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The preservation of health is ultimately the responsibility of each individual person. It differs fundamentally from the treatment of disease, which has been delegated to health‐care professionals. In this paper I consider certain health‐care behaviours, and then comment on issues relevant to prophylactic medicines.

This paper's aim is to explore factors underlying resilience to health adversity, where resilience is defined as better perceived health after adjusting for the presence of doctor diagnosed heart disease, stroke or diabetes (vascular disease).

A population sample of 667 men and women aged 50+ years from South Wales was recruited to participate in an epidemiologic study and were consented and assessed online. Participation included health status, psychological and cognitive assessment. Structural equation modelling was used to model causal pathways. The analysis presents baseline data for this sample.

After adjustment for vascular disease, self‐esteem was associated with higher perceived health (β=0.279, p<0.001) whilst depression was associated with lower perceived health (β=−0.368, p<0.001). Self‐efficacy and anxiety were not associated with perceived health. Further analysis found self‐esteem to buffer an effect of vascular disease on depression, reducing the impact of depression on perceived health.

Cognitive and affective factors are involved in resilience, in relation to health these are specific to self‐esteem and depression. Although more complex associations may be found with other adversities, in relation to health, interventions to improve self‐esteem and ameliorate depression are likely to increase resilience.

Resilience has been modelled as a process involving cognitive and affective response to adversity. In the context of health, the adverse effect of depression on health perception was mediated by self‐esteem. These associations add to the understanding of the processes underlying resilience and suggest opportunities for interventions designed to increase resilience to health adversities.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how care homes can be de-institutionalised and what factors are key in independence for residents?

This paper takes the form of a review of the current life of residents in care homes with insight from My Home Life Cymru.

This research identifies eight best practice themes which together form a vision for care homes in the twenty-first century.

Care homes play an important role in social care, providing services to some of our most vulnerable citizens. By focusing on the quality of life in care homes for older people, we can play a part in delivering services that people want, in the way that they want them.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the importance of putting a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place, particularly as you plan for your older years.

This article takes the form of a review of the current LPA and offers advice on how to register a LPA.

By registering a LPA both the donor and their family benefits from peace of mind.

The Public Guardian Board Annual Report 2012 stated that the aim is for every adult in England and Wales to have a LPA.