Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010
The second edition of this book reflects the most up-to-date scientific research and theoretical foundations that contribute to our understanding of the aging process and older adulthood. The author organizes the book around complementary 'big point-of-view' theories that focus on successful aging and adaptation, such as the 'selective optimization with compensation model' as well as matching a person's competencies with demands of the environment (the 'ecological model'). Integrated with examples of diversity and filled with real-world applications, this text offers the most up-to-date insights and theoretical underpinnings related to our understanding of the human aging process.
P.K. Kresl and D. Ietri
Local Economy, vol. 24, 2009, p. 625-636
The authors argue that population ageing can be good news for cities. In years to come, older people will be better educated, healthier, wealthier and more mobile than their counterparts in earlier generations. Based on interviews in 12 US cities, 10 in the EU, and six in Italy, the authors examine the economic consequences for cities of: 1) decisions by older people to move from the suburbs to the centre; 2) decisions by older people to spend time and money on educational activities; and 3) decisions by older people to allocate time and money to cultural activities.
K. Murakami, R. Gilroy and J. Atterton
Local Economy, vol.24, 2009, p. 555-567
This paper aims to explore new directions in the provision of support services for older people in depopulated rural communities. Through case studies in rural Hokkaido, in the north of Japan, it examines two emerging approaches: community-based social care services in Kuriyama and the strategic relocation of older people in Nanporo. Through these approaches, both Kuriyama and Nanporo have reconceptualised older people as being beneficial rather than burdensome to the local economy.
European Journal of Social Work, vol. 12, 2009, p. 419-434
This article aims to describe, analyse and compare different approaches to the care of older people with dementia, using examples from France, Portugal and Sweden. The study principally focused on participants' views about their tasks, the organisation of work, the professional role, and cooperation with other professions. Everyday care was studied through observation and staff opinions were explored by means of interviews. Twenty-two care settings for older people were included. Results showed that France provided mainly social care, Sweden healthcare and Portugal integrated health and social care.
International Journal of Social Welfare, vol.19, 2010, p. 54-62
Current Swedish policy aims to enable older people to live independently for as long as possible with support from family and from public services. There is increased emphasis on informal help from family as an important resource for both older people and the welfare state. This article aims to deepen knowledge of informal help-giving in the context of Swedish social policy. It describes and analyses the thoughts and actions of next of kin providing informal help to older relatives who are also receiving formal care services. Next of kin were ambivalent about the help they provided to older relatives, feeling trapped between the needs of the elderly person, their own needs, the demands of the labour market and the needs of their own partners and children. They acted out of a sense of duty, and out of necessity, as well as out of emotional attachment to the older person.
Farnham: Ashgate, 2009
Against a background of debate around global ageing and what this means in terms of the future care needs of older people, this book addresses key concerns about the nature and site of care and care-giving. Following a critical review of research into who cares, where and how, it uses geographical perspectives to present a comprehensive analysis of how the intersection of informal care-giving with domestic, community and residential care homes settings can create complex landscapes and organizational spatialities of care. Drawing on contemporary case studies largely, but not exclusively from the UK, the book reviews and develops a theoretical basis for a geographical analysis of the issue of care. By relating these theoretical concepts to empirical data and case studies it illustrates how formal and informal care-giver responses to the changing landscape of care can act to facilitate or constrain the development of inclusionary models of care.