Ageing Care In The Community Current Practices And Future Directions

Population ageing is a challenge to societies worldwide in terms of healthcare, social support, community infrastructure, and more. With one of the longest life expectancies in the world, Hong Kong will soon see a dramatic increase in the number of older residents together with a decrease in the old age dependency ratio. This book provides a timely examination of the current status and services available for Hong Kong’s ageing population in four key areas: general healthcare needs, such as health promotion and lifestyle modifications; specific healthcare needs, including care of chronic conditions and hip fractures; psychosocial needs for older people with intellectual disabilities and impairments, as well as the needs of their caregivers; and environmental and technological needs in relation to universal design, information and communication technology, and telehealth. Drawing from a wide range of experience in local professional settings combined with international best practices, the authors offer holistic, evidence-based solutions for the development of an age-friendly society where elders can age in place at home in their communities. These suggestions will be useful for policy makers, healthcare practitioners, social workers, care workers, as well as older people and their families not only in Hong Kong but globally.

Different global healthcare challenges bring threats to the healthcare system. Like other developed countries, Hong Kong is also focusing on how to manage the ageing population, how to meet the rising public expectations, and how to finance the ever increasing medical costs. Strengthening community care services may provide a way out for settling these concerns. Written by a team of renowned scholars and leading practitioners, this book aims at evaluating how different parties can assist in building up local community capacity to achieve sustainable health and wellness. The book is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the different roles and practices of specialised community care that contribute to the relative success of the healthcare system in Hong Kong. The second section makes use of various research practices to extrapolate future healthcare needs and practices in Hong Kong. And the last one addresses the values of health care which underlie the healthcare culture, structure and practice in Hong Kong over time. Apart from pointing out the limitation of the current system, this book will also discusses the future directions of the healthcare system in order to cope with the challenges in a changing society. Published by City University of Hong Kong Press 香港城市大學出版社出版

This book advocates the application of holistic and humanistic approaches in elderly care and services to achieve the goal of ageing with dignity in Hong Kong and Asia. It responds to the needs of an increasing ageing population that has to deal with related health needs in long-term care, community health and social services, particularly for chronic conditions and psychosocial support. The book consists of three sections on policy and development of aged care, holistic and humanistic care for older adults, and capacity building for ageing with dignity, respectively. Topics include the latest initiatives in aged care, appropriate services and delivery models, lifestyle modification, psychosocial and environmental considerations, professional development, technologies, and social capital. The chapters review and discuss these issues within a global context, illustrated by examples from Asian countries, underpinned by locally based empirical research. Contributors include academics and practitioners from diversified professional backgrounds that include medicine, nursing, pharmacy, traditional Chinese medicine, dietetics, and allied health. The book traverses into territories in the social sciences, life sciences, and sports sciences, while also touching on areas of business and administration, hospitality, law, public policy, and information technology in connection with public health. The contents serve as a topical reference for tertiary studies in ageing and related disciplines such as well-being and are also useful to policymakers, community and public health practitioners, health executives and interns working in areas of policy and practice pertinent to care development, health delivery models, planning, quality, ethics, better health promotion, professional training, and monitoring for older adults.

As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.

Lasting healthcare for the entire population, specifically the elderly, has become a main priority in society. It is imperative to find ways to boost the longevity of healthcare services for all users. Sustainable Health and Long-Term Care Solutions for an Aging Population is a pivotal reference source featuring the latest scholarly research on issues pertinent to health cost and finding effective ways of financing healthcare for the elderly. Including coverage on a number of topics such as provider accreditation, corporate social responsibility, and data management, this book is ideally designed for policy makers, academicians, researchers, and advanced-level students seeking current research on the innovative planning and development of healthcare.

The Handbook of Social Justice in Loss and Grief is a scholarly work of social criticism, richly grounded in personal experience, evocative case studies, and current multicultural and sociocultural theories and research. It is also consistently practical and reflective, challenging readers to think through responses to ethically complex scenarios in which social justice is undermined by radically uneven opportunity structures, hierarchies of voice and privilege, personal and professional power, and unconscious assumptions, at the very junctures when people are most vulnerable—at points of serious illness, confrontation with end-of-life decision making, and in the throes of grief and bereavement. Harris and Bordere give the reader an active and engaged take on the field, enticing readers to interrogate their own assumptions and practices while increasing, chapter after chapter, their cultural literacy regarding important groups and contexts. The Handbook of Social Justice in Loss and Grief deeply and uniquely addresses a hot topic in the helping professions and social sciences and does so with uncommon readability.

In this fascinating book, leading international experts in gerontology and social work examine the conditions of older people in their respective native lands--Australia, Canada, West Germany, Great Britain, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, and Sweden. In response to the need for world-wide sharing of information and research on one of the most dramatic developments of the twentieth century in the United States and throughout the western world--the aging of the populations--these professionals offer an international dimension and cross-cultural knowledge to social gerontology and gerontological social work. Emphasis is placed on the social service delivery system in each country together with an analysis of social work roles and activities. The informative articles include demographic notes, the socioeconomic characteristics of older people in each country, and the author’s forecast of trends, issues, and future directions. These timely reviews of what has worked elsewhere may spark greater creativity among educators and practitioners in social work and gerontology in finding alternative solutions to the many problems professionals face as advocates and service providers for older adults. Social work practitioners and educators examine social services for seniors in eight different industrialized countries. Each chapter--focusing on a different country--features: a review of the social service delivery system, providing information about its historical evolution and current organization a look at home care programs, as well as community based and institutionally based services a review of service availability and accesibility with consideration of how social services are coordinated with health care and other human services special attention is given to social work roles within the social service system, including an examination of direct service and planning/management roles a consideration of the importance and usefulness of social work in service provision for each country a brief analysis of current trends and furture directions for gerontological social work and social services for the elderly. The cross-national perspectives will highlight global trends in the industrial world and illuminate distinctions among countries, based upon a particular historical, political, and cultural context. Gerontological Social Work provides a wider base for understanding and evaluating policies and programs in one’s own country. Each analysis suggests new and different ways of solving problems and providing services. Social work professionals worldwide will learn successful methods of enabling the elderly to maintain maximum self-sufficiency and participate actively in society, thus insuring improved quality of life.

This comprehensive graduate textbook focuses on the full spectrum of long-term care settings ranging from family and community based care through supportive housing options to a variety of institutional long-term care alternatives. Integrating theory and practice, the book features the perspectives of diverse fields regarding current long-term care options and new directions for the future. Prominent scholars from history, environmental design, family caregiving, gerontology, social service delivery, clinical care, health service delivery, public policy, finance, law, and ethics explore such themes as: Relationships among independence, dependence, and interdependence Ethical considerations in the provision of long-term care Decision-making in long-term care Fluidity and transitions in long-term care The lived experience of long-term care A micro-macro perspective ranging from the individual to societal institutions The book examines future directions for long-term care, considering such factors as the interface of technology and long-term care, cultural diversity, and relationships between voluntary and paid services. Each chapter includes case examples, study questions, and exercises, additional resources, and website links. The appendices provide a glossary and a list of acronyms. Instructorís resources are also available. Key Features: Focuses on the full array of long-term care options Integrates theory and practice Incorporates the perspectives of diverse fields including history, environmental design, family caregiving, social services and public policy Includes numerous case examples, study questions, exercises, and additional resources Considers new approaches to long-term care incorporating technology and considering cultural diversity and the relationship between voluntary and paid services