Integrative review of older adult loneliness and social isolation in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Source: NCBI
OBJECTIVE: To conduct an integrative review of empirical studies of loneliness for older people in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Loneliness is a risk factor for older people’s poor physical and cognitive health, serious illness and mortality. A national survey showed loneliness rates vary by gender and ethnicity.
read moreHow Kiwis feel about ageing in the workplace
Source: Scoop NZ
Bupa Press Release: Only 30% of New Zealanders believe that older people are valued by society, according to a survey by health and care provider Bupa 1 and around 55% of people believe our employers should do more to help older people remain in the workforce.
read moreFamilies Caring for an Ageing America
Source: The National Academies Press
Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation’s family caregivers provide the lion’s share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults’ access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population.
read moreHidden carers: the sixty-somethings looking after parents and grandchildren
Source: The Guardian
Beverley works full-time. She does her grandchildren’s school run every morning, and spends one evening a week and every Saturday with her 85-year-old mother, who lives alone and is increasingly frail.
“This isn’t how I pictured being 60. I do think, gosh, when will I be allowed to get old myself?” Beverley said. “I thought I’d be slowing down now and shedding my responsibilities, but I’m going to be juggling work and caring for many years to come – with the caring lasting well past retirement age.”
Beverley is part of the sandwich generation – people who care for ageing parents while supporting their children.
read morecycle BOOM: Design for Lifelong Health and Wellbeing
Source: cycle BOOM
Cycling can contribute to physical and mental health and wellbeing among an ageing UK population. For example, by providing a means of engaging with the outdoor environment for recreation and relaxation, as well as a way of accomplishing everyday activities such as visiting friends or going to the shops.
read moreBreaking down the barriers: Older people and complaints about health care
Source: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
A report providing a number of broad recommendations for healthcare policy makers and organisations to improve older peoples’ experiences of the complaints system.
read moreDementia in Canada: A National Strategy for Dementia-Friendly Communities
Source: Senate of Canada
A fully-funded National Dementia Strategy is urgently needed to support caregivers, research efforts and Canadians living with dementia.
Members of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology made 29 recommendations to improve the quality of dementia care and research in Canada in an extensive report released late last year called Dementia in Canada: A National Strategy for Dementia-Friendly Communities.
read moreLeaky homes saga: older homeowners hurting, research finds
Source: NZ Herald
Older people stuck in leaky homes have been especially vulnerable to health problems and financial stress that has come with the saga, a new study finds.
It’s estimated about 80,000 homes and apartments built between 1991 and 2005 used products and methods that have not proved weathertight, of which about 12,000 have been repaired privately or with the help of government assistance.
read moreDementia cases to surge to 170,000: new report
Source: NZ Herald
The number of New Zealanders living with dementia will increase by close to 300 per cent to 170,000 by 2050, a new report estimates.
The Economic Impact of Dementia report, carried out by Deloitte and commissioned by Alzheimers New Zealand, was launched at Parliament recently by Seniors Minister Maggie Barry.
Catherine Hall, Alzheimers NZ chief executive, said new models of care were urgently needed as dementia cases in New Zealand triple over the next 30 years.
read moreStaying put: developing dementia-friendly care and support for people with a learning disability
Source: Voluntary Organisations Disability Group
Staying put focuses on how best to support the growing numbers of people with the condition. The publication aims to improve the quality of life of people with a learning disability and dementia, addressing the challenges to this goal.
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