[Gerontological expert report on professionally justified individual services according to § 71 of the German Social Code Act (SGB) XII]. / Gerontologisches Gutachten zu fachlich begründeten Einzelleistungen nach § 71 SGB XII.

BACKGROUND: In the second half of 2023 the Senate for Science, Health and Nursing of Berlin commissioned an explicit gerontological expert report from the team of authors, which was intended to provide suggestions for the modernization and concretization of § 71 of the German Social Code Act (SGB) XII, i.e., the central social law basis for so-called care of older people. It was completed by the end of 2023. The objective of the report was to provide suggestions for a Berlin Assistance for Old People Structural Law that considers the differentiation and diversity of the life phase of old age by identifying, analyzing and describing the necessary individual services. AIM OF THE ARTICLE: The approach and the central results of the report are presented and discussed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a multistep procedure, combined with a multimodal research approach, various methods were combined in order to generate a comprehensive understanding of the current situation of so-called assistance for older people and gerontological justifications for its services. Critical and selective literature reviews, document analysis and qualitative guideline-based expert interviews were used. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The expert report contains concrete recommendations for an age phase and life situation-orientated development of individual services according to § 71 SGB XII. This relates to approaches, forms and topics of counselling that enable and support successful ageing for all older people. The report also explicitly identifies objects of necessary cash and non-cash benefits, which, even in precarious situations in old age, aim to strengthen the ability for self-help and provide the opportunity to participate independently in community life.

[Geragogic support for status passages in old age : Challenge and opportunity of a new care for older people]. / Geragogische Begleitung bei Statuspassagen im Alter : Herausforderung und Chance einer neuen Altenhilfe.

BACKGROUND: With the continuous increase in the average age, the temporal perspective for the phase of old age is also significantly expanding. This results in an individual need for reorientation for the aging person with respect to a meaningful shaping of this long period of time, which as a progressive process leads to the end of life. In the context of the status passages to the third, fourth and fifth ages, there is a special relevance for this; however, the so-called care for older people (§ 71 Social Security Code, SGB XII) has so far largely ignored these important aspects. Rethinking in a needs-oriented way, the facilitation of the necessary reorientation of life in old age through learning and education must therefore be given greater consideration. AIM OF THE ARTICLE: The article gives a necessary update of the existing care for older persons, which takes greater account of a needs-oriented design of a society of long life. Furthermore, the role and significance of the necessary educational processes in the sense of geragogy are outlined and also how they can contribute to successful aging. MATERIAL AND METHODS: With reference to current research work and publications on the topic, the possibilities of geragogic support as a challenge and opportunity for new care for older persons are worked out. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The learning and educational processes of the aging person can be aimed at various concerns, if nothing else differentiated according to the challenges associated with the social age categories, i.e., the third, fourth or fifth age; however, learning and educational processes also address very different dimensions, each focusing on the question of how older people can tackle and cope with such necessary adaptation and change processes.

[Interprofessional team building-An interuniversity qualification program]. / Interprofessionelle Teambildung ­ ein hochschulübergreifendes Qualifizierungsprogramm.

BACKGROUND: With the growing number of older and old patients as well as patients affected by multimorbidity, cognitive impairments and frailty in hospital and expansion of long-term care, the challenges in the various geriatric and gerontological care settings are also increasing. Social networks and resources become fragile due to the changing family structures. A strong interprofessional team building and networking of the main actors in the nursing and healthcare systems become necessary. OBJECTIVE: A qualification program for students of medicine, social work and relevant study courses for nursing was established. In this program participants should collectively learn to deal with the concerns and needs of geriatric patients in a case-related manner and to develop suitable plans for treatment and interventions. METHOD: The qualification program for interprofessional team building was evaluated during the development phase as a pilot project and scientifically evaluated (n = 78) using the Freiburg questionnaire on interprofessional learning evaluation (FILE). RESULTS: The program experienced a high level of approval by approximately 98% of the participants. The measurement of change showed an improvement in team skills and ability to work in a team. CONCLUSION: Opening up a learning field for interprofessional learning and working to students of different disciplines and professions during their studies creates a good basis for successful interprofessional team building in the subsequent professional practice. The interuniversity and interprofessional teaching project presented is now firmly anchored in the curriculum at the participating universities with the teaching module "The geriatric patient". It is therefore a possible model for similar projects.

[Health care and care for the elderly in the future : Insights from the corona pandemic]. / Gesundheitsversorgung und Pflege für ältere Menschen in der Zukunft : Erkenntnisse aus der Corona-Pandemie.

Health care and especially care of the elderly have come under massive pressure from the corona pandemic. Structural deficits and weak points that are not really new are now more apparent because COVID-19 has brought these back into focus. In the entire healthcare system new questions arise in the face of the current challenges. Problems and gaps now become obvious in the health care services and in the provision of care for the elderly-some of them specifically related to one area, but to a greater extent these are cross-sectoral. Based on relevant national and international studies and publications and from the perspective of social gerontology, this article focuses on the current situation in the 'long-term nursing care in Germany' in the context of the SARS-CoV­2 virus. The results of this analysis are used to derive and outline what a new professional orientation can look like with a view to the future and what possible knowledge can be gained from the corona pandemic.

What makes them happy? Professional care-givers' job satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Nurses' job dissatisfaction can be seen as an early warning indicator of occupational change and (early) termination intentions. A better understanding of job satisfaction and its determinants can help to prevent nurses from leaving their profession. AIM: We assessed the impact of nurses' perception of job characteristics on their overall job satisfaction in order to identify the most relevant factors. We also investigated the potential mechanisms through which the most relevant factor influences job satisfaction. METHOD: We used multiple regression analysis based on a standardized survey of about 800 registered nurses (in long-term care facilities) in both inpatient care and outpatient care in Germany as well as qualitative content analysis of about 50 semi-structured interviews with nurses. RESULTS: We found that collaboration with the team and supervisor to be the most relevant factor associated with job satisfaction. A good team can create professional support and ideational support for professional caregivers and enhance their professional development and the quality of care. DISCUSSION: Our results point to the importance of leadership training, team building methods and other measures for establishing and cultivating a pleasant working atmosphere with flexible shift handovers and team meetings.

[Trained volunteers to support patients after hospitalization-national implications from international findings]. / Qualifizierte Freiwillige als Patientenbegleiter nach einem Krankenhausaufenthalt ­ nationale Implikationen aus internationalen Erkenntnissen.

BACKGROUND: In Germany people over 65 years old are treated in hospital almost twice as often as younger people. Special attention needs to be paid to the transition from inpatient to outpatient care. In recent years, volunteers have been increasingly involved in the care of older patients during and after the hospitalization phase. OBJECTIVE: This article presents the results of empirical studies, which evaluated one-to-one approaches with trained volunteers to support chronically ill, multimorbid older patients at the interface between hospital and domestic care. Implications for the German care system are derived for the first time. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The results of a systematic search for randomized controlled studies, controlled studies and studies in a one-group pre-post design are presented. The identified interventions are presented, a cautious assessment of the need for care based on representative national surveys is made and the added value of the interventions is assessed against the background of the existing care structures. RESULTS: In the international context, trained volunteers are active in psychosocial coordinative support (n = 2), physical cognitive activation (n = 4) and assistance with medication intake (n = 2). These interventions show short-term effects with small and medium effect sizes. Psychosocial coordinative support and physical cognitive activation are basically transferable to national circumstances. DISCUSSION: Before a broad implementation, the approaches would first have to be adapted to national circumstances, tested for feasibility and the effectiveness must be examined in high-quality studies.

Trained volunteers to support chronically ill, multimorbid elderly between hospital and domesticity - a systematic review of one-on-one-intervention types, effects, and underlying training concepts.

BACKGROUND: New approaches are needed to address the challenges of demographic change, staff shortages, and societal change in the care of the elderly. While volunteering has barely been established as a pillar of the welfare state in several countries, legislators and nonprofit or community-based organizations in some countries favor the increased integration of volunteers, as they can rely on many dedicated people. When caring for the multimorbid elderly, the transition from hospital to domesticity involves certain risks. Currently, no systematic knowledge exists on whether and how elderly benefit from volunteer support after a hospital stay. Objectives of this systematic review were to (1) identify evaluated approaches with trained volunteers supporting chronically ill, multimorbid elderly one-on-one at the interface between hospital and domesticity; (2) investigate the patient-related effectiveness of the approaches; (3) present the characteristics of the supporting volunteers; and (4) present the underlying teaching and training concepts for the volunteers. METHODS: A systematic search of the following online databases was conducted in April 2017: the Cochrane Library, Medline (PubMed), CINAHL, and PsycINFO (Ebscohost). We included (cluster/quasi-) randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials and single-group pre-post design. An institutional search was conducted on eight national institutions from research and practice in Germany. Screening was conducted by one researcher, risk of bias was assessed. Study authors were contacted for study and training details. RESULTS: We identified a total of twelve studies, eight of which evaluated treatment following hospital stay: psychosocial-coordinative support (n = 2), physical-cognitive activation (n = 4), and assistance with medication intake (n = 2). We saw short-term effects with small and medium effect sizes. Most volunteers were women aged between 45 and 61 years. Their training lasted 12-26 h and took place prior to first patient contact. During the intervention, volunteers could rely on permanent supporting structures. CONCLUSIONS: Few studies exist that have evaluated one-on-one-volunteer support following hospitalization, and the effects are inconsistent. As such, further, well-designed studies are needed. The suitability and transferability of the interventions in country-specific settings should be examined in feasibility studies. Furthermore, an international discussion on the appropriate theoretical backgrounds of volunteer training is needed.