Optimism,Social Support,and Caregiving Burden among the Long-Term Caregivers:The Mediating Effect of Psychological Resilience

Background:As the elderly population grows,the demand for long-term care services is increasing.Despite significant investments in care quality and workforce training,long-term care workers often face challenges such as work fatigue,heavy workloads,and inadequate support.These issues can impact job satisfaction,mental health,and care quality,leading to staff turnover.This study examines how optimism,social support,and psychological resilience relate to caregiving burden,aiming to understand their effects on caregivers’well-being and performance to enhance the quality of long-term care services.Methods:The participants were 542 long-term care workers.Descriptive statistics,t-tests,one-way ANOVA,and hierarchical regression were used for data analysis.Results:(1)Optimism and social support were significantly and positively correlated with psychological resilience and significantly and negatively associated with caregiving burden.(2)Regarding differences in optimism,social support,psychological resilience,and caregiving burden among long-term care workers,females scored significantly higher than males in“social support;”married workers scored significantly higher than unmarried workers in“optimism,”“social support,”and“psychological resilience”;workers aged 45–65 scored significantly higher than those aged 25–45 in“optimism”;workers aged 25–45 scored significantly higher than those aged 45–65 in“caregiving burden”;social workers scored significantly higher than nursing staff in“optimism.”(3)Psychological resilience partially mediated the relationship between social support and caregiving burden concerning explanatory and predictive power.Conclusions:These findings suggest that optimism,social support,and psychological resilience are essential factors in reducing the caregiving burden among long-term care workers.The study highlights the importance of promoting psychological resilience and providing social support to alleviate the burden of caregiving.

Correlation among anxiety and depression,fear of disease progression,and social support in coronary heart disease

BACKGROUND The mental well-being of individuals with coronary heart disease(CHD)during the intensive care unit(ICU)transition period is a multifaceted and significant concern.In this phase,the individuals might encounter psychological challenges like anxiety and depression,which can impede their recuperation and potentially have lasting effects on their health.AIM To investigate the correlation among psychological factors in CHD patients in the ICU transition period.METHODS A questionnaire survey was conducted with 119 patients admitted to the ICU after coronary artery bypass grafting between March and December 2023.Variations in Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA)and Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD),Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form(Fop-Q-SF),and Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS)were collected and analyzed among diverse populations.We used Pearson’s correlation analysis to examine the correlation.Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore whether these indicators influenced depression and anxiety in the patients.RESULTS The total scores for anxiety,depression,fear of disease progression,and social support were(7.50±1.41)points,(8.38±1.62)points,(35.19±8.14)points,and(36.34±7.08)points,respectively(P<0.05).Multivariate regression analysis showed that both the level of disease progression and social support affected the level of postoperative depression and anxiety in patients.CONCLUSION The anxiety and depression levels were positively related to each dimension of phobia disease progression and negatively related to each dimension of social support among patients with CHD.

Continuity of cancer care in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: Role of social media in low- and middle-income countries

A novel coronavirus(severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2)first detected in Wuhan,China,has spread rapidly since December 2019,causing more than 1.4 million confirmed infections and 15000 fatalities(as of April 9,2020).The outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11,2020.Isolation,quarantine,social distancing,and community containment measures were rapidly implemented in China,which helped in containing the disease.However,other low-and middle-income countries lack such extensive infrastructural capacities and resources.Cancer patients are particularly at high risk of infection and mortality due to immunosuppression.Hence self-quarantine is recommended for them.Additionally,it is becoming impossible to maintain the continuity of care when cancer patients have to avoid physical visits.Social media applications,e.g.,Facebook and WhatsApp,can provide educational group program and psychosocial support to these patients while maintain social distancing.We have analyzed their use in this review article and how it could change the follow-up of cancer patients during this pandemic.

Social Capital and Depressive Ill-Health——An Evaluative Approach to the Implementation of the Chronic Care Model (CCM)

Background: Social capital has been described as a person’s sense of belonging as a result of the number and type of relationships she/he has, in which trust and reciprocity are especially important. Aim: To illuminate older persons’ experiences of social capital and depressive ill-health after implementation of the CCM. Methods: Data were collected from nine participants resident in two districts of Norway by means of individual in-depth interviews. A qualitative hermeneutic analysis was performed. Results: Two overall themes, desire for a guardian and a wish for independence despite being dependent, and two themes emerging from the analysis. The first theme—searching for protection was based on three sub-themes overwhelmed by the emotional pain of other people, a sense of exclusion and worries about the future, while the second theme—the need for a relationship with trustworthy persons comprised two sub-themes, namely, emotional pain was not understood and powerlessness to change the situation. The result of this study highlights the need for greater understanding on the part of healthcare professionals of how older persons manage their social relationships. Healthcare professionals require more knowledge about how negative self-beliefs held by older persons suffering from emotional pain, which can lead to reduced ability to trust other people. Another consequence is that fear of being dependent on other people can result in unwillingness to admit the need for help. Conclusion: This study highlights the lack of social capital in older persons who suffer from depressive ill-health. The implementation of the CCM does not appear to improve the situation. Older persons need to be more aware of their social needs and productive interactions in order to protect themselves and obtain support from their social network.

Inter-organizational cooperation: A rehabilitation project based on cooperation between health care and three social service agencies

Purpose: Cooperation between organizations is an often-suggested remedy for handling unsolved borderland problems. However, actual projects aiming at cooperation are seldom very successful. The purpose here is to highlight obstacles related to cooperation between different organizations based on a case study of a rehabilitation project where health care and several social service organizations (social insurance, social welfare, and the local employment agency) were involved. Data were gathered through participation and interviews. Findings: It seems that efficient cooperation requires an understanding of the participating organizations’ differences in work logic as well as work practices. Furthermore, only certain fairly standardized “normal” problems may be handled through organized cooperation while non-routine exceptional problem requires a more fully integrated work organization. Implications: Obstacles to cooperation are highlighted and ways to improve the possibilities of cooperation between organizations are suggested although such possibilities are generally hampered by differences in work logic.

The Essence of Accommodating Older Adults into the Social Care Sector in Malaysia

Population ageing puts pressure on the workforce and increase the demands for aged workforce.The demographic shifts have made the issue of healthier workers,especially those of advanced age and physically related job scopes,a fundamental aspect to employing older workers.Hence,this study aimed to explore the best practices to employ older adults into the social care sector.The social care sector was chosen in view of the nature of job and declining demand among younger workers.A qualitative study was conducted involving series of focus group discussions(FGD)with social care workers of long-term care centers in the peninsular Malaysia.Data was collected using a validated and pre-tested semi-structured interview protocol.Each focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were lasted between 45 min to 1 h.A total of 57 workers were consented for the study which was divided into young and old workers based on the mean age of 41.43[SD±9.97]years old.The content of the interviews was transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was performed to inductively identify the coding and themes within the data related to the challenges employing older workers into the social care sector.Three categories of coding were identified(individual,environmental and management factors),leading to the identification of two important themes which are healthy workplace and work autonomy.The findings indicate the needs for work culture transformations to cultivate healthy working environment and freedom of speech particularly among the older workers.

Improvement in social skills in patients with schizophrenia following 6 months of day-care treatment

Using role-playing tests simulating real-life situations, we investigated improvement in the social skills, especially information processing, of patients with schizophrenia in response to day-care in psychiatry and social skills training. From 20 pair-matched schizophrenia patients, 10 were assigned to a day-care/SST group and 10 to a control group undergoing usual treatment. After 6 months, sending and receiving skills were assessed by means of role-playing tests, psychiatric symptoms, social function, and cognitive function. The day-care/SST group showed a significant improvement and a large effect size in sending skills. Receiving skills also improved, showing a medium effect size, but the difference from the control group was not statistically significant. No statistically significant changes were observed in the other measures. That no changes occurred in social function, psychiatric symptoms, or cognitive function leads to two conclusions: 1) cognition targeted, specialized training and comprehension of cognitive remediation, psychiatric rehabilitation, and social skill development are necessary for improvement in other domains, especially symptoms and social functions;and 2) improvement resulting from day-care in psychiatry and SST alone is limited. In addition, further investigations over a longer observation period and a greater sample size are needed.

The HIV Infection: Clarification of Its Legal Classification of Transmission and Measures to Protect Societies from Burdening Caused by Social and Medical Care Services for the Coming Decades

This article addresses issues regarding the transmission of HIV;without the combination antiretroviral treatment (cART), HIV causes a fatal outcome of those infected in most cases. First, legal issues: For years, controversial discussions have dealt with the subject of the legal classification of HIV infection, such as “… criminalization of HIV exposure might limit access to and uptake of HIV prevention services…” Based on the rule of law of a constitutional state, we explain the legal principles that serve to protect the legal rights of its citizens. The state has to protect its citizens from harm by other people. The prosecution and conviction of a specific person for a proven HIV infection are legal. Therefore, general decriminalization of HIV infection would undermine the right of thereby harmed citizens to compensation. Second, HIV prevention strategies: Based on the Test and Treatment Strategy (TASP)1, controlled studies were undertaken to find out which framework conditions could improve their benefit. We outline concepts that can help to curb the still ongoing spread of HIV: By providing early HIV diagnosis and ongoing HIV care services as part of updated education and prevention campaigns. Also, concerted, comprehensive campaigns are required to demonstrate further impacts of HIV infection: Both on the quality of life of infected individuals due to the development of non-communicable diseases and the increasing burden to societies as a whole.

Evaluation Items for Community-Based Health Care Focusing on Social Aspects: A Literature Review

The progressive aging of society has become a global concern, and is expected to lead to the development of effective, sustainable, person-centered, integrated community-based care systems. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding effective integrated community-based care. In particular, few studies have focused on social aspects of the community environment related to elderly health. This study aimed to consider social aspects as evaluation items, focusing particularly on social determinants from the perspective of community-dwelling people, to explore truly effective integrated community-based care to improve elderly health. The definition of social determinants means social cohesion in social and community contexts. A literature review of English articles published in peer-reviewed journals up to October 2019 was conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE, and CINAHL with the following search terms: “social cohesion,” “elderly health,” “mental health” and “community.” Identified articles were screened based on title and abstract, and selected articles were subjected to full-text assessment and critical review. All references cited in the selected articles were also reviewed. The following inclusion criteria were used: 1) studies targeting community-dwelling elderly people or community-dwelling people including elderly people as participants;2) studies with clear descriptions of social factors in the Methods section;and 3) studies with clear descriptions of health-related items in the Methods section. From the 21 articles analyzed, of which 9 articles defined social determinants as social cohesion in social and community context, 37 items were extracted as social aspects at the community level that reflect the perspective of residents. These items can be developed as evaluation items for community-based health care outcomes through consensus among community health care providers and further investigation.

Social Welfare Transformation and Community Governance Model for the Aging Generation:Rural Community Care in Chiayi County as a Case Study

Over the past two decades,Taiwan’s welfare policies for the elderly have prepared for the arrival of an aged society with the aim of facilitating aging in place(AIP).The Long-Term Care Services Act passed by the Legislative Yuan in 2015 set regulations for long-term care personnel,thereby improving the welfare system for the elderly.The government’s AIP policies focus on providing welfare institutions or service units and do not sufficiently explore key factors such as the relationship between care services and community governance models.Since the basic focus of elderly welfare policies is AIP,it is important to actively empower grassroots community organizations and consider the elderly as important subjects of community participation.AIP policies emphasize providing long-term care and nurturing the elderly until death;such policies will be more proactive and innovative if coproduction is incorporated.This study briefly discusses theories related to coproduction using the case study of Chiayi County’s Dingcaiyian Community Development Association,which links six communities in remote rural villages and establishes a community care network based on the coproduction concept.Follow-up issues related to community care are considered and potential practices and ideas to guide social welfare transformation and community governance in the future are discussed.

The Research of Social Organizations Participating in the Urban Community Aged Care＇ s Problems--Base on the City of Shanghai in China

With the deepening of China＇s aging population, the conmmnity aged care gradually become endowment new options. Social organization for its own characteristics, play an important role in participating in community aged care. But the extent to which the current social organizations to participate in the community aged care is still very low, the reason is mainly affected by the community aged care access mechanism. Article in the Shanghai community, for example, starhng fiom the present situation of the current social organizations to participate in the community aged care, analysis of the problems arising fi-om the social organizations in the community aged care, probe into its reasons in access mechanism, put forward the corresponding countermeasures and Suggestions, encourage social organizations play an effective role in the community aged care.

‘Diversity Culture’in Social Services:Person-Centered Care

This article addresses the issue of‘diversity culture’in social services with the purpose of re-conceptualizing person-centered social services theory and practice.The increased participation of women,minorities,and people of different nationalities and cultures in the business world is outlining a transformation of the workforce.In parallel,there is also a diversification and heterogeneity of customers,social service users’needs,and markets and consumers’styles.The paper analyzes main groups of theories that inform social services techniques-psychological theories,cognitive behavioral theories,systemic theories,humanistic theories,and constructionist theories-with the aim of re-thinking models and practices to address the challenges that the social services are facing in responding to needs of cultural,gender,action potential,and age diversity.Specifically,social workers and the social services system are required to adapt to the changing circumstances of the social,economic,cultural and communicative environment.

Identifying Where the Values Come from IT-Innovations in Health and Social Care

Studies aimed to capture the effects of IT-innovations in health and social care have shown that there is a gap between expected and factual outcomes. Many decision makers feel the need to articulate an ideal end-state for their organiza-tions. Striking the balance between novelty and believability of such an ideal end-state is often tricky and they become neither satisfied with the ideal not the visioning. In this study, we explore the contribution of IT-innovations to health and social care. The results showed that coherence between context and IT-innovation is important to capture effects and outcomes. Being coherent rather than visionary contributes to identify where you are, as an organization, and to capture effects and outcomes that “make sense” in the context in question. The paper makes an exposition from the model building, algorithm design to performance analysis and contributes to the academic prosperity in Intelligent In-formation Management The knowledge generated is expected to provide input when identifying goals that IT-investments are supposed to achieve.

差序整合:农村互助养老实现的机制分析

农村互助养老作为居家养老和机构养老的重要补充,是解决农村深度老龄化问题的有效路径。基于差序格局理论,在“关系—制度”分析框架和“差序整合”概念下,通过对河南省W县农村互助养老实践的考察发现,当地基层党组织成功借助乡土社会关系的差序规则,有序动员老人的亲友、邻里、同乡等为其提供养老服务。究其实现机制,具体包括以重塑认知为重点的制度嵌入、以均衡互利为核心的关系整合、以满足需求为关键的行动激励、以责任践履为要求的多方问责机制,差序整合为农村互助养老的可持续发展提供了规引制度、关系基础、参与动力和履责保障,实现了社会关系、制度规约、行动主体的全面整合,推动了农村养老服务高质量发展。

以银发经济推进农村互助养老发展的政策支持研究——以J省X市颐养之家为例

我国首部“银发经济”政策文件出台,为农村互助养老模式提供了“有为政府”与“有效市场”相结合的实践场域。通过对具有全国性影响的J省X市颐养之家的典型案例分析发现,当前农村互助养老模式的主要政策目标是为有需要的农村留守、独居及困难老年人提供基本生活保障的兜底型养老。在银发经济“产品化-商品化-产业化”阶段性发展的大趋势下,农村互助养老还可以是普惠式养老,更应该是高质量的积极养老。针对农村互助养老模式在政策执行中分配基础、分配内容、输送策略、筹资机制等方面存在的不足,建议将发挥有效市场作用与有为政府作用更好结合,进一步完善优化政策支持,纳入“一老一小”,扩展受益对象;引进商品化竞争机制,丰富服务供给;推动多主体跨部门合作,形成网状输送;划定红线并链接资源,发展团结经济,着力推动农村互助养老高质量发展。

Assessment on self-care, mobility and social function of children with spina bifida in Turkey

The aim of the study was to investigate the functional performance in children with spina bifida, using the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory （PEDI） to look into capacity of twen- ty-eight children with spina bifida with lesions at different levels in different dimensions of self- care, mobility and social function. Mean age of the patients was 3.5 ± 2.3 （1-10） years. In the muscle test carried out, 13 patients （44.8%） had no movements including pelvic elevation in lower extremity muscles and they were at level 5. Sixteen patients （54%） were non-ambulatory according to the Hoofer ambulation classification. Raw and scale scores in the self-care, mobil- ity and social function domains both in the functional skill scale and in the caregiver scale were found to be lower compared to the data of the normal population. A statistically significant correlation was observed in the self-care values of the Functional Skills Scales and the Caregiver Assistance Scale measurements, which was positive for age and negative for Functional Ambu- lation Scale and muscle test （P 〈 0.05）. A positive relation was found between the Functional Skills Scales-mobility area and age while a negative relation was observed between Functional Ambulation Scale and muscle test （P 〈 0.005）. A negative relation was also found between Care- giver Assistance Scale-mobility and Functional Ambulation Scale and muscle test （P 〈 0.005）. In our study, the functional performance of the children was found to be low. Low-level lesions, encouraging muscular strength and independence in mobility are all very important factors for functional independence.

社会支持视角下农村老年人互助养老行为及影响因素研究

老龄化“城乡倒置”、养老资源“分布倒挂”现象加剧,互助养老成为解决我国农村养老问题的新途径。基于社会支持理论,运用CHARLS2018年数据,考察社会支持对农村老年人互助养老行为的影响,研究发现:正式社会支持中助推型公共政策能通过“减少策略”和重构互助环境显著发挥促进作用;非正式社会支持中隔代照料正向作用显著;与农村老年人经济条件相关的变量均起到负向作用,互助养老行为的根本驱动与经济困境有关;非正式社会支持与正式社会支持存在交互效应,助推政策与照料孙子女具有互补性;低龄、无配偶且受教育水平较高的农村老年女性互助养老行为更强。研究结论有助于揭示互助养老行为影响因素以及柔性助推在其中的作用。

Expanding Older Adults’ Care Choices Utilizing the Proceeds of Reciprocated Volunteerism: Capitalizing on Ghana’s Digitalization Artillery

Ghana has been a collectivistic society. However, due to social change, this value is fast being replaced by individualistic tendencies with implications for age-oriented care provision and receipt. This paper investigates the participation in the socially productive strategy of using ageing-oriented volunteerism to leverage the receipt of care in later life utilizing a quantitative dataset. The results show that volunteering may be undertaken with old age in sight. This needs to take place under circumstances of good communication skills among others. The accumulated time needs to be recorded in a time bank and redeemed with a time bank card in later life. Two-dimensional leveraging points pertain in this context: first, leveraging volunteerism for short or long-term care in the nearest future;second, technological innovation’s facilitation of the same. Volunteerism in this context has the attribute of low levels of depression, with implications for quality of life. These are discussed in the light of the social care pillar of ageing social policy. The paper argues that adopting volunteerism with reciprocation as the ultimate goal constitutes a kickback model for care receipt in later life. It served as a choice of care in later life which is a shock absorber to inadequate formal support infrastructure and individualistic social tendencies in Ghana. It is reminiscent of resistance to the shrinkage of older persons’ social integration in their social world.

中国安宁疗护服务体系历史发展、制度化困境与国家政策框架

从现代社会福利制度化建设角度看,中国社会福利服务体系尤其是儿童与老人安宁疗护服务发展缓慢。中国现代安宁疗护服务制度建设的政策框架是“以医院为基础,以社区为中心,以居家为补充”;战略是现代社会主义福利国家制度建设;策略是正式社区照顾服务、健康照顾服务与社会照顾服务体系一体化;路径是解放思想,更新价值观念,明确国家主体福利责任,完善社会福利服务财政制度,加快专门立法,发挥专业社会工作作用等。现代社会福利制度建设是国家、社会现代化的主体与主题。现代社会福利制度质量状况既决定社会政策与全民社会生活质量,又决定生命与死亡质量,其核心是国家权力与公民权利、国家责任与公民义务、个人福利与社会福利责任的社会划分,其实质是全民美好生活需要满足与国家治理制度现代化,其目标是中华民族伟大复兴和中国现代社会主义美好社会。

老年慢性病住院患者老老照护者的照护能力现状研究

目的了解老年慢性病住院患者亲情老老照护者的家庭照护能力现状,分析其影响因素,为制定针对性的干预措施提高家庭照护能力提供参考。方法采用中文版老年患者家庭照护能力量表对181名老年慢性病住院患者的家庭照护者进行调查。结果照护者的家庭照护能力总分为(33.04±4.98)分。多元线性回归分析结果显示,照护者月均收入、文化程度、婚姻状况、自我感知健康状况是亲情老老照护者的家庭照护能力的主要影响因素(均P<0.05),共解释照护者家庭照护能力总分87.4%的差异。结论老年慢性病住院患者亲情老老照护者的家庭照护能力不容乐观,相关部门应高度重视老龄化社会背景下老老照护这一普遍现象,完善相应政策与举措,为老老照护者提供安全保障。