Health & Social Care in the Community最新文献

Cervical cancer has a significant impact on the lives of caregivers of cervical cancer patients, including male partners. Disturbances in physical, psychological, sexual, spiritual, and socioeconomical aspects of life are reported by male partners of cervical cancer patients. To reduce the impact associated with cervical cancer, adaptive coping mechanisms are needed. In this regard, little is known about the coping mechanisms used by male partners of women diagnosed with cervical cancer in sub-Saharan African countries. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the coping mechanisms used by male partners of women diagnosed with cervical cancer at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A descriptive cross-sectional study design with a qualitative approach was employed to explore coping strategies used by male partners of cervical cancer patients between December 2022 and March 2023. Participants were selected using a purposeful sampling technique guided by the principles of saturation. In-depth interviews with thirteen male partners of cervical cancer patients were carried out, and the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were then analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Four themes highlighting coping mechanisms used by male partners of cervical patients were identified after data analysis. They include religious coping, emotional expression and regulation strategies, support-seeking strategies, and problem-solving strategies. Male partners of cervical cancer patients used various mechanisms to cope with the stressful situations they encountered. While most of the coping mechanisms used by male partners of cervical cancer patients were adaptive, some were maladaptive. Therefore, regular assessment among this population needs to be done to identify maladaptive coping and provide relevant support.

Community engagement (CE) has long been endorsed by policy makers and health practitioners. However, uncertainties remain about the workings and outcomes of CE. This study aims to provide in-depth insights into them. In a multiple case study, we investigated three participatory health promotion projects for families in vulnerable situations in the Netherlands. We adopted a realist approach combined with a theory of change (ToC) model. We then analysed the qualitative data for context–mechanism–outcome (CMO) configurations to refine this ToC. Results show that CE can strengthen social networks, empower families, and increase perceived health. However, specific contexts in combination with CE project approaches may or may not trigger positive responses. Participants may feel that they matter when asked to actively contribute to a project, which in turn can enhance their self-confidence. In another context, we found that families were overwhelmed by the responsibilities given to them in the project, leading to feelings of stress and withdrawal from the project. We present a list of CMO configurations and refine the ToC accordingly. Our main conclusion is that flexibility is key when CE is implemented in health promotion. Also, our findings question physical health outcomes as a realistic ambition for CE projects with groups in vulnerable situations.

Older people who are wanting to support their own ability to age well may benefit from attending community-based group programs. However, many of these programs are designed and implemented by health professionals without direct input from older people, which may limit the opportunity to ensure such programs are authentically meeting the needs of this population group. A qualitative approach, using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), was undertaken with seven (six female and one male) participants, aged between 62 and 80 years to explore the experiences of participating in a pilot Ageing Well Program. Interviews were transcribed and analysed according to IPA principles. Three themes emerged from the analysis of the interview data: (1) The value of focusing on different aspects of ageing; (2) Learning new knowledge; and (3) Transferring skills to everyday life. Participants in the pilot of the Ageing Well Program highlighted that those aspects of the Program, such as the focus on adding value through targeting multiple aspects of ageing, as well as developing strategies to successfully learn, apply, and translate new knowledge into their everyday lives, were beneficial and supported engagement. However, future programs would benefit from the inclusion of clear and coherent written material to provide an aide in remembering the strategies and new information learnt during the Program. Findings support the importance and value of engaging with older people to assist with the development of community-based programs that are authentically designed to align with the expectations of older people, through a process of quality improvement.

Dementia is recognised as one of the major global health and social care challenges of present times. When the onset of dementia occurs in midlife, there is an increased possibility that there are children and young adults involved who are dependent on the parent concerned. The aim of the study was to describe health and social care professionals’ experiences of identifying and supporting children and young adults with a parent with dementia. A qualitative descriptive approach was carried out with individual interviews of health and social care professionals, using a semistructured interview guide. Thirteen participants in rural and urban areas in Sweden were interviewed. The overarching theme, advocating a forgotten group with three categories were identified. They combine and reflect health and social care professionals’ experiences of identifying and supporting children and young adults with a parent with dementia. Health and social care professionals who encountered children and young adults with a parent with dementia described how they were not sufficiently trained in supporting this group and identified a general shortage of available appropriate support services. The children and young adults were also described as a forgotten and overlooked group in need of affirmation and support in a more systematic way.

There has been growing interest in exploring factors that influence the success or otherwise of welfare policies in democratic countries, such as the interrelationships between the proposed policy and the context it will be introduced into, such as the sociodemographic characteristics of the population and the population’s previous experience with welfare policies. However, there has been little exploration of factors that could influence general population support for long-term care for older people. The aim of this study was to investigate the general population’s attitudes for determinants of high-quality aged care and different mechanisms for funding and any impact of individual characteristics on these. A representative sample of the Australian general population aged 18 years and over (N = 10,315, 52% female, 22% aged 65 years and over) drawn via quota sampling participated in the survey online. Participants were asked to rate the importance of a list of 10 determinants of quality care and their support for four models of funding, both using a five-point Likert scale. We identified consistently high expectations for long-term care services across the general population, especially among older people, females, those with a family member in care, and those living in rural or regional areas. In terms of how governments practically fund a high-quality long-term care system, we also identified broad support among the general population for both payment of a co-contribution towards the cost of care by older people using services and increased government funding for the system. Over 40% of participants said they would be willing to pay additional tax to improve access and quality of aged care services. While often neglected by governments in the past who assumed voter apathy on the topic, by comparison, our findings indicate that there is currently a strong appetite among the general population for improvements to the quality of care provided and that they are willing to consider changes to the funding model.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the well-being of older adults has been highlighted as a significant public health concern. In this study, we investigated the role of psychological resilience in mediating the relationship between positive self-perceptions of aging (SPA) and the subjective well-being (SWB) of community-dwelling older adults in Taiwan during the pandemic. We collected data through face-to-face interviews conducted from October 2021 to February 2022, involving 1,095 participants aged 50 years or above residing in a southern city in Taiwan. More than half of the study participants were female, aged 65 or older, and had less than a high school education. More than two thirds were married and/or living with partners. More than a third had two or more noncommunicable diseases. We calculated scores for SWB, positive SPA, and psychological resilience and examined correlations among the outcome and predictor variables. Our findings indicated that higher positive SPA was significantly associated with better SWB among community-dwelling older adults in Taiwan and that this association was mediated by psychological resilience. Specifically, after controlling for covariates, structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed a significant main effect of positive SPA on SWB (b = 0.412, β = 0187, and p  <  0.001), while bootstrap mediation analysis showed a statistically significant indirect mediating effect from positive SPA on SWB via psychological resilience (0.597, 95% bootstrap CIs = [0.445, 0.749], and p  <  0.001). These findings highlight the potential importance of cultivating positive self-perceptions of aging and implementing resilience-centered interventions to promote well-being among Chinese older adults in the community.