Through Thick and Thin: The Meaning of Dementia for the Intimacy of Ageing Couples.

As the population ages, the number of people with dementia increases. An emerging body of research is focusing on living with dementia and understanding the experience of caring and the care burden. There is much less research on the meaning of dementia from the perspective of an older couple's spousal relationship and related intimacy.

Family's role in long-term care-A qualitative study of Finnish family members' experiences on supporting the functional ability of an older relative.

Family members are important providers of care for older people. In residential long-term care, however, their role is not always simple and straightforward: responsibility for care provision rests officially with staff members, but in practice family members often contribute to providing care. The main reason for admission to long-term care is functional decline.

Aging well in the community: Understanding the complexities of older people's dial-a-ride bus journeys.

Older peoples' independent living in their own homes and their ability to move around and maintain social relations in their communities have been acknowledged as important aims to support their well-being. In this article, we study Special Transport Services as a means to support older persons with 'aging in place' - that is, within their communities. From "go-alongs" (shared dial-a-ride bus journeys) and "sit-down interviews" (at participant's home or a café) with 12 older people living in a Finnish suburb, we explored their everyday dial-a-ride bus trips to the local mall.

Senior Housing as a Living Environment That Supports Well-Being in Old Age.

In different parts of the world new models of senior housing have rapidly appeared, which indicates that existing housing and care models are not fulfilling the hopes and needs of current and new generations of older people. This qualitative study focuses on one type of communal senior housing complex located in a mid-sized town in Central Finland. The complex was designed to have accessible low-maintenance apartments and common spaces, and to be near easily accessible green spaces, amenities, services, and public transport.

Experiences of people with memory disorders and their spouse carers on influencing formal care: "They ask my wife questions that they should ask me".

Background: People with memory disorders often need care and help from family carers and health and social care providers. Due to the deterioration of cognitive capacity and language skills, they may be unable to convey their thoughts and care preferences to other people. As a result, their agency may become restricted.

Primary health care nurses' views on patients' abilities and resources to make choices and take decisions on health care.

Recent health reforms in many European countries have emphasised patient choice as a tool for patient participation, and for the improved efficiency of services. Little attention has been paid to experiences of the nurses in these reforms, even though the reforms directly concern all health care personnel and cannot be implemented without their contribution. This study looks at patient choice from the perspective of the nurses working in primary health care clinics in Finland.

How do health care workers manage a patient with multiple care needs from both health and social care services? - A vignette study.

Introduction: To assess how health care professionals outline the management of care and explore which health or social care professionals were involved in the patient's treatment.

Methods: A survey with a patient vignette for general practitioners (n = 31) and registered nurses (n = 31) working daily in Finnish health centres located in four cities. Respondents answered structural questions and explained in detail the care process that they tailored for the patient.

Understanding functional ability: Perspectives of nurses and older people living in long-term care.

The functional ability of older people has come to play a significant role in their care. Policies and public debate promote active aging and the need to maintain functioning in old age, including among older people living in long-term care. This study explores the meanings given to functional ability in the interview talk of long-term care nurses (n=24) and older people living in long-term care (n=16).

Moral argumentation in talk about health and old age.

This study examines the ways in which people aged 90 or over construct and negotiate meanings of health in research interviews. Detailed analyses of two interview cases illustrate the flow of these negotiations within interviews, and how the interviewees balance different moral arguments. First, the interviewees try to manage the face-threat posed by the questioning about health.