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- Barbabella, Francesco, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Launching an interdisciplinary “International Summer School on Ageing” (ISSA) : Aims, methodology and outcomes
- 2016
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Ingår i: Educational gerontology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0360-1277 .- 1521-0472. ; 42:4, s. 253-264
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite the increasing availability of gerontological training programmes, knowledge of theircontents, characteristics, methods and outcomes remains limited. However, the transitionfrom multidisciplinarity to interdisciplinary orientations is now fundamental to such training,providing participants from diverse academic orientations and professional backgrounds withopportunities to interact ‘across boundaries’. In response to recommendations of the EUFuturage Road Map for European Ageing Research (2011) concerning training and careerdevelopmentneeds of future cohorts of practitioners and scholars in aging, an InternationalSummer School on Ageing (ISSA) was developed in 2012. Its aim was to initiate the practicalimplementation of some of the capacity building goals identified by Futurage. The design andstructure of the ISSA was informed by the experience of Canada’s Summer Programme inAgeing - run by the Institute of Aging of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – and bythe cross-border academic training activities organized by Lund University (Sweden) inScandinavian countries. As Italy has lacked a tradition of comprehensive, interdisciplinarytraining programmes in gerontology, the Italian National Institute of Health and Science onAgeing undertook to launch the inaugural ISSA. In this article, the core aims andmethodology of the ISSA are presented, together with an analysis of its main outcomes, asmeasured by participant evaluations. These are discussed in the context of internationaldebate on this topic.
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| 2. |
- Barbabella, Francesco, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Volontariato in età matura : opportunità, barriere e best practices per il coinvolgimento degli anziani
- 2011
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Ingår i: Quaderni Europei sul Nuovo Welfare. - 1972-4543. ; 16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- L’articolo propone una rassegna sulle opportunità e i maggiori ostacoli in merito alla partecipazione delle persone anziane alle attività di volontariato. A livello internazionale, il dibattito sul volontariato in età matura si è sviluppato principalmente negli Stati Uniti, mentre l’Europa appare ancora indietro nella ricerca: oltre che auspicare un aumento delle indagini sull’argomento a livello nazionale, sarebbe utile promuovere ricerche comparative e trasversali, presenti ancora in numero esiguo. Tra le evidenze attualmente disponibili, risulta che gli anziani più propensi a svolgere attività di volontariato sono quelli “più giovani”, in buona salute, con un livello di istruzione ed una posizione socio-economica elevati, impegnati principalmente in organizzazioni religiose che operano nel settore dei servizi alla persona. Le principali barriere sono invece rappresentate da pratiche discriminatorie legate all’età. A livello internazionale si rivela controverso il rapporto tra l’impegno degli anziani nel volontariato e in altre importanti attività quali il lavoro e la cura informale. Ad ogni modo, emerge con forza l’esigenza di implementare politiche di reclutamento dei volontari senior, dal momento che le poche esistenti sono spesso poco incisive: in questo senso, un supporto importante può essere fornito dalle esperienze realizzate nel contesto statunitense, le quali hanno prodotto negli ultimi anni delle best practices.
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| 3. |
- Lamura, Giovanni, et al.
(författare)
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Implications of the use of migrant care work and web-based services on family caregivers' health
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Care and Caring. - : POLICY PRESS. - 2397-8821 .- 2397-883X. ; 3:1, s. 97-116
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article illustrates the implications of two recent trends on family carers' health: the employment of home-based migrant care workers; and the provision of web-based supports. The main factors traditionally associated with carers' health are used to analyse the results of a six-country study via a multilevel linear regression. Attention will be dedicated to the role of migrant care workers, who are often hired by private households to provide eldercare. Finally, web-based services for carers will be investigated by considering InformCare, a recently implemented European platform tested on a sample of carers from three countries (Germany, Italy and Sweden).
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Barbabella, Francesco, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Opportunities and challenges of migrant work in the Italian long-term care system
- 2013
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Ingår i: The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. - 1279-7707 .- 1760-4788. ; 17:Supplement, Juny/july, s. S133-S133
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Italy is one of the most aged countries in the world, with a longstanding tradition of family care of the dependent elderly. Inrecent times, however, Italy has been witnessing in-depth social and cultural changes, which have been negatively impacting on informal care provision. In addition, the public long-term care (LTC) system highly relies on cash-for-care schemes for supporting older people, whereas “formal” care services are characterised by weak coverage and intensity. This situation has led to a remarkable increase in theprivate employment of migrant care workers (MCWs), whose number increased by four times in the last two decades.Method: An overview of MCWs phenomenon in Italy is provided through the analysis of empirical data retrieved by available official sources at national level, as well as by results from own surveys conducted in recent years on large samples of MCWs.Results: The following opportunities and challenges concerning MCWs’ employment in the LTC sector were identified: improve MCW’s capacity to deliver quality care; reduce therisk of elder abuse and neglect and of meeting MCWs’ own care needs; increase their social integration in destination countries and reduce “care drain” in sending countries; and how to improve stakeholders’ involvement for a better exchange of good practices and more effective policy measures.Conclusion: In these years, privately employed MCWs have contributed to change the traditional Italian “family care model” into a new “migrant-in-the-family care model”. However, the issue concerning the sustainability of this model within the Italian LTC system in the future is still open.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Chiatti, Carlos, et al.
(författare)
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Migrant care work for elderly households in Italy
- 2013
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Ingår i: Ageing in the Mediterranean. - Bristol : Policy Press. - 9781447301066 ; , s. 235-256
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper aims at pointing out the need for a more equitable, internationally driven approach to solve elder care staff shortages, on the background of the implications deriving from the widespread phenomenon of employing migrant care workers in the Italian elder care sector. The paper describes at first how this form of care provision has become so popular in this country to face the long term care needs characterising its ageing population. Main reasons are identified, on the one hand, in the decreasing availability of informal care, due to the increasing female participation in the labor market, a longer working life and a reduction in the support provided by social networks. On the “formal” side, a major role has been played also by the lack of appropriate long term care services, such as residential and public home care, as well as by a chronic shortage of nursing staff and a shorter length of hospital stays. The traditionally “cash-oriented” profile of the Italian welfare system – more based on cash-for-care measures rather than in-kind services – has ended up with perpetuating familistic tendencies stimulating the employment of foreign migrant care workers, often on a live-in, undeclared basis. The paper’s conclusions focus on the analysis of the main opportunities and challenges raised by this phenomenon, trying to catch all involved parties’ perspectives: the older care recipients’ families; the migrant care workers; the receiving and the sending societies. This approach allows to identify core advantages of this solution in the possibility to increase ageing in place opportunities (thus reducing institutionalisation rates) and to provide a more personalised home care at reasonable costs. On the other hand, drawbacks can occur in terms of low quality of care, risk of widespread undeclared labour conditions, possible exploitation of foreign migrants and abuse of older people, as well as “brain and care drain” effects in sending countries. A more neutral, internationally driven governance is therefore suggested in order to minimize these risks and promote equitable solutions to solve care provision shortages in some countries without “plundering the future” of other nations.
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| 8. |
- Lamura, Giovanni, et al.
(författare)
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Filling the gap in long-term professional care through systematic migration policies : Synthesis Report
- 2014
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Bok (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Many EU countries face the challenge of providing elderly care in the context of shortages of trained personnel. The Peer Review in Berlin (23-24 October) provided the opportunity for peer countries to explore the German approach of recruiting and training non-EU migrants. This report summarises the key issues discussed and the lessons learned. It is available in electronic format in English, French and German
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Andréasson, Frida, et al.
(författare)
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The INNOVAGE-Eurocarers platform and current ICT-based services for informal carers of older people in Sweden
- 2015
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Ingår i: Irish Ageing Studies Review. - 1649-9972. ; 6:1, s. 88-88
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Different support services for family carers are available in Sweden through information and communication technologies (ICTs) since late 1990s, like ACTION, My Joice, IPPI, ‘The Gap’, and Carer Sweden’s online ‘Carer’s Book’. The INNOVAGE-Eurocarers platform aimed to complement the offer of web services to carers through the provision of a new tailored package.Methods: The Swedish pilot test enrolled around 50 carers through contacts with professionals working with carers in different municipalities. They could access the following web-based services: information resources; individual support via e-mail and private messages; group support via social network and forum. Periodical writing activities were asked to active users in the forum, alternating expressive writing (EW) and time management (TM) writing tasks. Periodical reminders were sent in order to increase user involvement.Results: Users were predominantly older, female carers, of which two thirds were over 65 years old. The web platform was perceived as a flexible tool, potentially accessible at any time, which gave users the possibility to exploit their experience as carers with others in similar situations. This peer exchange seemed to improve self empowerment, sense of solidarity and mutual learning. However, usage of the web platform was limited due to the low level of digital skills of some carers.Conclusions: Although results confirmed usefulness and appropriateness of implemented web services, it is fundamental to address the issue of usability and accessibility in order to ensure a wider accessibility. An option might be to offer initial digital skill training and continuous technical support for computer novices.
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