Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T12:46:41.348Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘I shall miss the company’: participants’ reflections on time-limited day centre programming

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2020

Robert J. Hagan Open the ORCID record for Robert J. Hagan [Opens in a new window]  and
Roger Manktelow
Robert J. Hagan*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Care and Social Work, Brooks Buildings, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
Roger Manktelow
Affiliation:
School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University (Magee Campus), Derry, N. Ireland, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: r.hagan@mmu.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The social needs of frail or isolated older people are sometimes aided by referrals to day centres in the United Kingdom. Since the late 1940s, day centres have had a role to play promoting socialisation in later life. Additionally, attendance at day centres is often open ended, with participants only leaving due to moving to a nursing home or dying. In this study, the views of those attending time-limited day centre programmes in seven day centres in Northern Ireland have been sought in relation to their thoughts about the service as well as how they feel when it ends. Seventeen participants completed diaries for the programme duration and/or engaged in an interview process. Participants reflected on the social and educational benefits of attending but also recognised impositions in the centres that impinged upon individual choices and also the length of time they could remain. This study reveals that, in order to maintain socialisation, time-limited programmes must have clear follow-on strategies for participants. Additionally, respondents’ experiences reflect that a paternalistic model of care delivery remains in place that, whilst restrictive, reveals that access to the service is more specialised and not universal. Nevertheless, should day centres wish to remain relevant, it is important that service users are fully consulted about their desires and choices within the setting.

Keywords

older peopleday centresreablementsocialisationpaternalism
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 41 , Issue 12 , December 2021 , pp. 2933 - 2952
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aday, RH, Kehoe, GC and Farney, LA (2006) Impact of senior center friendships on aging women who live alone. Journal of Women and Aging 18, 57–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Age, UK (2011) Effectiveness of Day Services: Summary of Research Evidence. London: Age UK.Google Scholar
Andrews, N, Gabbay, J, le May, A, Miller, E, O'Neill, M and Petch, A (2015) Developing Evidence-enriched Practice in Health and Social Care with Older People. York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Arie, T (1979) Day care in geriatric psychiatry, 1978. Age and Ageing 8, 87–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aspinal, F, Glasby, J, Rostgaard, T, Tuntland, H and Westendorp, RGJ (2016) New horizons: reablement – supporting older people towards independence. Age and Ageing 45, 574–678.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bacon, V and Lambkin, C (1997) The relationship between the delivery of day care services for older people and the design of day unit premises. Ageing & Society 17, 41–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartlett, R (2011) Using Diaries in Research with People with Dementia (Realities Toolkit No. 18). Manchester, UK: University of Manchester.Google Scholar
Baumeister, RF and Leary, MR (1995) The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin 117, 497–529.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beisgen, B and Kraitchman, M (2003) Senior Centers: Opportunities for Successful Ageing. New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Biggs, S and Powell, JL (2001) A Foucauldian analysis of old age and the power of social welfare. Journal of Aging and Social Policy 12, 93–112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, M (1969) Introduction to Social Administration in Britain. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bulsara, C, Etherton-Beer, C and Saunders, R (2016) Models for community based day care for older people: a narrative review. Cogent Social Sciences 2, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burch, S and Borland, C (2001) Collaboration, facilities and communities in day care services for older people. Health and Social Care in the Community 9, 19–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caiels, J, Forder, J, Malley, J, Netten, A and Windle, K (2010) Measuring the outcome of low-level services: final report. Personal Social Services Research Unit, Canterbury, UK, Discussion Paper 2639.Google Scholar
Carr, S (2011) Enabling risk and ensuring safety: self-directed support and personal budgets. Journal of Adult Protection 13, 122–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Catty, JS, Goddard, K and Burns, T (2005) Social services and health services day care in mental health: The social networks and care needs of their users. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 51, 151–161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clark, C (2001) The transformation of day care. In Clark, C (ed.), Adult Day Services and Social Inclusion: Better Days. London: Jessica Kingsley, pp. 9–18.Google Scholar
Cohen-Mansfield, J and Wirtz, PW (2007) Characteristics of adult day care participants who enter a nursing home. Psychology and Aging 22, 354–360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, ES (1985) Autonomy and paternalism: two goals in conflict. Law, Medicine and Health Care 15, 145–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Community Care (2005) Can a New Day Centre Dawn? Available at http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2005/01/21/can-a-new-day-centre-dawn/.Google Scholar
Conrad, KJ, Hanrahan, P and Hughes, SL (1990) Survey of adult day care in the United States: national and regional findings. Research on Aging 12, 36–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crossman, L (1987) Adult day care: coming of age. The Aging Connection 8, 1.Google Scholar
Curry, N (2006) Preventative Social Care: Is It Cost Effective? London: The King's Fund/Wanless Social Care Review.Google Scholar
Dabelko-Schoney, HI and King, S (2010) In their own words: participants’ perceptions of the impact of adult day services. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 53, 176–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dabelko, HI and Balaswamy, S (2000) Use of adult day services and home health care services by older adults: a comparative analysis. Home Health Care Services Quarterly 18, 65–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Daly, G (2012) Citizenship, choice and care: an examination of the promotion of choice in the provision of adult social care. Research, Policy and Planning 29, 179–189.Google Scholar
Davidson, K, Daly, T and Arber, S (2003) Men, social integration and organisational activities. Social Policy and Society 2, 81–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety Northern Ireland (DHSSPSNI) (2012) Day Care Settings: Minimum Standards. Belfast: DHSSPSNI.Google Scholar
Diaz Moore, K, Geboy, LD and Weisman, GD (2006) Designing a Better Day: Guidelines for Adult and Dementia Day Service Centers. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Doh, D, Smith, R and Gevers, P (2020) Reviewing the reablement approach to caring for older people. Ageing & Society 40, 1371–1383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duffy, S (2010) The Future of Personalisation: Implications for Welfare Reform. Sheffield, UK: Centre for Welfare Reform.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fawcett, B (2014) Well-being and older people: the place of day clubs in reconceptualising participation and challenging deficit. British Journal of Social Work 44, 831–848.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández-Ballesteros, R, Sánchez-Izquierdo, M, Olmos, R, Huici, C, Ribera Casado, JM and Cruz Jentoft, AJ (2019) Paternalism vs. autonomy: are they alternative types of formal care? Frontiers in Psychology 10, 1460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fields, NL, Anderson, KA, Dabelko-Schoeny, H (2014) The effectiveness of adult day services for older adults: a review of the literature from 2000 to 2011. Journal of Applied Gerontology 33, 130–163.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Francis, J, Fisher, M and Rutter, D (2011) Reablement: A Cost-effective Route to Better Outcomes. London: Social Care Institute for Excellence.Google Scholar
Fraser, D (2009) The Evolution of the British Welfare State, 4th Edn. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furness, PJ and Garrud, P (2010) Adaptation after facial surgery: using the diary as a research tool. Qualitative Health Research 20, 262–272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gaugler, JE and Zarit, SH (2001) The effectiveness of adult day services for disabled older people. Journal of Aging and Social Policy 12, 23–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gaugler, JE, Jarrott, SE, Zarit, SH, Parris Stephens, MA, Townsend, A and Greene, R (2003) Adult day service user and reductions in caregiving hours: effects on stress and psychological well-being for dementia caregivers. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 18, 55–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glendinning, C, Jones, K, Baxter, K, Rabiee, P, Curtis, LA, Wilde, A, Arskey, H and Forder, JE (2010) Home Care Reablement Services: Investigating the Longer-term Impacts (Prospective Longitudinal Study). York, UK: University of York Social Policy Research Unit.Google Scholar
Gustafson, E (1974) Day care for the elderly. The Gerontologist 14, 46–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haight, B and Kittredge Duchesnau, J (2005) Day care services. In Haight, B and Gibson, F (eds), Burnside's Working with Older Adults, 4th Edn. London: Jones and Bartlett, pp. 287–300.Google Scholar
Heenan, D (2006) The factors influencing access to health and social care in the farming communities of County Down, Northern Ireland. Ageing & Society 26, 373–391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henwood, M (1993) Through a Glass Darkly: Community Care and Elderly People. London: King's Fund Institute.Google Scholar
Hjelle, KM, Tuntland, H, Forland, O and Alvavag, H (2017) Driving forces for home-based reablement: a qualitative study of older adults’ experiences. Health and Social Care in the Community 25, 1581–1589.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iecovich, E and Biderman, A (2012) Attendance in adult day care centers and its relation to loneliness among frail older adults. International Psychogeriatrics 24, 439–448.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jellinek, I, Paradsani, M and Sackman, B (2010) 21st Century Senior Centers: Changing the Conversation, a Study of New York City's Senior Citizens. New York, NY: Council of Senior Centers and Services of New York City.Google Scholar
Johns, R (2011) Social Work, Social Policy and Older People. Exeter, UK: Learning Matters.Google Scholar
Jones, RK (2000) The unsolicited diary as a qualitative research tool for advanced research capacity in the field of health and illness. Qualitative Health Research 10, 555–567.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karpf, A (2014) How to Age. London: Pan Macmillan/The School of Life.Google Scholar
Kaye, L and Kirwin, P (1990) Adult day care services for the elderly and their families. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 15, 167–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keating, N, Otfinowski, P, Wenger, C, Fast, J and Derksen, L (2003) Understanding the caring capacity of informal networks of frail seniors: a case for care networks. Ageing & Society 23, 115–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keeling, D (1961) The Crowded Stairs: Recollections of Social Work in Liverpool. London: The National Council of Social Service.Google Scholar
Latham, A (2003) Research, performance, and doing human geography: some reflections on the diary-photograph, diary-interview method. Environment and Planning A 35, 1993–2017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lund, A and Engelsrud, G (2008) ‘I am not that old’: interpersonal experiences of thriving and threats at a senior centre. Ageing & Society 28, 675–692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mackrill, T (2007) Using a cross-contextual qualitative diary design to explore client experiences of psychotherapy. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research: Linking Research with Practice 7, 233–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacRae-Krisa, LD and Paetsch, JJ (2013) An Examination of Best Practice in Multi-service Senior Centres. Calgary, Canada: Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family.Google Scholar
Manthorpe, J and Moriarty, J (2014) Examining day centre provision for older people in the UK using the Equality Act 2010: findings from a scoping review. Health and Social Care in the Community 22, 352–360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin, M (1995) Medical knowledge and medical practice: geriatric medicine in the 1950s. Society for the Social History of Medicine 7, 443–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCann, JJ, Herbert, LE, Li, Y, Wolinsky, FD, Gilley, DW, Aggarwal, NT, Miller, JM and Evans, DA (2005) The effect of adult day care services on time to nursing home placement in older adults with Alzheimer's disease. The Gerontologist 45, 754–763.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCoy, K, Townsend, M and Fitzpatrick, JS (1982) Day Centre Survey: A Study of 14 Day Centres for Adults. Belfast: Department of Health and Social Services Social Work Advisory Group.Google Scholar
McLeod, E, Bywater, P, Tanner, D and Hirsch, M (2008) For the sake of their health: older service users’ requirements for social care to facilitate access to social networks following hospital discharge. British Journal of Social Work 38, 73–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNeil, C and Hunter, J (2014) The Generation Strain: Collective Solutions to Care in an Ageing Society. London: Institute for Public Policy Research.Google Scholar
Metlife Mature Market Institute (2010) The Metlife National Study of Adult Day Services: Providing Support to Individuals and Their Family Caregivers. Westport, CT: Metlife Mature Market Institute.Google Scholar
Miller, R, Williams, I, Allen, K and Glasby, J (2014) Evidence, insight, or intuition? Investment decisions in the commissioning of prevention services for older people. Journal of Care Services Management 7, 119–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milligan, C, Bingley, A and Gatrell, A (2005) Digging deep: using diary techniques to explore the place of health and well-being amongst older people. Social Science and Medicine 61, 1882–1892.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miner Solar, S and Rich, M (2001) Social and environmental infantilization of aged persons: observations in two adult day care centers. International Journal of Aging and Human Development 52, 115–134.Google Scholar
Moriarty, J (2001) Day care for older adults: developing services for diversity. In Clark, C (ed.), Adult Day Services and Social Inclusion: Better Days. London: Jessica Kingsley, pp. 109–132.Google Scholar
Morley, D (1974) Day Care and Leisure Provision for the Elderly. Mitcham, UK: Age Concern England.Google Scholar
Mutchler, JE, Steinman, BA, Gleason, H and Coyle, CE (2014) Aging in Falmouth: assessing current and future needs of our aging population. McCormack Graduate School Gerontology Faculty, Boston, MA, Publication Series Paper 1.Google Scholar
Needham, C (2013) Personalized commissioning, public spaces: the limits of the market in English social care services. BMC Health Services Research 13, S5, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Needham, C (2014) Personalisation: from day centres to community hubs? Critical Social Policy 34, 90–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nies, H, Tester, S and Nuijens, JM (1991) Day care in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands: a comparative study. Ageing & Society 11, 245–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Northern Health and Social Care Trust (2006) Living Well, Ageing Better: A Strategy for Services for Older People 2006–2011. Ballymena, UK: Northern Health and Social Care Trust.Google Scholar
O'Hagan, J (2012) Adult Community Statistics for Northern Ireland. Belfast: Community Information Branch, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety Northern Ireland.Google Scholar
Oliver, C, Blythe, M and Roe, J (2018) Negotiating sameness and difference in geographies of older age. Area 50, 444–451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orellana, K, Manthorpe, J and Tinker, A (2020) Day centres for older people: a systematically conducted scoping review of literature about their benefits, purposes and how they are perceived. Ageing & Society 40, 73–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pitt, V (2010) Are day centres outdated in the personalisation era? Community Care. Available at http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2010/12/03/are-day-centres-outdated-in-the-personalisation-era/.Google Scholar
Pitts, J, Sanderson, H, Webster, A and Skelhorn, L (2011) A New Reablement Journey. Manchester, UK: Aubrey Associates/Helen Sanderson Associates.Google Scholar
Powell, J, Bray, J, Roberts, H, Goddard, A and Smith, E (2000) Goal negotiation with older people in three day care settings. Health and Social Care in the Community 8, 380–389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
PricewaterhouseCoopers (2007) Audit of Day Centres: Final Report. Belfast: Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety Northern Ireland.Google Scholar
Reilly, S, Venables, D, Hughes, J, Challis, D and Abendstern, M (2006) Standards of care in day hospitals and day centres: a comparison of services for older people with dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 21, 460–468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Resnick, B, Gruber-Baldini, AL, Galik, E, Pretzer-Aboff, I, Russ, K, Hebel, JR and Zimmerman, S (2009) Changing the philosophy of care in long-term care: testing of the restorative care intervention. The Gerontologist 49, 175–184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richardson, I (1964) Age and Need: A Study of Older People in North-East Scotland. Edinburgh: E&S Livingstone.Google Scholar
Rill, LA (2011) An Examination of Senior Center Efficacy: Variation in Participation and Benefits (PhD thesis paper No. 1853). Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.Google Scholar
Ritchie, L (2003) Adult day care: northern perspectives. Public Health Nursing 20, 120–131.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roulstone, A and Morgan, H (2009) Neo-liberal individualism or self-directed support: are we all speaking the same language on modernising adult social care? Social Policy and Society 8, 333–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowntree, BS (1947) Old People: Report of a Survey Committee on the Problems of Ageing and the Care of Old People. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ryburn, B, Wells, Y and Foreman, P (2009) Enabling independence: restorative approaches to home care for frail older adults. Health and Social Care in the Community 17, 225–234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salter, C (1992) The day centre: a way of avoiding society's risk. Critical Public Health 3, 17–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, EM, Sands, LP, Weiss, S, Dowling, G and Covinsky, K (2010) Adult day health center participation and health-related quality of life. The Gerontologist 50, 531–540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schnittker, J (2007) Look (closely) at all the lonely people: age and the social psychology of social support. Journal of Aging and Health 19, 659–682.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shenfield, BE (1957) Social Policies for Old Age: A Review of Social Provision for Old Age in Great Britain. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Skarupski, V and Pelkowski, JJ (2003) Multipurpose senior centers: opportunities for community health nursing. Journal of Community Health Nursing 20, 119–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stephens, C, Alpass, F, Towers, A and Stevenson, B (2011) The effects of types of social networks, perceived social support and loneliness on the health of older people: accounting for the social context. Journal of Aging and Health 23, 887–911.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sumner, G and Smith, R (1969) Planning Local Authority Services for the Elderly. London: George Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Tessier, A, Beaulieu, M-D, McGinn, CA and Latulippe, R (2016) Effectiveness of reablement: a systematic review. Healthcare Policy 11, 49–59.Google ScholarPubMed
Tester, S (1989) Caring by Day: A Study of Day Care Services for Older People. London: Centre for Policy on Ageing.Google Scholar
Tester, S (2001) Day services for older people. In Clark, C (ed.), Adult Day Services and Social Inclusion: Better Days. London: Jessica Kingsley, pp. 19–45.Google Scholar
Thompson, N and Thompson, S (2001) Empowering older people: beyond the care model. Journal of Social Work 1, 61–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Townsend, P (1964) The Last Refuge. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Tse, T and Howie, J (2005) Adult day groups: addressing older people's needs for activity and companionship. Australasian Journal on Ageing 24, 134–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tunstall, J (1966) Old and Alone: A Sociological Study of Old People. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Unruh, DR (1983) Invisible Lives: Social Worlds of the Aged. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Valadez, AA, Lumadue, C, Gutierrez, B and de Vries-Kell, S (2006) Las comadres and adult day care centers: the perceived impact of socialization on mental-wellness. Journal of Aging Studies 20, 39–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vargese, SS, Kurian, N, Mathew, E, Idiculla, D, Mathew, G, Cherian, SA and John, D (2019) Effectiveness of adult day centres for improving quality of life in older adults in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. The Campbell Collaboration, 1–9.Google Scholar
Weeks, LE and Roberto, KA (2002) Comparison of adult day services in Atlantic Canada, Maine and Vermont. Canadian Journal on Aging 21, 273–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weissert, WG (1976) Two models of geriatric day care. The Gerontologist 16, 420–427.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weissert, WG, Elston, J, Bolda, E, Cready, C, Zelman, W, Sloane, P, Kalsbeek, W, Mutran, E, Rice, T and Koch, G (1989) Models of adult day care: findings from a national survey. The Gerontologist 19, 640–649.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenger, GC, Davies, R, Shahtahmasebi, S and Scott, A (1996) Social isolation and loneliness in old age: review and model refinement. Ageing & Society 16, 333–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whisnant Turner, K (2004) Senior citizens centers. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 43, 37–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wills, K (2012) William Hodson Community Center, nation's first place for seniors, still vibrant as it gears up for 70th anniversary. New York Daily News, November 29. Available at http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/william-hodson-community-center-mission-ageless-article-1.1209034.Google Scholar
Younghusband, E (1978) Social Work in Britain: 1950–1975, Vol. 1. London: George Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Zank, S and Schaeke, C (2002) Evaluation of geriatric day care units: effects on patients and caregivers. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 57B, 348–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, DH and Wieder, DL (1977) The diary: diary-interview method. Urban Life 5, 479–498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar