Suchergebnisse

Les personnes âgées souffrant de limitations fonctionnelles, dont l'état de santé et la qualité de vie (QdV) sont souvent très faibles, constituent un groupe vulnérable. En Italie comme en Grèce, ce sont les soins informels et le personnel soignant employé à titre privé qui leur permettent le plus souvent de bénéficier d'un soutien et d'une prise en charge continue, plus que les services d'aide publics. Cette situation peut entraîner une dégradation de la QdV si les personnes âgées ne disposent pas de ressources sociales et économiques propres leur permettant de faire face à leurs limitations, particulièrement dans un contexte fortement influencé par les effets de la crise économique. Quel rôle joue le statut socioéconomique (SSE) et la participation sociale en tant qu'indicateurs de la QdV des personnes âgées ayant des limitations fonctionnelles, après cette période de la grande récession ? Pour répondre à cette question, nous avons utilisé des données Share ( Survey of health ageing & retirement in Europe ) de la vague 6 sur les adultes de 50 ans et plus afin de réaliser une analyse descriptive transversale et appliquer un modèle de régression linéaire hiérarchique à l'Italie et à la Grèce, avec des blocs d'indicateurs dans les domaines démographique, socioéconomique, de la santé, de l'accès aux soins et de la participation sociale. Même si un bon état de santé demeure l'indicateur le plus important, on constate pour les deux pays que les niveaux plus élevés de SSE et de participation sociale sont fortement corrélés à une meilleure QdV. Nos résultats suggèrent que les personnes âgées les plus socialement défavorisées ont plus de risque de subir des inégalités sociales, entraînant des répercussions sur leur QdV et leur inclusion sociale.

This article illustrates the implications of two recent trends on family carers' health: the employment of home-based migrant care workers; and the provision of web-based supports. The main factors traditionally associated with carers' health are used to analyse the results of a six-country study via a multilevel linear regression. Attention will be dedicated to the role of migrant care workers, who are often hired by private households to provide eldercare. Finally, web-based services for carers will be investigated by considering InformCare, a recently implemented European platform tested on a sample of carers from three countries (Germany, Italy and Sweden).

Active ageing is defined as the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. The design of active ageing policies intersects with different overarching societal challenges, especially ageing populations, social rights and sustainability. However, there are no previous attempts to review active ageing policies in the light of these challenges and the international policy objectives and targets that are guiding the international community. The aim of this study is to systematically identify, review and analyse all national and regional policies on active ageing adopted in Italy, by applying a conceptual framework derived from main international policy initiatives in the three areas. The research was conducted in two stages. First, a case study analysis was carried out per each relevant national institution and regional government. Standardised interviews were combined with policy document search, selection and analysis. Second, we performed a policy analysis in the light of a conceptual framework adopted. This latter was composed by nine policy domains, selected and integrated from principles and objectives of three overarching international frameworks on ageing—i.e., the Regional Implementation Strategy (RIS) commitments of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), social rights—i.e., the European Pillar of Social Rights and sustainability—i.e., the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Results pointed out that out of the identified nine policy fields, the major intervention areas by Italian policy makers concerned labour market participation, life-long learning, social and economic inequalities, health and well-being. Less attention had been given to issues such as gender and equal opportunities and sustainable cities. This systematic policy review is a milestone for understanding how active ageing policies contribute to address major societal challenges and what ...

Active ageing is defined as the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. The design of active ageing policies intersects with different overarching societal challenges, especially ageing populations, social rights and sustainability. However, there are no previous attempts to review active ageing policies in the light of these challenges and the international policy objectives and targets that are guiding the international community. The aim of this study is to systematically identify, review and analyse all national and regional policies on active ageing adopted in Italy, by applying a conceptual framework derived from main international policy initiatives in the three areas. The research was conducted in two stages. First, a case study analysis was carried out per each relevant national institution and regional government. Standardised interviews were combined with policy document search, selection and analysis. Second, we performed a policy analysis in the light of a conceptual framework adopted. This latter was composed by nine policy domains, selected and integrated from principles and objectives of three overarching international frameworks on ageing—i.e., the Regional Implementation Strategy (RIS) commitments of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), social rights—i.e., the European Pillar of Social Rights and sustainability—i.e., the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Results pointed out that out of the identified nine policy fields, the major intervention areas by Italian policy makers concerned labour market participation, life-long learning, social and economic inequalities, health and well-being. Less attention had been given to issues such as gender and equal opportunities and sustainable cities. This systematic policy review is a milestone for understanding how active ageing policies contribute to address major societal challenges and what domains need further policy development

Although the active ageing concept generally has positive connotations, with expected benefits at the micro, meso and macro levels, the application of this concept in terms of policy making presents challenges and risks to be avoided (for instance, a predominantly productivist interpretation and a top-down imposition with limited possibilities for bottom-up exchanges; or a disregard for the risk of excluding older people with more disadvantaged backgrounds). Two crucial strategies to minimise risks are the implementation of policies by considering and respecting territorial diversity, and the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders in a participatory consultative and co-decisional approach. This paper entwines both strategies together by focusing on Italian in-country differences in terms of active ageing, and employing the Active Ageing Index for policy-making purposes. This activity is part of a governmental national pilot project aimed at promoting multilevel co-managed co-ordination of active ageing policies across Italy. The analysis identified five groups of regions that differ from the classical, geographic and socio-economic division between the North, Centre and South. Additional in-group analyses were conducted to investigate within-cluster differences. This study will inform a large multilevel stakeholder network for evidence-based policies and their monitoring at both the national and regional levels, in line with the perspective of mainstreaming ageing.

17.06.2020. BACKGROUND: Informal carers have a crucial role in the care of older people, but they are at risk of social isolation and psychological exhaustion. Web-based services like apps and websites are increasingly used to support informal carers in addressing some of their needs and tasks, such as health monitoring of their loved ones, information and communication, and stress management. Despite the growing number of available solutions, the lack of knowledge or skills of carers about the solutions often prevent their usage. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to review and select apps and websites offering functionalities useful for informal carers of frail adults or older people in 5 European countries (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden). METHODS: A systematic online search was conducted from January 2017 to mid-March 2017 using selected keywords, followed by an assessment based on a set of commonly agreed criteria and standardized tools. Selected resources were rated and classified in terms of scope. Focus groups with informal carers were conducted to validate the list and the classification of resources. The activities were conducted in parallel in the participating countries using common protocols and guidelines, a standardization process, and scheduled group discussions. RESULTS: From a total of 406 eligible resources retrieved, 138 apps and 86 websites met the inclusion criteria. Half of the selected resources (109/224, 48.7%) were disease-specific, and the remaining resources included information and utilities on a variety of themes. Only 38 resources (38/224, 17.0%) were devoted specifically to carers, addressing the management of health disturbances and diseases of the care recipient and focusing primarily on neurodegenerative diseases. Focus groups with the carers showed that almost all participants had no previous knowledge of any resource specifically targeting carers, even if interest was expressed towards carer-focused resources. The main barriers for using the resources were low digital skills of the carers and reliability of health-related apps and websites. Results of the focus groups led to a new taxonomy of the resources, comprising 4 categories: carer's wellbeing, managing health and diseases of the care recipient, useful contacts, and technologies for eldercare. CONCLUSIONS: The review process allowed the identification of online resources of good quality. However, these resources are still scarce due to a lack of reliability and usability that prevent users from properly benefiting from most of the resources. The involvement of end users provided added value to the resource classification and highlighted the gap between the potential benefits from using information and communication technologies and the real use of online resources by carers. ; This study was co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, under the Project "Apps for carers", Grant Agreement n. 2016-1-SE01-KA204-022067. This study was partially supported by Ricerca Corrente funding from the Italian Ministry of Health to IRCCS INRCA.

Introduction: Long-term care (LTC) is organized in a fragmented manner. Payer agencies (PA) receive LTC funds from the agency collecting funds, and commission services. Yet, distributional equity (DE) across PAs, a precondition to geographical equity of access to LTC, has received limited attention. We conceptualize that LTC systems promote DE when they are designed to set eligibility criteria nationally (vs. locally); and to distribute funds among PAs based on needs-formula (vs. past-budgets or government decisions). Objectives: This cross-country study highlights to what extent different LTC systems are designed to promote DE across PAs, and the parameters used in allocation formulae. Methods: Qualitative data were collected through a questionnaire filled by experts from 17 OECD countries. Results: 11 out of 25 LTC systems analyzed, fully meet DE as we defined. 5 systems which give high autonomy to PAs have designs with low levels of DE; while nine systems partially promote DE. Allocation formulae vary in their complexity as some systems use simple demographic parameters while others apply socio-economic status, disability, and LTC cost variations. Discussion and conclusions: A minority of LTC systems fully meet DE, which is only one of the criteria in allocation of LTC resources. Some systems prefer local priority-setting and governance over DE. Countries that value DE should harmonize the eligibility criteria at the national level and allocate funds according to needs across regions.

Introduction: Long-term care (LTC) is organized in a fragmented manner. Payer agencies (PA) receive LTC funds from the agency collecting funds, and commission services. Yet, distributional equity (DE) across PAs, a precondition to geographical equity of access to LTC, has received limited attention. We conceptualize that LTC systems promote DE when they are designed to set eligibility criteria nationally (vs. locally); and to distribute funds among PAs based on needs-formula (vs. past-budgets or government decisions). Objectives: This cross-country study highlights to what extent different LTC systems are designed to promote DE across PAs, and the parameters used in allocation formulae. Methods: Qualitative data were collected through a questionnaire filled by experts from 17 OECD countries. Results: 11 out of 25 LTC systems analyzed, fully meet DE as we defined. 5 systems which give high autonomy to PAs have designs with low levels of DE; while nine systems partially promote DE. Allocation formulae vary in their complexity as some systems use simple demographic parameters while others apply socio-economic status, disability, and LTC cost variations. Discussion and conclusions: A minority of LTC systems fully meet DE, which is only one of the criteria in allocation of LTC resources. Some systems prefer local priority-setting and governance over DE. Countries that value DE should harmonize the eligibility criteria at the national level and allocate funds according to needs across regions.

This important and timely volume brings together a distinguished set of international scholars who provide rich information about the social, economic, political, and historical factors responsible for shaping ageing policy in the Mediterranean region

Since the early 1990s, long-term care policies have undergone significant transformations across OECD countries. In some countries these changes have responded to the introduction of major policy reforms while in others, significant transformations have come about through the accumulation of incremental policy changes. The book brings together evidence from over 15 years of care reform to examine changes in long-term care systems occurring in OECD countries. It discusses and compares key changes in national policies and examines the main successes and failures of recent reforms. Finally, it suggests possible policy strategies for the future in the sector. With contributions from a wide range of experts across EECD countries, this book is essential reading for academics, researchers and policy-makers in the field of long-term care policy