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- Schmidt, Andrea, et al.
(författare)
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Comparing caregiving patterns of older people in poor and good health in Europe
- 2015
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Ingår i: Irish Ageing Studies Review. - 1649-9972. ; 6:1, s. 50-50
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The question of how health selects into caregiving activities of older people has been largely neglected in previous studies. This aspect is, however, important from an ‘active ageing’ perspective in that social participation can have positive effects on health, thus possibly contributing to primary, secondary and tertiary disease prevention strategies in old-age. This paper aims to address this gap in the literature by analysing participation in two different types of informal caregiving: care to older adults (inside and outside the household) and grandparenting.Methods: Using longitudinal data from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (waves 1, 2 and 4) on people aged 65 years and older from 10 European countries, we analyse differences in factors that determine informal care provision by older people in good health compared to that provided by older people in poor health. We apply logistic regression methods and account for potential individual heterogeneity.Results: We find that participation in care is significantly correlated with individual characteristics of carers, differing by health status and type of care, while only small differences are found between health groups.Conclusions: Even though the determinants of informal care giving are not very different between the two considered groups, policies to promote social engagement should take into account older people‘s health, as those with chronic conditions have less capacity to provide care. Further, co-residential carers have been identified as a vulnerable group, due to their lower socio-economic status and risk of social exclusion.
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| 3. |
- Schmidt, Andrea E., et al.
(författare)
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Fit for caring : factors associated with informal care provision by older caregivers with and without multimorbidity
- 2016
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Ingår i: European Journal of Ageing. - : Springer. - 1613-9372 .- 1613-9380. ; 13:2, s. 103-113
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to an increased prevalence of chronic diseases, older individuals may experience a deterioration of their health condition in older ages, limiting their capacity for social engagement and in turn their well-being in later life. Focusing on care provision to grandchildren and (older) relatives (‘informal care’) as forms of engagement, this paper aims to identify which individual characteristics may compensate for health deficits and enable individuals with multimorbidity to provide informal care. We use data from the SHARE survey (2004–2012) for individuals aged 60 years and above in 10 European countries. Logistic regression estimates for the impact of different sets of characteristics on the decision to provide care are presented separately for people with and without multimorbidity. Adapting Arber and Ginn’s resource theory, we expected that older caregivers’ resources (e.g., income or having a spouse) would facilitate informal care provision to a greater extent for people with multimorbidity compared to those without multimorbidity, but this result was not confirmed. While care provision rates are lower among individuals suffering from chronic conditions, the factors associated with caregiving for the most part do not differ significantly between the two groups. Results, however, hint at reciprocal intergenerational support patterns within families, as the very old with multimorbidity are more likely to provide care than those without multimorbidity. Also, traditional gender roles for women are likely to be weakened in the presence of health problems, as highlighted by a lack of gender differences in care provision among people with multimorbidity.
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| 4. |
- 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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| 5. |
- 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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| 7. |
- Principi, Andrea, et al.
(författare)
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Work restrictions experienced by midlife family care-givers of older people: evidence from six European countries
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ageing & Society. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0144-686X .- 1469-1779. ; 34:2, s. 209-231
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper examines differences in work restrictions of midlife family carers of older people in terms of prevalence, gender and explanatory variables, in six European countries: Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. A sample of 2,897 carers aged 45-64 was extracted from the EUROFAMCARE (Services for Supporting Family Carers of Older People in Europe: Characteristics, Coverage and Usage) European project database, in order to analyse four possible work restrictions experienced in connection with the activity of care-giving: the reduction of working hours; giving up working; difficulties in career developments and forced occasional work. The results show that work restrictions are experienced differently between countries especially by women: they are reported to a higher degree in the United Kingdom, Germany and Greece, less so in Italy, and seldom in Poland and Sweden. Gender differences within countries are not so marked. Country differences are explained in the light of the different welfare regimes characterising the countries under investigation, in order to elucidate how policy makers may act to improve working carers conditions through appropriate policies.
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| 8. |
- Socci, Marco, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of working situation on mental and physical health for informal caregivers of older people with Alzheimer's disease in Italy. Results from the UP-TECH longitudinal study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Aging & Mental Health. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1364-6915 .- 1360-7863. ; 25:1, s. 22-31
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: This longitudinal study explores whether the working situation (no change in working hours despite care, reduction of working hours due to care or not working) moderates mental and physical health of informal caregivers of older people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Italy. Methods: Data from a sample of 146 caregivers of older people with moderate AD involved in the UP-TECH trial across three waves were analysed. Multivariate analyses were used to study the association between independent variables (caregivers' work situation) and dependent variables (caregivers' psycho-physical health). In a second model, elements relating to the caregiver, the cared-for individual and the caregiving situation were added as controls. Results: Being forced to reduce working hours due to care tasks or not being employed independently from care was negatively associated with informal caregiver's physical health, compared with working carers not experiencing reduction of working hours. In the extended model, this result was confirmed. In comparison with working carers not forced to reduce working hours, non-working carers experienced higher levels of caregiver burden and depression, however these results were not confirmed in the adjusted model. Other factors also emerged as important including weekly hours of care, the cared-for older individual's ADL/IADL scores and informal support network. Conclusions: Given the positive effect of labour force participation on health of informal caregivers of older people with AD, policy makers should promote their employment avoiding their forced reduction of working hours, while also putting measures in place to decrease the intensity of informal care provision.
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