Ageing and Long-term Care Phillips, David R; Chan, Alfred C. M
Ageing and long-term care,
10/2002
eBook
The case studies in this book focus on the emergence, extent and nature of national policies on ageing and associated strategies to address long-term care needs. Key opportunities for and constraints ...on policy are identified in this first round of regional studies, written by prominent researchers in Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, who are partners in the Ageing Research Network of the Asian Development Research Forum. The case-studies are set in the context of regional and international plans of action on ageing and the deliberations of the Second World Assembly on Ageing held in 2002.
Current understandings of ageing and diversity are impoverished in three main ways. Firstly, with regards to thinking about what inequalities operate in later life there has been an excessive ...preoccupation with economic resources. On the other hand, less attention has been paid to cultural norms and values, other resources, wider social processes, political participation and community engagement. Secondly, in terms of thinking about the ‘who’ of inequality, this has so far been limited to a very narrow range of minority populations. Finally, when considering the ‘how’ of inequality, social gerontology’s theoretical analyses remain under-developed. The overall effect of these issues is that social gerontology remains deeply embedded in normative assumptions which serve to exclude a wide range of older people. This book aims to challenge and provoke the above described normativity and offer an alternative approach which highlights the heterogeneity and diversity of ageing.
Background: Mediterranean Diet (MED) is often recommended to prevent cardiovascular disease, promote healthy aging, and improve an older adult's physical function. This study examined the association ...between MED diet and functional limitations (FL) in older adults. Methods: We included participants aged ≥60 years from the 2005-2017 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional, representative survey of US adults, who had completed at least one 24-h dietary recall. A MED score of low (0-4), moderate (5-6) or high (7-9) was assigned based on dietary adherence to the MED diet. FL was determined by self-reported difficulty with both functional measures and instrumental and basic activities of daily living measures. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated the relationship between MED score and FL. Using low MED as the referent, a Risk Ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated for moderate and high MED scores. The beta coefficient (b) and standard error (SE) were calculated for continuous MED scores. We adjusted for covariates in our analysis including age, sex, race, physical activity level, smoking status, and body mass index. Results: There were 10,427 participants analyzed, mean age 70.7 ± 6.8 years (49.8% female). In this cohort, 15% had low, 56% moderate, and 29% high MED scores. Prevalence of FL was 38.8%, 35.2%, and 28.9% for low, moderate, and high MED scores, respectively. Compared to low MED (referent), the RR (95%CI) of FL for moderate and high MED scores were 0.91(0.82, 1.01) and 0.74(0.65, 0.85), respectively. After adjusting, the RR (95%CI) of FL for moderate and high MED scores were 0.92(0.83, 1.02) and 0.80(0.70, 0.92), respectively. Using the continuous MED score, the b(SE) was b = -0.14(0.03, p < 0.001) for unadjusted and b = -0.12(0.03, p < 0.001) for adjusted models. Conclusions: In a cross-sectional analysis, better adherence to MED diet is associated with a lower risk of functional impairments in older adults. This suggests that older adults who follow MED may have improved functional status. Longitudinal research studies are needed to evaluate MED as an intervention to improve physical function.
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This volume first examines projected demographic changes that will affect the economic well-being of Chinas rural elderly over the next twenty years, taking into account both Chinas sharp ...demographic transition and the continued migration of young adults into cities. The projected old age dependency ratio of 34 percent in Chinas rural areas by 2030 suggests that support of the elderly is likely to be an increasing burden on Chinas families over the next twenty years. The book next documents the sources of financial support, poverty incidence and vulnerability of the rural elderly since the early 1990s. Chinas rural elderly have been consistently poorer and more vulnerable to poverty than both working age households and the urban elderly. In contrast to the urban elderly who frequently have pension support, the rural elderly typically rely either on their own labor income or financial support from adult children. A substantial share of Chinas rural elderly continue to work well beyond the age 70, but labor as a primary source of support falls sharply during their 60s. Additional evidence suggests that the rural elderly work well beyond 60 out of necessity and only stop working when physically incapacitated. While average transfers from adult children to elderly parents are sufficient to keep them out of poverty, adult migrant children with uncertain income create the risk that transfers will not be sufficient to keep some rural elderly out of poverty. The final sections of the book review experiences with rural pensions during the 1990s and 2000s and draws out the lessons which have informed the design of a new national rural pension scheme. Among the many issues discussed, the report highlights the importance of providing incentives for participation in the pension scheme and important issues related to the portability of pensions for a
mobile population.
An Aging India Liebig, Phoebe S.; Rajan, S. Irudaya
Journal of aging & social policy,
c2003., Volume:
15, Issue:
2-3
eBook, Journal Article
Peer reviewed
This pathbreaking collection provides something that has been missing in the literature on aging in India, especially for non-Indian audiences: studies of various aspects of aging in India combined ...with analyses of current policies, policy trends and recommendations. You'll examine aging issues from a variety of perspectivesdemographic foundations, social and family relations, economics, health and disability, current interventions, and advocacy and policy. An Aging India also provides you with up-to-date references, explanations of differences and similarities within India's diverse population, examples of programs in various settings including a geriatric hospital, a major NGO, and old-age homes, and an overview of the development of India's national policy on aging. Where appropriate, comparisons with U.S. policy approaches are noted.
