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Older people's experience of paid employment: participation and quality of life
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
Recent and continuing demographic changes indicate an expected shortage of younger workers in the future and, consequently, an increasing need for older people to remain in employment beyond current pension ages. This shift demands consideration of issues relating to older people in the workplace and the likely impact of continued employment on quality of life. This research project was broadly concerned with labour force participation in the age range 50-75. It focused specifically on the relationship between participation in paid work and subsequent psychological well-being and life satisfaction and the possible determinants of labour force participation at older ages.
Loneliness, social isolation and living alone in later life
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
A critical element in the quality of life of older people is social participation and engagement. This project, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches, investigated three key dimensions of social participation: loneliness, isolation and living alone in later life. The authors demonstrate that, overall, only a minority of older people are lonely (7 per cent) or isolated (11-17 per cent) and that this has shown little change in the past 50 years. We also show that while these concepts are interrelated they are not the same. Our data demonstrate the dynamic nature of loneliness and isolation across the lifecourse and the varying pathways into loneliness in later life. The report identifies two distinct groups: those for whom loneliness is a continuation of previous experiences and those for whom it is a 'novel' experience. In developing intervention to respond to loneliness and isolation we need to respond to the varying types and pathways into loneliness and isolation in later life.
Adding quality to quantity: older people's views on their quality of life and its enhancement
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
This study set out to explore older peoples' definitions of, and priorities for, a good quality of life. Nine hundred and ninety nine randomly sampled people aged 65 and over, living at home in Britain, were interviewed for the study.
Quality of life and real life cognitive functioning
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
This study examined the predictive value of mid-life risk factors for cognitive functioning in old age. Participants were drawn from a study of middle-aged people living in research conducted 30 years ago. Current cognitive functioning, both 'abstract' and 'real world', was assessed, along with attitudes and beliefs regarding how to maintain cognitive functioning in old age. Cognitive functioning was then examined in relation to perceived quality of life.
Spiritual beliefs and existential meaning in later life: the experience of older bereaved spouses
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
The current generation of British older people were brought up within a much more religious society than today's. Yet little is known about the belief systems they currently hold. This research explores the significance of spiritual belief for the well-being of a sample of older bereaved spouses drawn from a Christian background.
Environment and identity in later life: a cross-setting study
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
For most older people, the place where they live is the centre of their everyday life. Homes and neighbourhoods are invested with personal and social meaning, and they have particular characteristics that can affect continuing independence and well-being. Older people live in all kinds of places, including 'ordinary' and 'special' housing providing different levels of accommodation and care; domestic and nondomestic. They live in cities, towns and the countryside; alone and with other people. In extreme old age, a greater proportion of the population live in non-domestic age-segregated settings. This research aimed to advance our understanding of the connections between living environments and the maintenance of identity and well-being in later life; and to develop personally relevant tools for evaluating different kinds of living places. These living places were taken to include the dwelling itself, its setting, and the spaces that connect and separate inside and outside; private and public. The study included a wide range of dwellings and three different locations were chosen to take in metropolitan; urban/sub-urban; and small town/village/semi-rural places. These were the north London Borough of Haringey; the town of Bedford, and villages and small towns within the southern part of Northamptonshire.
Housebound older people: the links between identity, self-esteem and the use of care services
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
The aim of this research to increase understanding of why some disabled older people do not seek or even refuse health and social care services to which they may be entitled. This issue is important because there is evidence that, although the targeting of home care services on those with the greatest need has greatly improved over the last ten years, there remain some very frail older people living on their own with little or no help. The hypothesis behind the research was that these people might find accepting services incompatible with their images of themselves as independent adults.
Inequalities in quality of life in early old age
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
A new measure of quality of life was developed for use among older people. A sample of around 300 people aged 65-75 years was asked about their quality of life. Full occupational, marital and residential histories have previously been collected on the sample. Analyses were performed to assess the characteristics of the sample and the relative influence of present day and lifecourse factors on quality of life in early old age.
Transport and ageing: extending uality of life via public and private transport
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
Accessible public transport and the independence that comes with car driving are generally thought to be linked to quality of life in old age. However, there has been almost no research on this topic in the UK. This study used a multi-method approach to explore the relationship between quality of life and access to public and private transport. The study also examined the extent to which the transport needs of older people are taken into account by transport professionals.
Older people in deprived neighbourhoods: social exclusion and quality of life in old age
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
This research examined the circumstances of older people living in socially deprived areas of three English cities. In seeking to provide new insights into the nature of inequalities within older age, the study addressed the conditions of social exclusion in deprived urban neighbourhoods and the processes that contribute to social exclusion in later life. The focus on older people in deprived neighbourhoods is closely tied to contemporary public policy concerns. In recent years, such neighbourhoods have been subject to considerable social policy intervention, linked to attempts to reduce the geographical divide between Britain's most deprived areas and the 'mainstream of society'. In this respect, the research sought to examine the degree to which residence in an area of concentrated poverty might compound the impact on older people of other forms of social exclusion, and lead to a diminished quality of life. The research was undertaken in the three most deprived electoral wards in Liverpool, Manchester and the London Borough of Newham. Data collection consisted of a survey of 600 people aged 60 and over in the three cities, and semi-structured interviews with 130 people in the same age group.