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Grief and mourning for family members caring for a dementia patient begin with the initial changes in the person's cognitive abilities, and intensify with the worsening of his or her condition. The aim of this article is to propose a Two-Track Model of Dementia Grief (TTM-DG). This model enlarges the theoretical, research and clinical lenses for dementia, and explores how the illness process as well as the bereavement responses after death stimulate the reworking of grief and mourning over the beloved family member. Based on the insights derived from the Two-Track Model of Loss and Bereavement and the Continuing Bonds paradigm, we propose that the clinical and research examination of dementia grief begin in life and continue after the death. The TTM – DG's Track I focuses on bio-psycho-social functioning and Track II focuses on the internalized psychological representation of the patient, the ongoing relational bond and the illness and death story. A case study illustrates how this combined perspective provides a comprehensive picture of the experience of grief for persons afflicted with dementia over the course of the disease trajectory. Future clinical and empirical research has an important role to play in the further development of this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a critical discussion of the legal institution of adult guardianship in Israel. Based on a critical discourse analysis' study of official guardianship reports for older adults submitted by social workers to family courts in Israel, findings reveal how guardianship institutional procedures construct the personal life stories of older persons into legalistic guardianship paradigm, and in doing so they create a new identity of 'a person in need of guardianship'. The article further delineates how 'a person in need of guardianship' (as well as a 'guardian') is a discursive identity, a subject who never existed prior to the guardianship proceeding, a legal creation which does not reflect the complexities and realities of older persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the growing need to address the rights of older people as consumers, this study captures the perceptions and meanings that older people attribute to their experiences as older consumers, particularly regarding consumer fraud, using qualitative-phenomenological methodology based on semi-structured, open-ended interviews with 16 older consumers in Israel. The findings raise distinctive aspects of their experiences, including physical and cognitive characteristics of aging, social response to aging, and involvement of family members in decision making and support. The study concludes by offering several sociolegal policy recommendations for protecting older consumers, directed to them, their family members, professionals interacting with them, and the legal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-five years have passed since my first exposure to the field of "elder law." From a "young" master's student I have become a law professor and a gerontologist who specializes in law and aging. The journey I have personally experienced in the last quarter-century provided me with some perspective regarding the field of elder law (or, as I prefer to call it, law and aging). In this Article, I try to summarize my experience and share some personal insights on the field. This is naturally a very personal and subjective experience. However, it may be constructive to others in shaping the next twenty-five years of the field. Hence, the goal of this Article is to provide both an integrative description of the developments in the field and some propositions for possible future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individuals with dementia may appear before the courts in different roles. Despite the growing interest in the rights of older persons with dementia, relatively little empirical data exist regarding their actual interactions and experiences in court. Methods: This study used a qualitative, textual analysis methodology. A total of 281 Israeli legal court cases, which addressed issues relating to dementia, were analyzed. Results: Four key themes were found in the legal texts: (1) The legal construction of dementia and its relationships to old age; (2) The importance of procedural justice; (3) The implications and outcomes of the legal process; and (4) The legal implications to the society as a whole. Conclusions: The legal narratives, which surround legal cases that deal with dementia in Israel, reveal an internal tension between stigmatic and anti-stigmatic narratives. This complex reality raises the need for further research and for a clearer judicial policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the meaning and consequences of labeling on structural stigma in the context of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the legal system. Method: This qualitative study was made up of three focus groups including social workers and lawyers (n D 26). Participants were asked to report their experience in circumstances in which persons with AD and their family members engage with the legal system. Thematic analysis using the constant comparative method was used. Results: The discussions in the focus groups raised two overall themes. (1) The significance of the medical diagnostic labeling of AD in the legal system and (2) the consequences of labeling of AD within the legal system. This last theme included four sub-themes: (a) negative consequences of labeling; (b) reasons associated with negative consequences of labeling; (c) positive consequences of labeling; and (d) reasons associated with positive consequences of labeling. Conclusion: Findings of the study provide a first foundation for future research on the meaning and consequences of labeling in legal cases involving persons with AD. They suggest that increasing judges’ knowledge about AD and reforming the existing ‘status-based’ legal capacity legislation might benefit by limiting the legal weight given today to the medical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to leisure is recognized as a human right under the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The actual meaning and material content of this human right is subject to debate. The aim of this study is to examine the extent and the context to which this human right is specifically recognized with regard to older persons. Methodologically, this study textually analyzed 17 different international older persons’ human rights documents. The findings reveal that in the majority of these documents there is no reference to the right to leisure. In the remaining documents, the right to leisure is mostly referred to indirectly or in a narrow legal construction. These findings support the notion that despite the growing body of knowledge regarding the importance of meaningful leisure in old age—and its empowering and anti-ageist nature—this knowledge has not transformed into a legal human rights discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]