Major Health Issues in Nova Scotia: An Environmental Scan

# Reference Brief Notes
living that the article offers is then applied within the overlapping area
of housing and community care to a special case, that of physically
impaired older people, in three separate but related instances:
academic, policy and political. Taking a critique of independent living
beyond theory into policy development may achieve a closer fit
between what older people want their living environments to be and
what they are currently presented with. Finally, rather more arguably,
it may also result in a more cost-effective use of resources.
6. Popovici,I, French,MT and McKay,JR.
Economic evaluation of continuing care
interventions in the treatment of substance
abuse: Recommendations for future
research. Eval.Rev.; 2008; 32(6):547-68.
7. Roberts,JEA, Browne,G, Gafni,A, et al.
Specialized continuing care models for
persons with dementia: A systematic review
of the research literature. Canadian Journal on
Aging; 2000; 19(1):106-26.
8. Robinson,KM and Reinhard,SC. Looking
ahead in long-term care: The next 50 years.
Nurs.Clin.North Am.; 2009; 44(2):253-62.
The chronic and relapsing nature of substance abuse points to the
need for continuing care after a primary phase of treatment. This
article reviews the economic studies of continuing care, discusses
research gaps, highlights some of the challenges of conducting
rigorous economic evaluations of continuing care, and offers research
guidelines and recommendations for future economic studies in this
emerging field. The adoption of cost-effective continuing care
services can reduce long-term consequences of addiction, thereby
potentially increasing overall social welfare.
This systematic overview summarizes the published literature
reflecting the effectiveness of services or models of care for persons
with dementia living in their homes, in specialized institutional care or
assisted living centres/congregate homes. First and foremost, more
research is needed that examines the effectiveness of different
programs for specific persons and their caregivers with different
characteristics and the measurement of family expenditures as well as
costs of programs.
During the next 50 years, demographic aging-including graying of the
baby boomers, increased longevity, and lower fertility rates-will
change the needs for long-term care in the United States. These
trends will have a great impact on the federal budget related to
spending for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Future years
will see a more diverse population with increased aggressive treatment
of chronic illness. Consumers of health care and their family
caregivers will take more active steps to manage and coordinate their
own care. Housing trends that produce more senior-friendly
communities will encourage independent living rather than seniors'
having to move into institutions; increased incentives for use of
home- and community community-based care will allow people to
stay longer in their own homes in the community. Technological
advances, such as the use of robots who serve as companions and
assistants around the house, will also decrease the need for
institutional living.