later life

People aged 55 and over. The elderly men and women in the population. Old people who may be retired and suffering from chronic disease

Our later life Blogs

Women who suffer physical and sexual abuse continue to report significant levels of PTSD well into older adulthood

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Women who have survived physical or sexual abuse may continue to experience post traumatic stress disorder and other mental health complaints well into later life, according to a new study published in the Journal of Women’s Health. Researchers from Connecticut conducted this systematic review which involved finding what they call ’empirical studies’ from the last [read the full story…]

Norwegian study suggests users of senior centres would welcome inclusion of older people with learning disabilities

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Inclusion sits at the heart of policy relating to the support of people with learning disabilities. This Norwegian study set out to look at some practical implications of this in relation to providing support to older people with learning disabilities, in particular the views and attitudes of people using ‘senior centres’ in Norway to the [read the full story…]

The safety and risks of antidepressant treatment in older people: new large UK cohort study

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The aim of this study was to establish the relative safety and balance of risks for antidepressant treatment in older people. The cohort study included 60,746 patients aged 65 years and over diagnosed with depression. The study was based in 570 general practices in the UK supplying data to the QResearch database. The study objectives [read the full story…]

Sending letters can help people stop taking benzodiazepines, says new systematic review

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As people get older they tend to have more problems sleeping. Sometimes they are prescribed medication (hynoptic drugs) to help them sleep. Commonly used hynoptics are benzodiazepines and Z drugs (zopiclone, zolpidem, zaleplon). Researchers from Australia have just published a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (ref 1) that evaluates the effectiveness of simple ‘minimal [read the full story…]

Stimulating group psychosocial activities improve cognition in lonely older people

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Research on loneliness focuses mostly on disorder-specific experiences.

It’s a sad fact of life that as people get older they sometimes find themselves living a lonely lifestyle; cut off from stimulating social networks and all of the activities and benefits that friendships entail. Social exclusion and a lack of frequent interaction may predict impaired cognition in the older members of the population. Researchers [read the full story…]

Safeguarding adults reports published by SCIE

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The Department of Health has commissioned the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) to produce two reports on adult safeguarding: 1. Governance of adult safeguarding The research for this report explored the governance arrangements for safeguarding adults. Drawing on a systematic review of the literature, workshops attended by safeguarding specialists, a survey of Safeguarding Adults [read the full story…]

Depression in later life: new clinical review from the BMJ

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This week’s British Medical Journal features a review of depression in later life. The authors bring together recent systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and randomised controlled trials to summarise best current knowledge about the diagnosis and management of patients who develop depression in later life. The review addresses the following questions: What is late life depression and [read the full story…]

Commissioning end of life care: new report from the King’s Fund

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End-of-life care services are typically funded and delivered by a mix of organisations from the NHS, local authorities and the voluntary sector as well as by independent agencies and through individual means (informal or family carers). Given the growing complexity of and demands on end-of-life care services, commissioning in this area is likely to be [read the full story…]

Retirement planning for people with learning disabilities appears at odds with personalisation and inclusion

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This Australian study set out to explore the issues relating to retirement for older employees with learning disabilities in supported employment services. The researchers discussed retirement in 6 separate focus group interviews, with staff from disability accommodation and employment services, members of mainstream activity programmes for older people, family members of people with disabilities and [read the full story…]

Updated booklets for patients, families and carers to mark National Dementia Awareness day

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The Mental Health Foundation are marking the first National Dementia Awareness day by relaunching three of their patient information booklets that have recently been updated with the latest legislation and contacts. The booklets are all available as free PDF downloads from the Mental Health Foundation website and paper copies are available for a small fee. The [read the full story…]