Estudi sobre el perfil de persones grans amb dependència del servei d'ajuda a domicili del Consell Comarcal d'Osona i el tipus de suport formal i informal

The aim of this study is to determine the profile of dependent elderly people users of the home care services (SAD) of the regional council in Osona (Consell Comarcal d´Osona) , and the characteristics of formal and informal types of support they use. Methodology. An observational study of a transversal format has been carried out, with retrospective and descriptive purposes. The target population is 63 people (26 men and 37 women) included in the program of the regional SAD They have a recognized dependence grade approved by the law 39 /2006, December 14th , promoting the individual autonomy and care of elderly people in a dependent situation. The data were collected by social workers of basic social services, first with a home visit and followed by handed out questionnaires, specifically designed for this study, in order to obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics, and the type of support formal and informal. The obtained results on the SAD users are women in a 58.7% and a 41.3 % are men. The 84% of the total sampling are 80 years old and more, being the average age of 85.2 years old. 45% of them are married, 41% are widows and widowers and 14% are single. 54% are rated with severe dependence (grade II), 42.8% with high dependence (grade III). 86% live accompanied. 100% have an informal caregiver and a 95% of the times, the caregiver is a relative who in 73% of the cases the dedication time is permanent. The coverage of the SAD has an average of 4.27 hours per week and per user. The formal services most used are the technical (62%), also the assessment of an occupational therapist at home (57%) and the telecare service in a (56%). Conclusions. The SAD is used primarily for women in an advanced age and severe dependence. The informal assistance structures have an informal caregiver, being a member of the family mostly, living with the dependent, and mainly in a permanent dedication basis. The SAD has a varied intensity in each case. The formal support services complementary to the SAD, are largely used in all cases.

Understanding informal payments in health care: motivation of health workers in Tanzania

BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence that informal payments for health care are fairly common in many low- and middle-income countries. Informal payments are reported to have a negative consequence on equity and quality of care; it has been suggested, however, that they may contribute to health worker motivation and retention. Given the significance of motivation and retention issues in human resources for health, a better understanding of the relationships between the two phenomena is needed. This study attempts to assess whether and in what ways informal payments occur in Kibaha, Tanzania. Moreover, it aims to assess how informal earnings might help boost health worker motivation and retention. METHODS: Nine focus groups were conducted in three health facilities of different levels in the health system. In total, 64 health workers participated in the focus group discussions (81% female, 19% male) and where possible, focus groups were divided by cadre. All data were processed and analysed by means of the NVivo software package. RESULTS: The use of informal payments in the study area was confirmed by this study. Furthermore, a negative relationship between informal payments and job satisfaction and better motivation is suggested. Participants mentioned that they felt enslaved by patients as a result of being bribed and this resulted in loss of self-esteem. Furthermore, fear of detection was a main demotivating factor. These factors seem to counterbalance the positive effect of financial incentives. Moreover, informal payments were not found to be related to retention of health workers in the public health system. Other factors such as job security seemed to be more relevant for retention. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the practice of informal payments contributes to the general demotivation of health workers and negatively affects access to health care services and quality of the health system. Policy action is needed that not only provides better financial incentives for individuals but also tackles an environment in which corruption is endemic.

Networking the unemployed : Can policy interventions facilitate access to employment through informal channels ?

It is widely known that informal contacts and networks constitute a major advantage when searching for a job. Unemployed people are likely to benefit from such informal contacts, but building and sustaining a network can be particularly difficult when out of employment. Interventions that allow unemployed people to effectively strengthen their networking capability could as a result be promising. Against this background, this article provides some hints in relation to the direction that such interventions could take. First, on the basis of data collected on a sample of 4,600 newly-unemployed people in the Swiss Canton of Vaud, it looks at the factors that influence jobseekers' decisions to turn to informal contacts for their job search. The article shows that many unemployed people are not making use of their network because they are unaware of the importance of this method. Second, it presents an impact analysis of an innovative intervention designed to raise awareness of the importance of networks which is tested in a randomized controlled trial setting.

Trabalho informal, gênero e raça no Brasil do início do século XXI

O artigo analisa a evolução do trabalho informal no Brasil, de 2001 a 2009, com base nas Pesquisas Nacionais por Amostra de Domicílio. Questões como "onde estão" os informais, "quem são", "quanto ganham" orientaram o estudo, tendo, além da comparação entre setor formal e informal, o gênero como foco. A heterogeneidade, marca do setor informal, é visível nos diversos setores econômicos, nas diferentes posições na ocupação, nas desiguais oportunidades de mulheres e negros em relação a homens e brancos. Apesar de o trabalho informal ter diminuído no Brasil durante a década, o pequeno crescimento registrado deveu-se ao ingresso das mulheres e, particularmente, das negras.

Experience of meaning in life in bereaved informal caregivers of palliative care patients.

PURPOSE: Providing care for terminally ill family members places an enormous burden on informal caregivers. Meaning in life (MiL) may be a protective factor, but is jeopardised in caregiving and bereavement. This study evaluates the following questions: To what extent do bereaved informal caregivers of palliative care (PC) patients experience meaning in their lives? What differences emerge in carers compared to the general German population? How does MiL relate to well-being in former caregivers? METHODS: Eighty-four bereaved PC caregivers completed the Schedule for Meaning in Life Evaluation, the Brief Symptom Inventory, the WHOQOL-BREF, a single-item numerical rating scale of quality of life, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The experience of MiL of bereaved caregivers was compared to a representative population sample (n=977). RESULTS: The overall MiL fulfillment of bereaved caregivers (69 % female, age 55.5 ± 12.9 years) was significantly lower than in the general population (68.5 ± 19.2 vs. 83.3 ± 14, p<.001), as was the overall importance ascribed to their meaning framework (76.6 ± 13.6 vs. 85.6 ± 12.3, p< .001). PC caregivers are far more likely to list friends, leisure, nature/animals, and altruism. Higher MiL was correlated with better life satisfaction and quality of life. CONCLUSION: Coping with the loss of a loved one is associated with changes in MiL framework and considerably impairs a carer's experience of MiL fulfillment. Individual MiL is associated with well-being in PC caregivers during early bereavement. Specific interventions for carers targeted at meaning reconstruction during palliative care and bereavement are needed to help individuals regain a sense of meaning and purpose.

Uses of also in oral semi-informal German

In recent grammars and dictionaries also (`therefore, so, well¿) continues to be preferably presented as an adverb with a conclusive-consecutive connective function that essentially corresponds to its use in formal written German. Its function as a modal particle is documented, however, since the beginnings of what is known as Partikelforschung, though not all its uses have been systematically investigated contrasting oral and written German, either in mode or concept. In this article we analyse the uses of also in semi-informal oral interactions on the basis of empirical data (from a subsample of the VARCOM corpus). Specifically, we will analyse the presence and frequency of also at the beginning of a sentence or sequence, the functions it serves as a logical-semantic connector or discourse and interaction marker and the interrelations between these functions, in order to contrast these results with the description of also provided by current reference works.

Cuidado informal, redes de apoyo y políticas de vejez

El sector informal como recurso, se refiere a la red de provisión, que en un rol amplio, ayuda a resolver problemas identificados en el sector formal de salud y sociosanitario. Se refiere a diferentes tipos de arreglos cotidianos que las personas desarrollan o ponen en práctica, para cuidarse y atenderse entre sí. La autora centra su reflexión en los dilemas y límites, individuales y sociales que plantea el cuidado informal, y tiene especialmente en cuenta el impacto e importancia desde la perspectiva de género, ya que el cuidado informal es un recurso central en la atención a la dependencia y fragilidad. Los retos a resolver tienen que ver con los modos de relación y el impacto de los mismos sobre la organización social del cuidar y de los cuidados en la protección a las situaciones de fragilidad y dependencia.

Who Cares? A comparison of informal and formal care provision in Spain, England and the USA

This paper investigates the prevalence of incapacity in performing daily activities and the associations between household composition and availability of family members and receipt of care among older adults with functioning problems in Spain, England and the United States of America (USA). We examine how living arrangements, marital status, child availability, limitations in functioning ability, age and gender affect the probability of receiving formal care and informal care from household members and from others in three countries with different family structures, living arrangements and policies supporting care of the incapacitated. Data sources include the 2006 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe for Spain, the third wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2006), and the eighth wave of the USA Health and Retirement Study (2006). Logistic and multinomial logistic regressions are used to estimate the probability of receiving care and the sources of care among persons age 50 and older. The percentage of people with functional limitations receiving care is higher in Spain. More care comes from outside the household in the USA and England than in Spain. The use of formal care among the incapacitated is lowest in the USA and highest in Spain.

Qualitat de vida del cuidador informal davant la demència

Les cures que requereix una persona malalta amb demència, al prolongar-se tant en el temps, no son assumides completament per un sistema de seguretat social, ja que hi ha altres prioritats pressupostàries. Per això el cuidador familiar és qui assumeix la major part d’aquestes tasques en el seu domicili, utilitzant recursos i serveis privats o concertats, resultant ser prioritàriament, un tema de voluntat política L’estudi realitzat a la Fundació del Vallès Amics de la Neurologia (AVAN), ens ha permès conèixer com és la qualitat de vida d’aquests cuidadors informals, que actualment es fan càrrec d’una persona afectada per una demència, un cop utilitzen els serveis de l’Hospital de Dia. Tant la persona afecta, com el cuidador, van conformant un binomi inseparable en el que la qualitat de vida disminueix significativament. En el cas del malalt, degut a les limitacions que imposa la malaltia i a la gravetat del símptomes; en el cas del cuidador, que és aquell que emergeix de l’entorn més proper del malalt, per ocupar-se crònicament i al llarg de les etapes de la malaltia de manera exigent, es produeix per la sobrecàrrega i el desgast que suposa cuidar, a la vegada que vol continuar amb el propi projecte de vida. Tot i les avantatges associades al manteniment de les persones dependents en el domicili, i encara que aquestes es decantin per les cures informals, “la revolució de la longevitat” i altres transformacions socials en l’àmbit familiar, plantegen un desafiament per l’actual i per les futures generacions. L’exigència i el dret a donar i rebre cura es situa, en el centre del debat social, ètic i sobre els drets de ciutadania.

Remote collaborative multi-user informal learning experiences: design and evaluation

This paper presents a customizable system used to develop a collaborative multi-user problem solving game. It addresses the increasing demand for appealing informal learning experiences in museum-like settings. The system facilitates remote collaboration by allowing groups of learners tocommunicate through a videoconferencing system and by allowing them to simultaneously interact through a shared multi-touch interactive surface. A user study with 20 user groups indicates that the game facilitates collaboration between local and remote groups of learners. The videoconference and multitouch surface acted as communication channels, attracted students’ interest, facilitated engagement, and promoted inter- and intra-group collaboration—favoring intra-group collaboration. Our findings suggest that augmentingvideoconferencing systems with a shared multitouch space offers newpossibilities and scenarios for remote collaborative environments and collaborative learning.

Formació sanitària al cuidador informal en les cures del pacient pal·liatiu al domicili

En els últims anys s’ha produït un augment progressiu de la incidència i la prevalença de les malalties cròniques evolutives, i com a conseqüència de la mortalitat. Tot això està directament relacionat amb l’envelliment de la població que fa que a la vegada, s’incrementi el nombre de malalts crònics amb un deteriorament físic progressiu i amb grans necessitats d’atenció i de cures físiques, psicològiques, socials i espirituals. Aquest canvi en les necessitats requereix del desenvolupament de noves fórmules d’atenció i organització.

A panel data analysis of FDI and informal labor markets

The objective of this paper is to examine whether informal labor markets affect the flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and also whether this effect is similar in developed and developing countries. With this aim, different public data sources, such as the World Bank (WB), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) are used, and panel econometric models are estimated for a sample of 65 countries over a 14 year period (1996-2009). In addition, this paper uses a dynamic model as an extension of the analysis to establish whether such an effect exists and what its indicators and significance may be.

Programas, intervenciones y redes de apoyo a los cuidadores informales en salud. Necesidad de convergencia entre los programas formales y el apoyo informal

Hacerse cargo del cuidado de un familiar dependiente puede afectar negativamente a la salud del cuidador/a en su vida afectiva y laboral. Las repercusiones del cuidado informal preocupan a las diferentes administraciones y también a los profesionales sanitarios, quienes se proponen ofrecer el soporte más adecuado a los cuidadores familiares, para que puedan seguir desempeñando las actividades derivadas del cuidado y a su vez minimicen el cansancio y la carga que supone cuidar. Desde hace una década se ha venido acrecentando el interés por planificar y desarrollar programas de soporte, desde la iniciativa pública y privada, dirigidos a cuidadores familiares. Los contenidos de estos programas son de diversa índole, y ofrecen asesoramiento e información, apoyo emocional, ayuda económica o descargas temporales del cuidado de las personas dependientes. La literatura científica revisada coincide en la importancia y la necesidad de coordinación y complementariedad que debe darse entre las redes informales y formales en el soporte a los cuidadores de las personas dependientes.