In Sweden, older persons living with severe mental illnesses (SMI) increasingly live independently in the community with support from informal and formal carers and welfare services. A proportion of this group is older people with SMI who, due to age or disability, receive municipal eldercare services such as home care in their ordinary housing, or in residential care. The situation and needs of this group demand that eldercare staff have an understanding for the older person’s situation and the tools to provide appropriate care. The aim of this present study is to explore the experiences of eldercare staff working with older people with SMI. Focus group interviews were conducted with staff from three residential care facilities and two home care teams in one mid-sized Swedish municipality. To analyse the interviews, qualitative content analysis was used. The overarching theme from the analysis was “Doing the best they can,” which was unpacked in two categories: “Working with fragmentary knowledge” and “Finding the right approach.” We could also see differences between the experiences of staff in residential care and in home care. The eldercare staff in our interviews faced lack of formal training, insufficient information and skills concerning mental illness and its treatment. Nevertheless, they tried to make the situation of the older people with SMI as good as possible using experiential and tacit knowledge. Our results also point to system level barriers that hinder effective care for older people with SMI.

PurposeTo map and summarise the available knowledge regarding older adults' experiences of team-based home rehabilitation.MethodThe Johanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines for scoping reviews guided the process. Eight databases, eight organisational websites, one registry and Google Scholar were searched. Searches were limited to publications published from 2006 to 2023 in English and Scandinavian languages. Data were extracted from the eligible publications using a data extracting tool developed for this study. Extracted data were condensed and coded into categories.ResultsSeventeen publications, conducted mainly in Scandinavian countries, were included. Older adults' experiences of team-based home rehabilitation were identified and categorised as: home as a rehabilitation context; staff ' s attitudes, approach and collaboration; the intervention process, content and outcome; and impact of the older adults' own personal conditions.ConclusionsThis scoping review provides insight into older adults' experiences of team-based home rehabilitation. Although the majority were positive towards receiving rehabilitation in their homes there were also negative experiences that need to be further explored. An identified knowledge gap in team-based home rehabilitation research is the lack of cultural aspects. Moreover, there is a need of consensus among researchers on how to report on population, context and content in team-based home rehabilitation.

År 2022 antog regeringen Sveriges första nationella anhörigstrategi, där sägs att vården och omsorgen som ges till dennärstående ska ske med ett anhörigperspektiv. Anhörigas insatser till den närstående ska beaktas, och uppmärksammas,deras kunskaper, behov av delaktighet och information ska tillvaratas. Syftet i den här artikeln var att beskrivaoch analysera anhörigas egna erfarenheter av ett anhörigperspektiv i mötet med professionen och vad som bidrartill att göra anhörigskapet hanterbart. Datainsamlingen skedde genom en kvalitativ design med 18 semistrukturellaintervjuer med anhöriga till personer med långvarig sjukdom eller funktionsnedsättning. Fem teman framkom somhandlar om i vilken utsträckning anhörigas möte med professionella kan bidra till ett mer hanterbart anhörigskap;professionens bemötande av anhöriga, mötet med anhörigkonsulenten, anhörigas delaktighet, få hjälp genom systemetoch lättillgänglig och kontinuerlig kontakt och information. Slutsatsen är att ju mindre anhöriga blir bemöttaenligt de nämnda temana desto större är risken för att en krissituation och ett svårhanterbart anhörigskap ska uppstå.Omvänt gäller om anhöriga upplever att de blir väl bemötta utifrån temana så blir anhörigskapet mer begripligtoch hanterbart. Anhörigperspektivet är en process av kognitivt och kommunikativt arbete som i anhörigas mötemedprofessionen skapar begriplighet och som kan bidra till eller motverka ett hanterbart anhörigskap.

Denna text redogör för våra – forskargruppens och FoU processledarens – erfarenheter om att arbeta tillsammans kring kunskaps- och policyutveckling av kommunalt anhörigstöd. 2020 fick vår forskningsgrupp medel från en nationell satsning om tillämpad välfärd. En av våra aktiviteter, som vi inte kunde förutse från projektets början, var att vara deltagande i FoU-workshops där vår pågående forskningsprocess var ett återkommande inslag. Under två år genomförde vi två workshopserier tillsammans, med totalt 13 workshops i två län. Dessa leds av processledaren för FoU Nu.

Att involvera olika verksamhet i forskning anses idag som en relevant uppgift för akademin. Med denna text vill vi ge exempel – från vårt dyadiska perspektiv – om vad deltagande forskning kan innebära utöver det som händer ”före” och ”efter” ett forskningsprojekt. Vi lyfter fram det unika med vår worskhopserie och hur forskningsgruppen och FoU har kunnat komplettera varandra i sina parallella men sammankopplade processer, i detta fall av kunskapssökande och förbättringsarbete kring anhörigstöd. Som ram använder vi begreppet “partnering” (partnerskap), som en viss typ av deltagande forskning där parterna genomför komplementerande och koordinerade insatser mot gemensamma mål och visar hur detta har nåtts i workshopserien. Denna typ av deltagande forskning anser vi inte bara ökar forskningens relevans, autenticitet och trovädrighet, men även möjliggör dialog och lärande i pågående forskning.

Studies report that 61% of residents living in long-term care facilities (LTCs) experience “moderate loneliness” and 35% “severe loneliness” (Gardiner et al., 2020). However, many of the studies that measure loneliness in LTCs use standardized loneliness scales that do not discriminate between the feelings of loneliness in community and in an LTC context. 

The transition to LTC brings about dramatic changes in family- and social life, as well as feelings of being uprooted from one’s home (Börjesson & Torgé 2021). There are also unique risks for social isolation in LTCs, despite ‘round the clock care (Boamah et al., 2021).  

The aim of this scoping review is to map available research regarding loneliness and social isolation in LTCs, from the older adults’ perspectives. edge regarding older adults’ experiences of loneliness and social isolation in LTCs. How do older residents describe their experience of loneliness and social isolation?  

Databases within medical fields and social science were used to look for research from 2013-2023 that contain qualitative data of experiences of older adults residing in LTCs in any geographic location. This review includes texts on older adults’ (mean ≥ 60) experiences of loneliness in long-term care facilities (excluding ordinary housing). Articles that evaluate interventions without exploring older residents’ views through qualitative methods will be excluded.  Results are presented thematically, and knowledge gaps identified. 

Introduction

With the increase in longevity and changes in welfare states, policies aim to make extended working lives possible. At the same time, there may be various work-related risks that may act as barriers to an extended working life and re-entry into the labour market. The focus of this presentation is resilience, both of the labour market and of older workers themselves, in handling work-related and organizational risks in later working life.

Methods

This presentation draws on 100 problem-oriented interviews with older workers in Germany, Poland, Sweden and the UK focusing on their work life course. Respondents varied in education- and skill-level and current type of employment. The research teams from the four countries coded interviews according to a standardized theory-driven coding guide and summarized work trajectories through mapping risk-related turning points in the work life. 

Results 

We identify three different work trajectories based on the prevalence of work-related risks. Further, we present a comparative analysis of the individuals’ experiences of coping strategies and unmet needs to maintain or re-enter work.

Conclusions

Received formal and informal support reveals the psychosocial resilience of the individuals and the resilience of the labour market and welfare system to meet different kinds of risks in a working life. Altogether, the presentation contributes to the increased knowledge on possibilities for extending working lives by focusing on psychosocial and social resilience, and how different support channels throughout the work life course are employed.