Policy and Practice
Ageing on the Margin: Intersection of Age and Gender in the Experience of Older Men in Homeless Shelters in Czechia View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Tereza Menšíková
Demographic and socio-economic changes in contemporary societies bring into light a growing global issue of homelessness in older age. The complexity of the situation is shaped by population shifts, inaccessibility of affordable housing, as well as by inequalities in the labour market and access to the healthcare system. Among older homeless people, the exclusion and inequalities regarding their socio-cultural living environment intertwine also with ageism and gender-related issues. They experience higher mortality and lower life expectancy, face violence and discrimination, and are more susceptible to mental and physical health issues. In post-socialist countries such as the Czech Republic, visible homelessness, especially in older age, is a relatively recent phenomenon. The proportion of homeless people in older age in Czechia is continuously growing, and the latest data suggest that more than half of the sheltered population are disproportionately men at the age of 50 and older. This paper presents the outcomes of a case study within a larger research project mapping “institutions of ageing men” in Czechia as centres and arenas related to the power structures of men and masculinities. The case study shows through the analysis of 23 interviews with clients and social workers of a homeless centre how is the intersection of age and gender reflected in men's experiences of homelessness with a focus on the performativity of power relations and care connected to masculinity and age.
Innovating Long-term Care Through Non-pharmacological Approaches: A Training Program View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Elisa Bruni, Rosa Angela Ciarrocchi, Carlotta Bagaglia, Aurora Ricci, Elena Luppi
In the last few decades, long-term care services have been involved in a broad array of innovation processes to progressively transition from medical to bio-psycho-social organisation models, with an increased attention to life quality in its holistic meaning. In fact, when providing care to older adults affected by dementia, it is essential to respond to both medical and psycho-social needs, all affecting life quality and well-being. Non-pharmacological approaches, also known as social-educational interventions, represent an answer to this need for innovation in elderly care since they allow the integration of formal and non-formal care, promote person-centred approaches and help in adopting culture change paradigms on frailty in elderly age and dementia. This contribution presents the main results of a European Erasmus+ Project designed to innovate the training of social and health workers to equip them with a broader array of non-pharmacological methods to address frail older adults. The project involved the Local Health Agency-Azienda USL of Bologna, which implemented a training program focused on promoting the skills needed by practitioners to fully integrate non-pharmacological approaches into older people's daily care. The training activity is part of a broader program for improving quality in elderly care, including two audits active in Bologna: "Pharmacological Appropriateness" and "Mechanical Restraint". Here we present the learning outcomes of a training program involving around 300 professionals from 70 long-term care organisations.
