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RESEARCH & CONSULTANCY
Older people
EUROFAMCARE 2003-2006
"Services for Supporting Family
Carers of Older People in Europe: Characteristics, Coverage
and Usage" The SEXTANT Group, within the NSPH undertook the Greek section of this EU 5th Framework funded Research Programme, coordinated and managed by the University of Hamburg.
This important research project on the situation of family carers of dependent older people and services to support them, which is now in its final stages, has completed primary research in the 6 core country partners (Greece, Poland, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK) as well as producing background information on family care in a total of 23 European countries which participated in the comparative study. All 23 National Background Reports (NABARES) as well as the Pan-European Background Report, which summarises and gives an overview of the National Reports, are available online at www.uke.uni-hamburg.de/extern/eurofamcare, or as separate publications. The website also has available the European Policy Report, written by AGE-Older people's platform, a useful collection of Good Practices in the support of family carers, compiled from the National Reports as well as many other outputs from the study. The Pan-European Background Report and an Executive summary of the Greek National Survey Report are now available on this website. A lack of adequate and good quality services for family carers and their older person, a heavy burden of care for those family carers looking after those with behavioural problems, financial difficulties in meeting the costs of caring as well as a negative impact on employment were some of the findings for Greece.
Documents available here:
GRANDPARENTING 2002-2006
In a Marie Curie Fellowship Training Network
within the EU 5th Framework managed by the Goldsmiths University, UK, www.gold.ac.uk/research/rtn, two students were attached to the NSPH and the SEXTANT Group for post graduate studies. Antonia Svensson-Dianellou
undertook three studies of the role of grandparents and their involvement in providing family help in Greece (this research was published as a PhD thesis at Goldsmiths, University of London, 2007). Iva Ruicheva
examined the situation of grandparenting and Bulgarian care workers of older people in Greece, in cooperation with the Institute of Ageing, University of Oxford and the Academy of Science, Sophia, Bulgaria. One subject that provoked interest in several of the 6 participant countries was the role of grandparents in the learning of food habits and diet (forthcoming publication). The article published on
"Naming grandparents" by the Institute of Ageing, Oxford is also available online in English here (MS Word document, 62KB, download time approx. 0m 9s at 56Kbps).
CARMEN 2001-2004
CARMEN - Care and Management of Services for
Older People in Europe Network - was a Coordinated Thematic Network with the European Health Managers Associations within the 5th Framework programme. It involved 40 cooperating European organisations representing health and social service providers, management, research and policy makers, aiming to promote the integration of services for older people. 2001-2004. The main publication from this project, "Integrating Services for Older People - a Resource Book for Managers" is now published and also available online from the website www.ehma.org/projects/default.asp?NCID=111. The Greek translation of this book is underway and will be published in 2006.
www.carmen-network.org
EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVES FOR AN AGEING WORKFORCE 2005
This is a follow up study undertaken for the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin, of the 1996 review of OVERCOMING AGE BARRIERS IN EMPLOYMENT which examined good practices towards older workers. In general the issue of age discrimination is a substantive one since older workers find it difficult to receive training and very difficult to find employment after 50 years of age. Some Greek employers have developed non discriminatory practices and taken on board the idea of diversity in the labour force. The new legislation in Greece will force employers into consideration of non discriminatory practices in all areas of employment.
See composite report on www.eurofound.ie.
Following report is available here: "Employment and labour market policies for an ageing workforce and initiatives at the workplace" (MS Word document, 96KB, download time approx. 0m 14s at 56Kbps)
MERI 2003-2005
"Mapping existing research and identifying knowledge gaps concerning the situation of older women in Europe." Associated Measure under the EU 5th Framework programme. Coordinated by ISIS, Frankfurt, this research in 12 participating countries provides an overview of what is known from research on older women and where the knowledge gaps are. It clearly emerged that in most countries there are striking gaps in understanding the situation of older women, while in Greece the extraordinary lack of research on older women means we know very little about their situation. What does emerge is the strong association between poverty and being an older Greek women.
www.sophia-net.org
The greek report is available here:
HEAD 2002
Health, Education and Older People
- an Associated Measure under EU 5th Framework. Meeting on health education and its potential in reaching older less educated people. Coordinated by the Department of Health Education, with collaboration from Prooptiki Co. The very low participation in any kind of learning of older people with low educational levels and the possible way of approaching this group through health education promotion was discussed.
www.head.gr
MHPP - 2001-2003
Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Strategies for Coping with Anxiety and Depression in Europe - Section 3, Older People. An EU project on mental health promotion and prevention of mental disorders in 3 age groups - the section on older people was coordinated by STAKES in Finland and Sextant researchers reviewed and selected good practices and strategies for older people in Greece in preventing and coping with anxiety and depression, described in the Final Report and available on europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_projects/2001/promotion/ fp_promotion_2001_annex3_02_en.pdf
The full project report is available on www.mhe-sme.org/files/Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Strategies for Coping with Anxiety and Depression.pdf
ACMEplus 2000-2003
This research programme, co-ordinated by the University of
Aberdeen and funded under the E.C. 5th Framework programme,
aims to produce an instrument for the assessment of the health
and social status of older people on admission to hospital,
together with an evaluation of outcome on discharge and follow-up.
The instrument is still being developed.
www.abdn.ac.uk/acmeplus
COPE - 1998-2001
The Family Carers of older people in Europe study was research undertaken in the context of the EU BioMed II, that aimed to develop and standardize a questionnaire termed the COPE Index that could be used easily s a way of assessing the needs of family carers and screening for potential problems. This screening instrument which assesses the dimensions of negative impact, positive value and quality of support of caregiving in informal carers of older people was standardized and is available from the University of Sheffield.
It was also successfully used in the EUROFAMCARE research project and has been translated and validated in Greek.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids= 12554314&dopt=Citation.
AGEING AND HEALTH 1998-99
SEXTANT completed the report "The Health of Older People
in the European Community" for EC DGV (Public Health),
in collaboration with the National School of Public Health,
Athens. It condenses and summarises the main evidence regarding
the current health status of older Europeans in the Member
States at the end of the 20th Century and the major factors
likely to affect this over the next 25 years. It is useful
to policy makers and service providers both at the individual
country and European levels and is available on this site.
See link on this site to The
Health of Older People in the European Community.
EUROWORK AGE NETWORK 1996-8
As National Agent for this network, funded by EC D.G.V. SEXTANT
promoted the ideas arising from its research and the experiences
of other countries in supporting the continued employment
and training of older workers. Two reports have been written
by members of the network, Action Research Report, "Career
Planning and Employment of Older Workers" and "Good
Tunes on Old Fiddles; Encouraging Older Workers".
IMAGES OF THE ELDERLY IN THE MEDIA 1995
In cooperation with DaneAge and with funding by E.C. D.G.V.,
SEXTANT undertook a small
study in Greece on how older people perceive themselves portrayed
on television. One finding was how unwilling older people
are to see themselves as a significantly separate group from
the larger population.
1st PANHELLENIC CONFERENCE ON RESIDENTIAL
CARE FOR THE ELDERLY 1994
Organized by SEXTANT with participation by residential
home directors and senior personnel, it was designed to confront
some of the issues about standards, training and the broadening
of services offered in both public and private residential
homes. Piraeus. October.
FAMILY CARERS OF THE OLDER ELDERLY IN GREECE
1990-93
This research study was undertaken in the context of a European collaborative
project in 7 countries by the European Foundation for the
Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin in 1990-91.
It was a qualitative study examining how family carers looked
after dependent elderly relatives, particularly relevant in
Greece, a country that provides very few public support services
either for the elderly or their carers. The findings were
presented at a number of conferences and in publications both
in Greece and Europe: publications from SEXTANT members include
"Family Care of the Older Elderly - Greece" a report
available from the European Foundation in Dublin, "Who
Cares" (in Greek) published by SEXTANT, and "Carers
Talking", available on www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/9282665704/qid= 1051226406/026-0943432-2332405.
TRAVEL AND TOURISM FOR OLDER PEOPLE IN THE
EC 1993
This report organised by DaneAge for the 1993 EC Year of
Older People, concerned the facilities and services that are
available to older people in the Member States.
EUROLINK AGE 1993
SEXTANT prepared the background
paper for the report "An EC Health Policy for Older People"
which led to the formulation of the EC Action Plan for Healthy
Ageing.
HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN RURAL
ELDERLY GREEKS 1986 - 96
Dr.J. Triantafillou participated in the European
Longitudinal Study on Ageing (ELSA), in cooperation with the
University of Jyvaskyla, Finland and the WHO, Copenhagen,
since 1986. Involving a follow up study or the original
1979 sample of rural older people in Greece, several publications
have resulted. A main finding was that, despite marked declines
in functional ability over the 6-year period, life satisfaction
was maintained or increased in association with major improvements
in in-home facilities.
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