older people

BACKGROUND: In European countries, knowledge about availability and utilization of support for informal caregivers caring for older persons (≥65 years) with dementia (PwD) is lacking. To be able to evaluate and develop the dementia support system for informal caregivers to PwD, a survey of European support systems and professionals involved is needed. The aim of this study was to explore support for informal caregivers to PwD in European countries.

This article is focused on children providing and financing long-term care for their elderly parent. The aim of this work is to highlight the interactions that may take place among siblings when deciding whether or not to become a caregiver. We look at families with two children using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe; our sample contains 314 dependent elderly and their 628 adult children. In order to identify the interactions between siblings, we have specified a two-person discrete game model.

The role of telecare systems is normally seen as identifying, and drawing attention to, situations of concern in the homes of service users. While this may currently be the primary reason for deploying such systems, the scope of telecare should not be limited to such an alarm generation role. The role of telecare in enhancing community-based care provision may be broadened by using similar, or identical, technology for providing relevant information to the carers of service users.

There are at least four ways in which old age and migration cross each other’s paths. First of all, there are people who migrated for economic reasons, usually at a relatively young age, and who have grown old in a foreign country. Secondly, there are older people who migrate when (or because) they are old: in Europe, they are mostly from the affluent northern countries and travel southward. Thirdly, there is increasing employment of, and demand for, immigrant workers in old-age institutions in the northern countries.

The future market costs of long-term care for older people will be affected by the extent of informal care. This paper reports on projections of receipt of informal care by disabled older people from their spouses and (adult) children to 2031 in England. The paper shows that, over the next 30 years, care by spouses is likely to increase substantially. However, if current patterns of care remain the same, care by children will also need to increase by nearly 60 per cent by 2031. It is not clear that the supply of care by children will rise to meet this demand. 

Family caregiving is a stressful process, especially when the complexity of being an immigrant or ethnic minority is added. This paper examined service barriers experienced by Chinese immigrant family caregivers in Canada and the predictors of different types of barriers. Principle component analysis was performed with the barriers reported loading onto cultural barriers, administrative problems, circumstantial challenges, perceived negative quality of services, and personal attitudes.

The French system of social care policy for dependent older people is an allowance known as the Prestation Specifique Dependance (PSD) from January 1997 to December 2001 and subsequently the Allocation Personalisee a l'Automie (APA) from January 2002 for services or to pay a member of the family. The chapter covers demographic factors underlying this policy development with statistical tables, and the two principal stages of French social care policy, examining the impact of these on carers who may be either formal (paid) or informal (unpaid).

Traditionally, day care for elderly persons has been provided by health or social services; however, recently facilities have been developed by voluntary organizations. This study was conducted to examine the characteristics of elderly clients with mental health problems attending these various settings, and to identify any areas of unmet need.

Reports on an award-winning mobile project in the West Country that uses complementary therapies to help people with dementia and their carers.