Ageing & Society最新文献

{"title":"What socio-cultural, emotional and relational factors shape older people's experiences of death and dying in residential aged care? A scoping review","authors":"Georgia van Toorn, Emma Kirby, Myra Hamilton, John MacArtney","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x23000788","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x23000788","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Research internationally has revealed a range of medical and health-related issues that shape care at the end of life for people living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs), their families and the staff who care for them. Yet, less is known about the lived experiences of residents, and the broader socio-cultural, emotional and relational factors that shape experiences of dying within such settings. In this article, we present findings from a scoping review designed to establish what is known about the lived experience of residents nearing the end of life. In doing so, we identify research gaps and move towards an agenda for future research. Five electronic databases were used to identify empirical research articles investigating end-of-life experiences from the perspective of older people living in RACFs, from which we selected 22 papers for thematic analysis. Our analysis highlighted three key themes: connections and closeness; place and the end of life; and temporality, care and the anticipation of dying. A majority of the articles (15) highlighted the importance of social connectedness with staff, co-residents and family in enabling people to die with dignity and a sense of belonging in residential settings. The physical layout and living arrangements in RACFs were found to affect the ways in which residents relate within the space, especially during and after the death of a resident. Anticipatory fears of dying were oriented towards the context of illness and care, and its management within the RACF, rather than death itself. Our analysis highlights considerable evidence that ‘good deaths’ are embedded in experiences of socio-emotional wellbeing, connectedness and relationality. However, much of the extant research analysed is exploratory, pointing to the need for further social scientific study of the social and cultural embeddedness of end-of-life experiences with residential aged care.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140054383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intrinsic post-retirement work motivation in formal Chilean workers at retirement age: a qualitative study","authors":"Milda Galkutė, M. Soledad Herrera","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x24000035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x24000035","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The unstable employment trajectories and low wages of Chilean workers mean that the amount of savings accrued in pension funds are often insufficient to cope with the high costs of living in the country, compelling many older adults to remain in the labour market. Although financial need seems to be an important reason for post-retirement work in Chile, a national survey revealed that a majority of older workers would like to remain employed even if there were no economic need. Hence, this research aims at exploring the intrinsic work motivation of older Chilean adults beyond retirement age. This qualitative study is the second phase of mixed-methods research to analyse the factors influencing post-retirement work in Chile. A total of 32 in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with older workers in the formal labour market who were legally entitled to retire but continued being economically active in Santiago, Chile. The data are analysed using thematic analysis. We identify three main emerging themes, namely the meaning that work gives to life, future projects and post-retirement orientations, and work as the primary source of social interaction. The findings of this study provide valuable insight into intrinsic work motivation, highlighting important gender and occupational differences. It makes a significant contribution not only to the literature but also potentially to national policy makers as well as employers, indicating the need to adjust the labour market to the ageing workforce.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140057579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Participation, autonomy and control are shared concepts within older people's interpretations of independence: a qualitative interview study","authors":"Emily Taylor, Julia Frost, Susan Ball, Andrew Clegg, Lesley Brown, Victoria A. Goodwin","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x23000740","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x23000740","url":null,"abstract":"<p>To date, support for independence in older people has been largely focused on achieving practice- and policy-orientated goals such as maintenance of function, remaining in one's own home and reducing the impact of receiving care. Uncertainty about what independence means to older people means that these goals may not align with what matters and should be considered for a more person-centred approach to independence. This study aimed to improve understanding of the meaning and facilitators of independence from older people's perspectives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 community-dwelling people aged 75+, purposively sampled for maximum variance in demographic characteristics. Interviews, conducted by phone or online, were recorded and transcribed. Analysis was conducted using a framework approach to organise, and facilitate comparison of, inductively and deductively generated codes. Patterns were identified and interpreted into themes. Transcripts and themes were reviewed with the research team. Disagreements in interpretations were resolved through discussion. Two themes were identified. The first theme, ‘Older people draw on personal values and experiences to develop unique interpretations of independence’, was underpinned by three concepts: participation, autonomy and control. The concepts reflected patterns identified within participants’ meanings of independence. The second theme, ‘It's not what you have, but how you think about it that creates independence’, represented participants’ shared prioritisation of psychological attributes over physical or environmental resources for maintaining independence. Participation, autonomy and control are shared concepts within older people's diverse interpretations of independence. This paper addresses uncertainty around what independence means to older people and contributes three key concepts that should be considered when operationalising person-centred support for independence.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140054380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"‘I'm a fighter and I do not give up’ – Socially isolated older adults' experiences with meaning in life","authors":"Anja Machielse","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x23000764","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x23000764","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Positively experienced relationships with family, partners and friends are the most important source of meaning in life for older persons. At the same time, Western countries are confronted with a growing number of socially isolated older adults who lack those relationships. This study aims to explore whether and how older adults who live in social isolation experience meaning in life. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 24 socially isolated older adults, ranging in age from 62 to 94, all living in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The criterion-based sampling of participants took place in close consultation with social workers of a mentoring project for socially isolated older adults. Follow-up interviews with 22 participants improved the credibility of findings and contributed to the breadth and depth of the researched casuistry. Data were analysed using an analytical framework based on seven needs of meaning identified by Baumeister (purpose, values, efficacy, self-worth) and Derkx (coherence, excitement, connectedness). The study demonstrates that isolated older adults may find anchors for meaning in life, although not all needs for meaning are satisfied, and there can also be tension between different needs. The needs-based model provides concrete distinctions for enabling care-givers to recognise elements of meaning.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140017589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Who receives most? Gendered consequences of divorce on public pension income in West Germany and Sweden","authors":"Sarah Schmauk, Linda Kridahl","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x23000703","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x23000703","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Sweden and West Germany have had persistently high divorce rates in recent decades, but these two welfare states were differently equipped to mitigate the economic consequences of divorce for individual security in old age: Sweden followed a gender-equal policy approach to enable women and men to achieve economic autonomy, while West Germany, following the male-breadwinner model, introduced the system of ‘divorce-splitting’ to account for differences in women's and men's income. Against this background, this study uses large-scale register data from the German Public Pension Fund and the Swedish population registers to examine how divorce is related to the monthly public old-age pension income of women and men. The main comparison groups are divorced and (re)married individuals who entered retirement between 2013 and 2018. We descriptively show annual income histories from ages 20 to 65, and calculate monthly public old-age pension income with respect to lifetime income and pension regulations, such as the supplements/deductions for ‘divorce-splitting’. Multiple ordinary least square regression models further examine how family status relates to monthly public old-age pension income by gender. The results reveal that women and men in Sweden experience similar working histories, although women's incomes are lower. This is also reflected in women still having lower pension incomes than men. However, divorced and married women show comparable pension incomes, while divorced men receive approximately 26 per cent less pension income than married men. In West Germany, divorced women have significantly higher pension incomes than married women. The system of ‘divorce-splitting’ increases women's and decreases men's pension incomes, which seems to equalise their pension incomes. However, both stay below a married man's pension income. The findings indicate economic inequality in public old-age pension income by family status in Sweden and West Germany.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140017682","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Family carers’ experiences of care home visiting restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic: a relational autonomy perspective","authors":"Josie Dixon, Edmund Stubbs","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x24000059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x24000059","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Care home residents were vulnerable to severe effects from Covid-19 infection and experienced high mortality, especially early in the pandemic. In response, many countries introduced visiting restrictions to limit transmission. These often proved extensive and prolonged, drawing fresh attention to issues of autonomy and human rights in long-term care. We conducted in-depth interviews with 27 family carers in England with relatives living in a care home during the pandemic. Adopting a relational autonomy lens, conceptualised using the capability approach, we examined how family carers considered their relatives’ capabilities to have been impacted by visiting restrictions and how relational support could be strengthened. Family carers were concerned for their relative’s fundamental capabilities, including physical health, emotional well-being, and feeling connected to significant others. Capability deprivations were associated with family separation, ‘adapted’ visits that were inappropriate for their relative’s needs, and lack of opportunity for family carers’ to provide emotional support, help staff identify their relative’s emotional and physical needs, monitor care standards or advocate for their relative. Optimising relational support during a public health emergency requires effective collaboration between care homes and family carers. Specific measures include (1) ensuring there is clarity, a sense of shared purpose, clear accountability and confidence in visiting restrictions, (2) providing family carers regular, personalised updates about their relative using a range of digital communication tools, (3) allowing choice about visiting arrangements where possible, and ensuring visits are appropriate for residents with dementia and (4) ensuring that family carers feel welcomed, involved and enabled to resume in-person visits at the earliest opportunity. Consultation with care homes, families and residents, and workforce and digital readiness should be prioritised.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140005195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What it means to be poor: dimensions of economic hardship among older people living in poverty across Europe","authors":"Liisa-Maria Palomäki, Aart-Jan Riekhoff, Kati Kuitto","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x2300096x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x2300096x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>There is a lack of comparative and quantitative research on how poverty manifests itself in the economic wellbeing of older people across European countries. In this study, we focus in on two central dimensions of economic wellbeing: the ability to pay for usual expenses and unexpected expenses. Our aim is to find out how often older people living at risk of poverty experience hardship on these dimensions, how these dimensions overlap, and whether the incidence of hardship differs between the poor and the non-poor. The study is based on the cross-sectional component of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2018 survey, involving 29 countries and 148,432 respondents aged 65+ years. The analysis builds on both descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression, which takes into account differences in household characteristics between the poor and the non-poor. The results reveal that for the poor, meeting unexpected expenses is a more common problem than meeting usual expenses, although they typically experience hardship on both dimensions. Hardship among the poor is more frequent in Central Eastern and some Southern European countries, while poor people living in Continental and Nordic countries tend to fare better, even though relatively large numbers in these countries lack cash margin. The non-poor do also experience hardship, but to a lesser extent. The poor experience combined hardship relatively often in Continental European countries. Based on the results, we conclude that studies should pay closer attention to the different dimensions of economic wellbeing in old age.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140005082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The third age interrupted: experiences of living in a retirement village during the first year of COVID-19 in Victoria, Australia","authors":"Andrew Simon Gilbert, Stephanie M. Garratt, Joan Ostaszkiewicz, Frances Batchelor, Bianca Brijnath, Christa Dang, Briony Dow, Anita M. Y. Goh","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x24000023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x24000023","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia has profoundly affected older adults, particularly in the state of Victoria, which experienced strict lockdown restrictions six times since the pandemic began in 2020; totalling 245 days over three years. This study explored the experiences of older adults living in retirement villages during the first three lockdowns in Victoria from March 2020 to February 2021. We draw on the concept of the ‘third age’ to explore how residents’ post-retirement social and lifestyle aspirations were disrupted by the pandemic and associated lockdowns. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 14 residents during January and February 2021. All data were analysed using thematic mapping. Five key themes were identified: (1) benefits and frustrations of retirement village living during a pandemic; (2) the loss of amenities and activities; (3) heightened loneliness and social isolation; (4) reaching out to others; and (5) variable experiences of operators’ response. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted short-term and long-term issues around social isolation and the management of retirement villages, it has also demonstrated the resilience of residents and the strength of community ties and relationships. Retirement villages are promoted as age-friendly environments that enable an active and healthy post-retirement lifestyle. Yet our findings reveal heterogeneity within village populations. When services closed during lockdowns, this revealed a tension between the policy assumption that retirement villages are a housing consumption choice, and the unmet needs of those residents who depend on village services for day-to-day functioning.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140005339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Coping with COVID-19 lockdown: a qualitative study of older adults in alcohol treatment","authors":"Paulina Trevena, Jennifer Seddon, Lawrie Elliott, Sarah Wadd, Maureen Dutton","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x23000600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x23000600","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The COVID-19 global pandemic had a major impact on older people's mental health and resulted in changes in alcohol use, with more older adults increasing than decreasing consumption levels among the general population. So far, no studies have focused on older people who were already experiencing problem alcohol use. This qualitative research is the first to provide a nuanced understanding of changes to drinking patterns among older adults engaged in alcohol treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the implications of these for practice. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with people in alcohol treatment aged 55+ living in urban and rural areas across the UK. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. We found that changes in alcohol use varied depending on the social, economic and health impacts of the pandemic on older adults. Boredom, lack of adequate medical or emotional support, and key life changes experienced during the pandemic (such as bereavement or retirement) increased the risk of increased drinking. Moreover, some people in longer-term alcohol treatment were struggling to maintain abstinence due to lack of face-to-face peer support. For others, decreased drinking levels were a side-effect of lockdown policies and restrictions, such as alcohol-related hospitalisations, closure of social spaces or inability to source alcohol; these also supported those who decided to cut down on drinking shortly before the pandemic. Generally, older adults who developed home-based interests and self-care practices managed lockdown best, maintaining abstinence or lower risk drinking levels. Based on these results, we argue that multilevel interventions aimed at strengthening resilience are required to reduce drinking or maintain abstinence among older adults. Such interventions should address three domains: individual (coping strategies and mindset), social (support networks), and structural (access to resources). In preparation for supporting older alcohol users through prospective future pandemics, building digital literacy and inclusion are essential.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139516951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Older people enacting resilience in stories about living alone and receiving home care","authors":"Kristin S. Voie, Janine Wiles, Bodil H. Blix, Margrethe Kristiansen, Ann Karin Helgesen, Kjersti Sunde Mæhre","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x23000880","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x23000880","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Although older people who live alone might be in a vulnerable situation, they have often managed their everyday life for a long time, frequently with health challenges. In this article, we explore how nine older persons who live alone, who receive home care and are identified by home care professionals as being frail, manage their everyday lives by inquiring into their stories about living alone and receiving home care. We conducted three qualitative interviews with each of the nine participants over a period of eight months and analysed the data using thematic analysis and a narrative positioning analysis. Using the concept of resilience as our analytic lens, we identified three thematic threads: continuity, adaptation and resistance. In the narrative positioning analysis of three participants' stories, we identified that the participants used the processes of continuity, adaptation and resistance strategically and interchangeably. The study thus provides insight into how older people who live alone and use home care services narrate their balancing of strengths and vulnerabilities, and engage in the construction and maintenance of a sense of self through positioning in relation to master narratives. Older people's narrations are nuanced and complex, and this study indicates that encouraging storytelling and engaging with older people's narrations might support how older people enact resilience and thus their management of everyday life when living alone and ageing in place.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139482309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}