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

Psychotherapy for depression in older adults: promising results, but insufficient good quality research

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Ioana Cristea
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This recent meta-analysis confirms that psychotherapy has a moderate to high effect on depression in older adults. However, a note of caution is sounded because of publication bias and the low quality of several of the included studies.

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Staff supporting people ageing with learning disabilities identify their needs for training

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Profile photo of John Northfield
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Flipchart men

Last week we posted a second blog about a project aimed at helping older people with learning disabilities have an active and inclusive retirement. The number of people with learning disabilities in England aged over 60 continues to rise with the most recent predictions suggesting that by 2030 the number of adults aged over 70 [read the full story…]

Supporting older people with learning disabilities with inclusive retirement

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Profile photo of John Northfield
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Terence-3

A short while ago, we posted about the reflections of mentors in a programme in Australia aimed at helping older people get connected to and take part in community groups. The paper we are posting about today draws on data from that project. The researchers developed the project in the context of increasing numbers of [read the full story…]

What should we prescribe for neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease?

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Andres Fonseca
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Psychiatrist Andrés Fonseca considers how his clinical practice should change, after reading a systematic review and meta-analysis of drug treatment for neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease

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Challenges in respecting autonomy in end-of-life care of people with learning disabilities

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Profile photo of John Northfield
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Comfort1

Autonomy is defined as the freedom to determine one’s own actions or behaviour. It is a value at the heart of health and social care support and those supporting people with learning disabilities are constantly striving to maintain and indeed increase the autonomy of those they provide help to. The authors of this Netherlands based [read the full story…]

Program of regular exercise may be beneficial in reducing depression in older adults

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Susie Johnson
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The evidence-base supporting the use of exercise for depression is ever growing. Susie Johnson reports on a recent systematic review that adds to the discussion, but it’s not without its own limitations.

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Using mentors as natural supports helped include older people with learning disabilities

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Social inclusion is at the heart of UK policy for disabled and disadvantaged people. The right to inclusion is one of the underpinning rights set out in the 2001 White Paper ‘Valuing People’. As a concept in the research literature though, it suffers from a lack of clear definition. O’Brien identified community participation as one [read the full story…]

Are there any effective interventions for preventing falls in older people with mental health problems?

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Profile photo of Josephine Neale
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Falls are estimated to cost the NHS more than £2.3 billion per year (College of Optometrists, 2011) and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. This fact alone should be giving us the drive to look for ways to prevent falls in healthcare settings. A systematic review recently published in BMC Nursing (Bunn et al, 2014) is [read the full story…]

Is the menopause depressing? Not necessarily

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Profile photo of Kirsten Lawson
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Some of the lady Elves in the forest have been sharing their concerns about the menopause, and whilst keeping an eye out for hot flushes, night sweats and mood swings; what other changes will the menopause will bring?! Well, Freeman and colleagues have some good news and bad news for us. In November 2013, JAMA [read the full story…]

“Care needs to be just as important as treatment” says report

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Caroline De Brún
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Pathway through a forest

This practical guidance has been written to help commissioners, service providers, nurses, medical, and allied health professionals, understand the difference care and compassion can make to the service experience of frail older people, and also to the financial situation of health and social care organisations. The guide covers the following themes: Reducing healthcare-related harm Care [read the full story…]