Elderly people's services. Home truths

--A study assessed whether more older people would avoid institutional care if current home care technologies were utilised fully. --A number of people were found to benefit from different technology bundles and at a lower cost than institutional care. --For this approach to succeed, high application of comprehensive geriatric assessment would be needed.     

NHS occupational health services in England and Wales--a changing picture

AIMS: To establish the extent of doctor input to occupational health (OH) service provision in the UK National Health Service (NHS) in 2001 and to compare this with inputs in 1998. METHOD: A postal questionnaire was used to obtain information from OH medical staff employed by the NHS in England and Wales. RESULTS: The NHS OH service has seen an increase between 1998 and 2001 in the amount of doctor time per employee. Doctors tend to work now for more sessions per week. The proportion of doctors holding specialist qualifications has also increased. An increased number of NHS employees now have access to consultant care for occupational medicine. OH departments increasingly tend to provide services to employees beyond the NHS and are thereby able to generate income to further the development of the service. CONCLUSIONS: Steady progress is being made in improving the provision of OH services within the NHS. However, substantial variation exists in the apparent level of access to such provision. The government policy for all NHS staff to have access to a consultant-led service is not yet met. NHS Plus will impact on this picture and deserves study in the future.     

Older people's experience of driver licence cancellation: A phenomenological study

Purpose:  This phenomenological study explored older people's experience of driver licence cancellation.
Methods:  Qualitative data were derived from interviews with four men and one woman, aged between 68 and 87 years (mean age = 78.6 years).
Results:  Driver licence cancellation was a deeply traumatic and shocking experience. Driving had been a normal and accepted part of life, and cancellation of their driver licences meant the loss of their independence. They lost their means of identification, and they were confronted with future losses and the deep sadness associated with these.
Conclusions:  There is a need for sensitive health-care practices that consider the devastating consequences of licence cancellation, and support older people through the difficulties associated with adjusting to life without a driver licence.     

西安市城区老年人卫生服务需要影响因素分析

目的:了解西安市城市老年人卫生服务需要状况及影响因素。方法:利用第四次陕西省国家卫生服务调查数据,调查采用多阶段分层随机抽样方法,随机抽取了西安市的9个区县,共抽取了1260户,3979名居民,其中西安市城区60岁及以上老年人户数404户,569人。结果:西安市城区老年人两周患病率为25.48%,慢性病患病率为48.33%,高于陕西省一般人群的两周患病率(13.4%)慢性病患病率(14.51%);影响西安市老年人卫生服务需要的因素主要有文化程度,性别,收入和年龄。结论:西安市城区老年人卫生服务需要处于较高水平,相关政府部门应提出应加快发展针对老年人的社区卫生服务,完善医疗保健制度,更好地为居民提供公平、合理、有效的卫生服务。     

Managing effective partnerships in older people's services

The integration of older people's services is a challenge to all countries with an ageing population. Although it is widely acknowledged that acute care, long-term care, social care, housing, leisure, education and other services should all operate in a more 'joined-up manner', achieving this in practice remains extremely difficult. Against this background, the European Union (EU) Care and Management of Services for Older People in Europe Network (CARMEN) project set out to explore the management of integrated care in 11 EU countries. Summarising key themes from the project, this paper explores the management of integrated care, the skills required, the mechanisms which aid successful integrated approaches, and future research priorities. Although very challenging, the concept of integrated care is still a promising way forward when seeking to meet the challenges of an ageing society.     

Completing the picture: adolescents talk about what's missing in sexual health services

This qualitative study was conducted to learn adolescents' opinions about sexual health services and strategies to improve their delivery. Sixteen 1.5-hour, same-sex focus groups were conducted in one rural and one urban high school in each of two Ontario regions. In total, 83 students (49 females and 34 males) participated in the study. Topics were: sources and quality of sexual health information, knowledge and use of sexual health services, gender differences, factors that influence sexual behaviour, and suggestions for improving sexual health services. The adolescents reported that sex education focussed too much on "plumbing" and was often provided by teachers with whom they felt uncomfortable discussing sexual issues. Peers and media were their main sources of information although they acknowledged that these were not always accurate. The participants had limited knowledge of the services available. Many of their comments reflected traditional gender differences. Peers, and for females, partners and parents influenced sexual decision-making. The participants made numerous suggestions for improving sexual health services.     

Electromagnetic fields and people's health

A lot of data has been presently accumulated on an unfavorable effect produced by electromagnetic fields (EMF) of various frequencies on human organism. However, the mechanisms of the low-intensity EMF biological actions or the possibility of development of remote consequences are not clear until now. Due to this, the WHO formulated a so-called warning concept. The prerequisites of the mentioned recommendations as well as their topicality and possible application are under discussion.