Interconnected living in a quarter for persons with dementia

OBJECTIVE

In this work, we propose a new care concept for dementia patients in their own apartments: interconnected living in a quarter. We describe a technical setup that is comprised of a safety system and an activity detection system. The latter detects, processes and illustrates activities of daily living to help the quarter managers to provide appropriate interventions for persons with dementia in the quarter.

PARTICIPANTS

The nine-month field study reported in this work was conducted in two quarters with eight participants.

METHODS

We evaluated different possibilities to determine activity indicators with the aim of providing information that enables the quarter managers to offer exactly the level of support needed by each individual patient. To evaluate the usefulness and the perception of the technical infrastructure, qualitative interviews with the dementia patients and the quarter managers were conducted.

RESULTS

The results indicate that the interconnected living concept helps to increase the safety of the dementia patients. Additionally, several activity indicators that help the quarter managers to offer the appropriate level of support to the dementia patients have been identified.

CONCLUSION

The presented concept, which has been evaluated in a real-world-setting, constitutes a new holistic and cross-disciplinary dementia care approach.

The Current Population Shift among Elderly Migrants

An elderly migration shift away from urban areas and toward rural areas and small towns has been noted recently. In addition to documenting general migration trends, this article focuses on the characteristics of elderly migrants who have moved in either the urban or rural direction. Data from a longitudinal nationwide survey conducted by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan are used for this study. A general trend toward ruralward migration was found, with these migrants having a higher educational level, higher total family income, higher working status for those still in the job market, and fewer hours currently worked per week when compared to urbanward migrants. It appears that households with more choices were selecting homes in rural areas as opposed to urban sites.

Moving Considerations

Residential proximity is an important indicator of family members’ availability to provide assistance to each other. We investigate proximity-enhancing moves by older parents and their children and the reasons for such moves. Using the 2000–2004 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, we fit multinomial logit models examining 2-year residential transitions for parents and children living 10 or more miles apart at baseline. Our results show that family members collectively adjust intergenerational proximity to facilitate mutual support. Despite the common assumption that older parents move closer to their children to receive assistance, more than two thirds of all proximity-enhancing moves are made by adult children. While greater anticipated longevity raises the probability that older parents will move closer to their children, parents’ anticipated longevity does not influence children’s moving decisions. Including individual variability in anticipated longevity in the life course framework helps account for relocation that precedes declines in health or increases in the need for support.

I Want to Move, But Cannot

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of seniors in the Canadian population who are involuntary stayers and to assess associations with health. Method: Data come from the 1994 Canadian National Population Health Survey, with the sample restricted to those 65 and older ( N = 2,551). Results: Nearly 1 in 10 seniors identified as an involuntary stayer. Seniors with few socioeconomic resources, poor health, greater need for assistance, and low social involvement were more likely to identify as an involuntary stayer. Furthermore, seniors who were involuntary stayers report significantly more distress and greater odds of low self-rated health than other seniors. Discussion: This study brings into visibility an understudied segment of the elderly population: seniors who are unable to move from their present location despite their desire to do so. Further research and policy responses assisting seniors to age in a setting of their own choosing are needed.

Anticipating Relocation: Coping Strategies and the Meaning of Home for Older People

Despite the extensive literature on the effects of relocation on the aged, most investigators have examined changes following relocation. Very little is known about the cognitions and emotions an older person experiences, or about the meaning of home during the pre-relocation period. The present study attempted to address these issues. Sixty-three older people awaiting relocation to age-segregated rent-subsidized apartment buildings were interviewed twice over a one year period: they received the PGC Multilevel Assessment Instrument as well as measures assessing coping strategies and their perceived meaning of home and relocation. Respondents did not demonstrate decrements on any domain of the PGC MAI over the year period; indeed, those who moved significantly increased their level of environmental satisfaction. Finally, participants reported dealing with stress by exercising personal control over, or actively manipulating, their environment; “home”, moreover, most often had meaning and importance because it was the place in which this personal control was optimized and ensured.

Migration and psychological well-being among older adults: a growth curve analysis based on panel data from the Health and Retirement Study, 1996-2006

PURPOSE

A vibrant body of research examines migration among older adults. Existing research, however, grants scarce attention to the implications of later-life migration for the migrants themselves. Our research focuses on the impacts of migration on depressive symptomatology among older U.S. adults.

METHODS

Our analysis employs six waves of panel data from the Health and Retirement Study, 1996-2006. Growth curve modeling techniques are employed.

RESULTS

Net of other stressful life events, migration effects appear to vary significantly across persons. Findings highlight the particularly depressive impact of moves motivated by negative life events or circumstances. Results further suggest that later life moves may be especially stressful for women and as individuals age.

DISCUSSION

The stress of moving late in life may depend on social integration at destination. Further research should pursue this issue. Study limitations and additional directions for further research are delineated.