaces and buildings (32.06 ± 11.94) and the least one was the communication and information (9 ± 0.27). Fragmented systems and services were a general challenge. Inadequate coordination between the public service organizations and consumers prevented the area’s wealth of resources from reaching their full potential.

Feasibility of Using Natural Rubber (NR) Latex Foam as a Soft Robotic Finger: Role of Foaming Agent in Morphology and Dynamic Properties of NR Latex Foam

Sarcopenia caused by ageing and muscle loss is mostly found in the elderly people. Since a number of older people have been increased, a device which assists with grasping can play an important role in an ageing society. The purpose of this research is to select the material which is potentially a part of soft robotic actuator. Natural rubber (NR) latex produced locally in Thailand is intentionally chosen and chemically vulcanized by using a conventional vulcanization system into a molded fingered foam. The research focuses on varying the amount of foaming agent (Benzene sulfonyl hydrazide, BSH). Effect of foaming agent quantity on morphology and dynamic properties of the prepared natural rubber foam was elucidated. The suitable foam formula is selected and molded as the human fingers in the structure of a potential soft robotic actuator which were tested for the movement.

Current aspects regarding “smart homes”/ ambient assisted living (AAL) including rehabilitation specific devices, for people with disabilities/ special needs

Introduction: The population life expectancy has increased (“over half the EU’s population predicted to be over-65 by 2070”), according to recent prevalence studies, being a result of the advancement of technology and medical science. This aging population has implications for society because there is increased number of older people requiring better quality of life. Materials and Methods: AAL represents the systems that may support completely the living area of a person and has the potential to facilitate the elderly to live longer and more safety in their family environments, allowing them to continue their current activities, facilitating participation in more activities at home and in the community and improving the cost-effectiveness, the quality of health and social services. A practical use of technology is the introduction of home networks, which involve notions such as: "smart homes ", “tele-health / tele-care” and even, possibly, “tele-medicine” to allow people with serious illnesses / conditions / and special needs to maintain an appropriate quality of life (QOL) at home. Discussions and Conclusions: AAL can contribute to an increased autonomy, self-confidence and mobility in people whose activity is limited to home environment, such as "the oldest olds” and/ or those with severe neuro-/ loco-motors disabilities, and so to reduce the risk of institutionalization, enhance security, prevent social isolation, thus allowing “older adults to age in place”. An important role in achieving this goal is representing by working in a multidisciplinary team (experts in the field of health - rehabilitation, gerontology -, social experts, technical/ informatics experts, engineering and robotics experts). Keywords: ambient assistive living, quality of life, special needs, tele-medicine, rehabilitation,