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Social Support in Elderly Nursing Home Populations: Manifestations and Influences
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of social support and the influencing factors on social support in nursing home environments. Observations and staff questionnaires from two central Florida nursing homes were used in this grounded theory study to answer the following questions: (1) How is social support manifested? and (2) What are influences on social support? Social support manifestations seemed predominantly superficial and did not appear to involve complex reciprocal relationships, however, when reciprocal resident tasks were observed, they appeared to have significant value and were sources of pride for the residents. Facility behaviors and policies required by governmental mandates appeared to result in significant resident dependency, a situation that mitigates against significant social support.
... When there is a large and/or growing aging population, some type of long term care will certainly be required (Rash, 2007). In developing nations, institutional care fills the gap of needs for the poorest elderly people who lack family support systems. ...
... With the help of personal observation and questionnaires filled in by staff involved in institutional care, Rash (2007) conducted a study in two central Florida nursing homes to describe the characteristics and determinants of social support in such institutions. Based on the findings of the study Rash concluded that the manifestations of social support for the elderly mainly seemed to be more superficial rather than dynamic and mutual. ...
... Thus, psychosocial support is a key component to enhancing the quality of life of elders (Dubey et al, 2011). Components of psychosocial support include emotional support, affirmation, information, and assistance (Rash, 2007). All of these factors are of critical importance for the residents of older persons care institutions. ...
Abstract
The overriding purpose of this paper is to review the food reserve policy frameworks in Ethiopia and come up with profound policy recommendations so as to guide increased advocacy to develop and incorporate the right to food perspective in the existing food security strategies and promote the participation of CSOs and accountability of public authorities in the decision making process. In order to achieve this objective related legal and policy frameworks were reviewed to demonstrate the regulatory frameworks in food reserve systems in Ethiopia. Moreover, some resource persons were communicated to augment the data obtained from secondary sources. Both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were employed to gather and interpret the data. It is found that the food reserve system in Ethiopia is operating well particularly in case of emergency responses as compared to some other sub-Saharan countries such as Malawi and Uganda. The guidelines for withdrawing grain from the reserve, for instance, are more clearly spelled out in Ethiopia. Therefore, designing a comprehensive food reserve policy that will enable the country to build a more decentralized, considerably autonomous, sectorally integrated, contextualized and capable institutions for food reserve system, in addition to boosting agricultural production, price stabilization and liberalization, is pivotal for policy formulation and implementation processes in food reserve system in the country.
Keywords: Food reserve, strategic grain reserve, Ethiopia
... This is likely to be particularly true for older adults living in care homes (Irving, Davis & Collier, 2017), for whom lower independence and a greater reliance on others may make care home residents more susceptible to lower levels of purpose (Bondevik & Skogstad, 2000). Indeed, an observational study of two US nursing homes reported that opportunities for reciprocity between residents were rare (Rash, 2007). Cipriani et al (2006) also identified a shift in activity patterns in long-term care home residents, such that they typically stopped participating in altruistic activities upon entering the care home, primarily due to not been asked to do so by others. ...
... An additional finding within the present study related to the apparent protective effect of social connections and, in particular the opportunities that these provided to feel useful to, or needed by, others. Previous research has suggested that, whilst care home residents valuing opportunities to be kind to others (Harmer & Orrell, 2008), living in a care home setting can limit residents' opportunities to engage in altruistic acts (Cipriani et al., 2006;Rash, 2007). ...
Objectives
To explore older care home residents’ experiences of maintaining a sense of purpose in life: a core component of psychological wellbeing.
Methods
Fifteen residents (9 female; 6 male), aged 60-95 years, from four care homes, were interviewed about their sense of purpose. Interview transcripts were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results
Theme 1 (‘Experiencing Loss’) comprises two sub-themes that describe the impact of age-related losses on residents’ sense of purpose (sub-theme 1) and the different responses that participants had to these losses (sub-theme 2). Theme 2 (‘The Protective Effects of Social Connections’) describes how social relationships could provide a sense of purpose, as well as the difficulties participants experienced in forming these relationships. Finally, theme 3 (‘The Roles of Activities’) describes the types of activities that could help residents to maintain a sense of purpose.
Conclusion
Care home residents experience losses and barriers that make it more difficult to maintain a sense of purpose. However, with appropriate support and opportunities, residents are able to engage in activities and relationships that provide a sense of purpose. To support residents’ mental health and wellbeing, care homes should offer varied opportunities for residents to engage in purposeful activities.
... Social support is defined as on going emotional support and assistance from people an individual can depend on, especially when facing with adversities (Atchley, 2000). The impact of social support is generally more critical in elderly institutionalized people who are highly dependent on others (Rash, 2007). ...
... More specifically, social support can be categorized into emotional support (concern and respect), self-esteem support (positive feedback or support for their values/concepts), and tangible support (financial assistance and care) (Wu & Chen, 2017). Serving as key factors that influence the quality of life and happiness of older adults, family and social supports are particularly imperative in older age (Belanger et al., 2016;Patil et al., 2014;Rash, 2007) and are critical factors for improving resilience in older adults (Southwick et al., 2016). Therefore, this study incorporated social and family supports into the RSOA to more comprehensively measure the resilience of the older population. ...
Objectives
Older adults are more likely to encounter adverse life events and have protective factors that are different from other populations. Currently, there is no resilience scale designed exclusively for older adults. This study aims at developing a new measurement scale for assessing resilience of older adults.
Methods
Items of Resilience Scale for Older Adults (RSOA) was generated from thorough literature review. A multiple stage method was applied to examine the psychometric properties of the scale. In pretesting, items that did not meet the psychometric criteria were removed. A sample of 368 older adults was collected in the main survey to perform preliminary item selection and removal, reliability and construct validity analyses. Another survey on 76 samples was then conducted to assess test-retest reliability of the scale.
Results
RSOA that comprised four constructs (personal strength, meaning and purpose of life, family support, and social support) with a total of 15 items was developed with good reliability and validity. Cronbach’s α of the scale was 0.882. All the four constructs were found significantly correlated with life satisfaction of older adults.
Conclusions
The RSOA is a reliable means of assessing psychological and physical resilience of older people as well as predicting their satisfaction with life. The study may also provide important information about elderly coping with adversity.
... It is interesting to note that despite the absence of family members in the facility, most of them reported a highly adequate social support from the caregivers in the facility whom they reported as people they perceived as part of their family. In the study of Rash (2007), the elderly residents in facilities tended to count social support in the assistance provided by caregivers the facility such as in assisting them in their daily routine. However, the elderly residents described the support as more than just assistance in the usual activities but they appreciated the presence of the caregivers specially when they felt depressed or sad. ...
... Social support manifestations seemed predominantly superficial and did not appear to involve complex reciprocal relationships, however, when reciprocal resident tasks were observed, they appeared to have significant value and were sources of pride for the residents. Facility behaviors and policies required by governmental mandates appeared to result in significant resident dependency, a situation that mitigates against significant social support (Rash, 2007). ...
and Holt Romania Foundation REVISTA DE CERCETARE SI INTERVENTIE SOCIALA is indexed by ISI Thomson Reuters-Social Sciences Citation Index (Sociology and Social Work Domains) Working together www.rcis.ro expert projects publishing
A retrospective study was made on 195 institutionalized elderly people and was
carried out between 2002-2006 in three social care centers from Galati county: “Sf.
Spiridon” retirement home (A), “Stefan cel Mare” social care center (B) and Medicalsocial center (C). The aim of this study is to find out the real social life conditions of institutionalized elderly, the shortcomings and positive aspects of their existence, in order to design future measures to improve quality of elderly life in all aspects. Actual quality of life was assessed by, taking into account physical and psychosocial environment, quality of elderly social care, satisfaction degree of assisted persons in relation to living conditions and existing relationships, their health state, as well as to identify the causes that led institutionalization of such persons As working tools were used: individual questionnaire, training manual, sampling lists, summary tables. The study undertaken in Romania confirmed that elderly coming from “Sf. Spiridon “retirement home have the highest average age (up to 75 years old). Loneliness was the main reason which caused elderly admission for institutionalization in three nursing homes (49.6% among the elderly
in the Sf. Spiridon retirement home (A), 43.2% for those from “Stefan cel Mare” social care center (B) and 38.1% of the elderly from Medical-social center (C). Other important reasons were represented by lack of housing and insufficient storage house space. The highest elderly percentage who came into social care centers A, B, C on their self will is 85.3%, 64.9% and 45.2%, respectively.
Keywords: elderly, social care, individual questionnaire, institutions, mutual
assistance.
... In general, community-based care services can be divided into four categories as follows: assistance with activities of daily life service (AADLS), medical care service (MCS), cultural and entertainment service (CES), psychological and legal service (PLS) [17,30,31]. Table 1 provides a summary of various types of community-based care services for the elderly and describes the specific contents of these services. ...
Background:
Community-based care services refers to the professional services provided at home to the elderly with formally assessed demands. The growth of the elderly population has increased the demand for these services, and this issue is even worse in the affordable housing community (AHC) of China. Understanding of elderly's demands for different types of community-based care services and its determinations would enable the implementation of appropriate incentive schemes to promote utilization of community-based care services in the AHCs of China.
Methods:
Guided by previous studies, a conceptual framework was developed. Then, a questionnaire was designed and a community based survey was conducted from May 10-20, 2018 in Daishan AHC of Nanjing City, China. Four hundred eight participants from 25,650 elderly people were selected by systematic random sampling technique. Binary logistic regression was applied to the data about the elderly' primary demands for community-based care services in the AHC, to quantify the elderly's demands and explore related individual-level factors.
Results:
The finding indicates that more than 50% of respondents had the demand for an elderly care hotline, building health archives, on-call nursing and doctor visits, medical lectures, regular medical examinations and sporting fitness. The binary logistic regression models revealed that the primary demands of the elderly for community-based care services were influenced by distinct factors.
Conclusions:
Our findings help clarify different types of community-based care services and provide fresh information about the demand for community-based care among the elderly in AHCs. Several policy implications are discussed to enhance the efficiency of community-based care service provision.
... Therefore, the individuals did not suffer much while being separated from their families, acquaintances, neighbours and so they coped with the change more easily. Additionally, seniors had a chance of establishing new relationships with new residents of care-giving institutions, which is confirmed in the research by Murphy and colleagues [41], Rash [42] and Tsai and colleagues [43]. In the aforementioned studies, respondents indicated factors that build social potential in the relationships with others and they are as follows: domestic atmosphere, integration with the local community and the possibility of being visited by family members or friends. ...
Introduction and objective: Social support constitutes an important determinant of an elderly person’s health and of functioning in his or her living environment. It depends on available support networks and the type of help received. Measurement of social support should encompass both its structure and the functions it fulfills, which enables detailed assessment of the phenomenon. The aim of the study was to compare the perception of social support among rural area seniors provided with institutional care with those living in a home setting. Material and method: Using the diagnostic survey method and the technique of the distribution of a direct questionnaire, 364 respondents from rural areas were examined: those living in an institutional environment (n = 190) and those living in their home (natural) environment (n = 174). The respondents were selected on the basis of a combined sampling method: proportionate, stratified, and systematic. Variables were measured with the following questionnaires: Courage Social Network Index (CSNI) and Social Support Scale (SSS). Results: The living environment has been proved to differentiate average values of support both in the structural and functional dimensions in a statistically significant way (p < 0.001). An untypical phenomenon was higher average values pertaining to emotional bonds, frequency of direct contacts, and help received in the group of respondents living in an institutional environment. Conclusions: The living environment and demographic variables affect the perception of social support among elderly people. Full-time institutional care of a senior citizen leads to the deterioration of social support; therefore, keeping an elderly person in a home environment should be one of the primary goals of the senior policy.
... This relationship must encourage a continued bond between family members and residents and enable the family to carry out the fundamental role of providing older persons with social and emotional support (Cory, Sabir, Zimmerman, Suitor, & Pillemer, 2007;Duncan & Morgan, 1994;Hertzberg & Ekman, 2000;Herztberg, Ekman, & Axelsson, 2001;Port et al., 2005). Numerous studies also emphasise the importance of social support from the entire network of significant persons who, together with the family, represent an important factor in people's well-being and health, particularly for older persons (Brown & Walter, 2014;Chappell & Funk, 2011;Colleen et al., 2015;Drageset, Kirkevold, & Espehaug, 2011;Kim & Kawachi, 2006;Rash, 2007;Van der Wel, 2007). ...
This article describes the design process and main features of an instrument developed for use in the specialist area of intervention in care homes for older persons. The essential aim of ISD-1 (instrument for social diagnosis) is to permit the correct formulation of social diagnoses and to standardise and define the professional language used by social workers. Its content has been organised into 4 dimensions of social diagnosis, divided into 15 sub-dimensions containing 83 diagnostic categories. This work was performed in Spain, in the 24 care homes of the Madrid Social Care Agency of the Community of Madrid, involving the participation of the 40 social workers practising in these centres. ISD-1 is an easily understood and used tool, of potential use for social workers practising in care homes for older persons and capable of being adapted for use in other institutional environments, as well as being capable of adaptation and translation for its application in other countries.
... Social support manifestations seemed predominantly superficial and did not appear to involve complex reciprocal relationships, however, when reciprocal resident tasks were observed, they appeared to have significant value and were sources of pride for the residents. Facility behaviors and policies required by governmental mandates appeared to result in significant resident dependency, a situation that mitigates against significant social support (Rash, 2007). ...
A retrospective study was made on 195 institutionalized elderly people and was carried out between 2002-2006 in three social care centers from Galati county: “Sf. Spiridon” retirement home (A), “Stefan cel Mare” social care center (B) and Medical-social center (C). The aim of this study is to find out the real social life conditions of institutionalized elderly, the shortcomings and positive aspects of their existence, in order to design future measures to improve quality of elderly life in all aspects. Actual quality of life was assessed by, taking into account physical and psycho-social environment, quality of elderly social care, satisfaction degree of assisted persons in relation to living conditions and existing relationships, their health state, as well as to identify the causes that led institutionalization of such persons As working tools were used: individual questionnaire, training manual, sampling lists, summary tables. The study undertaken in Romania confirmed that elderly coming from “Sf. Spiridon “retirement home have the highest average age (up to 75 years old). Loneliness was the main reason which caused elderly admission for institutionalization in three nursing homes (49.6% among the elderly
in the Sf. Spiridon retirement home (A), 43.2% for those from “Stefan cel Mare” social care center (B) and 38.1% of the elderly from Medical-social center (C). Other important reasons were represented by lack of housing and insufficient storage house space. The highest elderly percentage who came into social care centers A, B, C on their self will is 85.3%, 64.9% and 45.2%, respectively.
Keywords: elderly, social care, individual questionnaire, institutions, mutual assistance.
... With regard to the range of recreation opportunities available to residents of LTC homes, Rash (2007) concluded that both formal and informal structured recreation opportunities were uninspiring and did not promote social engagement among residents. Andersson, Pettersson, and Sidenvall (2007) describe leisure in LTC homes as a monotonous round of listening to the radio, watching television, reading newspapers and listening to music. ...
Stereotyping based on age is one of the most tolerated forms of social prejudice in Canada. These discriminatory attitudes and assumptions have negative consequences on many aspects of life, including participation in leisure, particularly if these assumptions are internalized and accepted as reality. We consider the contributions of therapeutic recreation (TR) and TR practitioners in challenging ageism by advocating for a return to the roots of leisure, focusing on leisure’s potential to draw out individual strengths and abilities thereby resisting various forms of ageism through agency and action. We examine the field’s focus on biomedical outcomes and highlight how this paradigm serves to undermine opportunities for meaningful leisure experiences. We suggest ways by which a return to meaningful leisure in later life may enable older adults to resist discriminatory practices. We conclude by presenting a blueprint for TR practitioners that encompasses a broader, socially relevant scope of practice through self-reflection and action. © 2015 Canadian Association for Leisure Studies / Association canadienne d’études en loisir.
... Cruise ship living in residential care involves being entertained and chore-free-somewhat like a continuous vacation, but according to McCann (2013), it lacks opportunities for, and hinders, meaningful connections and personal growth. Indeed, residents complain of a lack of meaning (Choi, Ransom, & Wyllie, 2008;Knight & Mellor, 2007) and limited opportunities for reciprocity (Rash, 2007) or contribution (Van Malderen, Mets, & Gorus, 2013). This is despite the ideals and best efforts of recreation staff. ...
Loneliness and depression are serious mental health concerns across the spectrum of residential care, from nursing homes to assisted and retirement living. Psychosocial care provided to residents to address these concernsik is typically based on a long-standing tradition of 'light' social events, such as games, trips, and social gatherings, planned and implemented by staff. Although these activities provide enjoyment for some, loneliness and depression persist and the lack of resident input perpetuates the stereotype of residents as passive recipients of care. Residents continue to report lack of meaning in their lives, limited opportunities for contribution and frustration with paternalistic communication with staff. Those living with dementia face additional discrimination resulting in a range of unmet needs including lack of autonomy and belonging-both of which are linked with interpersonal violence. Research suggests, however, that programs fostering engagement and peer support provide opportunities for residents to be socially productive and to develop a valued social identity. The purpose of this paper is to offer a re-conceptualization of current practices. We argue that residents represent a largely untapped resource in our attempts to advance the quality of psychosocial care. We propose overturning practices that focus on entertainment and distraction by introducing a new approach that centers on resident contributions and peer support. We offer a model-Resident Engagement and Peer Support (REAP)-for designing interventions that advance residents' social identity, enhance reciprocal relationships and increase social productivity. This model has the potential to revolutionize current psychosocial practice by moving from resident care to resident engagement.
... Bunun la bir lik te ya kın la rın zi ya ret le ri nin sık lı ğı nın bi lin me si sağ lık ça lı şan la rı nın bu zi ya ret le ri destek le me si açı sın dan an lam ta şı ya bi lir. 17,18 Ça lış ma -mı za ka tı lan yaş lı la rın zi ya ret çi sık lı ğı de ğiş mek le bir lik te ço ğu son bir ay için de zi ya ret edil di ği ni ifade et miş tir. Öğ ren ci le ri mi zin dü zen li ara lık lar la on beş gün de bir ger çek leş tir di ği zi ya ret le rin sü rek lili ği ya şam ka li te le ri ni olum lu yön de et ki le miş olabi lir. ...
Objective: Aging is a natural process with physical and physiological changes beginning at birth leading to limitations in daily living activities as time passes. For elderly, these limitations have great impact on their quality of life. Our aim was to determine the general characteristics and health status of elderly living in a state resting and nursing home and the effect of the visits of medical students to their quality of life. Material and Methods: A randomized controlled trial was planned; a questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, health status, and SF-36 quality of life questions were applied to 18 people allocated to study and 36 individuals in control group who had no disability to complete the interview. The study group was visited by third year medical students in every 15 clays for five times. During visits the students listened to their problems and talked about daily life. At the end of fourth month SF-36 was reapplied to all participants. SPSS 11.0 for Windows was used for data analysis including Chi-square (chi(2)) test or Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney U. Results: Cases and controls had no differences for SF-36 subscales at the beginning, but at the end of the study, there were statistically significant differences between group for physical functioning (p=0.040), general health (p=0.002), vitality (p=0.000), role-emotional (p=0.000), and mental health (p=0.010). Conclusions: Although they were not relatives or friends, medical students' regular visits to elderly living in nursing home increased their scores of quality of life.
... Some other academic theoretic definitions further suggest that the recipient should have a perception of someone caring for them and a resultant sense of well-being (Hupcey, 1998). Hupcey lists the factors required for social support as follows: (a) the act of providing a resource, (b) the recipient having a sense of being cared for or a sense of well-being, (c) the act having an implied positive outcome, (d) the existence of a relationship between the provider and the recipient, (e) support not given from or to an organization, the community, or a professional, and (f) support that does not have a negative intent or is given grudgingly (Rash, 2007). ...
Social support is regarded as a complex construct which has long been suggested to have direct and buffering effects on patients' wellbeing and emotional adjustment to cancer. Cross-sectional and prospective studies show a positive association between perceived social support and psychological adjustment following cancer treatment. Research findings suggest that the evidence for the relationship between social support and cancer progression is sufficiently strong. This report points out the importance of social support in cancer and provides recommendations for health care professionals.
... Its positive impact is more salient than that of family support. An observational study conducted in the USA suggested that reciprocal social interactions in nursing homes positively contributed to the well-being of the residents (Rash 2007). These findings imply that institutional peer support may provide nursing home residents additional source of social support and help them deal with the stressful effects of physical deterioration on mental health. ...
This paper tests the mediating effect of institutional peer support on the relationship between physical declines and depressive symptoms among nursing home residents.
As the number of older adults living in nursing homes increases, peer support received from other residents in the institutions is critical to the psychological well-being of residents who face physical declines and reduction in family support. This study tested whether institutional peer support would account for the detrimental effect of physical declines on depressive symptoms of Chinese older people residing in nursing homes.
A cross-sectional design was used.
The study was conducted between January–March 2009 by convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 187 nursing home residents, with 54 men and 133 women. Interviews were conducted by an experienced research assistant, and responses on physical abilities and institutional peer support were collected. Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms of each participant.
Participants with poor physical abilities reported more depressive symptoms. Institutional peer support was negatively correlated with physical declines and depressive symptoms. Results of the regression analysis showed that the effect of physical declines on depressive symptoms was no longer significant when the influence of institutional peer support was statistically controlled, indicating a full mediation of institutional peer support on depression of older people.
Findings of this study reveal that institutional peer support positively contributes to the psychological well-being of nursing home residents.
هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى الكشف عن خدمات الرعاية الاجتماعية المقدمة للمسنين في دار الرعاية الاجتماعية وتقييمها من وجهة نظر المسنين أنفسهم في ولاية الرستاق بسلطنة عمان، وقد تبلورت مشكلة البحث في الإجابة على السؤالين الآتيين: ما أشكال الرعاية المقدمة للمسنين المقيمين في دار الرعاية الاجتماعية؟ وما مدى رضاؤهم عن هذه الخدمات؟ وترجع أهمية الدراسة في كونها محاولة لتقديم إطارعلمي وعملي جديد في مجال رعاية المسنين يقود إلى تطوير برامجه الوقائية والعلاجية والتنموية، وقد تناولت الدراسة كلًآ من مفاهيم المسن، الرعاية الاجتماعية، دور رعاية المسنين، كما تناولت إطارًا نظريا تضمن عرضا لأنواع الرعاية الاجتماعية المقدمة للمسنين في سلطنة عمان. اعتمدت الدراسة الحالية على المنهج الوصفي، بالتطبيق على عينة عشوائية من المسنين المقيمين في دار الرعاية الاجتماعية بالرستاق، وقد توصلت الدراسة إلى بعض النتائج من أهمها حرص الدار على تقديم خدمات الرعاية الصحية والاهتمام بصحة المسنين المقيمين، وأن هناك علاقات اجتماعية طيبة تربطهم بالمسنين الآخرين وكذا العاملون بالدار. وفي ضوء نتائج الدراسة توصلت الدراسة الحالية إلى عدة مقترحات منها ضرورة توفير أخصائية تغذية بالدار، وعمل برنامج منظم يتيح لهم الارتباط بالمجتمع من خلال القيام بالأنشطة الخارجية مما يشعرهم بالصحة النفسية ويقلل من شعورهم بالوحدة.
هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى الكشف عن خدمات الرعاية الاجتماعية المقدمة للمسنين في دار الرعاية الاجتماعية وتقييمها من وجهة نظر المسنين أنفسهم في ولاية الرستاق بسلطنة عمان، وقد تبلورت مشكلة البحث في الإجابة على السؤالين الآتيين: ما أشكال الرعاية المقدمة للمسنين المقيمين في دار الرعاية الاجتماعية؟ وما مدى رضاؤهم عن هذه الخدمات؟ وترجع أهمية الدراسة في كونها محاولة لتقديم إطارعلمي وعملي جديد في مجال رعاية المسنين يقود إلى تطوير برامجه الوقائية والعلاجية والتنموية، وقد تناولت الدراسة كلًآ من مفاهيم المسن، الرعاية الاجتماعية، دور رعاية المسنين، كما تناولت إطارًا نظريا تضمن عرضا لأنواع الرعاية الاجتماعية المقدمة للمسنين في سلطنة عمان. اعتمدت الدراسة الحالية على المنهج الوصفي، بالتطبيق على عينة عشوائية من المسنين المقيمين في دار الرعاية الاجتماعية بالرستاق، وقد توصلت الدراسة إلى بعض النتائج من أهمها حرص الدار على تقديم خدمات الرعاية الصحية والاهتمام بصحة المسنين المقيمين، وأن هناك علاقات اجتماعية طيبة تربطهم بالمسنين الآخرين وكذا العاملون بالدار. وفي ضوء نتائج الدراسة توصلت الدراسة الحالية إلى عدة مقترحات منها ضرورة توفير أخصائية تغذية بالدار، وعمل برنامج منظم يتيح لهم الارتباط بالمجتمع من خلال القيام بالأنشطة الخارجية مما يشعرهم بالصحة النفسية ويقلل من شعورهم بالوحدة.
Older adults are considered a vulnerable group at high risk of social isolation. Social capital has been shown to be a protective factor against social isolation and a contributing factor to well-being. This study employs a mixed-methods approach to examine the effect of leisure education on social capital in the case of university programmes for older adults in China. Through its prospective design, the study found that leisure education enhanced the development of social capital. Shared interests, perceived social connectedness, information exchanges, norms of mutual care, and skill development were found to play important roles in enhancing seniors’ social capital.
Background: Nursing home residents are, due to their need of complex care and reduced health, a vulnerable group. Residents' experience of their stay depends largely on the staff in nursing homes, including how they manage to establish and maintain residents› relationships.
In Ethiopia where family care is a centuries-long tradition, living in an elder care institution invariably brings social devaluation. Accordingly, this study explored the psychosocial needs of older adults in a residential elder care center in Ethiopia from the perspective of both staff and residents. Three focus group discussions of 24 residents and interviews with 5 staff persons revealed that elders were living a subsistence lifestyle, eating the same meal every day, mostly cutoff from the surrounding community, and lacking basic amenities. Despite the absence of basic amenities, residents yearned even more so for meaningful social interaction. Psychosocial support was both undervalued and underutilized by staff members, and thus, residents' psychosocial well-being appeared to be at risk. The addition of social workers in institutional care in Ethiopia may help to promote improved living standards. Advocacy is needed on behalf of residents to establish and implement guidelines on care and support of residents in old age homes. As elders in developing countries are living longer--a growing number with disabilities--at the same time that informal supports are waning, the need for developing long term care policies is becoming critical.
Studies have shown that cognitive and social stimulation is crucial to the overall health of older adults including psychological, cognitive and physical well-being. However, activities to promote such stimulation are often lacking in long-term care facilities. Our work focuses on the use of social robotic technologies to provide person-centered cognitive interventions. Namely, this paper presents an HRI study with the unique human-like socially assistive robot Brian 2.1, in order to investigate the use and acceptability of the expressive human-like robot by older adults living in a longterm care center. Current studies with social robots for the elderly have been mainly directed towards collecting data on the acceptance and use of animal-like robots. Herein, we aim to determine if the robot's human-like assistive and social characteristics result in the elderly having positive attitudes towards the robot as well as accepting it as an interactive cognitive training tool.
Describes the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) and 4 empirical studies employing it. The SSQ yields scores for (a) perceived number of social supports and (b) satisfaction with social support that is available. Three studies (N = 1,224 college students) dealt with the SSQ's psychometric properties, its correlations with measures of personality and adjustment, and the relation of the SSQ to positive and negative life changes. The 4th study (40 Ss) was an investigation of the relation between social support and persistence in working on a complex, frustrating task. The research reported suggests that the SSQ is a reliable instrument and that social support is (a) more strongly related to positive than negative life changes, (b) more related in a negative direction to psychological discomfort among women than men, and (c) an asset in enabling a person to persist at a task under frustrating conditions. Clinical implications are discussed. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
The concept of social support has been used extensively in both the theoretical and research literature, yet it has not been clearly delineated or operationalized. As a result, numerous other concepts have been subsumed under the heading of social support. In this article, the concept of social support will be analyzed for the purpose of concept clarification using the qualitative research approach of critical analysis of the literature. The present conceptualizations and operationalizations of social support are examined, and the incongruities or fit between the concept and its application are presented. Then, the structural features of social support are identified, and a revised definition of the concept is suggested.
Based on an ethnographic study in a residential Alzheimer’s facility and a traditional nursing home, this article discusses the process of community formation and the maintenance of community roles among individuals suffering from dementia in institutional settings. These include: therapeutic programming that promotes resident independence and choice; flexible and person-centered staff roles; and a physical environment that facilitates social interaction, autonomy, and participation in the activities of daily living. In contrast, institutional programs that are regimented, that follow a medical rather than a social model of care, and that take place in physical environments that have limited options may discourage resident interaction and social bonding, thus inhibiting community formation. Although Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia may create difficulties for the realization of community and community roles among institutionalized people, more significant are the environmental conditions in which such individuals live and the programs designed for their care.
This article is based on a 9-month ethnographic study of a nursing home for older Jewish people. In this article, the process that 21 key informants went through in adapting to the dual nature of the nursing home as institution and as home is examined. A widely used phrase, “making the best of it,” was used by informants and other residents of the nursing home to describe this process. Interpretive analysis of this emic phrase revealed four dimensions: (a) recognizing the ambivalence of their living environment and situation, (b) downplaying negative aspects of it, (c) having no other options, and (d) using their will to transcend and create a home.
To manage the care of increasing numbers of residents with dementia, many long-term care facilities have created special care units (SCUs) designed to meet the unique needs of this group. This article describes results of the qualitative component of a larger research project examining environment-behavior relationships in dementia care settings. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted with 9 staff and 9 family members of SCU residents. Thematic analysis was conducted using grounded theory techniques. Participants described residents’ needs in relation to both the physical and social environments. This article focuses on the five areas of need identified by participants in relation to the physical environment: safety, homelike setting, optimal stimulation, cues, and options for privacy and social interaction.
First Published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
An End to Innocence - John Van Maanen The Ethnography of Ethnography 'Deja Entendu' - Jean E Jackson The Liminal Qualities of Anthropological Fieldnotes Making a Study 'More Ethnographic' - Harry F Wolcott Literary Journalism as Ethnography - Michael Agar Exploring the Excluded Middle On Acknowledgements in Ethnographies - Eyal Ben-Ari Humor in Ethnographic Writing - Gary Alan Fine and Daniel D Martin Sarcasm, Satire, and Irony in Erving Goffman's Asylums Narrative and Sociology - Laurel Richardson Performing the Text - Marianne A Paget The Challenges of Postmodernism - Peter K Manning
ong-term health care for older adults has emerged as a significant is- sue, both in terms of quality and financing, during the past 30 years. This article provides an overview of long-term care in this country, highlighting why it is an issue, who uses care, what types of settings are available, and how family members play a role as caregivers. It concludes with a discussion of policy trends for the future financing and delivery of long-term care. Long-term care public policy issues have been a major concern in the United States for 30 years and will continue to pose challenges in the next century. In 1995, 13 million Americans of all ages needed long-term care. A much larger number of relatives, friends, and others faced decisions about long-term care. For example, 80% of disabled older adults living in the community receive unpaid as- sistance from family and others; three out of five rely only on unpaid help, usually from wives and daughters. Many relatives provide indirect help, including making care arrangements and providing unpaid help to older adults living in nursing homes. The demand for long-term care is expected to skyrocket as the baby boomers age. Between now and the year 2040, the U.S. older adult population will more than double. For the first time in history, one in five Americans—77 million people—will be age 65 or over. The number of people age 85 and older will triple by the year 2040, to 14 million. Even if estimated declines in disability rates among older adults are accurate, the sheer volume of very old adults probably will increase long-term care demands. Survey data applied to U.S. Census Bu- reau projections estimate that those 65 and over with activity limitations will rise from 12 million in 1994 to 22 million 2020, and to 28 million in 2030. At the same time, the pool of available family caregivers—especially adult daughters—will shrink. As more women work outside the home, have children later in life, and find adult children returning to the nest, the competing demands of child care, employment, and elder care could put a great strain on the backbone of the cur- rent long-term care system. Given our changing society, major issues include how to design and implement a system of long-term care that best meets the needs of future older adults and their families, and how to pay for this system. Although these issues are not new, the aging baby boomer generation raises the stakes. This paper offers a brief his- tory and an overview of the current status of long-term care in the United States, highlighting the implications of demographic and policy trends for the financing and delivery of future long-term care. L
This article is about the micropolitics of identity construction by residents in a total institution. Data come from two hundred hours of participant observation during a four-month period of full-time employment as a nurse aide. Interactional analysis of observations suggests that residents' personal narratives, whether real or imagined, become who some residents conceive themselves to be and define residents' expectations for interactional others. Changes in institutional culture occur as staff begin to recognize in interaction the ways residents think of themselves. The narrative accounts and interactional struggles to define self that the author discovered in the institution are not unlike conceptions and processes of identity construction, maintenance, and change that confront all human actors. These accounts provide insight into the liberating possibilities of personal identity claims.
In this chapter, I discuss ethnographic work in a residential unit for Alzheimer’s patients located in the southeastern part of the United States. The borders of home and work in this nursing home are analyzed in order to unpack meanings of ‘home’ for residents. Postmodern discussions of location and dislocation for contemporary identities have relevance for an analysis of this setting. The concepts of non-place (non-lieu) from the work of Marc Augé and of location (lieu) from the work of Pierre Bourdieu are employed in the analysis. In this unit, well-to-do white residents are cared for by working-class black women. Intersections of race and class, as well as gender and age, form an important context for social relationships within this space. The case of one resident who daily asked for her car so that she could go home is used to illustrate the social and spatial arrangements in this setting and the ‘location’ of both patients and staff.
This paper provides broad guidelines to start a non-profit organization. Once the non-profit organization has been legally incorporated, it is crucial that it applies for a tax exemption status. The application is time consuming but worth the effort. Obtaining the status of tax exemption places the organization in an advantageous position and increases its capacity to raise funds for its operations and charitable activities, since the contributions become tax deductible for the donors. A case study is presented in the second segment of this paper. In September 1997, businessman and philanthropist Ted Turner donated 1 billion dollars to the United Nations. The creation and operations of the UN Foundation, (501) (c)(3) established to disburse Turner's funds to the United Nations, are also covered in this research.
Reviews the social support literature, which indicates that socially supportive relationships and effective social networks have therapeutic value in mental and physical health. It is now widely believed by counselors and psychologists that social support facilitates coping. The present author examines definitions, constructs, and theories of social support and summarizes studies concerning recently devised scales for measuring social support and analyzing social network morphology. It is concluded that counselors can help clients improve their coping skills by teaching them to identify and use social supports and establish networks of helpful relationships that facilitate the coping process. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
There is an irony—perhaps a paradox—here: that a methodology that is based on “interpretation” should itself prove so hard to interpret. (Dey, 1999, p. 23)
Among the different qualitative approaches that may be relied upon in family theorizing, grounded theory methods (GTM), developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss, are the most popular. Despite their centrality to family studies and to other fields, however, GTM can be opaque and confusing. Believing that simplifying GTM would allow them to be used to greater effect, I rely on 5 principles to interpret 3 major phases in GTM coding: open, axial, and selective. The history of GTM establishes a foundation for the interpretation, whereas recognition of the dialectic between induction and deduction underscores the importance of incorporating constructivism in GTM thinking. My goal is to propose a methodologically condensed but still comprehensive interpretation of GTM, an interpretation that researchers hopefully will find easy to understand and employ.
Life Review is presented as a therapeutic nursing intervention for the elderly. This article describes a class on life review for home health aides and shows the ease with which these aides managed life review. The description of this class may serve as a model for inservice educators to teach nurse aides the use of life review.
Despite a very large and growing literature demonstrating the significance of social support for health and well-being, surprisingly little is known about the social distribution of this crucial resource. This paper presents data on the distribution of social support and support resources across social class, marital status, age and gender, with the aims of contributing toward an understanding of the impact of social structures on processes of social support, and of assessing the hypothesis that epidemiological variations in mental health arise partially from social support differences. The epidemiology of perceived social support was found to correspond closely to the epidemiology of psychological distress and disorder. The single exception involved gender, where a positive rather than negative relationship was observed, with women demonstrating the highest levels of both social support and psychological distress. The observed patterns of variation in social support link this significant adaptive resource to one's locations in the social structure and reinforce the conclusion that it represents a promising intervention target. The practical importance of these results, however, are not matched by theoretical significance. Except in the case of marital status, our findings largely discount the hypothesis that the social distribution of mental health is partially attributable to social support differences.
To explore the determinants of support provision in the natural disaster context, we followed House (1981) and developed a model that specifies how characteristics of the providers, their personal networks, and the community contexts in which they live facilitate or impede their ability to provide support. All three sets of factors affected support provision during Hurricane Andrew, but the pattern of effects differs for the preparation and short-term recovery phases of the hurricane. Age, income, network density, and local economic conditions had significant effects on support provision in the preparation phase. Income did not have a significant effect on short-term recovery support, but religion, house damage, the size and diversity dimensions of network structure, and the local bonds and sentiments dimensions of community attachment did. After comparing the explanatory power of our model in the two phases, we conclude by investigating the implications of this test for understanding the determinants of support provision more generally.
This article proposes role identity theory as a means of integrating the diverse frameworks and findings that populate the
social support literature, and it highlights the importance of the friendship role on life satisfaction for aging adults.
A sample of 800 preretirement-age working men and women were surveyed as part of a longitudinal study, Roles and Self: Factors
in Development and Retirement. The results include differences in social support by gender, no significant influence of structural
support variables, and the significant effect of the role of friendship on respondents' life satisfaction. Hierarchical regression
analysis showed that commitment to the role of friend is significant in predicting life satisfaction when controlling for
background variables, and friendship identity meanings emerged as the strongest predictor—stronger than income or marital
status—when predicting well-being. Integration of theory with current and previous research, implications for practice, and
directions for future research are discussed.
This report presents data on the diversity of current nursing home residents and discharges in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, functional status, type of services used, and source of payment. It focuses on utilization of nursing home care among elderly persons 65 years and over.
Estimates in this report are from data collected between July and December 1997 for the 1997 National Nursing Home Survey. This survey is conducted periodically by the National Center for Health Statistics and collects information on a sample of providers and recipients of care from nursing home facilities. The major emphasis of the survey is to collect descriptive and utilization data on current residents and discharges. Current residents are persons in the nursing home on the day of the survey, and discharges represent completed episodes of care that ended during a one-year period prior to the survey.
In 1997, approximately 1.5 million elderly residents lived in nursing homes on an average day in the United States. The majority of these residents were white, widowed, and functionally dependent females. There were 2.1 million elderly nursing home discharges from October 1996-September 1997 with the primary reasons for discharge being hospitalization or death. The most common primary diagnostic category for current residents and discharges was diseases of the circulatory system. The primary source of payment at admission for current elderly residents was Medicaid. Medicare was the primary source of payment at the time of discharge for elderly discharges.
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