School of Health and Social Services

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    Living at home after 95 years : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Nursing at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Russell, Julia May
    Globally the number of older people is increasing with the largest increases occurring in those aged over 85 years. Historically little has been written about this group and because of increasing numbers more information is needed to inform the development of future services. The question was how people live in their own home independently after 95 years? This work was informed by narrative gerontology overlaid with a critical gerontological lens to give voice to this group. Through a purposive sampling strategy ten narrators were identified and were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Data analysis was undertaken using thematic analysis with three themes; staying socially connected, managing the physical environment and keeping and ageing well emerging. Further to this, there were associated subthemes, which support and further illuminate the detail of the theme itself. These findings also unsettled the ageist, biomedical view of the oldest-old and what we think we know about them. In this study the narrators gave voice to their lives and what contributed to them living at home independently. Not everyone will live to 95+ years and how this was achieved by this group was the result of their entire lives and showed itself in the resilient characters of these narrators. All of whom considered the benefits of social connectedness, hard work and keeping well as reasons for living independently at home. As well as this, the need to stay mobile and the current contribution of help and support from both family were contributing factors. This research provides considerations for changes in not only the way we view those over 95 years but also the way we consult and provide services to them. There is an urgent need to promote achieving resilience, eliminate ageism and promote a more balanced view of the oldest-old.
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    From the ward to the home : caring for a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia in New Zealand : this thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Richards-Ward, Leigh Anne; Richards-Ward, Leigh Anne
    The research question examined in this thesis is: 'What are the characteristics and complexities of the informal care provided within a family to a member diagnosed with schizophrenia, in New Zealand? This research question is divided into two parts. The first part examines the characteristics and complexities of the unpaid caring work provided to a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia and the second part explores how this care provision is influenced by the social, political, cultural, legal and economic context of New Zealand. This research is important because first, very little is known about the process and interpretation of care provided to a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia and second, New Zealand places great emphasis upon deinstitutionalisation and community care. Ten women and four of their husbands were invited to participate in this research. These women were the primary informal care-givers of a family member who had experienced the cyclical acute and chronic episodes of schizophrenia. The women's husbands filled a secondary supporting role in relation to the women. The women met to identify themes related to their informal care provision. These themes were translated into an interview guide which acted as a prompt for the researcher while the women and men were articulating their stories of care-giving. Foremost amongst the findings of this research was that the dominant understandings of care should be extended in order to reflect the informal care provided to a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia. The men supported the women's care provision which reflected their family member's unpredictable, changeable and cyclical symptoms of schizophrenia. It was characterised by the primacy of supervision and monitoring and was provided on a continual (flat-line) basis. It was also established that the women were finding it increasingly difficult to meet their informal caring responsibilities, these responsibilities being increased and extended by the Government's actions to reduce both state expenditure and state caring responsibilities. The difficulty the women were experiencing in meeting the complex and changing care needs of their family member indicated that a continuum of care needs to be provided. It is argued that a continuum of care will need to include early intervention services, a range of community-based and institutionally-based mental health services, and a review of the definition of 'mentally disordered' contained within the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992. In order to coordinate and provide such a continuum of care, state, community and family caring responsibilities need to be combined, these three caring agents working collaboratively.